Is the layout of a reading set in stone?

[areda93]

For example, today I did a reading for myself in a highly personal topic. I decided to do a past, present, future layout since it’s one of the few that I know and because I felt like it could clarify everything that happened.

 

The three cards I pulled don’t make much sense in a temporal way but they did clarify pretty well what the situation was and allowed me to see things that I hadn’t seen before.

 

Is that valid?

[Grandma]

Yes, I think it is.  That's actually a very good question, and welcome to TT&M.

 

(ETA to clarify - yes, I think it's valid.  No, I don't think the layout is set in stone.  Not all stories are told in a linear way.  The movie "The Usual Suspects" would have been kind of boring if it had been told chronologically and the viewer needs to work to understand the plot but it's one of the best movies ever.  Some readings are like that.)

 

I really have no idea how others see this, and I don't remember ever thinking about it, but you have made me think and that is always good. I guess to me the past-present-future spread, or any other spread for that matter, is a guide, a framework on which we build our reading.  We can be literal or figurative as the cards guide us.  The only potential drawback would be the subconscious need to make the cards tell a story, any story, as long as it's one we want to hear.  Although I wonder if maybe we always need to watch out for that. 

 

And if you really want to be philosophical, the concept of time is itself a subject of intellectual debate.   

 

Of course as I said this is the first time I really thought about this and my thoughts may change as I think more about it and read what others say, but my initial response is positive.

[Raggydoll]

I agree with grandma, it’s a valid reading if you feel it is. My personal view is that tarot decks can be like real people in that they don’t always give you a straight answer and they won’t always stay on topic. Sometimes they are opinionated and want to share their views on something even if it isn’t precisely what you asked about. Sometimes they think you are asking the wrong question so they might get sarcastic or just educate you on what areas you should be focusing on instead. That is how it works for me when I do readings for myself, anyway (it works a bit different when I read for others). I know that a lot of tarot readers disagree and say that tarot works a certain way and that you can’t get creative with how you interpret you cards. Well, I’ve been doing this for more than two decades so I honestly don’t care if what I’m doing is ‘impossible’ or ‘wrong’ in other people’s opinions. If I know that I can (or my decks can) do a certain thing and it works really well - then all is good  ^-^ Perhaps I should mention that I also use my decks for magic/ritual and all sorts of ‘out-of-the-box’ things that my brain comes up with. If it feels right then I trust myself in that it is right and valid no matter what the popular opinion might be.

[DanielJUK]

of course you need to make the reading fit the situation and if it fits in a non linear way and you can understand it, it works for you! Tarot should always work for you, it's your personal journey, so we can't say "no everything about tarot is set in stone", it's not! Being flexible is part of it I think.

 

But I am a little conflicted in my answer. When I do readings in my personal method, I set an intention as I do a spread. I work out what spread I will do and then ask about the topic or question as I shuffle. I have had problems in the past with my readings where readings for other people have come up either for me or messages for me in readings for others. So I am a little strict in my intention of the readings. My default "spread" through is 3 cards with no positional meanings, I just deal 3 cards with no positions, sometimes I do read that as P,P,F or mostly as one answer as a 3 card combination. I like to do it with no positional meanings unless sometimes I want real structure with the different positions. So I would struggle with my readings if I did intend to do a P,P,F spread and it didn't fit in a time way. I think though I would done the same as you areda93, everything is valid ultimately :)

 

Perhaps if you are going to read on the topic again, you might find a spread online which fits perfectly with the positions and the matter at hand or maybe just freehand it and make your own positions. Perhaps the past, present, future didn't fit exactly right for the outcome. You can always make your own positions if needed or there is some really wonderful spreads online for every situation :)