3 card spread

[finn]

i know a 3 card spread may work like a past-present-future thing, but can it work as a spread that tells you what is happening at the present in general, or what's going to happen in the future in general? 'coz sometimes i really don't want just ONE card telling me about a particular time-line - sometimes i need further clarifications.

[anjocoxo]

I think spreads are very flexible. For instance, you can use the 3 cards to know how is going to be the day you've just started:

1..2..3........4
1-morning
2-afternoon
3-evening

4-advise

so it's up to you. Open your mind, spreads aren't rigid and you can even make your own spreads, with which you feel more confortable.

Anyway that's just my opinion

Anjo

[Rhiannon]

You could try a Physical, Emotional, Mental (Mind, Body, Spirit) approach. And at the beginning you can determine what time frame you are doing the reading for.

R

[Celtic_Dragon]

I did my own three card spread once to describe a person. Mostly because I didn't see how one card can explain how a person thinks, feels and acts. So I did a spread to represent that person's id, ego and superego. The three faces of a personality according to freud. It was really cool when I did it for me and my fiance' because when I did the reading I only used the high cards the........oh I forget! The......*runs to get her deck*....MAJOR ACRANA! And some aspects didn't suprise me while others threw me for a loop.

For example mine came up with two men and one woman. Both id and ego are male and my superego was a female. And my fiance's deck was two women and a male. The exact opposite of mine, which had proven my thoughts that I had about us.

If anyone is confused about freud's theory, think of it like an iceburg and you're the captian of some ship (let's hope it's not the titanic) what you see is the Id part. What is actually on the surface is the ego. Last but not least the superego is what is below the surface.

[Jenny-Li]

Another option is to use clarification cards for the "usual" positions. So when you've got your three cards on the table you find that the Future card isn't enough for you to see the whole picture, you just draw another card and lay beneath it, for clarification.

I usually just focus on what I don't quite understand in the card and draw another card. You can do that for more than one position, and more than one card for the same position - just watch out so the spread don't get messy!

Light and love,
Jenny

[DeLani]

I really like using a 3 card spread. I agree with Anjo, though - don't worry so much about which card is in which position. Just look at the cards and let them tell you what they want to tell you. Sometimes they go:
1. the question
2. advice
3. best outcome
Sometimes they go:
1. past
2. present
3. future
Sometimes:
1. The querent
2. the question
3. advice
And on and on...
Just open yourself up to what the cards say. It will make perfect sense.
I cut the deck into 3 piles and turn over the top card of each. Then, if one card needs clarification (rarely), I draw from that pile.
Hope that helps.

[Karenwhe]

I agree with all said, and I would just like to write my 2 cents worth.

I do my own spreads, and love to try as many as possible.

I first analyze the question at hand to find the best spread to use, if I can't come up with one, I just make one up (not in my mind, I actually draw it and think about it).

But for all those that would like some good ideas for spreads to get your creative mind working here are is URL you should check out:

http://www.tarotspreads.com/spreads.ads

Hope it helps.

[Celtic_Dragon]

That's a really cool website Karenwhe.

[Umbrae]

Three card readings are versatile, and accurate. More cards do not always mean better readings (but they look good on TV).

I recommend “Tarot Reversals” by Mary Greer. Three card spreads? Page 215.

Here is the rub...once you know what the cards "mean”, you have to listen to what they say.

Half the quarrels in this world come about because one side or the other simply is not listening…and I am asking you to listen to the cards.

Once card can and will tell you everything you want to know…if you listen, and look in between the cards.

[allibee]

Yes, the story is key. The card meanings and positions are just a hint to what is really going on, and this is where your intuition comes into play. Like Umbrae says, reading between the lines.

When I was a complete novice, I had a book which asked you to lay out four rows of four cards and, starting at one end, go through the cards one at a time just picking up the meanings at first, then picking up the story on the second read through. The story could be as outrageous as you like, about whoever you like, or completely anonymous.
This is a really useful learning tool, and a tool that many authors use today to give them ideas for storylines!

allibee