One at a time or all at once?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Dec 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

destinyawaitsme	05 Dec 2003
I had my cards read by a lady the other day who layed out all her cards face down in a spread, and then turned the over one at a time. Like she would turn over one card...explain what it meant...then move onto the next. I always dealt them all face up and interpreted them together. Is there anyone else that reads th cards one at a time like this? I was just curious.

mercenary30	05 Dec 2003
When I do the astrological spread to read their twelve houses I do. If the querent is not very tarot experienced, it seems that seeing all the cards at once usually distracts them....especially if one or more of the traditionaly nasty ones are there.

ros	05 Dec 2003
I find it depends on the person I'm reading for. Sometimes I can turn them all over I sometimes I have to go one by one because something tells me to be very certain of what you're saying. When people like to question your answers that is when I go one by one. Also when I do a spread in a line & read them like a story, I'll turn a few & then mabee one by one & then a few more depends how the story is going. I always watch the middle card as the turning point. I guess I'm saying sometimes I group them & sometimes not!

jog1118	05 Dec 2003
i've laid the cards face down...and face up. it all depends on my mood. mind you, laying the cards face down really makes some querents nervous... :smoker:

Nevada	05 Dec 2003
I do this sometimes, reading for myself. I suppose laying them face down would keep the querent from wanting to jump ahead, and this would help them focus on each card as you read it. In fact, when I do this it's to keep myself from jumping ahead. :) It just sort of slows everything down and forces me to look at one card at a time. Then I can tie it all together once the cards are all face up. Nevada

Sulis	06 Dec 2003
I like to turn all the cards face up so that I can look for any patterns such as a lot of cards from a certain suit or a lot of cards of the same number. I find it easier to read the cards if I can relate to them as a whole and not as a lot of seperate cards. I get a better story from them that way. Love and light Sulis xx

firestorm	06 Dec 2003
I'll put the cards face down if I'm reading for myself sometimes, but I haven't done it for someone else being that the first time I did, the reading didn't turn out very well. When I turned the cards over and explained how I saw them together, I got alot of "I thought you said that card means.......". Too much for the beginner, however I can see how they'd also want to jump ahead.

Astraea	06 Dec 2003
The "startle factor" involved with turning cards over one-at-a-time can sometimes jog awareness, but generally I like to the lay the cards face-up and look for relationships between them.

Majecot	12 Dec 2003
Generally I like to lay out my spread and look at it as a whole first to get a general feel, then I read by card. some times however.. I feel the need to flip them one at a time.. I guess it depend on the person and situation.. and my intuition.

Star Spirit	13 Dec 2003
You know, it's odd. I think I always deal the cards face up. I never lay them face down and then turn them over afterwards. Faster that way I suppose :D

Umbrae	13 Dec 2003
Laying cards all face-up provides a nice overview of the reading before the words start coming out of your mouth. It’s a good way to get a feel for how the spread ‘looks’ before you move onto the cards. It’s how I usually read. That said… I also really like to begin by having the cards face down. Inside my head – I allow the intuitive side of me to give me the reading first (by reading between the cards). I don’t think about what the cards are or what they might say – but instead – listen to the voices in my head (sort of)…do I get a ‘flash’ of an image? A name that comes into my head? An aroma? I take some time to listen to what the cards may tell be before they start going ‘face-up’. Then as the cards begin turning over, I can begin the reading slowly, card by card. Often the images, or flashes of insight play into the reading (this is the stuff that books don’t’ teach you – this is real reading folks…). Sometimes you can begin talking about the things that came to mind in those face down moments. The things that come to you by listening to the cards. Sometimes I will complete the reading without turning the last few cards over at all… Once you do turn all the cards over, you get an overview for a wrap-up of the reading as a whole unit. That said… I began by reading with all the cards face-up. It was ten years later and hundreds of readings that lead me to reading facedown. Now…I do both. In fact now – I often just deal them one at a time, or if the client pulls cards out they are placed in a pile and then turned over one at a time. …And when I read turning cards over singly – my readings are much more accurate.

Umbrae	13 Dec 2003
Addendum: Listening to cards – is similar to reading Toothpicks.

The One at a time or all at once? thread was originally posted on 05 Dec 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.