Re: numbers part 1
catti said:
i do this because to me tarot is not only the picture but the chronology of the picture and the placement...
does anyone else think of their layouts like this?
Hi Catti... Interesting thought... and yes, I've seen some layouts such as you describe... I think this is what you mean;
..........3..........10
....5..1/2..6......9
..........4...........8
.......................7
Is that right? I would think if this works for you, great. So far, using the numbering I learned originally works great for me. The comment has been made before, by several people, that we (whoever the reading is for) get the cards we need. If this is the layout you have fixed in your mind as you're shuffling and laying out the cards, then I feel the appropriate cards will come up in the appropriate positions.
A good example is the 5-card Past - Present - Future line spread which I find myself using more and more. When I first found this spread at the
Tarot Layouts FAQ, the cards were said to be layed out in a line from right to left;
...5...4...3...2...1
with the cards for the past & recent past being #1 & #2. This always seemed to throw me, because I'd always done things from left to right (reading, number lines, time lines, etc). I tried it from right to left, but the cards never felt right... so, I reversed it - for my own use. I still deal the cards in the same order; past - recent past - present - near future - future, but from left to right;
...1...2...3...4...5
this works much better for me, because that is the way my mind comprehends the flow of P - P - F. And the only reason for it is my own past learning and experience.
Personally, I feel this is one of the most important factors in how we lay out the cards, in how our spreads are designed; our own personal experience, perspective, training, and so forth. What is perfect for me, might be completely incomprehensible to Kiama. What works for Kiama, might not work for Holmes, etc... However, that is one of the greatest things about these forums... we get to discuss these differences and similarities and find new things that work for us and help us to discover how to redesign a spread which doesn't work for us.
This is, in part why I designed my CC spread, the lay out of it, the way I did. The past is to the left, future to the right. Basis at the bottom, hidden influences above (where we might not see them), and so on. I lay the cards out in the order I do, because that is what works for me. As I mentioned, I have seen CC's where the cards are layed out in the order you describe, but the flow just didn't jive with what I feel for the CC.
Hope this answers your question...