A quick spread question

Hey guys, Not sure if this should be posted here as this is for sharing spreads but it is a question about them!

I was wondering what the numbers represent in a spread such as this:

**2**
**3**
**1**

Would that be the order I place them or the order I read them? This confused me slightly. If it is the order I place them what order do I read them, if it is the order I read them what order do I place them?

Thank you for the help!

Hey Sacred,

*2*
*3*
*1* This means the order in which you lay out the cards. Usually the cards are read that way as well.

IF by any chance the cards are read in another way than they were laid out the author will indicate. I know that Hajo Banzhaf does this sometimes with the spreads printed in his books. He states the layout, then says in which order the cards are to be read, and then continues with what the positions mean. An example is his spread for deciding between two paths. The layout looks like this:
..........5.
.......1....
....3.......
.7..........
....4.......
.......2....
..........6.
First you are to read #7, indicating your questions, the concerns you have about it.
Then you are to read the two paths separately. You start with one, say the upper path (#3-#1-#5) which tells you what will most likely happen when you go down that road, in a chronological order. Then you continue with the other path, in this case the lower one (#4-#2-#6), which is the same as the upper path, but for another option you have. The first card of the three ones will tell you how it starts, the second one how it continues, the third one in which direction it is heading.

So you see you aren't tied to lay out and read the cards in the same order.

Astraea Aurora

Thank you for the reply, that clears it up!

I was just confused as to why it would not just be displayed as

*1*
*2*
*3*

If you are laying and reading in the same order as before.

Hey Sacred,

I can only speak from my own pov but I found that sometimes it's easier to grasp a reading when the visuals are in line with the position meanings. For instance, say I'd want to do a 5 card spread, including the here-and-now present state, past, possible future, above (thoughts) and below (emotions). So I could do it all in a straight line like this
*1*2*3*4*5*
and assign a card to every aspect I want covered.

But I could do the layout like this
***4***
*2*1*3*
***5***
Then 1 is the present, 2 is the past and 3 is future. This way I have a straight line from past to future that's going from left to right. Then 4 could be the above position and 5 the below, emphasizing the directions these words naturally indicate. This way I have another straight line from above to below, covering thoughts (above), words (this could be a double meaning for 1) and emotions (below).

Plus, the visual aid is often in conjunction with symbology. The above example could be seen as a cross, a compass or a circle with a dot. It gives the reading additional food for thought and a definitve frame that could be helpful for exploring the quesiton. In the end it all boils down to what makes sense to you and what you feel comfortable with. If it's a straight line, go for it. If it's visual aid, go for it.

Astraea Aurora

Thank you very much Aurora I get it now!

Thank you for the help guys