Psychological/Unconsciousness Spread

DeafBird

I don't know if this is the right place to ask for specific kind of spreads and if it's not, I apologize in advance. Please let me know, thanks! :) I just bought my first deck, a Rider Waite Miniature Edition. It's small, but perfect for carrying it everywhere with me. I'm looking for information and spreads on the psychological/self analysis and tapping into the unconsciousness using the cards. I'm not really looking for divination or prediction of the future, but rather, I want to make better decisions about life and to see how I think. I would appreciate any information. Thank you!
 

RavenOfSummer

Hi DeafBird! I wanted to jump in with my thoughts on your question- I'm a relatively new reader myself, been reading for about a year now...but in my experience/opinion, ANY spread can help you tap into your subconscious and clarify your inner thoughts and feelings. That is a lot of what tarot does. I think your question of tarot being predictive versus tapping into the subconscious is more of a matter of your personal perspective on tarot, rather than being a result of a particular spread. I saw a great quote recently, I forget where, that said "The cards tell a story; you write the ending." No matter what your perspective is on where the answers come from when you use tarot (and I think there are many!), tarot can be a powerful tool of illumination. Based on what you've said I think you will find it is very helpful for your journey.

Now, I'll let more experienced readers jump in :)
 

DeafBird

Hi DeafBird! I wanted to jump in with my thoughts on your question- I'm a relatively new reader myself, been reading for about a year now...but in my experience/opinion, ANY spread can help you tap into your subconscious and clarify your inner thoughts and feelings. That is a lot of what tarot does. I think your question of tarot being predictive versus tapping into the subconscious is more of a matter of your personal perspective on tarot, rather than being a result of a particular spread. I saw a great quote recently, I forget where, that said "The cards tell a story; you write the ending." No matter what your perspective is on where the answers come from when you use tarot (and I think there are many!), tarot can be a powerful tool of illumination. Based on what you've said I think you will find it is very helpful for your journey.

Now, I'll let more experienced readers jump in :)

Thank you for replying! I still do not understand. Like for example, if I want to use the Celtic Cross spread and some of it has the words such as "Immediate Future," "Near Future," or "In the Future," doesn't that mean it tells what happens or could happen in the future as a possible outcome? If so, then how can I "write the ending?" Do I change the meaning or replace the card? How would this fit in with tapping the unconsciousness? Please let me know. Appreciate it, thanks!
 

Ania

I'm a newbie at tarot too, so this is just my personal opinion and view but... Let's take your CC example.
I see it as a "snapshot" in time of the energies at play right now in an area of your or someone else's life. So, where there are cards like position 1&2 that tell me what the situation/problem is, cards like Near Future and Outcome tell me what the natural conseguences of this energies are.

..does any of that make any sense haha? Let me try an example. Say I was wondering about my relationship with my roommate, and I get 9 of Wands and 10 of Swords in positions 1&2 that might be telling me that lately I've been feeling on the defensive, exhausted and as if everything that could go wrong is going worse... well I wouldn't be surprised to see a 7 of Wands (aggression, need to take a stand and defend yourself...and argument maybe?) in the Near Future position. The nervous energy described in pos 1&2 would make an argument with the people closest to me (say, my roommate) very likely. But do I consider that "fortune-telling"? Personally, no, I think of it as a way to see the big picture and understand the ebbs and flows of life.
 

ram

Hi DeafBird, some of my favorite psychological spreads have come from Pinterest. I just searched either "psychological," "subconscious," or "shadow" plus tarot spread into their search mechanism.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Amsonia

I think that the way you phrase your question is probably more important than the spread. I also, do not use Tarot in the literal predictive sense....

It's late and i might have to come back to this thread tomorrow...but I usually consider the tarot like a psychologist who is asking me questions I wouldn't normally ask myself about a certain situation...and helps me think about things from different perspectives than my natural inclination.

So...in the celtic cross...maybe I would phrase a question such as "in relation to my job...what are the energies influencing me at the current time that are affecting my work.

Then i lay out the cards...it almost doesn't matter if the cards are "accurate" or not...having something like Justice come up in, say, the position of the past...I might ask myself questions like...have I been keeping things balanced? Is there a legal issue that I've recently dealt with affecting my clients? ...then the future ones...say I get lovers...I might think about...is there a decision that is going to be hard to make in the near future? Is there someone in my workplace I'm feeling strong attraction to.

That sort of thing...it's like another person asking me questions that I wouldn't normally ask, sometimes they fit, sometimes they don't, but I think the process of asking yourself if they fit is the actual benefit of doing the spread...exploring your own psyche...

Does that make sense...I don't know if Im explaining it quite right. I know a number of people on the forum feel similar, maybe they could chime in with a better writing style and clarity...
 

DeafBird

Hi DeafBird, some of my favorite psychological spreads have come from Pinterest. I just searched either "psychological," "subconscious," or "shadow" plus tarot spread into their search mechanism.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks so much, I'll check it out! Much appreciated!
 

DeafBird

I think that the way you phrase your question is probably more important than the spread. I also, do not use Tarot in the literal predictive sense....

It's late and i might have to come back to this thread tomorrow...but I usually consider the tarot like a psychologist who is asking me questions I wouldn't normally ask myself about a certain situation...and helps me think about things from different perspectives than my natural inclination.

So...in the celtic cross...maybe I would phrase a question such as "in relation to my job...what are the energies influencing me at the current time that are affecting my work.

Then i lay out the cards...it almost doesn't matter if the cards are "accurate" or not...having something like Justice come up in, say, the position of the past...I might ask myself questions like...have I been keeping things balanced? Is there a legal issue that I've recently dealt with affecting my clients? ...then the future ones...say I get lovers...I might think about...is there a decision that is going to be hard to make in the near future? Is there someone in my workplace I'm feeling strong attraction to.

That sort of thing...it's like another person asking me questions that I wouldn't normally ask, sometimes they fit, sometimes they don't, but I think the process of asking yourself if they fit is the actual benefit of doing the spread...exploring your own psyche...

Does that make sense...I don't know if Im explaining it quite right. I know a number of people on the forum feel similar, maybe they could chime in with a better writing style and clarity...

Wait, I thought I was supposed to ask myself ONE question for the whole spread? But now it seems like I have to ask myself different questions on EACH card in the entire spread?
 

Amsonia

Wait, I thought I was supposed to ask myself ONE question for the whole spread? But now it seems like I have to ask myself different questions on EACH card in the entire spread?

Don't you ask yourself questions about how the card in whatever position fits your life?

I guess you do what feels right...
 

CrystalSeas

Wait, I thought I was supposed to ask myself ONE question for the whole spread? But now it seems like I have to ask myself different questions on EACH card in the entire spread?

Yes, you need to ask ONE well-formed question for each spread.

But if you use a spread with position meanings (past/present/future, or the Celtic Cross) then the answer the cards are giving you shifts focus a bit:

If you ask "what's going to happen with this relationship", then the card in the "past" position will give you information about something in the past that is affecting what is going to happen with this relationship. The card in the "present" position will give you information about something happening right now that will affect what is going to happen with this relationship"

And the card in the "future" position will show you what's going to happen, based on the 'past' and 'present' information.