Sophie
Following requests from prudence and Debra, here is the classic Tirage en Croix, which is usually done with Marseille Majors only. Though it works particularly well with all-Majors, it can, of course, be adapted to the full deck, and to any other deck. I find it invaluable for exploring a question in a succinct but quite deep way. It is based on the French dialectic of Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis-Conclusion, with a fifth element, the Quintessence, which is the spiritual or overarching message of the reading.
The basic format is this:
*******3*******
1******5******2
*******4*******
1. the thesis, is the statement of the question and what favours it. So for instance, if you want to know how the sale of your house is going to go, you would ask under this position: "what is favouring the sale of my house?".
2. is the antithesis - what opposes you. So in our example: "what does not favour the sale of my house".
3. is the synthesis - where things are now, how you can take advantage of the knowledge in both cases, what is demanded of you, etc. Here, we might ask something like: "where do things actually stand between these two?" or "how might I act to lean things in my favour?".
4. is the conclusion - the outcome. Where the sale of your house is going for the moment. Using that simple dialectic of thesis-antithesis-synthesis will explain to you why you got the Hanged Man rather than the World, for instance!
5. the Quintessence. It is the overarching message - and a possible way of unblocking the situation if the outcome is not as you please, or a re-affirmation of one of the 4 positions (it's not uncommon for the Quintessence to be the same card as one of the 4 others, which should give you an idea of the weight of that card in your question). It can also be the spiritual element, or something that you bring unconsciously to the question. It is made up of the sum of the four other cards, reduced to a number between 1 and 22 (with the Fool being, for that purpose, 22).
You can vary the questions attached to the positions ad infinitum, using the simple thesis-antithesis-synthesis-conclusion-quintessence format.
It works with Majors so well, because this dialectic is designed to look at the greater issues, not the details. If you read a French essay, you will recognise that dialectic, and the concentration on conceptual or major issues, rather than small details.
Once you have those "big issues" sorted out, you can then do another reading with minors, if you need it. I often don't. Some readers, after the main reading is done, lay one or several minors onto each of the Majors, which show the details related to that issue. It might confirm or modify the Major in question.
The basic format is this:
*******3*******
1******5******2
*******4*******
1. the thesis, is the statement of the question and what favours it. So for instance, if you want to know how the sale of your house is going to go, you would ask under this position: "what is favouring the sale of my house?".
2. is the antithesis - what opposes you. So in our example: "what does not favour the sale of my house".
3. is the synthesis - where things are now, how you can take advantage of the knowledge in both cases, what is demanded of you, etc. Here, we might ask something like: "where do things actually stand between these two?" or "how might I act to lean things in my favour?".
4. is the conclusion - the outcome. Where the sale of your house is going for the moment. Using that simple dialectic of thesis-antithesis-synthesis will explain to you why you got the Hanged Man rather than the World, for instance!
5. the Quintessence. It is the overarching message - and a possible way of unblocking the situation if the outcome is not as you please, or a re-affirmation of one of the 4 positions (it's not uncommon for the Quintessence to be the same card as one of the 4 others, which should give you an idea of the weight of that card in your question). It can also be the spiritual element, or something that you bring unconsciously to the question. It is made up of the sum of the four other cards, reduced to a number between 1 and 22 (with the Fool being, for that purpose, 22).
You can vary the questions attached to the positions ad infinitum, using the simple thesis-antithesis-synthesis-conclusion-quintessence format.
It works with Majors so well, because this dialectic is designed to look at the greater issues, not the details. If you read a French essay, you will recognise that dialectic, and the concentration on conceptual or major issues, rather than small details.
Once you have those "big issues" sorted out, you can then do another reading with minors, if you need it. I often don't. Some readers, after the main reading is done, lay one or several minors onto each of the Majors, which show the details related to that issue. It might confirm or modify the Major in question.