Ideas for spreads needed

I've just started reading cards professionally. I've done a couple of what I call "corporate" gigs - where I'm hired by a company to do a party where there are lots of other people doing things from makeovers to palmistry....I never liked charging money for Tarot as I was always worried I wouldn't "deliver the goods".

I'm currently doing a week in a store in London and am actually really enjoying it - have decided to trust in the cards and in my intuition (plus a little help from faeries) and have been more confident and very succesful.

It's lead to lots of people asking me to do readings for them. Now, I won't do one-on-one readings for money - I'm still not confident enough for that - but I don't mind doing private parties...for a group of people - and doing less specific readings - more like overviews of the querants life rather than specific in-depth questions

I do the Celtic Cross spread for these and I find it really works well - it's not too specific, although I try and go into more detail by adding cards if something is puzzling or the querant wants more answers.

I need to find some other spreads - simple ones, I don't expect to have a querant for longer than about 15 minutes....

Can anyone suggest any good ones? Or where to go?

Sorry it's a rambling post!

Sallyx

work cycle reading

Hi PurpleSal
Congratulations on being so brave as to read in public, it sounds exciting and scary and fun all at once. I'm extremely new to all things Tarot, so I don't know how much help I can be. But I've been reading very avidly and noticed a spread in Rachel Pollack's 78 Degrees of Wisdom that struck me as simple and flexible. It's called a work cycle reading - unfortunately I don't have the book to hand, so I'm describing it from memory, and hope I'm not absolutely murdering Ms. Pollack's handiwork. You lay out a line of six cards, if I remember right. The first and second are the querent and recent past, the sixth possible outcome. Sandwiched between are three cards which she calls the work cards, and which detail the work that needs to be done in the situation. You can lay a second line of cards beneath, if you want more clarification, or if you want to do a more detailed reading. This appeals to me a lot as a beginner, because it means you can control the length of the reading, keep it concise, or go deeper if you feel ready. If you like the idea of this spread, I'll doublecheck the details and post them for you - I probably won't be posting again until Monday. In the meantime, very best wishes and good luck with the reading.
Kate

You could have a look here www.tarotspreads.com

G.

Hi again PurpleSal

I was going to post this morning but I didn't have time. Bean Fease and I were thinking along the same lines. I was going to post the Rachel Pollack's Works Spread too. I do public readings and I use this spread alot. It's great because it has 3 advice cards for people who want something solid they can do to work through there problem.

The first two cards cross themselves like the middle of the celtic cross. They represent
1. What you are
2. How you act
The next 7 cards go in a straight line under it.
3. Past
4. Your expectations of the situation
5, 6, 7 Advice
8. The result of using the advice
9. Outcome of the situation

This is a nice spread because if the person asks more questions you can just keep laying cards on top of the original spread. I use this after a Celtic Cross reading it. Celtic Cross doesn't offer any advice, but it's good for seeing the history of the question. So another spread with advice cards in it is often very helpful. Of course you can use the Works Spread on it's own too. Hope this helps. Namaste

Oops - I left out a lot didn't I.

Hi folks. I checked 78 Degrees of Wisdom at the weekend and realised what a garbled description I gave of that spread on Friday - for a start I completely forgot the cross at the beginning silly me! Thanks for clarifying things, Lark. Good luck with the readings PurpleSal, and let us know how you get on. Kate.

THANKS AGAIN!

Thank you - brilliant advice. Lark - exactly -the Celtic Cross doesn't answer questions deeply enough - but it's brilliant to use in a public situation - I was doing 15mins per person and it gave me a good overlook at their lives and most people were happy with that - but some people took my card and want to go further - I'll try Ms Pollack's thread - thank you Bean and Lark for suggesting it. And thanks Gloria for the link!

I know I keep saying it, but I'm so happy to have found such a wonderful community of knowledgeable and helpful people! I'm very grateful.

I'll try out the new spread on Thursday - I also have some sessions on Saturday to try it then...

Thank you!

Sal x

4 card spread

Hi Purple Sal...

Congrats on having more confidence, trusting your intuition and enjoying yourself doing readings. Thats pretty major! May you have great success in every way this can be defined....

I ran across a spread that I've been using and really love. Its a simple 4 card spread that may fit nicely into the 15 minute time. It is from the book that accompanies the Nigel Jackson Tarot by Nigel Jackson, and is called The Key of Hermes Spread. The layout looks like this:

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

In the book it states..
The Key of Hermes is a basic layout using four cards and is very useful for summing up the past, present and future influences within a situation and often the elusive, overall determining factor operating behind the scenes of ones life.

Card 1 tells of influences from the immediate past affecting the querent.
Card 2 shows how this is working out in the present.
Card 3 reveals how things are likely to resolve themselves in the immediate future.
Card 4 gives the essential gist of the whole spread, for it shows the predominating tendency standing over the subject throughout the whole process and enables one to grasp the true nature of events.

...i hope you find it useful....

Also stated is :
A fifth card may finally be drawn, if the need is felt, to show the way ahead.

So far, I've not felt the need to draw a fifth card...

Blessings,
starsongs

a real quick and easy spread that is general yet can be specific with out getting to deep~
this is one of mine- but I'm sure it has been 'developed' before..

Simple 3 card spread
.........3.........
....1........2....

1. positive: advantages, available recoures etc.
2. negative: obsticals, inadequacies, etc.
3. self

This is good

lunalafey said:

a real quick and easy spread that is general yet can be specific with out getting to deep~
this is one of mine- but I'm sure it has been 'developed' before..

Simple 3 card spread
.........3.........
....1........2....

1. positive: advantages, available recoures etc.
2. negative obstacles, inadequacies, etc.
3. self

Click to expand...

I would add to this that if one wants greater clarification upon either + or - cards to spread out the deck and select a card for clarification which would be placed underneath the relevant card. A fourth card could be placed above "3" for recommended action but I suspect that it is proper to enable the client to make their own decisions and to use their own judgment as to "what" to do.

This one worked pretty good for me. It's a 4 card relationship spread where one person is unsure how to proceed in a stagnant situation.

1 2 3 4

What does this person have to focus on right now in the relationship?

What is the other persons' major problem?

What advice is best to give?

Is there something the first person needs to remember?

If clarification cards need to be drawn, they get done after the first 4 cards are laid out.