Intune to spread designs

[majesticflora]

Hello tarot afficionados

I am wondering about something...something that I have questioned since I began. I still don't know any spreads by heart, well except one. I can do a three card past/present/future * him/her/us type spreads with relative ease, but when I do something like a celtic cross, I get kind of skeptical. I get skeptical because I don't even know when I'm shuffling what each position stands for...so my real question here is this:

Will the cards will come out okay even if you have to look at what the position means afterward? Or should the tarot reader have a pretty firm grasp on all the parts of the spread before dealing & shuffling?

Can I just read through the description of spread positions and hope for the best? (this is usually what I do). I normally just read through, put my faith in the cards, my guides, the source, etc. into working out what I can't.

much love

brad

 

[euripides]

interesting question. I guess it depends on how you believe the cards work. Personally, I sort of put 'two bob each way'. On the one hand, I mostly feel that Tarot is a tool for psychological insight, so the positions are a way of making you think about each issue, and the card gives you something to think about in relation to that issue. On the other, I frequently have those moments where I draw cards that are just too perfect, or re-draw the same card, stuff like that where I'm pretty convinced that the universe is trying to tell me something. Sooo...... I dunno!

There's nothing that special about the celtic cross except that its a traditional spread that 'works' - I guess it covers a lot of ground effectively, and the layout helps you look at the whole spread and relationships between cards. I've seen quite a few that use the central cross arrangement without the four right-hand cards - why not try that, as a 'pared down' Celtic until you are comfortable with those positions?

Have you checked out the 'spreads' section of the forum? LOADS of stuff there to explore. Make your own. I often take a spread that looks good and change things to positions that make sense to me (for example, having the mind/spirit cards at the top, emotion cards at the center, physical cards below. Creativity on the left, practicality on the right. Others would probably argue very well for different positions, but if it feels right to me, its easier to remember).

I quite often read without positions, just intuitively as I draw a card thinking what it must be about, if I'm in a suitable frame of mind.

 

[Dancing Bear]

It is an interesting question.

I have only ever done the set spread of PPF, when i am dealing a celtic cross It took a long time for me to know the positions , It worked better for me, Knowing the postions..

But really for as long as i can remember i have always just ever drawn a card, then drawn another , then drawn another until my reading has finished , No spread used.. Intuition has always told me when the spread has finished and the cards tell me the vein the reading is going in... If a specific question.... it is easily adapted..
We all are a little different, I think go how it feels right for you..
If you want to keep doing the celtic cross , do so and the more you do it the more you remember the positions meanings. Use an old sheet and draw the positions on and the meanings clearly.. Use this sheet everytime until you get used to the spread..


DB x xx