A Kid's Spread: The Troll Under the Bridge

Barleywine

I was toying with the idea of creating a spread that might be useful for introducing young children to tarot, while at the same time making it powerful enough for divination purposes. I hit upon the Norwegian fairy tale "Three Billy Goats Gruff" as the model. Also, presenting the "shadow" card as the "Troll under the Bridge." :)


ETA: See Post #6 for the updated spread.
 

devilkitty

Clever.
:)
 

Hemera

This is a cute idea :thumbsup: I think it's probably a bit too large for children, though? (-at least for the children I know..) I wonder if there's a way to shorten and simplify it a little?
 

Barleywine

This is a cute idea :thumbsup: I think it's probably a bit too large for children, though? (-at least for the children I know..) I wonder if there's a way to shorten and simplify it a little?

I considered that. I think, though, I would tell them the fable of the Three Billy Goats Gruff first and then cast them as the character heading for the bridge, make an adventure out of it. Possibly one or two less cards on both ends of the road would be better. I doubt a kid would have any kind of question for the cards, and would just want the experience of the story-telling.
 

violetdaisy

My daughters absolute favorite children's story is 3 Billy Goat's Gruff (Close second is "Right As Right Can Be" and "Ferdinand the Bull"). She would have loved this - (she's 15 and still might....I can still recite that story by heart and she still keeps that one on her bookshelf....) but when she was younger that would have been a lot of cards - for her attention span.

This is an awesome idea though! I feel inspiration coming on .. I love children's books - I collect them. Stone Soup, Jack & the Beanstalk, Runaway Bunny.....All sound like I could pair them with cards. :)
 

Barleywine

I shortened the spread by two positions but didn't change anything else. I was intending the spread to be used to read for children, not for use by children, so I wanted to leave it detailed enough for adult readings as well, as explained in the text. Also, I wanted to make sure it still looked like a "bridge" and not just a "bump."
 

Attachments

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Hemera

I was intending the spread to be used to read for children, not for use by children, so I wanted to leave it detailed enough for adult readings as well, as explained in the text.
Ah, I see. :thumbsup: (I added this spread to the Tarot Spreads Index.)
 

violetdaisy

I was figuring you were doing the spread for an adult to read for a child - I was just remembering her attention span and the number of cards we used to tell stories with the Inner Child cards. Most stories were about 4-7 cards. You eliminated the two cards that I was thinking of doing. And I think it can still be useful for adults the modified way. I also don't usually have time for large spreads (the Fool in the middle one may be one that I do even though it's bigger but not unless I know I have a couple hours to spare without interruption)

Thank you :grin:
 

Barleywine

I was figuring you were doing the spread for an adult to read for a child - I was just remembering her attention span and the number of cards we used to tell stories with the Inner Child cards. Most stories were about 4-7 cards. You eliminated the two cards that I was thinking of doing. And I think it can still be useful for adults the modified way. I also don't usually have time for large spreads (the Fool in the middle one may be one that I do even though it's bigger but not unless I know I have a couple hours to spare without interruption)

Thank you :grin:

And thank you! :) It's nice to have experience-based input since the only "kids" I read for are my own and they're both adults now.