How on Earth do you end a spread?

Intotouch · 05-08-2012

Would any of you please help me with this? I have real problems when it comes to ending spreads that involve the future. I no longer use outcome cards, but I'm unsure about using cards drawn for future time periods. They don't seem to play out in the time frames that I draw them for. (You can skip to the last paragraph now if you like, the rest just fleshes out what I've just said.)

I don't use outcome cards because I find that an outcome card is rarely applicable or helpful in the context of most spreads. For example if it's a relationship reading does the outcome mean what the relationship be like in one years time or ten? Do relationships or even problems in relationships have outcomes? All relationships end through parting or death so the outcome ultimately is this if I take the meaning literally.

If it's a job or career progression the outcome could refer to looking back after you retire, or a position that a person could settle into after a few months. Also the word "outcome" is one that suggests a problem of some kind reaching some kind of resolution but not all spreads with outcome cards are about a specific problem.

So a long time ago I switched for most spreads from an outcome card to a card for "long term future" instead. But I have problems with this as well. I did a reading for a friend many years ago that I assumed would cover about one year that actually reflected his life's path over the next ten years! The resolution of problems with his family took that long, but did occur as described, as did his life's path. From my own experience of readings I still find that cards that I draw for the near future cards vary in time period. An average would be within a month.

So now I'm try to draw cards now for one month, six months and one year, but I am experimenting and don't really trust that these time periods are accurate.

What is your own experience with spreads that involve the future and would you please have any suggestions for me? Do you find other ways of ending readings more helpful?

**Amanda_04** · 06-08-2012

Outcomes work fine for me... I don't think anything is ever really final. I take into consideration what the other cards of the spread are addressing. If the other cards are saying that you are mixing yellow and blue, then the outcome is likely addressing how much green you are going to get. Logic and common sense are still applied when reading the cards. And that doesn't mean that you will stick with green, but in this situation it looks to be what you are going to get out of it. Unless of course, you are mixing yellow and blue and somehow come out with pink, then you need to look back through the cards to figure out why the difference- perhaps someone else involved throwing their colors in the mix or what-have-you.

I quit using spreads that have timing built in. I think it's a waste of time, and much easier to simply use the cards as a guide, so I designed my own free-flowing 5-card spread where you get an answer to your question along with a time-frame. I'll link it for you.

ETA: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=177452

**tarotbear** · 06-08-2012

Don't know if this helps ...

You are saying that in the context of the reading that you specified that the 'final' putcome would define only ONE year from now, but that the actual outcome predicted took TEN years to play out. In one year there may have been no progress, which would have changed the reading, so the Tarot told you what would ultimately happen, even though you had no way of knowing it was showing you 10 years from now ... yes?

IMHO - it isn't the Tarot - it's the universe. Time is a man-made concept, and our universe just isn't confined to this '365 days in a year, 24 hours in a day' routine. If you are infinite and eternal - what's one year or ten? Or a thousand? Even though you tried to define the parameters to narrow down the possibilities as best you could, it took ten years ... not one.

One and ten reduce to 1 ... maybe you missed the numerological in this reading ... if there was any. Not faulting you here; we all would have assumed the same thing, probably. Maybe there were ones or tens in this reading which might have signified that ... signifying the end of a cycle, and not the beginning.

Just my two cents here~!

Intotouch · 06-08-2012

Tarot bear that's a very interesting point about the numerological link between ten and one! I hadn't thought of that.

Amanda 04 thank you for the link and well done for this creative interpretation of yours to give a time frame! That is such a good way to come up with the time, directly from the cards.
I was surprised to hear you say that outcomes work fine for you and that nothing is really final all in the one sentence. That's exactly my problem with the outcome card. If it's not an outcome because everything keeps changing after it then what is it?. A snapshot of the situation a year or ten years or twenty from now? And if so which? Do you see what I mean?
I gather from your reply as well that cards with definite time frames haven't worked for you. That's a pity I'm hoping I'll have some luck with that.

**Amanda_04** · 06-08-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Intotouch

I was surprised to hear you say that outcomes work fine for you and that nothing is really final all in the one sentence. That's exactly my problem with the outcome card. If it's not an outcome because everything keeps changing after it then what is it?. A snapshot of the situation a year or ten years or twenty from now? And if so which? Do you see what I mean?

Yes, well the answer I think you are looking for is within the whole spread and bouncing what you get as an outcome off of the rest. I can't give you a conclusive answer between why outcomes work fine for me, yet nothing is really conclusive because the cards that are pulled for a situation will always be entirely unique. It really comes from a feel or assessment of all the cards as a whole in the spread to determine what the outcome is really saying, and that just takes practice.

Quote:

I gather from your reply as well that cards with definite time frames haven't worked for you. That's a pity I'm hoping I'll have some luck with that.

I feel that the cards do have definite time frames, it's the spreads with built-in timing questions that I don't like. I think it's a round-a-bout way to try to get a clear answer and one that leaves more room for confusion. My opinion is that a message from the cards can be missed because one is trying to force the answer into the framework of a spread. So that's why I came up with the 5-card spread I linked you to... you're not laying the cards into a framework, but rather, pulling the framework/story out of the cards and letting them speak freely... but I think spreads are still good for breaking down larger issues.

Intotouch · 07-08-2012

Thank you for such a thorough answer Amanda 04. I will definitely try that spread.

Mellifluous · 08-08-2012

I realized years ago that I don't like readings that are too open-ended into the future because

a) I don't like to know (about my own life) that far ahead, and

b) because I'm too impatient to check the accuracy of my readings.

So, here's what I do.

I ask questions with a very specific time frame. What will happen today? What will happen next time I see the person? Etc.

I ask the question, and then for a time frame afterwards. My whole orientation to tarot is short-term, so it's usually within a week or a month. Occasionally, within three months or so, but that's rare. (My personal method of interpreting 'when?' is idiosyncratic and intuitive - though I've mentioned it elsewhere around here before - so I'll spare you that part. lol)

If I ask something like, 'Will this ever happen?' (which I usually don't do), I just take the yes or no answer and leave it at that, for the time being.* If I get impatient about it, I can come back to tarot about it later, in a much more specific way.

Sometimes I'll ask whether a circumstance is going to be ongoing long term or short term, and then again, I leave it at that.

I really don't like the celtic cross spread much, but there are rare situations or occasions when I feel like using it. As you probably know, there's traditionally a position for short term future and one for outcome (or long term future). For me, those two positions are always 'very near future' and 'little bit longer future'. Very near future is within hours or sometimes the next couple of days; little bit longer future is within the next couple of days to somewhat less than a week (e.g., five days, or between now and Friday, etc).

After those time frames are up (or if something happens that might have changed the course of things), I'll probably do another reading using the same spread again. I find the CC actually tends to be very accurate this way, and I can sort of 'track'/predict the evolution of ongoing situations.

And then of course, sometimes, I just ask about the future of something (like a PPF spread, but I skip the first two because I already know those, if I'm reading for myself), and don't worry about the time frame at all. Just wait for things to unfold. Again though, my entire approach to tarot, my intention, is short term, so... those are the answers I tend to get.

I think intention and specificity in framing questions counts for a lot. (Almost everything, in fact.) If you ask about long term, that's what you get. If you ask about short term, that's what you get. If you're vague about what you're asking, it's hard to know what you've got with tarot.

(That's also one reason I don't like to post my own readings here. Often, other people don't respect the limits of the actual question asked. They want to predict and analyze your entire situation and all the people involved when you're only asking about the next week or a specific aspect. lol)

I'd also say, if you aren't intending to read about the next 10 years, there's no reason for you to still be looking at the spread and reinterpreting it 10 years later. Mark it done and let it go.

It's up to you how you will use tarot, so ask what you really want to know and interpret accordingly. (Explain your views/experiences, if you're reading for others and they want to ask stuff you don't feel you can interpret accurately.) Also, when you are looking at old readings with hindsight, pay close attention to how your deck(s) communicate timing answers to you. You can't always force them into someone else's method. You can be clear about what you want answered, but you can't necessarily get them to cooperate with exactly how to answer, if that makes sense.

*Once, years ago, I asked if my favorite band would get back together. (I didn't care how long it took. They just had to... hopefully.) I interpreted the answer as yes. They did, too! Five years later.

And there were a few partial and/or spontaneous reunions of various members, for one night here or one project or whatever, along the way before that. It was a series of yeses, culminating in one very big one. Full band reunion.

Mellifluous · 08-08-2012

Ohh, I just remembered another type of question I ask sometimes that you may or may not find useful. It goes more to the 'outcome' issue than timing though.

Sometimes, I ask if a situation is completely over and done with now, or not. If there's any more of this story to play out. If there will be any more, real-world interactions between me and so-and-so. (The last is necessary because if you're still twisted up emotionally, tarot will tell you 'no, it's not over', even if you never see the person again. lol)

Usually, these are to do with relationships, and it's because I have a gut feeling one way or the other that I want to confirm or refute.

Intotouch · 09-08-2012

Thank you for the feed back Mellifluous, (I love the name by the way). I like your idea of asking if there is more to come as an end to a reading. I am surprised that your readings give you a wrong answer if you are in need of it. My cards are not so gentle. Maybe I should ask differently!

One thing that is interesting about the outcome card that took ten years to manifest is that I did not see this friend again for ten years so did the tarot/ our spirits know this at the time of the reading? Not all long term future cards take so long but perhaps this has to do with what the questioner needs and what will guide them until they are ready for/ need more advice. Hmmm. I hope that this is the case. Maybe Mellifluous this is why your own long term cards apply to a month away, because your spirit knows you will be doing another reading in a month? What do you think?

I think that I will experiment for a while with asking for a definite time period and see how it goes. I haven't used the Celtic Cross in years. I design a spread on the spot for a person according to what they are asking about and what they need answered.

KMilliron · 15-08-2012

Past cards. That's what I use to figure out the future. Weird, yeah, but if you know what's happened to you, and the cards repeat it, you can use those as some sort of reference material regarding the future cards. If the past events were recent, the future card is in the near future. Distant past= distant future. I can't read setting up time frames, I let the cards tell me what to focus on

Intotouch Citizen Join Date: 05 Jun 2012 Location: Ireland Posts: 154	How on Earth do you end a spread? Would any of you please help me with this? I have real problems when it comes to ending spreads that involve the future. I no longer use outcome cards, but I'm unsure about using cards drawn for future time periods. They don't seem to play out in the time frames that I draw them for. (You can skip to the last paragraph now if you like, the rest just fleshes out what I've just said.) I don't use outcome cards because I find that an outcome card is rarely applicable or helpful in the context of most spreads. For example if it's a relationship reading does the outcome mean what the relationship be like in one years time or ten? Do relationships or even problems in relationships have outcomes? All relationships end through parting or death so the outcome ultimately is this if I take the meaning literally. If it's a job or career progression the outcome could refer to looking back after you retire, or a position that a person could settle into after a few months. Also the word "outcome" is one that suggests a problem of some kind reaching some kind of resolution but not all spreads with outcome cards are about a specific problem. So a long time ago I switched for most spreads from an outcome card to a card for "long term future" instead. But I have problems with this as well. I did a reading for a friend many years ago that I assumed would cover about one year that actually reflected his life's path over the next ten years! The resolution of problems with his family took that long, but did occur as described, as did his life's path. From my own experience of readings I still find that cards that I draw for the near future cards vary in time period. An average would be within a month. So now I'm try to draw cards now for one month, six months and one year, but I am experimenting and don't really trust that these time periods are accurate. What is your own experience with spreads that involve the future and would you please have any suggestions for me? Do you find other ways of ending readings more helpful?

05-08-2012	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #1

Amanda_04 Citizen Join Date: 05 Nov 2009 Location: Ohio, USA Posts: 13,125	Outcomes work fine for me... I don't think anything is ever really final. I take into consideration what the other cards of the spread are addressing. If the other cards are saying that you are mixing yellow and blue, then the outcome is likely addressing how much green you are going to get. Logic and common sense are still applied when reading the cards. And that doesn't mean that you will stick with green, but in this situation it looks to be what you are going to get out of it. Unless of course, you are mixing yellow and blue and somehow come out with pink, then you need to look back through the cards to figure out why the difference- perhaps someone else involved throwing their colors in the mix or what-have-you. I quit using spreads that have timing built in. I think it's a waste of time, and much easier to simply use the cards as a guide, so I designed my own free-flowing 5-card spread where you get an answer to your question along with a time-frame. I'll link it for you. ETA: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=177452 __________________ Obi-Wan Kenobi: But Master Yoda says I should be mindful of the future. Qui-Gon Jinn: But not at the expense of the moment. Be mindful of the living Force, young Padawan. ~~~ "Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing." -Oscar Wilde

06-08-2012	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #2

tarotbear One of the original 100 members Join Date: 05 Aug 2001 Location: The Naugatuck Valley, CT Posts: 7,408	Don't know if this helps ... You are saying that in the context of the reading that you specified that the 'final' putcome would define only ONE year from now, but that the actual outcome predicted took TEN years to play out. In one year there may have been no progress, which would have changed the reading, so the Tarot told you what would ultimately happen, even though you had no way of knowing it was showing you 10 years from now ... yes? IMHO - it isn't the Tarot - it's the universe. Time is a man-made concept, and our universe just isn't confined to this '365 days in a year, 24 hours in a day' routine. If you are infinite and eternal - what's one year or ten? Or a thousand? Even though you tried to define the parameters to narrow down the possibilities as best you could, it took ten years ... not one. One and ten reduce to 1 ... maybe you missed the numerological in this reading ... if there was any. Not faulting you here; we all would have assumed the same thing, probably. Maybe there were ones or tens in this reading which might have signified that ... signifying the end of a cycle, and not the beginning. Just my two cents here~! __________________ I don't lead the parade - I AM THE PARADE! This is not rocket surgery, ya know! Bury the past - and move on to a new tomorrow.

06-08-2012	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #3

Mellifluous Citizen Join Date: 15 Jan 2007 Location: United States Posts: 2,314	I realized years ago that I don't like readings that are too open-ended into the future because a) I don't like to know (about my own life) that far ahead, and b) because I'm too impatient to check the accuracy of my readings. So, here's what I do. I ask questions with a very specific time frame. What will happen today? What will happen next time I see the person? Etc. I ask the question, and then for a time frame afterwards. My whole orientation to tarot is short-term, so it's usually within a week or a month. Occasionally, within three months or so, but that's rare. (My personal method of interpreting 'when?' is idiosyncratic and intuitive - though I've mentioned it elsewhere around here before - so I'll spare you that part. lol) If I ask something like, 'Will this ever happen?' (which I usually don't do), I just take the yes or no answer and leave it at that, for the time being.* If I get impatient about it, I can come back to tarot about it later, in a much more specific way. Sometimes I'll ask whether a circumstance is going to be ongoing long term or short term, and then again, I leave it at that. I really don't like the celtic cross spread much, but there are rare situations or occasions when I feel like using it. As you probably know, there's traditionally a position for short term future and one for outcome (or long term future). For me, those two positions are always 'very near future' and 'little bit longer future'. Very near future is within hours or sometimes the next couple of days; little bit longer future is within the next couple of days to somewhat less than a week (e.g., five days, or between now and Friday, etc). After those time frames are up (or if something happens that might have changed the course of things), I'll probably do another reading using the same spread again. I find the CC actually tends to be very accurate this way, and I can sort of 'track'/predict the evolution of ongoing situations. And then of course, sometimes, I just ask about the future of something (like a PPF spread, but I skip the first two because I already know those, if I'm reading for myself), and don't worry about the time frame at all. Just wait for things to unfold. Again though, my entire approach to tarot, my intention, is short term, so... those are the answers I tend to get. I think intention and specificity in framing questions counts for a lot. (Almost everything, in fact.) If you ask about long term, that's what you get. If you ask about short term, that's what you get. If you're vague about what you're asking, it's hard to know what you've got with tarot. (That's also one reason I don't like to post my own readings here. Often, other people don't respect the limits of the actual question asked. They want to predict and analyze your entire situation and all the people involved when you're only asking about the next week or a specific aspect. lol) I'd also say, if you aren't intending to read about the next 10 years, there's no reason for you to still be looking at the spread and reinterpreting it 10 years later. Mark it done and let it go. It's up to you how you will use tarot, so ask what you really want to know and interpret accordingly. (Explain your views/experiences, if you're reading for others and they want to ask stuff you don't feel you can interpret accurately.) Also, when you are looking at old readings with hindsight, pay close attention to how your deck(s) communicate timing answers to you. You can't always force them into someone else's method. You can be clear about what you want answered, but you can't necessarily get them to cooperate with exactly how to answer, if that makes sense. Once, years ago, I asked if my favorite band would get back together. (I didn't care how long it took. They just had to... hopefully.) I interpreted the answer as yes. They did, too! Five years later. And there were a few partial and/or spontaneous reunions of various members, for one night here or one project or whatever, along the way before that. It was a series of yeses, culminating in one very big one. Full band reunion. Last edited by Mellifluous; 08-08-2012 at 14:25.*

08-08-2012	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #7

KMilliron Citizen Join Date: 05 Apr 2011 Location: New York, United States Posts: 2,075	Past cards. That's what I use to figure out the future. Weird, yeah, but if you know what's happened to you, and the cards repeat it, you can use those as some sort of reference material regarding the future cards. If the past events were recent, the future card is in the near future. Distant past= distant future. I can't read setting up time frames, I let the cards tell me what to focus on __________________ I will stand at the gate of the kingdom I will speak my faith Next to the killer and the Christian True to myself I know my fate

15-08-2012	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #10

Intotouch Citizen Join Date: 05 Jun 2012 Location: Ireland Posts: 154	Thank you for such a thorough answer Amanda 04. I will definitely try that spread.

07-08-2012	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #6

Intotouch Citizen Join Date: 05 Jun 2012 Location: Ireland Posts: 154	Thank you for the feed back Mellifluous, (I love the name by the way). I like your idea of asking if there is more to come as an end to a reading. I am surprised that your readings give you a wrong answer if you are in need of it. My cards are not so gentle. Maybe I should ask differently! One thing that is interesting about the outcome card that took ten years to manifest is that I did not see this friend again for ten years so did the tarot/ our spirits know this at the time of the reading? Not all long term future cards take so long but perhaps this has to do with what the questioner needs and what will guide them until they are ready for/ need more advice. Hmmm. I hope that this is the case. Maybe Mellifluous this is why your own long term cards apply to a month away, because your spirit knows you will be doing another reading in a month? What do you think? I think that I will experiment for a while with asking for a definite time period and see how it goes. I haven't used the Celtic Cross in years. I design a spread on the spot for a person according to what they are asking about and what they need answered.

09-08-2012	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #9

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