What are your most-used spreads?

[Miho]

For me it is Celtic Cross by far... but I will do 3/5 carder for quick stuff, especially if it's something I don't want so much information back on. The "Very Bad Day" spread I amusingly use quite often on my Tarot app (Galaxy Tarot) even though most of the time, it is not a bad day at all. I just find the energy it gives back sometimes to be quite well... awesome. It cuts through the nonsense and lets me know what my priority should be for the day and what really isn't and the other spreads in the app are not so good for this.

[Wanderer]

I tend to create spreads in a bespoke way most of the time, depending on the question and needs of the sitter. However, I've got a couple of my own spreads that I go to repeatedly, because they're useful on a regular basis. One is an equivalent of the Celtic Cross (but designed for the Wildwood), and the other is a 'Crossroads' spread for clarifying the pros and cons of two (or potentially more) different paths.

[truthseeker65]

Celtic cross is what i learned on and it's what I turn to most...but I will try other spreads ... and if I need a quick answer a 3 card spread will do it.

[Czenzi]

I’m not a professional reader (though I kind of hope to be that good someday). I do 3 card spreads for my personal daily practice. I have a book of larger spreads and I break it out from time to time. For Lenormand readings, I almost always do a five card spread or, sometimes, a mini tableau. 

[Guest D76]

Mine most used "spreads" is 1 or 2 or 3 (maximum) cards )

 

Strange, but I never had the "appetite" to make large(massive) spreads. Maybe this is a preference for minimalism (for a living) ?

 

[Guest libra]

When reading for myself, I tend not to use a spread. Honestly, most of the time, a single card pull gets me all the info I need.

 

For clients, a speed I created called "A Single Step" seems to be the one that gets chosen the most, and I understand why - is a horse that is based around the dating "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" and is intended to empower them to make that first step into getting where they want to go in life.

 

Generally, when I do use spreads, it's between 3 & 5 cards. I sirens so much time on individual cards that a Celtic Cross would take me like 5 hours. Learning to pare that down is a real thing for me!

[Little Fang]

I created a smaller, to the point, version of the Celtic Cross that looks like a Cat's Paw. :) 

Otherwise, I mostly just create spreads on the fly or no spread at all.

[Saturn Celeste]

If I use a spread it is the Celtic Cross.  Normally I don't use spreads but my typical reading is 3 tarot cards and an oracle.  If I'm doing a reading for a writer I tend to make a spread to answer the specific writer questions.

[Esk]

I mostly read for myself, and I like to use 3 cards spread. I used to read cards without position but now I think it is really clearer and efficient if I think , sometimes for a little while, about specific positions for each card.

For daily draws use 2 cards : one for what will happen during the day (specific event or general atmosphere) and one for an advice.

Occasionnaly I use larger spreads, but lately it's very occasionnal as I don't have many time to read cards and also because I get tired easily.

[Miho]

I'm pleasantly surprised to see so many people here say they still use CC. I remember at AT people used to say they felt it would be easier to use 3-5 for most queries. I sometimes got nagged for posting readings with too many cards...

 

I like 3-5 cards, but only if I just want the gist of it. Also I like old numbered readings laid out like a line... 3 card in particular, I find my Mind's eye likes to break it down to be like a Tarot sandwich. The meat in the middle and the bread slices... so it'll be [1] [2] [3]... I'll sometimes read card 1 + 3 together as reflected elements and treat the middle card as the main subject...

[stephanelli]

Mostly I use around 5-7 cards, sometimes in a spread, sometimes not.

I find that any larger amount of cards uses to much energy and drains me for a day or so.  I like using less cards too, but varies depending on the situation.

 

Sent from my Nokia 1 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Cobweb]

I must admit that I find longer readings too difficult to fit into regular practice!  (Or maybe I'm just lazy!  ;D ) so most often I just pull 3 or 5 cards and see what happens.

[Tulirose]

I still like the Celtic Cross also. It took me a good while to memorize, or rather internalize, the meanings of the card placements. After I got that down pretty good I find that the CC spread expounds with an 'energy' specific to the question that can be really clear (on a good day:).

 

For shorter spreads I like that 5 card one with the 'subject' in the middle, the 'root', below, the 'crowning' energy above and where the matter came from to the Left and where the matter is going to the Right. I guess this is like a CC 'shorthand' type of spread.

 

I think this 'shorthand' type spread goes by different names to different readers.

[ilweran]

I like three or five cards spreads, but for myself I often tend to do nine cards, 3x3, reading them in 4 groups of three going through the centre card, as well as looking at the overall picture, with the middle card representing me, or the situation etc.

[DanielJUK]

When I read for myself and ask a question, I do 3 cards, no positional meanings. I read the cards and also combinations as a message. This is the perfect way of doing it for me most of the time but if you have a really complex question, more cards and definite positions really help. So positions if you want to look at many angles of a question and I do freehand for general readings or smaller questions. It's worth trying some spreads you don't usually use because often we get stuck in our ways, larger spread if you always do smaller, smaller if you always do CC, shake it up a little. I totally stopped using the Celtic Cross and used it recently and it gave me a great reading! It's worth shaking it up, I realised they all have a place! You have to choose the perfect spread for the type of question  8)

[gregory]

I can't say any spread is my MOST used as it depends on the question. But I am very fond of Yes if - No if - Maybe if.

[shekina]

I only do readings for myself (Galaxy Tarot app user as well!) and tend to go with the Celtic Cross.  It's what I first learned and have found it to be pretty reliable.  I like how it gives a big yet detailed picture.  Occasionally, I'll do a yes/no but I'm still working on my technique for that so it's only once in a great while.

[AnomalyTempest]

For myself, I use all kinds of spreads, all the time. I love trying out new spreads. I'm not a professional reader but those who know I use tarot are often wanting to know more about how it works and the person sort of determines the spread. If they are very emotional about an issue I usually have them pick a card that represents how they feel and we may just talk about what that card brings up. Other times, I'll use two or three. It kind of just goes organically depending on the person, what experience they have with tarot and what they want to learn (be it themselves, tarot, a situation or whatever).

[MysticMonkey]

You can't really go wrong with a 3 card spread.  It normally has enough for the general feel of the situation although if it's something a little bit more serious or in depth I am trying to branch out into larger readings.  I don't tend to have a lot of big burning questions though. 

[Guest D76]

Recently, I began to use my own, author's spread "Cross" (for 5 cards). It is based on the fundamental old symbolism of the cross (non-Christian) as the four corners of the world and etc...

I have decided to apply this symbolism of the cross in the context of modern psychology too.

 

So far, I have tried this 5 cards spread only on myself (for different situations). I like it...))

[mariposa]

As I am very new, I do not use positions. I just use 2-4 card spreads, with each card clarifying the previous.

 

 

[Petalene]

My favorite is a three card spread

 

yes if...  no if...  maybe if...

 

But I ask questions I have some control over. “Is this a realistic goal?” or “is this thing worthy of my time, effort, and energy?” Good questions because I have the ability to influence the outcome. “Will my sister ever leave the jerk she’s married to?” Bad question - that’s not my circus and not my monkeys. I know a lot of people don’t like yes/no spreads, but I like this because it gives some insight into how to get a yes, why it could be or is a no, and what you can do to swing things one way or the other. I’m still fairly new to tarot and this one is easy for me to read quickly and intuitively. 

[Eric13]

Lately I've been using two spreads that have just evolved because the flow of these spreads feels good to me and my senses. One I've invented for myself and I call it my Life Power Spread. Four cards in the shape of a cross in which the first card is the significator and then it's divided between the top three cards representing the conscious, and the bottom three cards representing the unconscious. 

I have also been using a spread I named the Gypsy Fortune Telling spread in which I make no bones about a future prediction. I'm scared at all to say it. It's eight cards, very simple, there's one for the significator, past, present, future and the last card is the outcome. I don't recall exactly where I learned about this spread, could have been here quite honestly. But it does all depend the question. It also has quite a lot to do with how they feel to me and the flow. That's how I've been doing it lately. 

[Barleywine]

On 3/20/2019 at 3:03 AM, Miho said:

I'm pleasantly surprised to see so many people here say they still use CC.

So am I. If I have the time to do it justice, it's almost always the CC (not Waite's, my own Eden-Gray-derived version; it was the only spread I used between 1972 and 2011). I created a stripped-down version for "on-the-clock" professional readings where time is limited. When reading for myself, it's usually a smaller, self-created spread. I have almost 150 of them now. Lately I've been creating more unstructured spreads; they may have a focus card or Significator, but placement of the rest of the cards is free-form and entirely up to the reader.

Edited June 28, 2019 by Barleywine

[AfternoonTarot]

My most-used spread is 5 cards dealt horizontally, with no fixed meanings for the positions.  It develops as more of a narrative, read left to right.  I find that most questions can be explored deeply with just 5 cards.

 

For more complex readings on things such as a complex problem or desired change I have developed my own spreads with up to 12 cards, with psychological constructs being assigned to the positions.