3 Card Spreads

[Bluebonnet]

Thank you so much for all the suggestions! What confused me was when someone posts a 3 card spread in "your readings", others would help but read them all different ways. Thus, all the interpretations were different. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I want to learn the "right" way.

I'm still doing 3 card spreads and looking at how the pictures relate to each other when there are no positions. And, I'm trying past, present, future. The hard part about past, present, future to me is that there is only 1 card in each position. And, 1 card can have so many meanings....like the 2 of wands. It can be good, bad, about control, about balance.....So my journey and headaches continue . Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Barleywine]

Here's one I found in Mark McElroy's book: "What's in the cards for you?"
I pulled this from info on pg 63.

Personal Improvement spread
1. An aspect of yourself that needs attention: something about yourself that needs to change.
2. A benefit associated with improving this aspect of yourself
3. A simple strategy for improving this aspect of yourself

or more simplified version he put on page 64:
1. aspect needing improvement
2. benefit of improvement
3. strategy for improvement

I basically like this "self-help" paradigm. It might be interesting and instructive to put a "Yin/Yang" structure on McElroy's ideas, since I always try to recognize the dual potentials in any situation.

1, "What do I need to do? What do I need to stop doing?"

a. Something that needs attention to bring about improvement in a currently undesirable or neutral situation

b. Something that needs attention to prevent decline in a currently desirable or neutral situation.

(This implies a tipping point that lies at the nexus of any change, and there is a subtle difference in the emphasis and direction of flow. The first is an urge to act strongly to evolve in a positive direction, the second is an urge to curb inappropriate action or resolve inaction that could result in decline if unchecked. A third possibility would be to modulate action in either case to strike a balance or reach a compromise if the situation is too unbalanced to fully rehabilitate.)

2. "What benefit can I expect? What consequences should I try to avoid?"

a. What good could a positive change bring me?

b. What harm could come about if I refuse to change, or don't prevent or mitigate a negative change?

(This implies a continuum from "Good to Ill" with "Neutral" at its center, another tipping point that is sensitive to pressure from either direction. It could go either way, one outcome driven by emphatic action, the other by a weak (or no) response. Of course, the potential for aggressive but erroneous action in either scenario has to be factored in.)

3. "How do I get there? How do I get off the train?"

a. What is the best strategy to promote a positive outcome?

b. What is the best strategy to derail a negative outcome?

(This represents the "window of opportunity" and is why the spread was laid out. It reminds me of the "Saturn effect" in astrology: either you get on top of the change and ride it successfully, or you step out of the way to avoid being steamrollered. In one case you reap the reward, in the other you pull in your horns and cut your losses. The specific cards involved would ideally give weight and impetus to one or the other)

I like this dualistic approach because it can readily encompass any traditionally "negative" indicator such as less harmonious Minor Arcana or reversals, and the help or hindrance of people represented by the various Court cards.

This was all spur-of-the-moment and off the top of my head. I'll probably play with these ideas some more to fine-tune them. Comments are welcome.

Edit: Forgot to answer the other question. I'm in the habit of laying out and reading the cards from left to right since it follows the way I read cards 4, 5 and 6 ("past/present/future") in my standard (Eden Gray) Celtic Cross spread.