Gut reactions to meanings

Is it better to stick to readings exactly card by card or to go with an overall picture you feel of the spread itself?

In a sense, at the moment, I am using the cards just as a tool to give me a direction for the reading.

I dont go over the fine detail of each and every card, card by card.

I give an interprition of what I sense the direction in the cards want me to look , at if that makse sense.

Is it better to concetrate more on th individual meaning of each card or to go with the flow of what you feel from the spread?

I feel as if iI am using the cards as a tool to unlock and frame the intuative feelings I have from the sitter.

All thoiughts welcome

Zed XX

I guess what's better is a personal thing. If I use a spread then I tend to look at it as a whole, but may spend some more time on a specific card or two if I get an urge to do so or if the other person singles it out. You said 'to go with the flow of the spread', I think that's a good way of describing it! Many people see the cards as departure points for their intuition, there's no right or wrong way of reading the cards. If they speak to you, then your way is fine

Thanks elvenstar ,

Somtime I feel the 'urge' to relate one card to another. If there is a positive outcome next to something that looks negative I try and read between the lines.

Each sitter has there own flow of energy back so to speak.

Obviously, as I get more experinced I will learn the differnt card meaning but still think I will use them to create a flow of enegy and responsivnes between myself and the sitter rather than simply sticking to the exact meaning of a card.

I am starting to find that a card can chang its own meaning when placed next to another one or in another context being flexible and relyig more on intution works for me.

I read exactly like you

Zedekiah,

I also read like you. Putting the cards together and getting the overall message. I guess that has to do with the so-called intuitive reading that does not stick to the pre-set meanings. I find it much more fun and liberating. ?Also, if I want more details on something, I don´t usually look for intricacies in the card itself but get another card as a clarifier. In a way, reading like that is like reading a text. The same word can carry a positive or negative meaning depending on the context in which it appears...

I think that whatever works for you is right for you.

I tend to look at the spread as a whole. If I am doing an online reading, i might break it down card by card and say what impression I get, but in person I tend to look at the big picture.

I read very intuitively, too.

I started out with a deck that a teacher asked me to buy and had all the literal meanings of cards written down in front of me.

I would often say something like " I dont feel this card in that place says to me what is written down "

I tend to like decks that have a very ambigious design to them and draw uon your intuative nature even more to get inside them.

I read very much like you. I've not had any training nor read any books.

I tend to lay the cards out and sometimes I feel the urge say a phrase or make a statement. Once the cards are all laid they tend to have a "story" to them and they flow.

Only once in the 22 years I've had cards have they not followed on, this was quite recently and I read the cards individualy and sent her the reading apologising. I did say either you have too much going on or you really don't want an answer into anything in particular. Her reply was too much going on as she jumps from one thing to another.

I read kind of like you do. I place the cards according to the sense i get from the seeker. i tend to use the Cross spread in many occasions but generally speaking i use spreads that come out corresponding to the seeker and his or her question. then, i see each card and meaning according to the position, but overall i see the whole meanings of the cards in the sections theyare in, and the whole spread as well.

I tend to go card-by-card because I'm very detail-oriented. But sometimes that makes it difficult for me to see the whole picture, making the connections. When I started learning, I shouldn't have depended so much on the book definitions. ^^;;; I try to stay away from the books and read more by intuitive style now, using books only to define symbols that give me problems.

i am new at reading card but i tend to go card by card to give the seeker the best possible amount of information i can. then i tell them how it is related overall and let them think of it one their own. if the ask me for my advice based on what i just gave them i will give it to them gladly. and this usally leads to an indepth discusion on the awnser that the cards gave.