Spreads with Lots of "Operations"

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 Dec 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

rachelcat	23 Dec 2004
I just re-discovered on my bookshelf Zolar's Fortune Telling by Cards for Fun and Profit from 1968! (It was my mother-in-law's before I snagged it from her many years ago.) The thing I find most interesting is that it gives instruction on spreading the cards with lots of "operations." Here's a quote to show what I mean: ***** THE SURPRISE In this method after the thirty-two cards have been well shuffled and cut once, the packs are put together again by the Consultant, who then deals them into two parcels of sixteen cards each, laying them face downwards. That done, she removes the top card from each parcel, being careful not to see what it is, and lays those two aside, calling them "the Surprise." The Inquirer is asked to choose which of the two parcels shall be read first, and the selection having been made, the Consultant looks hurriedly through the fifteen cards to see if that which has been chosen beforehand to represent the Inquirer is amongst them. If it is not it is an omen of delay or vexation in whatever is afoot. In that case the cards must be put together again, the Surprise ones and all, and the process of shuffling and cutting repeated. This is done again and again until the Inquirer card is found in the chosen parcel. Should that not be the case after two or three tries, it is better to give up the attempt for the day. Plainly the influences are against the reading. However, when the card of the Inquirer is found, the Consultant puts the fifteen together and proceeds to lay them out on the table face upwards. Starting from the Inquirer's card, the Consultant counts seven in each direction, and those two groups of seven cards will give their messages. The other pack must be dealt with then, the counting being done from the House or the Wish cards or whatever is of importance. That done, the cards must be gathered up and again well shuffled and cut. They are dealt face downwards into two parcels of fifteen cards each, and the first of these is divided into three, each containing five cards. The top cards are laid aside for the Surprise. That means three little parcels of four cards each are left. The Inquirer chooses one of the parcels, and the cards are read from left to right. There is no counting. The next parcel is read in the same way, and so on. When all have been dealt with, the Surprise cards are laid on the table and the same rules for reading are followed. Some Consultants only use sixteen cards for this method, leaving the second pack untouched. ***** Whew! That is a short-to-medium length "method" out of the 13 given in the book! (Also, sometimes the cards have different meanings depending on the method!) My question is this: Why don't we modern tarot readers use dynamic, operation-filled spreads like this? I believe I read somewhere the Crowley method is similar, with lots of counting and changing directions, and only certain cards are read for meaning. But do people use that these days? I kind of like the dynamic use of the significator ("Inquirer") card. I usually don't use significators because I don't like to take them out of the deck. This kind of use would fix that problem! So what do you think? Would something like this be an improvement on using positions only, or is it old-fashioned nonsense?

Fulgour	23 Dec 2004
"This unique set of 56 cards works in a four-way split to provide a kind of multipurpose version of the tarot combined with astrology. The cards are two-sided and can be used a multitude of ways. Sadly, I believe that in attempting to make them work this way, the designer has sacrificed all the good aspects of the tarot." ~ Gina M. Pace, 1998 http://www.wicce.com/zolars.html

Ulfdis	24 Dec 2004
Blech. I used to have that deck. I think it's hideous... imagine coloring your own RWS deck but you only have a pink crayon and a green crayon. But as far as more complicated, "involved" spreads being "old school", maybe it's a trend that has to do with the popularization of Tarot in recent years. As availability of the Tarot has increased, maybe there was an accompanying trend of using simpler, less ritualized spreads. Kind of like computers becoming more user-friendly as they become widespread. When it comes to a question of which one is better, my analogy fails, though. I don't really know which approach is better when it comes to Tarot spreads.

Seed Crystal	24 Dec 2004
I suppose all the operations might be helpful in achieving a particular state of mind, in a reader and/or a querent. Trying to be open-minded here :D

Fulgour	24 Dec 2004
Ulfdis wrote: But as far as more complicated, "involved" spreads being "old school", maybe it's a trend that has to do with the popularization of Tarot in recent years. As availability of the Tarot has increased, maybe there was an accompanying trend of using simpler, less ritualized spreads. Kind of like computers becoming more user-friendly as they become widespread. The Tarot Cross is a method of tarologic interpretation suggested by Stanislas de Guaita in the 19th century. It was his favourite method. This spread uses the Major Arcana only, beginning with 4 cards laid out in the shape of a plus-sign, or Cross pattern, any way you wish. 1st Card (the positive one) represents the Querant and their question. 2nd Card (the negative one) will help, or especially oppose, the answer. 3rd Card (the vibration) indicates possibilities, the cause beyond control. 4th Card (direction) will indicate the general framework of the answer. The "synthesis" of The Cross is determined by the adding up the 4 numbers of all of the 4 Cards drawn to discover a 5th Card. The 5th Card can even be the same as one of the first 4 Cards. The "synthesis" is revealed by how the 5th Card (placed in the center of the cross) now reveals the overall meaning.

The Spreads with Lots of "Operations" thread was originally posted on 23 Dec 2004 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.