Spreads

Hello All,

This may sound like a silly question but how do you do spreads. Not just the process of picking positions for cards but the actual process you use to set the intension. Like I keep feeling like I have to remember each an every position and its use and focus on that as I'm shuffling and pulling but that doesn't seem possible for very large spreads. If I am mixed up in anyway then I have to worry about thinking the wrong thing even though the spread is set. I've never seen any information on the process of doing spreads just the actual spreads themselves. Any thoughts?

There are two main schools of thought on spreads. School A contends that spreads are useful, because they provide a specific context in which to interpret each card. (e.g. the Six of Wands in the "challenges" position is going to mean something very different than the Six of Wands in the "outcome".) School B, on the other hand, finds spreads unnecessary and somewhat artificial. Readers from this school are more likely to just lay out a few cards and look at the themes that come up (and how the cards relate to each other).

Either way of reading is perfectly valid. It's entirely a matter of what works for you. I personally have inclinations towards School A, but there have also been times when I've set aside the spreads and just let the cards fall.

If you're struggling with spreads, I would suggest that you try a reading where you don't bother with them. Instead, just lay out a few cards (between one and three is a good starting point) and interpret them in the way that makes the most sense to you. Is there a progression present in the cards? What does Card X say about Card Y? Are there similarities among them? Differences? These are all tools that you can use instead of (or, for that matter, in addition to) spreads to enrich your readings.

Good luck!

When I'm reading for something straightforward or psychological, the kind of tarot practice that you can break out in front of skeptics because you're using archetypes to relate to life and it's not even really divination, then I don't bother much with spreads. Robert Place has a method for just drawing three cards and looking at how the story flows between them instead of assigning one to past/present/future. He says to see if the figures are facing in one direction, or opposite ones, stuff like that.

When I'm feeling extra woo woo and I'm doing something really spiritual or predictive with tarot, then I'm more likely to use spreads. If it's a new spread I do read over what all the positions mean, but I don't commit it to memory. I just kind of squint at it, shrug, and decide that the ambiguous POWERS THAT BE know how to read words. So I just lay out the cards and refer back to my reference material as needed and don't really stress about it.

I think JackofWands is right. If you're struggling with spreads, just do away with them for a while! See how that goes/if it helps.

I usually look at instructions while I lay cards for a spread: from AT, or online in general, or have a "map" printed out. It's impossible to remember longer than 5 card spreads accurately, IMO, unless you do them all the time. Looking at a position "map" makes me concentrate. Of course if you read face to face to clients it's better to memorise the positions

Hi, nicejade! I like using spreads. When I choose a large spread, I don't bother trying to remember all the positions and their meanings. The only thing I keep in mind is the number of cards to be drawn. While I am shuffling, I focus completely on my question or intention, draw the appropriate number of cards, and lay them out in a straight line. At that point, I refer to the spread and rearrange the cards into the correct positions for interpretation. Always results in accurate readings for me, free of stress and worry!

Normally I don't do spreads ... I think about my question, and think about the different facets of that question, or I think about how many cards I think are needed for a thorough answer (usually 3-5 cards) and u lay cards out ...

I do like doing formal spreads at "special" times - like the most recent Yule spread.

Hello all!!

Thanks for the replies, I'm just now looking at them. To clarify, I've actually been reading for years without a spread it's just that because I don't really understand the process that I try and back off from doing it and I'd like to practice it. Thank you everyone for the different options to read. I like the idea that I don't have to hold the card positions in my head because I really didn't get how that would work with larger spreads. I'll definitely keep that in mind!!

If you can't remember the positions during pulling, how do you manage working with the final spread? Having asked that, there ARE spreads out there which seem to have no logical or symbolical relations whatsoever between the different positions and the shape of the spread. I don't use such spreads [emoji16] . If I can't remember a spread, it's not designed well, in my not so very humble opinion.

I usually pull the cards from a fan when reading. Sometimes I think of the position I'm drawing sometimes I think of the spread beforehand and then pull the number of cards I'll need. It works either way and I like to do what feels right at the moment, without thinking a lot about it.

nicejade said:

Hello all!!

... To clarify, I've actually been reading for years without a spread it's just that because I don't really understand the process that I try and back off from doing it and I'd like to practice it. ...

Click to expand...

My reading style has always been "hybrid" I use a mixture of assigned positions (spread) and free association (no spread)

However, when studying Tarot Books ... I find that if I read directions while pulling cards ... the reading is completely ruined. I get non-sense. So, basically, I create my own spreads. I have been doing this for 30+ years ... I have my own system.

However, if you like books, Barbara Moore's book on Tarot Spreads is very good. Due to my inability to do a spread whilst reading a book ... I don't actually USE any of her wonderful spreads ... but she includes great advice on the MECHANICS of SPREAD CREATION which might help you create your own spreads. I also have Power Tarot on order after borrowing a friend's copy I wanted to possess it. It has a LOT of spreads, again, I don't actually USE them ... but I find they pique my creativity to do my own spreads.

Best of Luck! I do think spreads are important to study on some level. YMMV.

Natasya

Just to throw some of my own experience with spreads in here... :^P

When I first started with tarot, I was super excited to start using spreads because I just thought they were really cool and interesting, but, though I enjoyed using spreads, I had a hard time remembering positions and whatnot as well. Ultimately, I gave up trying to memorize things and just wrote stuff down! Having to look at some notes on the spread (or even a LWB) doesn't discount your reading. The more I used decks and spreads, the easier they got to remember.

As I matured in my reading, I got to a point where I felt I didn't need spreads for some things, especially personal readings. Now when I do readings for myself, I usually just lay the cards in a big horseshoe or something and see what comes up, and then maybe pick some up and pull some more to explain or elaborate on other cards in the original spread and keep going like that. It's all very fluid and nothing really has a specific place; it's just to get a basic idea of what's going on.

I still use spreads, mostly for other people or small ones for me, but it all really depends on what I feel like at the time or what my querent wants to ask about. But even now I'll often use notes for large spreads. (Using notes isn't really a big deal for me because I don't do large readings in person hardly at all.) Really just doing stuff over and over is, in my experience, the best way to memorize something, and only your intuition can tell you what kind of spread (or not) to use. :^)