asterisks

When you see a spread position, what exactly are the asterisks representing?

They are there to format the position of the card. It so you can imagine what the card placement would look like on a table. Like a picture, but with text.

So imagine a diamond shaped spread.

So instead of

1
23
4

You do

**1**
2***3
**4**

To get that diamond shape in text form.

Edit:

The asterisks don't mean anything in and of themselves. You can use any symbol you want:

--1--
2---3
--4--

or

..1..
2...3
..4..

or

==1==
2===3
==4==

Thanks

I knew they had to be positions for something. I really appreciate the answer right away to.
What kept throwing me off was one i saw similar to this:

**1***
***23*
**4***

thanks again!!!!