What do you think of one-card readings?

I find myself interpreting the cards more deeply when there are fewer cards and keying in on just the first impression of the card (given its position in the spread, the other cards around it, etc) when there are more cards in a spread. So far I've just been deciding spreads intuitively unless someone requests that I do a "traditional" spread, in which case I usually do the celtic cross spread.

I had a strong feeling recently that I should give a friend a one-card reading of what she needs to focus on for the next couple of weeks, and it went super -- right on the money, it seems. But in the back of my mind was what I would have done if it was a more "difficult" card to interpret in that context? What if it had been the Queen of Wands, or the ten of swords? I mean, I'm sure I could have read cards okay... Maybe it is just my puritan work ethic that makes me think secretly that reading a single card is "lazy." You all know it's not -- there is tons you can do with a single card -- and I know it too.

I'm just wondering if you favor more cards or fewer cards, how do you decide, and have you ever really had a one-card reading go really wrong?

Personally I dislike one card readings because it feels like there's more I need to know to answer the question satisfactorily. The lowest I do is 3 cards. I agree, though, that the fewer cards the more you concentrate on them.

I look more towards how the cards interact with each other. If I were to pull one card I'd also pull a crossing card.

It's really up to you. If you get a lot from one card and it works for you then why not?

I find the 1-card readings to be good indicators of the general energy that surrounds a particular query but does not always provide the details I would like. I will often do a 3-card clarification spread to go along if I require more feedback.

The most effective spreads for me seem to be 3-card spreads which are incredibly flexible and they also work as a good unit for larger spreads. I find they provide enough information for the intuition to feed on and not so much that it causes confusion. There is something magical and powerful about 3s.

~Nisha

Thanks for the feedback! I think a card spread is usually just about right, as well.

I've been working with Mary K Greer's 21 ways to read a tarot card, though, and the one card reading I did for my friend was interactive, and there was plenty there to work with (it was the 10 of pentacles in the White Cats deck). Has anyone else worked with Greer's book? Opinions?

21 ways...

I actually have that book on order and it should be here next week *fingers crossed*. I'm sure my perception and understanding of the cards will deepen once I've worked through the book. I'm really looking forward to it.

Not sure if you've seen them, but there are a series of threads in the Study Groups section where people are sharing their journey while they work through this book with their chosen card. Thought I should mention it just in case you missed it.

~Nisha

Nisha said:

Not sure if you've seen them, but there are a series of threads in the Study Groups section where people are sharing their journey while they work through this book with their chosen card. Thought I should mention it just in case you missed it.

~Nisha

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Thanks! I hadn't seen that. I'm sure I'm missing alot. There's so much posted here! And I do searches and sometimes they are effective and sometimes I end up with tons of threads and only a couple of the posts relate.

Happy to help. I'm still trying to find my way around too so I know how you feel.

Funnily enough, I've just had the same card show up for 2 straight days for the 1-card daily draw I do. Talk about reinforcement! Sometimes a single card can say everything that needs to be said.

~Nisha

What would you do with the Wheel of Fortune in a one card reading? Can this card be interpreted by itself without other cards to give it direction?

tarotrose said:

I find myself interpreting the cards more deeply when there are fewer cards and keying in on just the first impression of the card (given its position in the spread, the other cards around it, etc) when there are more cards in a spread. So far I've just been deciding spreads intuitively unless someone requests that I do a "traditional" spread, in which case I usually do the celtic cross spread.

I'm just wondering if you favor more cards or fewer cards, how do you decide, and have you ever really had a one-card reading go really wrong?

Click to expand...

I fall in the fewer card category.

Often, I find that too many cards obfuscate the issue. It looks at first like ‘more information’ but it really isn’t.

I really like the simplistic completeness of one, two, and three card readings.

Robert Place has this wonderful ‘relationship spread’ designed to illustrate the relationship between the sitter and whatever, job, money, another person, life, you name it. But it’s based on the three card spread (it’s like 3, three card spreads that are ‘connected’).

Brilliant stuff it is!

In professional reading situations, I’ve rarely read more than 7 cards. I prefer the 5 card spread.

But the beauty of one card…great stuff there.