I've been thinking lately that, in the creation of new layouts, I seem to have exhausted the range of geometric spread patterns commonly used in the performance of tarot readings. So far - and often more than once - I've tried circles, squares both small and large, rectangles, crosses, "X"-es, spirals, horizontal lines, vertical lines, … Continue reading Spread Fatigue
Tarot Spreads
The “Envelope of the Year” Life-Reading Spread
The new year is almost upon us, so I created another "annual look-ahead" spread that can be taken in 3-card monthly bites or in one giant 36-card, 12-month gulp. The spread uses an "envelope" concept in which each monthly three-card column has a "steady-state" card and two transitory scenarios, one "best-case" and the other "worst-case." … Continue reading The “Envelope of the Year” Life-Reading Spread
The “Tetractys” Decision-Making Spread
With this spread I believe I've found a satisfactory alternative to my long-standing use of the venerable and reliable Celtic Cross. I want to acknowledge that this isn't entirely original work; I found a suggested interpretive model on Wikipedia that was presented as one possibility among many. I tweaked most of the position descriptions to … Continue reading The “Tetractys” Decision-Making Spread
Daily-Draw Tones and Overtones: Variations On a Theme
I've found over many years of working with them that single-card daily draws are more useful for showing the background "tone" of the upcoming day than for trying to pinpoint specific activities or events. They are too limited in scope to effectively convey all of the ramifying "overtones" that can accompany the main theme, which … Continue reading Daily-Draw Tones and Overtones: Variations On a Theme
The “Squaring the Circle” Relationship Development Spread
This spread takes its inspiration from the "Squaring the Circle" exercise I posted yesterday. In working with it, I found that there may be repetition of cards between the main spread and its "mirrored" counterpart, as well as among the various quintessence cards, so use of a second deck for those auxiliary operations is strongly … Continue reading The “Squaring the Circle” Relationship Development Spread
The “Gambler’s Cross” Spread
Although I understand why we do it, I've never been entirely satisfied with the fact that most methods of dealing the cards draw them from the top of the deck after the shuffle and cut similar to the way playing cards are dealt for games. Some readers circumvent this by pulling the cards from a … Continue reading The “Gambler’s Cross” Spread
An Astro-Tarot Location Method
When dealing with lost items or missing persons, I often default to horary astrology because of its proven effectiveness. But I'm always looking for ways to augment that approach with tarot. I made a previous attempt to blend the location principles of horary astrology from John Frawley's book The Horary Textbook with a tarot layout … Continue reading An Astro-Tarot Location Method
The “Damned If I Know” Vague Answer Remedy
Things have been getting rather technical around here lately, so I thought I would indulge in a little useful fun. I'm not one to anthropomorphize my tarot decks (c'mon people, they're cardboard and ink!) but I sometimes think they act all too human, saying in essence: "Just give 'em the short answer and maybe they'll … Continue reading The “Damned If I Know” Vague Answer Remedy
The Wish, The Will and the Way
In tarot divination, there is a tendency to look at the Major Arcana (aka "trump") cards that turn up in a reading and say "That's all well and good as a philosophical abstraction, but what does it really mean for this particular person or situation at this point in time?" Their archetypal aim can be … Continue reading The Wish, The Will and the Way
The “Measure of a Man” Personality Profile Spread
Back in my early 20's, before I discovered Monty Python, I was a big fan of the Bonzo Dog Band, the British "novelty" act headed by the brilliant eccentric Vivien Stanshall. They were fond of sticking an occasional non-sequitur into the middle of their album tracks. In one, a band member piped up with "And … Continue reading The “Measure of a Man” Personality Profile Spread
