Ok, so....for Halloween, I wanted to use the tarot to contact my youngest sister, who passed over five years ago. I used to dream about her fairly often, but it has been a long time since her last "visit". I felt that the spread I used earlier in this thread would be too general, asking for any ancestor to communicate. I was looking for something more precise that would answer specific questions for the ancestor I chose.
I ended up using the
Spirit Speak Spread posted by Akatala. The spread begins by drawing the following four cards: The Moon (to represent the spirit world), "S" to signify the spirit (I chose the Queen of Cups for my sister), "Q" to signify the querent (I chose the Queen of Swords for myself), and The Sun (to represent the physical/living world).
The cards are laid in a straight line with the Moon/Spirit cards to the left and the Querent/Sun cards to the right, with a large space between the two sets of cards like this:
Moon**Spirit*******************************Querent**Sun
The middle space is for the "message" cards. There are no rules for how to draw them; you simply continue to lay down cards until you feel the message is complete. I had three questions I wanted to ask, so I only drew three cards to place in the middle. Because the questions were specific, I didn't cut the deck and draw all three cards in a row. Instead, I shuffled, asked the question, drew a card, then repeated that process twice more.
I really love how the spread is set up. It is a wonderful visual for how the message is the connector between spirits/ancestors on the "other" side and ourselves in the physical world.
Also, I suppose if you prefer to have all 78 cards available for the "message", you could draw the Moon, S, Q, and Sun from a different deck. I decided to draw them from the same deck though (my Ghost Tarot).
My three message cards:
1. Which card will show me that it is definitely my sister with whom I am communicating?
Two of Wands: Well, I was hoping for a card that would strike like a lightning bolt and I'd say "Yep, that's her!" This card depicts a ghostly male figure looking down upon and reaching towards a globe of the world. When I look at it, I envision my sister looking down upon my world from wherever she is, and that the distance is great and difficult to bridge (hence, the reason I have fewer dreams about her).
2. If you had to choose only one thing to tell me, what would it be?
Four of wands: The ghostly woman in this card is happy, dancing, celebrating. My sister was one of the most spirited, live-in-the-moment people I've ever known. I think she is not only reassuring me that she is okay, but is also reminding me to seize the moment, to never take the blessings or the people in my life for granted, and to remember to celebrate all the things for which I am grateful each and every day.
3. Is it okay to continue communicating with you using the tarot?
Three of Coins: This card shows a living woman kneeling on the ground and watering a plant. There is a ghostly figure behind the woman, chiseling a marble column. The figures have their backs to each other. I believe I will continue to receive the occasional dream or synchronous message from my sister, but ongoing communication is either not advised or will be difficult. When I look at this card, I feel that we, as spirits, are given our own "work" to do, and not all of us are meant to stay near.
I hope all of this has made some sense. It was much easier to do than it was to explain! My goal was to make contact with one specific ancestor, using a spread that would result in answers easily correlated to the ancestor. I'm not entirely happy with my results. I'd like to work more with this spread in the future and experiment with the message cards and the type of questions I want to ask. Not with my sister, though.
Comments and feedback are welcome, so I know I'm not the lone nutter who uses the tarot this way.