"Tip of the Iceberg" spread

[Talisman]

'Lo DarkElectric,

Wonderful! Like catlin, I like the way this spread looks, how the appearance encompasses the theme of the spread.

You've done so much with this.

In another forum, Joywalker asks how one goes about creating their own spread. You've obviously given a lot of thought to this one. Bet you could help Joywalker a lot (and allow the rest of us to peek over your shoulder and see how you did it.)

Thanks for sharing, and best of luck as an adopted reader.

Talisman

[DarkElectric]

Dude, I would maybe let people peek over my shoulder at times of creative inspiration, but, for this one, I happened to be in the shower... NO PEEKING! Anyway, I'm so glad people are having success with this one. It's the first one I've ever come up with, and I was sort of wondering how other people would like it.

My particular reason for devising this? I needed something that would indicate the influences and energy patterns below the surface of the apparent situation. The Iceberg seemed the perfect metaphor for it, due to what you see of an iceberg, and what lurks below are very different. I used the analogy of the ship to represent the concept of the self, because when these icebergs crop up in the sea of life, the one who could get wrecked is you, unless there is some indication of what you're up against.

[Myrrha]

Originally posted by DarkElectric

Card 1-7 the situation/what it looks like, as opposed to, (or confirming) what it really is.

Card 1: First Impression
Cards 2,3: What is noticed upon closer inspection
Cards 4,5,6,7: Hidden influences/factors

Hi Dark Electric, this looks like a great spread and I would like to try it with a relationship that is puzzling me, but first could you please clarify something in your instructions? Cards 1-7, do they all show the situation as we see it, our perceptions, or are cards 4-7 more what is really there, only hidden? Or do you just tell from the cards what is going on in terms of perception vs reality? Thanks!

Myrrha

[DarkElectric]

Hi Myrrha!
When I designed this spread, what I envisioned cards 1, 2, and 3 as being the surface appearance of the situation, cards 4, 5, 6 and 7 were the unseen influences, the hidden, or behind the scenes influences on the situation. The second grouping of cards, 8-11 represent the self, and the effect the situation has on the self.

Say, in the first group, card 1 was the ace of cups, and cards 2 and 3 were the 3 of pentacles, and the 9 of cups.

If I were asking about a relationship, this is how I would interpret the result.
I would take this to indicate that on the surface, everything looks really great, that it APPEARS to be a sucessful new romance, and since there's emotional investment here, it may seem as if things are really going where I want them to go.
Now, say that cards 4, 5, 6 and 7 were, respectively, the Devil, the 7 of swords, the Page of cups, and the 10 of wands, these being the hidden influences. I might take this to mean, if I were using it to discern a potential relationship, that it looked good on the surface, but there were underlying issues which I really would want to be aware of, like maybe this guy wasn't telling me the truth, or had committment issues, immature, or addictive/obsessive behaviours, and this thing may turn out to be a drag. Perhaps these qualities could be attributed to me,and they were aspects of my personality I was refusing to look at, but whatever, this would be the unseen influences on the situation.

As far as the self" category, the position of the cards indicate the REACTION of the self, to the given situation.

If Cards 8,9, and 10 were Queen of Swords, 6 of wands, and Temperance, corresponding to thoughts, feelings, and actions, I would see myself as relating to the situation in a Q of Swords kind of way. 6 of W could indicate feeling so victorious and glorious that I might be overlooking the hidden issues, or was confident that whatever they were I would overcome them. Temperance might be seeing the clearer picture, not jumping off the deep end, but instead, acting in a manner which would stabilise the energy. Card 11, would indicate how this all plays out. Say it's the Star. I would see this as me not wanting to give up my hopes and dreams, but being fully apprised of the situation, able to respond in a mature, intelligent way. (Q of Swords)

Basically, cards 1,2 and 3, what we see on the surface. Cards 4, 5, 6, and 7, what is below the surface, but are hidden influences on the situation. A combination of possible factors in the equation, if you will. Cards 8-11, how it affects us. Hope this helped, if you have any more questions, please ask, I need to know if this thing confuses people, and if so, how, so I can work the bugs out!

[Myrrha]

OK, thank you DE, it is much more clear to me now. I do like the idea of looking at the things below the surface.

Myrrha

[DarkElectric]

I do too, I had been looking for a spread which would help me do that, and couldn't find one that gave me enough info there. Since things usually aren't what they seem, I figured I'd devise a spread to discern whether all was as it appeared to be, or not. So, I came up with this one.

Not only have I discovered discrepancies in what a given situation looks like VS what it actually is, I have also discovered that sometimes, the situation IS what it appears to be. Therefore, I have some confirmation, which always helps. This spread has been working consistantly for me, and the more I use it, the more solid it gets.

[cjtarot]

DE,

I am gonna try this spread today and add it to my collection. Did I ever tell you I have a file filled with some of the wonderful things I have learned here.

Blessings and good reading.

Cj

[Talisman]

'Lo all,

Just another quick thought about how well this spread is designed.

If you're in the habit of using a quick three-card spread, Cards 1, 2 and 3 work well. Just that. But, if you layed out the three-card spread in the morning, for example, and thought about it and decided you wanted to know more, you'd always have the option of laying out the remainder of the spread that evening and "going below the surface."

If you used 8, 9 and 10 for your three-card spread, you'd always have the option of adding 11 as a wild card, or synthesis.

I love a spread that is flexible enough to allow this kind of thing. I'm sure others will see ways to use other parts that make up the wonderful whole.

If I hadn't spent forever designing a flexible spread that works (for me), I would have gone beyond copying the spread in my notebook and laying it out to think about it. And probably appreciate it even more.

Talisman

[DarkElectric]

I figured that if it could be used in a lot of different ways, it wouldn't get stale, and people would be able to tailor it to fit whatever they need it to do. Thanks, Talisman! Glad you like the spread Let me know how it works for ya, please? Feedback always good.

Blessings, DE

[Alissa]

I got this down in my tarot journal... i'm looking forward to putting it to use!

thank you so much!!!