AUTHOR’S NOTE: Unless there is a specific position defining the individual’s direct involvement in the matter, most cartomantic spreads envision the seeker (or querent) as an outside observer of the circumstances shown in the cards, peering through a “mystical window” at their future with the reader’s assistance. The querent as active “doer” rather than as passive recipient of wisdom emerges after the projected outcome is declared and further actions in response to the reading are discussed. But there are a couple of layouts that include a card (known as the Significator) representing the querent in every reading.

The Lenormand Grand Tableau uses all 36 cards of the deck, so there is automatically a card to identify the seeker, typically the Gentleman or Lady card. This card forms the focus around which the narrative is built. It can also be a specific “topic” or “theme” card as opposed to a “person” card.

In tarot, the classic Celtic Cross spread addresses this in a number of ways. Arthur Edward Waite included two positions to identify “the Querent,” Card #1 and Card #7 (titled “Himself”). Personally, I don’t use either of these designations, but I do consider the entire four-card “staff” section to represent the querent’s orientation toward the emerging situation.

Another is the Golden Dawn’s “Opening of the Key” method, in which a Significator (always a court card) representing the querent is chosen in advance and left in the deck. Where it shows up after the pull identifies the area of life that will be most important to the seeker, and that card is used as the subject of the subsequent multi-card reading.

There are times when creating a spread that I will include a Significator position, which could relate either to my client or to the circumstances of the reading. Occasionally, the card in this location will be intentionally selected to ensure that the scenario adequately addresses the engagement of the querent or subject with the story-line, but most often it is populated as part of the routine deal.

I’ve also done a few creative things with the Significator. One of my favorites is to randomly draw a court card from a sub-set of 16, allowing for reversals, and place that card in the Significator’s position. I then look at the facing of the figure to determine whether it is gazing into the past (viewers left) and still beholden to previous influences, or into the future (viewer’s right) and ready to move on, either of which will tell me about the querent’s present situational bias. In doing this, it is crucial to use a deck that has well-defined directionality (like the Waite-Smith deck); incorporating reversals creates two “facing” options for every card.

With the tarot, though, there is usually no reason to have an “avatar” in the spread to signify the querent since this card seldom adds anything of value to the reading and there is already a “live” subject sitting across the table who can mull over the import of the rest of the cards. If I want to know about the relative significance of any one of them to the querent’s life, I can simply ask rather than guessing. Ideally, a face-to-face tarot reading will be a dialogue and not a monologue, and sitters have an obligation to contribute their own insights for the best results. In my experience, cartomancy as an interactive art thrives on this kind of immersion, something that is muted and often lost entirely in remote reading scenarios.