"Once upon a time there were three bears . . . oops, I mean tarot spreads that lived in a binder on my bookshelf. There was a great big 'father' spread, a middle-sized 'mother' spread and a tiny 'baby' spread. One was too large and hard and one was too small and easy but the … Continue reading Utility, Overkill or Elegance: A Spread Designer’s Dilemma
Tarot Spreads
The “Two Paths You Can Go By” Decision-Making Spread
Popular culture is often a goldmine of spread ideas and titles. In this case, the line "Yes, there are two paths you can go by" from Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" was tailor-made for a decision-making spread. After completing my "pips" cycle of essays, I decided to create a spread specifically for "pips-only" use. This … Continue reading The “Two Paths You Can Go By” Decision-Making Spread
The “Crossroads of Opportunity” Spread
Whenever inspiration for my next post fails me, I turn to creation of a new spread. This one plays off my fascination with inserting unknown qualities (in this case, face-down cards) into my layouts, the implications of which are revealed through certain selective operations. Other than that feature, this is a fairly standard multi-path decision-making … Continue reading The “Crossroads of Opportunity” Spread
The Double Jeopardy Rite-of-Passage Spread
Just when it looked like I wasn't going to post today, I've come up with another new spread. We're all familiar with the phrase "you're your own worst enemy," but in this "Age of Empowerment" we don't see it trotted out very often in tarot practice. My impression is that in this particular paradigm it's … Continue reading The Double Jeopardy Rite-of-Passage Spread
Pretzel Logic
I see so many tarot spreads invoking the "What do I need to know/What should I do/What should I avoid doing?" dynamic that I'm beginning to think that, in the eyes of the typical reader, no other paths are worthy of exploration. Certainly such an approach is effective in a utilitarian way, since it's undeniable … Continue reading Pretzel Logic
“Unto the Breach” Problem-Solving Spread
Most personal-problem scenarios reach a point where things "come to a boil;" we have gained some momentum toward resolution but the opposition is entrenched, so a pitched battle ensues (even if the conflict is only within our own psyche). Some kind of "breach" has to be found (or made) in the wall of resistance that … Continue reading “Unto the Breach” Problem-Solving Spread
The “Mongrel’s Mash-up” Mixed-Media Decision Making Spread
Here's a more radical mingling of tarot and Lenormand decks in a single reading. Rather then mixing the two decks together or creating a separate chain or division in the spread for each type of deck, I scatter the cards between two different lines by rolling a single die to come up with an odd … Continue reading The “Mongrel’s Mash-up” Mixed-Media Decision Making Spread
The “11th Hour Epiphany” Crisis Management Spread
I liked the layout of my "Roadkill Penguin" spread so much that I decided to do another spread based on it, this time to be read in a linear left-to-right fashion with "sidebar" cards adding more detail. The "crisis" of the title reflects the almost inevitable fact that every human endeavor runs into complications at … Continue reading The “11th Hour Epiphany” Crisis Management Spread
2020 Presidential Candidate’s Tarot Profile Spread
I've just created a spread to examine the credibility (aka "cred") of the bumper crop of 2020 US presidential candidates among various demographics of the electorate and also within a number of other crucial "opinion-mills." The bottom line is an assessment of a candidate's overall electability. I tried to keep like parameters together under a … Continue reading 2020 Presidential Candidate’s Tarot Profile Spread
The “Roadkill Penguin” Decision-Making Spread
When I haven't created a new spread in a while, my imagination tends to go into overdrive (or maybe "haywire" is a better way to put it). The visual layout of this one reminds me of a hapless creature that has been run over by a steamroller - not the ideal outcome for a decision-making … Continue reading The “Roadkill Penguin” Decision-Making Spread
