Timing spreads please — not will-happen but should-do

aneesa

Timing spread update

Just wanted to reply to about the use for Amanda's spread, I got my answer to the question in two and half weeks almost three and it was at a get together as Amanda had mentioned 3ofcups:)

Now I tried this again and I have a few questions Amanda how your spread would work in regards to Knights AND pages and the Tower, My cards where as follows

Knight of swords knight of cups the tower page of wands seven of cups. Question was when would I be meeting this person, who I have not met before. Also I picked the six of wands as a conformation card, I've read people on here saying some times that helps clarify the reading, Well That's my card of the month for march. I pulled that back in the first of the year.

So for me we are now in a water sign, march pieces, cups, Knight of swords always fast for me, You mentioned on your spread the timing is from the middle
to the end of the reading, I'm thinking page of wands, there faster then cups, But the tower is throwing me off because that's the middle card before page of wands...And Im new to tarot, Would anyone know how the page of wands is fast in this kind of spread for timing? I'm still new to posting on here so I hope this is not confusing, Thanks for any advice, I really like this spread of Amanda's , Its a keeper:)
 

Amanda

I would go with the 7 of Cups as your timing card: 7 weeks. However, if you are playing around with utilizing a different timing method that includes court cards, that is entirely up to you. The reason I do not is simply not to complicate matters; I've chosen my method and have stayed consistent with utilizing it, which certainly helps a spread to continue working.

Even when I'm not utilizing my spread here and I'm looking for something to indicate a time frame, I still do not utilize court cards (usually). However, if you're still interested in timing for the court cards, there are again several ways to do it. I think the simplest way I've seen most people do it is by assigning the court cards continuing numbers from 10. That is Pages = 11, Knights = 12, Queens = 13, Kings = 14. So, if you wanted to utilize the Page of Wands as timing here, it might be indicating 11 Days.
 

aneesa

TIMING SPREAD:)

Thanks Amanda...I was just going to say, I read that the tower card is represented by Aries and scorpio, And the planet mars, So I know we will be going into Aries in about 3 weeks so that would maybe roughly go with the page of wands,,11 days give or take, Also mars meets venus(cups ) on the fourth this month so maybe so unexpected news then and lets see:) I will post an update, I like your spread:) Thanks for replying.
 

Amanda

Thanks Amanda...I was just going to say, I read that the tower card is represented by Aries and scorpio, And the planet mars, So I know we will be going into Aries in about 3 weeks so that would maybe roughly go with the page of wands,,11 days give or take, Also mars meets venus(cups ) on the fourth this month so maybe so unexpected news then and lets see:) I will post an update, I like your spread:) Thanks for replying.

The Tower also has to do with the "mouth" which kind of goes along with the messenger aspect of the Page, and the Tower is also a card for Tuesday. :)
 

MandMaud

Pull 5 cards, no positions, and typically I only use upright orientation of the cards. Any less than 5 cards and you may not get enough "story" to go along with the timing. But anymore than 5 and you may get confused on which card is showing you time.

Hi Amanda! I'm so glad you shared this spread. :) It's one that I find comes to mind when some others don't occur to me even though they seem useful when I learn them. I use it quite a bit, often for not the "When should...?" questions but other sorts of things such as "When will...?" (even though I don't agree with asking :p) and anything else that has a timeline or progression involved.

Anyway, I was trying to it for a question about a project and completely failed to get any sense out of it this time - reading for myself will do that ;) - so if you feel like dropping in on my plea for help (=thread) maybe your insight will open things up? http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=251380 :)
 

NatKat

I have looked through the spreads index here, and all over the internet, without luck so here I am asking...
<<snippage>>
What I need is when I ought to act. So it's not a will-happen question but a should-do question.

I have something I must do and am very wobbly about when, and this is a precise date thing. Anyone any ideas?

Thanx in advance. :)
mm

Personally, for questions of this nature i look to Vedic Astrology rather than Tarot ... BUT ... it is an interesting question. So i might approach it in this way:

Natasya's When Should I spread:

1. Use common sense to define the time parameter
Is this event likely to happen in days? Weeks? Months? Years?

2. Assign a number parameter
Is the event likely to happen in 3 days/weeks/months? 12 days/weeks/months (etc.)

3. Lay cards according to #1 & #2 above.
(i.e. 6 cards representing the next 6 weeks or whatever you decided in steps #1 & 2 )

4. Look for an ACE. If your question is WHEN to start a new project, the ACE will tell you WHEN according to where it falls.
-or-
5. Look for a MAJOR
For example say you did 6 cards for 6 weeks. If only one Major shows ... that's your target date.
-or-
6. Pick a group of "Significator cards" which represent the matter at hand and note where they fall.
i.e. When should I break-up with my boyfriend? 3 Swords, Lovers, 2 cups, Tower might be your significator group. Lay the cards as above and note if & where any cards from your significator group appear. Choose significator cards meaningful to you.

if NONE of your "significator" cards show-up in your reading ... scrap the whole thing and go to astrology instead ... or ...
... look for Timing indications by the traditional methods and do a 1-card draw.
For example 8 Cups = mutable water = Pisces.
 

nisaba

What I need is when I ought to act. So it's not a will-happen question but a should-do question.

Why not use my timing method? It's a simple single-card draw. Whether you're looking for "will happens" or "when to acts" it will work.
 

liberated inferno

They're not telling you exactly when you should but the cards are giving you a window where the opportunity would be greatest for you, and you picked up on the 6 months with the 6 of Swords, but I would hesitate with that one just a little bit because it's closer to the beginning of the spread so it might be showing more of what you expect.... Justice in the middle of the spread is a good card for making a decision and breaking contracts and it comes between the 6 and 2 so I would say somewhere between 6 months and 2 years from now... also because it's a little hard to move on from the Hierophant sometimes (think of the Amish for example- if you leave the community and their way of life, you aren't getting back in). So I would say that you can expect to be there for at least another 6 months, but that doesn't suggest to me that you will leave immediately after that 6 months has come upon you. I can actually shorten it down on the 2 of Pentacles also because of Justice (I still consider elements sometimes) - 2 years from now would be August 25, 2014. But it seems to me that Justice would suggest that you would make a decision before that 2 years occurred. So when? The 2 of Pentacles also represents Dec. 22 - Dec. 30, so go back from Aug. 2014 to December 2013. So the greatest possibility of when you should leave your job and move on to something else for the best is between 6 months from now (February 2013) and December 2013 - you will make your decision (Justice) between those two time-frames. I have a feeling it's not a matter of yes/no I will leave my job but, yes I will leave my job for... what? That is the decision you will have to make, what you are leaving your job for. And that might be why there is such a huge gap there, to allow you more time to gather more information about what you are going to do before proceeding with quitting your job. I agree with what you say about the World there, it is wrapping it up nicely on the end there for you and reaffirms that you will conclude with your present job on good terms and move on to something else.


AMANDA I had to come back to give an update on this particular reading you helped me with, concerning a job i had.

I didn't quit the job in 2014, but what was happening was life events were definitely frcing my hand because I WAS acting in the Hierophant manner ( i knew that there was no turning back after I left). I stayed and ended up moving out of state the next spring and that was the beginning of the end...

so fast forward to summer of 2015 and my ticket out is presented to me in the form of a LAWSUIT. The company violated labor laws and I was in a class action case....JUSTICE!!! AAHAHAHAAA! I didn't receive payout until late 2015 and in the beginning of December, I quit my job!!
 

Nikoli

A lot of people were looking to spreads for timing, and that just didn't sit with me... the emphasis has always been on how to get the cards to do what you want them to do around here and I thought... let's just let the cards speak for themselves... I mean, why put a framework (tarot) into another framework (spread) to figure out something super-complicated like timing? Wouldn't it make more sense to eliminate one of those frameworks (spread) to make it less complicated?

Amanda, thank you for this spread! I have recently stumbled upon it, and I love this approach! Giving the cards the freedom to express what needs to be said, it just makes so much sense. I have done a couple readings with this spread, and it is a little challenging to read the cards in this way. (I am still learning how to associate the cards and formulate fluid interpretations from them.)

I was searching for a spread like this to ask about future career prospects- I am currently at a crossroads, trying to decide which path to take. I did do a reading that is not clear to me, and I was wondering if you (Amanda) or anyone else might have some insights?

I asked: when will I know what career to pursue?
I got: The lovers - the sun - 7 of swords - The star - 9 of swords
Summary card: the Fool

I think the fool card represents me jumping into a new cycle in my life, but the combination of the other cards confuse me. So the seven of swords or the nine of swords would be the timing card- so between seven to nine months. When doing this kind of a timing spread, does the meaning of the timing card always come into play? Or is it possible to just come up to signify the correct time?
I did see your post on mirroring, so was thinking that maybe the lovers/9 of swords shows I am trying to make a decision and it has been a struggle. Then the sun/the star shows that there is hope and success, once I pick my path and follow it? But the 7 of swords? Could that just be indicating that it is happening in 7 months, or will I turn from something I began pursuing for something else?