rindelanoche
Hi, , I am learning the celtic cross spread but am confused about the heart of the matter( what matters to you) and the root cause (what motivates you). I am learning with galaxy tarot app by the way.
Celtic cross: the heart of the matter-root cause
Nemia
I don't have anything against the Galaxy tarot app and use it myself from time to time, but I'm afraid that in order to learn tarot properly, you should invest in a good book or two, and read a lot here on AT. Every good beginner's book will include a version of the Celtic Cross and make you understand the positions. Then you'll also see that every author takes the spread to a slightly different direction.
The book Spiritual Tarot has an extra chapter about basic spreads, among them the Celtic Cross. Joan Bunnings has a book about spreads, but her tarot learning course (recommended!) gives a good explanation of the basic spread here: http://www.learntarot.com/ccross.htm
I personally interpret the two crossed cards in the center as the two basic impulses at the moment, either a conflict or a synergy, that dominate your life. This is the center of the spread. Above it are your conscious wishes, goals and what you have under control. Beneath are your unconscious motifs and motivations. We all act all the time driven by these two forces, and recognizing them is important.
So this is the "column of consciousness", and it's crossed by the "arrow of time" - past to the left, potential future to the right.
Often, it's enough for me to lay out these cards. I call it the Celtic Wheel and I don't need the additional information given by the four staff cards. But that's a personal choice, I prefer short spreads.
The best explanation of the possibilities of the Celtic Cross spread I read so far is in the book by Marcus Katz (Secrets of the Celtic Cross). In spite of its sensationalist title and in spite of not especially liking the Celtic Cross spread, I read it and found it interesting, a new take on this over-popular spread, and I'll incorporate some of Katz' ideas.
The book Spiritual Tarot has an extra chapter about basic spreads, among them the Celtic Cross. Joan Bunnings has a book about spreads, but her tarot learning course (recommended!) gives a good explanation of the basic spread here: http://www.learntarot.com/ccross.htm
I personally interpret the two crossed cards in the center as the two basic impulses at the moment, either a conflict or a synergy, that dominate your life. This is the center of the spread. Above it are your conscious wishes, goals and what you have under control. Beneath are your unconscious motifs and motivations. We all act all the time driven by these two forces, and recognizing them is important.
So this is the "column of consciousness", and it's crossed by the "arrow of time" - past to the left, potential future to the right.
Often, it's enough for me to lay out these cards. I call it the Celtic Wheel and I don't need the additional information given by the four staff cards. But that's a personal choice, I prefer short spreads.
The best explanation of the possibilities of the Celtic Cross spread I read so far is in the book by Marcus Katz (Secrets of the Celtic Cross). In spite of its sensationalist title and in spite of not especially liking the Celtic Cross spread, I read it and found it interesting, a new take on this over-popular spread, and I'll incorporate some of Katz' ideas.
rindelanoche
Thanks Nemia for the advice, I will look in the forums for good books suggestions (it's true that the app is not enough to learn tarot properly). ^_^
NatKat
I experienced YEARS of frustration w/ Celtic Cross until I realized that its strength is its adaptability.
When I first started Tarot back in the Dark Ages ... there were not so many books and the ONLY spread was CC. None of this just pull 3 cards and call it a reading business
Yet every book had a slightly different version of CC and NONE of them made sense to me b/c they all used this archaic language: The Querent. This is what crosses him, this is beneath him, this is above him, This is behind him, this is before him, etc. etc.
Huh? wtf???
Behind him? Before him? Is he standing on line for a bathroom stall?
I can't tell you how to do your CC spread ... it will become highly personalized to your reading style. But I can give you a hint:
The first 2 cards and the "past" card are all verification cards
These are the cards you use to make sure you've connected with your client.
If #1 #2 and #4 are correct and the client verifies ... why yes, I DID just start a new job and YES I was totally broke and depressed before I got the job or whatever ... now you know you have good rapport and can get about the business of giving advice.
How to modify your own CC spread?
Do experimental readings here on AT and explore your reading style and what info you want convey to your clients. Adjust your CC accordingly. Reading a book ... and the writer's words don't make sense? Put your OWN words in place, write that down. Et Voila! you have your own CC spread which makes sense to you.
rindelanoche
That explains why any tutorial I found at YouTube had slightly differences in interpretation of the spread.
