4 card reading versus 3 card reading?

deb99

I am new and still learning like a lot of us on here. My question is I notice everyone seems to stick to the 3-card reading and sometimes adding in the card on the bottom of the deck. What are your thoughts on a 4-card reading? It is just more confusing maybe? Just curious, cause I have seen some pull 4 cards just in general for a 3-card reading and wasn't sure why on that either.

Thanks for any feedback! :)
 

rwcarter

It pretty much comes down to reader preference. Lots of things easily fit into three cards - Body/Mind/Spirit, Past/Present/Future, etc.

As with many things tarot, try different things and figure out what works best for you (which probably will be different than what works for someone else).

Rodney
 

LeFou

I agree with Rodney's wise words. Personally, I use four cards, arranged in a diamond pattern. It feels less linear than 1-2-3, a bit more like a spiral. You can read the energies up and down, across, clockwise, etc. until you find the story.

What also helps (to me) is leaving the cards laid out for days or weeks (if needed, as needed). Personally, I don't think the cards mean only one thing -- there are layers. Find a layer, then find another.
 

Citrin

I think there are all kinds of spreads. :) You gotta see what you feel comfortable with. I once posted about a two card reading I did, and someone commented “Why two cards? It feels incomplete. I would add a third.” But I hadn’t even thought of it… At the moment to me it made sense to draw two cards so I did. :p I know Barbara Moore talks about amount of cards in her Tarot Spreads book. That some numbers make more sense to someone, like for some reason the 3 card spreads are very popular, because the number three is special to a lot of people and historically. Same with HOW you place cards, if one is further away from the others, to the eye it makes more sense that the card position then stands out in some way.
 

Krystophe

What also helps (to me) is leaving the cards laid out for days or weeks (if needed, as needed). Personally, I don't think the cards mean only one thing -- there are layers. Find a layer, then find another.

I absolutely agree with this! I think what's more important than the number of cards is how much meaning you find in however many cards you're using. It's too easy to skim the surface, conclude that you've "gotten" the message, and then move on and wind up missing many deeper layers of significance.

I've seen people extract more meaning from a single card, relative to a particular question, than I would have imagined possible. I'm not much for one-card readings myself, but I admire people who are very adept at them.
But again, it's important not to look at the card and decide you understand what it's telling you without really giving it time to expose all it's potential significance. It's a bit like watching a flower slowly blossoming.
 

Laurelle

What also helps (to me) is leaving the cards laid out for days or weeks (if needed, as needed). Personally, I don't think the cards mean only one thing -- there are layers. Find a layer, then find another.

Yes, I agree with this completely especially when people ask a very specific question on here and they don't realize that tarot isn't just going to give you a specific answer, but a variety of interpretations that are significant to what you need to know.
 

Sulis

If I'm using a spread with no positional meanings, I prefer a spread with an odd number of cards.. They just look more balanced to me and the middle card often stands out as either a blockage, the central situation, something the other cards are heading to or moving away from or just the pivoting point of the whole spread..

If I'm using a spread with set meanings for the positions then 4 positions are just like 3 and I have no preference..
You can always do a 3 card spread then add on another card as a card of advice or to show the outcome too.

Up to you of course though, it boils down to reader preference..
 

mrpants

The four card reading is sort of my default but I pull the 4th from the top and set it off to the side, face-up on the deck. I use it as a key to the subject of the 3 card spread; I often don't ask questions before shuffling and dealing.

But yes, try different things! Right now, I'm doing 2 simultaneous 4 card spreads with 2 different decks. As suggested above, I'll leave them out for a few days, to reflect.

I also like using a 7 card spread, laid out like a Star of David, with one card in the center.
 

RiverRunsDeep

If you are interested in using elemental dignities, then 3 card readings
work well. Actually, any reading with an odd number of cards works well
for that.

I think 4 card readings only become confusing if there are no positional
meanings. If I'm going to draw more than 3 cards, I like to use a predetermined
spread with labels attached to the positions so I know what I am looking at.
But that is just my opinion. As others have posted, it is reader preference.
 

deb99

Thanks everyone, those are all very helpful comments that I plan to write down and think about and try different things as you all suggest in your own preferences and see what may feel right for me. I definitely need to get more secure in looking into/reading into the cards themselves instead of worrying about the textbook meanings and if I feel something tugging at me and it doesn't go with the textbook meaning I should probably think about both for a bit. And I agree sometimes you have to look at something many times to find the many layers, I went through that recently on here trying to help someone understand her reading and as we went along I found that more things were coming up and changed things pretty greatly as I went back through it a few times. So again thanks so much, all so helpful! :)

I am not sure if supposed to respond to you all individually like on the Your Readings section?