The 'Then One Thing Led To Another And...' Spread

[Kiama]

Well, the guy I have just been teaching Tarot to came up with a really interesting spread. It actually involved one and a half decks, but I guess tha' okay, since I told him myself that there were o hard and fast rules in Tarot!

This spread is a good one when you wanna know more about the main card in the reading...

First, you deal three cards, withthe two outer ones being the surrounding influences, and the middle card being the 'main' card. Then, you deal another 3 cards but the first of these three cards goes underneath the main card from hte first row. These second three cards give extra info a to what the main card from the first row will lead to. YOu do the same again, but this time the third row of cards tell you what the main card from the second row will lead to.... ANd to add to the complexity of all this, you go on until you feel you have enough info, or until you run out of decks/cards/floorspace. YOu coudl also add a fourth card to each row as a 'extra clarification' or 'overview' card for that specific row...

IT looks something like this...

1....2.....3...................................... ...
......1.....2.....3...........................
.............1.....2....3.........
....................1....2......3
..........................1......2.......3
..................................1.......2....3

And so on and so forth....

What do you guys think?

KIama

[Trogon]

Originally posted by Kiama
And to add to the complexity of all this, you go on until you feel you have enough info, or until you run out of decks/cards/floorspace.

Personally... I think you said it right here. "Complex" is the word that strikes me the most about this spread. To me this seems needlessly complex and likely to end up confusing the issue for me, if I were using it. I've been finding lately that I'm drawn more and more to less complex spreads. I think the Celtic Cross is about the most complicated spread I'm likely to use.

I have, on occasion, used one or two clarification cards during a reading, but never more than two. I'm thinking that with something like this, the more cards I added, the cloudier things would become, but maybe I'm wrong. Another thought occurs too... wouldn't something like this tend to allow a person to keep throwing cards until they find the answer they wanted - as opposed to the answer or insight which is needed?

What do you guys think?

Now this is always a dangerous question!

[Talisman]

'Lo all,

"What do you guys think?"

I think it gives me a headache just to think about all those cards.

I think the newer you are to Tarot, the less you see in individual cards, so, the more cards you want to see.

And I think if you lay continue to lay out the cards, eventually you'll see what you want or hope to see.

A good way to learn the cards, I guess, with all those cards.

I think your friend has an interesting mind, and that there is a logic behind this never-ending spread.

I think, Kiama, with the aid of your vast deck collection, and a table the size of a soccer field . . . Nah, I don't wanna think about it.

I think it was some Mexican or southwest USA mushroom mystic whose books were popular a few years ago who said, "All paths lead nowhere, so pick a happy path to follow."

I think that is a happy thought to contemplate.

I think I hope that when I open Aeclectic, there will always be a new Kiama post to read.

Talisman

[Kiama]

Originally posted by Trogon
Another thought occurs too... wouldn't something like this tend to allow a person to keep throwing cards until they find the answer they wanted - as opposed to the answer or insight which is needed?

You're right: A veyr interesting thought.... I must admit, it is a natural tendency when we first come to Tarot to try and get the cards you WANT... If you ask a question about someone you fancy, you probably won't stop asking the questionand doing readings on it until you get a 'nice' outcome card... I remember doing this endlessly for days when I was 13... But I sure got used to the cards' menaings that way!

I think it is very easy with this spread to get confused, but for some reason the time my friend did it, I understood it all....

Talisman: LOL... The image of a giant football-pitch sized spread srings to my mind... I gotta draw a cartoon of that... Just imagine this tiny little Tarot reader in hte middle of it all, pointing to one out of the thousands of cards... 'Aha! This card represents... YOU!' Sorry, it's just too funny... *Kiama falls about laughing, and everybody in Aeclectic starts thinking how strange her sense of humour is...*

Kiama

[Major Tom]

Originally posted by Talisman
And I think if you lay continue to lay out the cards, eventually you'll see what you want or hope to see.

This was my problem as a beginner. Throwing lots of spreads - repeating questions over and over until I finally got the answer I wanted. lol

Then I figured out the point is to change...

[Trogon]

Originally posted by Kiama
Talisman: LOL... The image of a giant football-pitch sized spread srings to my mind... I gotta draw a cartoon of that... Just imagine this tiny little Tarot reader in hte middle of it all, pointing to one out of the thousands of cards... 'Aha! This card represents... YOU!' Sorry, it's just too funny... *Kiama falls about laughing, and everybody in Aeclectic starts thinking how strange her sense of humour is...*

This got a good laugh out me too! Ha! Though of course, for this type of spread, you'd have to do it in an indoor stadium so the wind wouldn't blow all those thousands of cards all over the place...

[Kiama]

I was trying to work out how many Tarot cards it would take to cover a whole football pitch...

Anyone know the size of a footie pitch?!

I wonder if I have enough decks to cover one...?

Kiama

[Talisman]

'Lo all,

Major Tom is right when he suggests just continue laying out the cards until you get the answer you want. (Please read his reply so you don't get the wrong idea here.)

There is still another way to achieve this wonderful result. If you have a lot of books on your shelves, you can just keep going through them reading different definitions until you find one you like. A good book to start with is "Tarot Plain and Simple," by Anthony Louis, because he offers enough on each card to fit almost any situation.

But, if you guys do trying out cards on a "football pitch" -- and if Kiama doesn't run out of cards before the answer appears -- we will finally have the answer to the universal question that has plagued man since the beginning of time:

"Does Suzy really like me?"

(Well, she damn well better, after all this work's 's'all I can say.)

Talisman

[majah kahlana]

I started reading this thred and then just giggled right to the end.... lol

I had a mentor when I first started out that was pretty much a no nonsence type who insisted right from the first that asking the same question over and over was not a good idea. Take the first or second reading and figure out how to rememdy the situation if you dont like what the cards are saying. "The Tarot is not set in stone" was drilled into me from the moment I picked up my first deck.

Seriously though, I think if you had a set number of lines and specific ideas about what each of those lines represented then you wouldnt need a "footie-pitch" (or in my terms a football stadium) sized spread. And it could easily be managed with one deck.

For example:
Line 1 represents the querants situation
Line 2 would represent the negative aspects of the situation
Line 3 the positive aspects of the situation
Line 4 what the querant can DO about the situation
Line 5 How the situation would change if the querant DID line 4
And I would think with three cards in each line the need for clarification would not be a factor. Or am I missing the point entirely here?
Just some thoughts

HUGS
MK

[BLFO]

Originally Posted by Major Tom

This was my problem as a beginner. Throwing lots of spreads - repeating questions over and over until I finally got the answer I wanted. lol

Then I figured out the point is to change...

Yeah, you can keep on doing that but you will get the same result but with different cards. That is my case. I can throw cards all I want...I always got a negative result. Put at least it is good practice, although you will frustrate yourself damn to hell by keep seeing what you wish would change. LOL