10 card celtic: Plain and simple

Oliver Kreed

It appears that the spread forum is for inventing/creating new spreads. If I'm in the forum, forgive me.

I tend to get lost half way through my readings. I own the Radiant rider waite deck. I picked up the book "Tarot for Beginners" by Hollander. This book has been very helpful thus far, but still leaves me wanting. I use the 10 card celtic spread.

I have a few issues when reading. My number one problem, is that even after all my research, I have a lot of problems destinguishing the difference between each of the 10 possitions. For example, I don't really know the difference between the 4th card and the 5th card. Apparently the 4th card is the foundation of the situation, and the 5th card is the past... however, arent things founded on the past? The first card and the 7th card are also a blur to me.

Does any one have a guide the spells out what each of the 10 places means, as simple and dividing as possible?

I also tend to run into problems with the cards, however, I believe that if I could get a grasp on the spread, the cards would come much more naturally to me. My biggest problem is destinguishing which cards represent people, and which represent actions, emotions, or events. Many cards have descriptions that explain them as both. How do you chose which the card is representing?

I'm pretty lost, but I don't wanna give it up yet. I want to get to the point where I can it as naturally as playing a game of solitaire.

Any how, sorry for typing up a storm, but any advice would offered will be gladly accepted.
 

Sulis

Hi Oliver Kreed, Welcome to Aeclectic.

First let me say that a 10 card Celtic Cross is not a plain and simple spread, it is an advanced spread.
I really do not know why the 10 card Celtic Cross is taught to Tarot beginners.
It's difficult enough getting your head around the meanings of the 78 cards and getting those meanings to gel with the context of your question without worrying about the positional meanings of a huge spread like this one.

I think that learning how to read tarot is a little like learning how to speak another language.

Begin slowly and keep things simple.

Don't rush, this is a long journey.

One of the forum members, Umbrae said 'Take it slowly, unless you strive for mediocrity' - he was right :)

My advice is to begin by pulling a card every day.
I usually do this in the evening and I ask 'What can I expect tomorrow?'
You can do it in the morning or you can do it in the evening and ask about the day before if you like.
Look at the card.
Write down what you think it may mean and what jumps out at you.
Look for it's message during the day.
Then look up the meaning in a good tarot book.
See how the authors' meaning relates to yours.
Remember that even though each card has a core meaning, it changes with the context and also remember that different authors give different meanings. Your meanings are no less valid than theirs.

Do spreads of no more than 3 cards and only when you're confident with 3 move onto more.

I have never yet found a question that can't be answered with 3 cards.
Smaller spreads make you get the most out of each card and so are really good practice at actually finding out what the cards mean to you.

Write down your readings so that you can go back to them later and see if you can add anything or learn anything from them.

Some 3 card spreads:
Mind, Body, Spirit
Problem, Advice, Outcome
Past, Present, Future,
Situation, Problem / Obstacle / Challenge/ Advice - then add another card if you like for the potential outcome.
Option 1, Something to consider, Option 2.

Read these forums - the information available here is invaluable and has helped me more than any book.

Try not to read about the same subject over and over again - the answers tend to get muddy.

Read, read, read - for yourself and others.


Enjoy :D
 

elvenstar

Hello Oliver Kreed, welcome to AT :) Sulis gave you some excellent advice, I wholeheartedly suggest you follow it!

I'd like to add something relating to the Celtic Cross itself. I know a lot of people swear by it, but personally I don't get it and therefore don't like it and have never used it. There's a couple of reasons why, including the one you mentioned, the positions just don't work for me. Perhaps we are together in this. In which case, rather than struggling with it, leave it alone! I would start with smaller spreads, as Sulis says, but if you feel like using more cards, there's zillions of good spreads other than the CC :) A short visit in the spreads section should convince you of that fairly quickly...

About distinguishing which cards represent people, which situations etc., that's a very common source of confusion, especially in the beginning. Sometimes it's clear from the context of the position or surrounding cards, but not always. One way to approach it is to get rid of the OR. Meaning that perhaps the answer is both. Cards can work at different levels and represent loads of things simultaneously. So e.g. the Queen of Pentacles could mean both that my Auntie Sue is dropping in today, AND be advice to take care of my family and cook some nice dinner, AND draw attention to my health and body, AND be telling me to be supportive and not demanding with my partner, AND... If several non-contradictory meanings spring to mind, consider all of them.

Hope this helps
elv xxx
 

MysticTree

Welcome Oliver

I have read for many years and that spread never reallly worked for me until recently. I found my understanding of the positions in a strange place. Corrine Kenner's Tarot Journaling: Using the Celtic Cross to Unveil Your Hidden Story. She uses the Celtic Cross spread as the structure to talk about journaling, but in the process explains and explores all the 10 positions very well.

Blessings on your journey.

MysticTree
 

Apollonia

Oliver Kreed said:
I have a few issues when reading. My number one problem, is that even after all my research, I have a lot of problems destinguishing the difference between each of the 10 possitions. For example, I don't really know the difference between the 4th card and the 5th card. Apparently the 4th card is the foundation of the situation, and the 5th card is the past... however, arent things founded on the past? The first card and the 7th card are also a blur to me.

Does any one have a guide the spells out what each of the 10 places means, as simple and dividing as possible?

I also tend to run into problems with the cards, however, I believe that if I could get a grasp on the spread, the cards would come much more naturally to me. My biggest problem is destinguishing which cards represent people, and which represent actions, emotions, or events. Many cards have descriptions that explain them as both. How do you chose which the card is representing?
Click to expand...

Hi, Oliver Kreed, and welcome! I was drawn to the Celtic Cross from the very start, but I, too, was frustrated by some of the positions. Over time I've developed a slightly altered form, helped by Joan Bunning's excellent information on the Celtic Cross, at http://www.learntarot.com/ccross.htm
Her detailed descriptions of each position gave me enough choices that, after some trial and error, I was able to figure out a Celtic Cross that made sense to me and gave the most meaningful readings to my querents. It also helped me realize that the form is fluid, and if I see a position differently sometimes, that's okay.

At this point, I use what you call card 4 as either the distant past or the unconscious goal (which is created/affected by the querent's past) and card 5 as energy that has been recently affecting the situation and is now fading away. So for me, card four is an energy that is more pervasive and more difficult for the querent to alter (such as childhood abuse that has an overall effect on, say, how the querent has viewed and acted in many of their relationships), whereas card five is temporary and will not affect the querent's viewpoint or life long-term (such as just having had an argument with a friend).

Good luck--you're in the right place for any questions that come up as you progress along your Tarot journey.

Blessings,
A
 

Oliver Kreed

Wow, thanks all of you! Thats a lot of awsome advice. I will be taking all of it.

By the way Sulis, I took your advice and pulled a card for the day. I got the "fool", which is actually has significant meaning on why I started tarot on the first place. I actually picked my deck, the Radiant, because the fool was on the cover of the box, and I felt it "called" to me. So... good karmic feeling about giving tarot another go.
 

HonestPuck

If you are having troubles learning the significance of positions, then don't use them. Some of my best readings are done by drawing a few cards and seeing what they have to say. I feel that sometimes the positions trap the cards when they should be moving freely thoughout the reading. Explore a bit, try different things and find what works for you; don't feel pressured to use the Celtic Cross because almost every book has it in there.

Good luck!
 

wumpkie

Sulis said:
My advice is to begin by pulling a card every day.
I usually do this in the evening and I ask 'What can I expect tomorrow?'
You can do it in the morning or you can do it in the evening and ask about the day before if you like.
Look at the card.
Write down what you think it may mean and what jumps out at you.
Look for it's message during the day.
Then look up the meaning in a good tarot book.
See how the authors' meaning relates to yours.
Remember that even though each card has a core meaning, it changes with the context and also remember that different authors give different meanings. Your meanings are no less valid than theirs

Enjoy :D
Click to expand...

I've just read your post and that part has been really helpful, all these books tell you what the cards mean and how to lay out the spreads but never many explaining how to build and train yourself, and that statement has really helped me because I have been stuck at a bit of a loose end trying to learn.

So thank you very much :) xXx
 

Jewel

Sulis said:
Do spreads of no more than 3 cards and only when you're confident with 3 move onto more.

I have never yet found a question that can't be answered with 3 cards.
Smaller spreads make you get the most out of each card and so are really good practice at actually finding out what the cards mean to you.

Read these forums - the information available here is invaluable and has helped me more than any book.
Click to expand...
Greetings and welcome Oliver,

Sulis whole post is full of excellent information that I concurr with completly. I just wanted to recommend that you get the book Tarot Tells the Tale when you get to 3 card readings. This book is really fun, and full of good information. It also includes 22 readings (21 3-card and 1-cletic cross) and explains how the reader got the interpretation they did. Fabulous book and fun to read.

The book also talks about how to phrase questions, gives a brief synopsins of what the numbers 1-10 mean, what the suits mean, and elemental correspondences. You can find more info on this book in the Tarot Media section of the Forum.

The celtic cross is an advanced spread, I use it comfortably now (using the basis presented in Tarot Tells the Tale), but it was a long road getting there. Don't rush yourself, enjoy the journey.
 
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