Spread using Multiple Decks

Elphaba

This is a spread for people who like to get out all of their decks and play with them. I made this one up after I did a spread that required me to separate the Majors, courts, and pips...I figured why not use different decks for each as well? So here goes. I hope this makes even a little sense.

I used seven different decks and it worked out to be 22 cards in all. I'm not sure what to call it...but it does sort of look like a Turtle:

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

4....................7....................10 = 13...16
5....................8....................11 = 14...17
6....................9....................12 = 15...18

19..........20...........21...........22

Spiritual Power group:
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1,2,3 = These positions are at the top of the spread and represent the spiritual aspects looking down on each of the rows beneath them. For these positions I used my Goddess Knowledge cards. If you aren't a spiritual person you can skip these and #4 then becomes #1.

Your Inner Power group (use only the major arcana):
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4,5,6 = The left side of the spread is the 'shadow' side and represents darker aspects influencing your psyche. I used a darker deck (Giger) for this side of the spread.

7,8,9 = This is you, standing in the middle looking to either side and seeing dark to the left and light to the right. I used a deck that gives me great, honest reflections of my personality/psyche (Faerie Oracle).

10,11,12 = The light side of your psyche. I used the major arcana from the Celtic Wisdom deck because they always give me lighter, warm vibes.

Outside Power group:
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13,14,15 = This is the People row. I separated out the Court Cards from a deck that gives me very strong examples of people (the Art Nouveau) that are around me.

16,17,18 = This is the Events row. I used the Pip cards from Legend: Arthurian Tarot because I love the stories depicted and they give me a strong feeling of how these stories are swirling around me.

19,20,21,22 = For this I used my druid oracle deck. I wanted to get a feeling for what the 'nature' aspect thought. Then when I realized that I'd picked an Oracle deck for this group I sort of turned it into a wrap-up 'what the future holds' based on what I'd learned above.

Now, I wanted to use this as just an inner working kind of 'what point am I at now' spread but if you wanted to ask specific questions you could make the rows
(eg. 4,7,10,13,16) into Past, Present, Future or a Three Choices kind of thing. Basically, I figured out what Goddesses were presiding over my mirror section and then read from left to right, seeing how all of the different aspects of my person affect the people and events at the end of the rows. It takes a lot of time to get all of the cards out of their boxes and shuffled...and you end up with a mountain of books to consult (well, if you're a newbie like me) but it's a lot of fun to use all of your decks together. The spread looks very colourful and all of the different 'deck vibes' come together to give you an interesting picture (OK, I admit, it was a cacaphony at the start but I worked through it) :)
 

blue

Cool spread! Good work!

I printed it out and can't wait to try it.

Damn! Now I've got to buy more decks.
 

Melvis

What a creative way to use multiple decks! I like your use of the "personality" of your different decks for each area of the spread.

In the past I've used an additional deck or two to duplicate a spread to compare and contrast meanings, but this is a much more creative use of the various themed decks that are out there.

Thanks for letting everyone know how creative you are, Elphaba! ;)

Peace,

Melvis
 

deso

OMG - I love it! You are so creative! I'm going to try this spread - I have most of the decks you mentioned and can substitute those that I don't have quite easily. Thank you for sharing this with us!
 

tarotbear

Interesting! On another post someone talked about decks being elemental unto themselves. If you were to use 4 decks that balanced each of the elements- I wonder how that would turn out?
 

Kiama

WOW! I saw the title of the thread, and it just struck me as such a good idea. Why didn't I think of it before?! ;p

Anyway, thankyou so much: I'm printing this out right now, and hen I get home I'm getting out all my decks and using them! I'm sure the 'forgotten' ones will be relieved that I haven't given up on them altogether....

Kiama
 

Elphaba

I'm glad you liked it! I haven't been able to nail down specific elements with specific decks yet cause they all seem to have a little bit of every element. If you could find four decks like that you could do some cool spreads though. Also, I went and read the 'what sign is your deck' thread and if you could identify which of your decks correspond which sign you could do some pretty huge and kick-ass astrological spreads. Ahh...tarot is so much fun!
 

Silverlyn

A cool idea! I've often wondered if one does this! :) It would be a real treat to use this Spread on a Client, huh?