What makes a SPREAD "click" for you?

[Misterei]

This thread got inspired by the "what makes a deck click for you?" Thread. @Chariot mentioned deck interview spreads a propos the what makes a deck click topic ... and I realized that very few spreads "click" for me. I have 3 go-to spreads and everything else is either open reading or make my own as needed. Most spreads just don't hit for me.

 

I enjoy trying spreads on this forum ... in the reading circles or whatnot ... but I only do them here. I'll NEVER do any of them IRL.

There's even one spread I learned at a conference that i really adore. But no. It remains enshrined in notes and never actually used. Like a deck that you love but never read with.

 

So ... what makes a spread hit for you?

How many spreads do you feel real chemistry with?

[Mister]

Lines do count as open reading, I assume, so they are out.

Versatility, along with adaptability.

Which I found in the French cross, although I twerked it to better suit me, so it is more of a 5-card-cross-spread.

Apart from lines, that is the one I use the most.

 

Then, there is a 12-card-cross spread, derived from those classic circles used for predicting the year to come/the next 12 months.

With that one, it is clarity of purpose. Surprise: There is a yearly peak in usage.

For an overview, I either plaster the table with a pack of lenormands (also known as "Grand Tableau") or refer to a triangular spread of mine own making.

 

Which makes 3 or 4 in total, depending on whether the GT is counted amongst them or not.

 

[BradGad]

Interesting question. Interesting because it makes us think about that threshold where you get past formulaic LWB ways of looking at the cards. Because…

 

There are some spreads (sorry if I diss on The Celtic Cross for a bit), where each card has a position and a meaning in that position… 

 

There are other spreads where the only way to read is to try to construct a narrative between the cards. 

 

A tarot deck in a box (one of my favorite things, right up there with whiskers on kittens and brown paper packages tied up with string) really doesn’t mean anything, do anything, have any power. It’s paper. When you take it out and use it, magic happens. But…

 

There has to be interaction and interpretation. For me, spreads that assign meaning to each position reduce the opportunity for that. If each position has an assigned meaning, then you’re right back to the LWB. Look at the position, look it up the card the book, and recite.

 

For me, what makes a spread click is if you have to look at the relationships between the cards to even say Thing One. 

 

You don’t have to agree with me on that, but if you think I may have the all-important first clue and may be onto something, you might want to check out two authors who have been my greatest influences: Yoav Ben-Dove and Camelia Elias. 

 

Edited February 10, 2023 by BradGad

[Raggydoll]

When I read for other people I will make a spread or a layout that suits their question(s). If I use a spread for my personal readings, it will also be one I constructed myself. Back when I read professionally I also made up the spreads, even when I had to do ultra quick readings on the phone. The only time where I designed a spread beforehand is if I was going to offer a specific type of reading, but even then I often tweaked it for the client.
 

The reason why I do this is because I’ve not found it useful to have a collection of traditional spreads to use for people. They either gather the wrong type of information or too much of miscellaneous information. I like readings to be to the point, and my sitters seems to feel the same. That doesn’t mean though, that I haven’t had great use from studying spreads back when I started out. If I hadn’t, then I wouldn’t have known how to go about designing them myself. So I’m very grateful for both the classic spreads and the clever contemporary additions. 

[DanielJUK]

I'm always looking out for spreads and browsing them; for myself, for when I am hosting exchanges / circles and for reading for others. I like to save them in a bookmark folder, so I have this humongous collection from across the net 🤣. I always like to have one ready! I'm a collector as I go around and see them and think that is a good one!

 

I think this question has two answers really, for love questions and for every other situation. For both purposes, the reason to use a positioned spread is to gain more clarity. I use spreads with no positions a lot, I like to freestyle and read what comes up. But strict positions gives you clarity, like when you don't know what the answer will be or confused about the situation. The positions give you more detail for each area asking about. It's really worth turning to a positioned spread from time to time, I do them for myself privately every so often. There is a time for each style of reading.

 

Love readings tend to have high emotions behind them and confusion. People are having love difficulties or looking for the one or seeing how a new person will work out. I think positioned spreads are so much better than freehand here and what works best are the typical journalism questions, who? what? when? where? why? how? So you need a love spread with positions which looks at all the angles, get some clarity there. Sometimes people ask about love and have no idea what they even want, so it's sometimes about defining an answer or solution for them.

 

Other readings I think need a well-balanced spread, that is what makes them click. I've looked at hundreds of spreads probably and they have a pattern. The best spreads have a negative position or difficulties / obstacles, a positive position, good things to come and advice / guidance/ what should you do? There might be other positions like what is the situation, but the negative / positive / advice structure makes a perfectly balanced spread. The exception is past / present / future doesn't have this because it's time-based. But they nearly all have the same pattern in the end. I often find a larger spread that I have to edit down to 3 or 4 cards for the Newbies Circle and it always ends up with this pattern 🙂 .

[KiMo]

I'm a person that likes to be able to do when in a situation, so I really appreciate spreads that provide guidance, suggest an action to take, or at least indicate something to be mindful of / actively pay attention to. I agree with comments made here about not being drawn to spreads that have information that seems surplus to requirement thus making the reading feel a bit 'soupy'. So I like spreads that are concise, but that said I do also appreciate depth and detail for each specific point meaning I'd be happy to use two or even three cards to form a mini narrative for the position they're in.

 

I've only just started my tarot practice so I don't yet have spreads that I could say I use habitually, but I've dipped into modifying spreads that I've found (with positive results) and I'm beginning to learn what is effective for me and what's not.

[akiva]

My go to spread always ends up being a line of 3 or 5, incredibly boring, I know! If I'm feeling snazzy then maybe a horseshoe of 13 with counting then pairing the ends together. 😂

 

Other spreads that I've tried at various times and that seem to work for me are:

 

•The french cross (triage en croix),

•The Chien triage (I forget the english for this, works with playing cards and lenormand),

•The 13 card star spread found in some older books such as Foli's, Minetta's and Cases,

•Minetta's 9 card, which is very positional, I dont do it enough to do it justice though. It can be applied to grand tableau's when reading the cards around a significator which is fun.

•'The 5 heaps' which is basically 5 piles of 3 cards that represent the home, the querent, what they dont know, what they do know and the surprise/what they wish for that will come true. Some variations use 7 heaps of 3, which I believe is where the romany 21 card spread originates from.

•Melancholic's 3 card spread off of AT which is the querent, the quesited, the relationship. This strikes me as similar to geomancies left witness, right witness and judge, only reversed.

 

I think these spreads click with me because they use multiple cards per position, or you're comparing a card in a position to another position/significator. An a+b=c kind of thing. Though they tend to be very general, in my experience. If I want specificity then it will always be a line of 3 or 5 as it gets right into the crux of the issue. 

 

If I were to start designing my own then I would take inspiration from old patience game books. I believe this is where old spreads come from originally.

[Misterei]

On 2/9/2023 at 7:11 PM, BradGad said:

There has to be interaction and interpretation. For me, spreads that assign meaning to each position reduce the opportunity for that. If each position has an assigned meaning, then you’re right back to the LWB. Look at the position, look it up the card the book, and recite.

I think it depends on skill level. Yes, 44 years ago I was reading the Celtic Cross out of Eden Geay's book just as you describe.

Now?

After 44 years with celtic cross ... I've modified it ... it fits like an old pair of leather shoes perfectly shaped to my feet . Now the structure of the spread is like a springboard that launches my intuition. I also do open reading quite a bit as well. Each as their place in my toolkit.

On 2/9/2023 at 9:19 PM, Raggydoll said:

The reason why I do this is because I’ve not found it useful to have a collection of traditional spreads to use for people. They either gather the wrong type of information or too much of miscellaneous information. I like readings to be to the point ...

Yes. On point and to the point. I start with celtic cross for clients .. but its my own modified version. People don't always say everything up front. I find cc is good for verifying what we're actually reading about ... if that makes sense.

I liked your comments about creating your own spreads. @Raggydoll Do you find you have a preference for how many cards when you create spreads?

16 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

I'm always looking out for spreads and browsing them; for myself, for when I am hosting exchanges / circles and for reading for others. I like to save them in a bookmark folder, so I have this humongous collection from across the net 🤣. I always like to have one ready! I'm a collector as I go around and see them and think that is a good one!

That;s funny. You collect decks AND spreads };>

16 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

... the reason to use a positioned spread is to gain more clarity ...

Yes. There is SO MUCH information available from Tarot. I actually like to focus things. Then I know which direction to point my intuition.

16 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

I use spreads with no positions a lot, I like to freestyle and read what comes up. But strict positions gives you clarity, like when you don't know what the answer will be or confused about the situation. The positions give you more detail... There is a time for each style of reading.

Yep. Position spreads & open reading. It's like a phillips head or a slot screwdriver. I need both in my kit for different situations.

16 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

Love readings tend to have high emotions behind them and confusion. People are having love difficulties or looking for the one or seeing how a new person will work out. I think positioned spreads are so much better than freehand here

Interesting. I hadn't thought about it this way. With clients I start with a fixed position spread as a general "tuning in". Later we progress to open reading on their specific question. Whether it be love or whatever. For me, the open reading comes after we have rapport. The fixed spread helps establish rapport.

16 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

Other readings I think need a well-balanced spread, that is what makes them click. I've looked at hundreds of spreads probably and they have a pattern. The best spreads have a negative position or difficulties / obstacles, a positive position, good things to come and advice / guidance/ what should you do?

Now this is interesting. I'm with you on spreads that have an advice position ... I mean that's the whole point, so, gotta have that. But spreads that define positive or negative don't hit for me. I want the cards to speak for themselves. The negative card in the positive position thing always makes me gnash my teeth and pull my hair ... hence my favorite spreads do NOT have negative/positive positions };> Chacun à son goût

 

14 hours ago, KiMo said:

... but I've dipped into modifying spreads that I've found (with positive results) and I'm beginning to learn what is effective for me and what's not.

Two of my go-to spreads I learned from books ... but then modified to suit my reading style. I've found this really works for me. The only spread I use "as is" is Tirage en Croix.

Edited February 11, 2023 by Misterei

[Raggydoll]

8 minutes ago, Misterei said:

Do you find you have a preference for how many cards when you create spreads?

 

It will depend on the complexity of the situation, but 3-5 cards seem to be enough for almost any occasion. A while back I had fun with exploring three card combos, that’s how my ‘30 days of working with the moon’ came to be 😊

[Misterei]

On 2/10/2023 at 10:00 PM, Raggydoll said:

It will depend on the complexity of the situation, but 3-5 cards seem to be enough for almost any occasion. A while back I had fun with exploring three card combos, that’s how my ‘30 days of working with the moon’ came to be 😊

@Raggydoll Interesting. I find that 3-4 cards I'm generally doing open reading. I tend to do 6 or 9 card spreads when making my own.  But really the 6 is 2 triads and 9 is three triads ... so there's definitely something about 3s.

[Raggydoll]

20 minutes ago, Misterei said:

@Raggydoll Interesting. I find that 3-4 cards I'm generally doing open reading. I tend to do 6 or 9 card spreads when making my own.  But really the 6 is 2 triads and 9 is three triads ... so there's definitely something about 3s.

I do open reading with that amount of cards too, whether or not I design a spread is entirely dependent on the topic and details of the reading 🙂

[Nemia]

Oh, this is absolutely fascinating. I love spreads. They tell a story, and I do better with spreads than free readings. 

 

What makes a spread click for me? Over the years, I use less and less ready-made spreads although of course I have a whole library of spreads that I picked up - not only from designated spreads but also when I see diagrams and other stuff. Somebody talks about the logical steps of a librarian's work, and a spread appears in my head. I see Maslow's pyramid or the Ikigai and I immediately want to use them as spread maps. 

 

I make spread maps for regular use, and I design my own spreads. 

 

But there are some spreads in books or on websites that immediately catch my eye. They're usually four card spreads - I have a thing for the number Four, it's MY number. I'm an April child, I'm the oldest of Four, I have Four children, and I connect to the symbology of the Four Directions since I was a child. I remember playing with my dolls and arranging them according to the wind rose, in four directions, and each direction had a different character. Wow, I remember that so well. 

 

When I see a four card spread that speaks to me, I use it again and again. 

 

1. what I HAVE

2. what I WANT/DESIRE

3. what I NEED

4. what I'll GET

 

It's a very honest spread. I found it in Power Tarot, a great resource for spreads. 

 

And there is another four card spread that came to me in a dream, in the night before my 50th birthday. I spoke to someone in my dream and they answered: RSVP, the formula asking for an answer (responder s'il vous plait). And I thought, that's the answer: to answer. Each letter stands for something important to consider in the next year (or months, or weeks). 

 

The R stands for Reflection: what do I have to consider and reflect on? 

The S stands for Specifics: what is the specific problem I need to focus on? 

The V stands for Virtue: which virtue do I have to cultivate to solve this problem long-term?

The P stands for Practice: which practical steps can I implement to make this virtue come alive and solve my problem?

 

It sounds a bit crooked written down like that but I've been doing this spread every year in the night before my birthday to honour that dream. And I always get an answer. 

 

In other cases, I simply build my own spread with the principles laid out in the book that comes with the Deck of 1000 Spreads. Either a Four or a Nine. I first write down the position names (or use the Deck of 1000 Spreads), so I don't get it mixed up. If the spread works well, I'll use it again. If not, it had its purpose. 

 

Personally, I prefer to milk a small number of cards for what they're worth instead of pulling a lot of cards. But I've seen people work very well with big spreads. It's not for me, I'm easily overwhelmed 😉 

[s8nicangel]

I usually make up a new spread when I need it but that's sort of difficult. I would like to spend some time studying spreads and trying things out to see what really works for me. My favorite that I've made up is a "journal" spread that is set up like this:

  1

234

  5

I like stacked spreads a lot and pairs or groups of cards that relate to each other, like a sub spread within the greater one. For some reason it just works for me, like a fractal.

 

[Miemza87]

So I actualy dont ever use a spread, unless its about love relationships. I ask my guides to show me what I am allowed to See and as I shuffle cards, the ones that fall out tell the story.

[RaynaDark]

I like to create my own spreads. The possibilities are endless! In this way you don't have to search around for whatever clicks. I have a couple favorites I made based on Astrological associations and shadow work