top and bottom card interpretations?

curious to hear other thoughts on this.
after shuffling your deck what are some possible interpretations
I can use by pulling the 1st card off the deck and the last card at
the bottom of that very deck?

could I read the top card as past/present state, and the bottom
card as future outcome?

I'm looking at many different ways to read these cards outside
of the more known layouts.. celtic cross, 3 card spread, etc..

I know the Tarot offers a plethorea of interpretations, and wanted
to hear some more creative ways of using the deck for readings.

~A~

Hi Atcandela!!

I read the base card - sometimes called the shadow card - for the majority of my readings.
These are the things I find using the base card
I find it represents a/the situation that the client can recognise immediately, and that the reader can identify throught the other cards in the reading. It seems to relate to the base issue or situation, often it reflects the way the questioner 'feels' or 'sees' the situation - it maybe the reason why they come to the cards for an answer. You can do a one card reading off the base card, or clarify the questioners immediate thoughts about the issue.
I read the base card after preparing the deck for a reading, and prior to laying out the spread.
Before I put my cards away after finishing a reading with them, I shuffle and cut them, then wrap them in their cloth and put them in their box. On going back to the deck for a reading, after I unwrap them from the cloth, the first thing I do is look at the base card - this can indicate what the next reading will be about, or give some insight on the next client.

Just some of my thoughts, but Im sure you will get your own interpretations happening as to what they mean and 'show' you

Blessings
Elven x

I, also, look at the base card after a shuffle and often before laying out the spread. Amazingly, it tells me in a nutshell the answer that I invariably find after laying and reading the spread--the nuance of what the rest of the cards will then tell me in depth.

Tarot is amazing that way.

Hi, Atcandela!

I almost always check the base card of a reading, whether I'm doing the reading for myself or for someone else. I think it can be the most helpful card in a reading.

Usually, I read it as where the querant is right at that moment, but that the might not be able to see. Something that is hidden, but is pushing them along.

Other times, I have found it to indicate something in the querant's past that is influencing the situation but that they had not been aware of.

It can be a bit of an oddball as well. Once, I was reading for a friend in a coffee shop, while another friend watched the reading while she waited for turn. The base card ended up being the 3 of Cups, which was just a perfect picture of the three of us around the table with our coffee cups! We all started laughing outright, and that pretty much set the mood for the reading right there.

Then, when it came time for the reading for the person who had been the previous reading, the base card was the 10 of Swords. I knew that the reading would be much more serious, much less lighthearted than the previous 3 of Cups reading. I suggested that she wouldn't want an audience for her reading because it was going to be much more serious. She agreed, we were given privacy, and I was able to do the reading without worrying about being watched.

I suppose it takes practice to figure out exactly how to read the base card, or even if you want to. Practice, by the way, is something I am still working on acumulating.

Hope this helps!

top/bottom card readings..

Wow!
Thank you all for the replies. I had a feeling that when I pulled the first
top card & last bottom card from the deck that there was a reason for
it.
I now have a more understanding of the bottom card interpretation
Would the first top card after the shuffling still represent past/present.

If the bottom card is seen as a "shadow card", any interpretation(s) for
the top card, possibly a middle card meaning?

~A~

The top card can mean whatever you want it to mean, I suppose, depending on the spread.

My favorite spread to do for my friends is a three card spread with the base card being the 4th card that indicates something that would not have otherwise come up in spread's 3 cards.

So, past-present-future, with the base card representing whatever it turns out it represents at that particular time. I usually just take the cards for the past, present, and future off the top of the deck.

Alternately, I do where you were/where you are/advice readings, with the base card representing something that they might not have thought about in that particular situation.

Hoping this is helpful!

I don't do this for every reading, but for some I like to take the top card and the base card and set them aside the spread.
I like to read them as the top card is what you see, what is presented, what is known, ect, and the bottom is what is hidden.
It doesn't work for all spreads or questions, but every once in a while it's a nice touch.

Two Top Cards and the Bottom Card

My daughter and I both take the two top cards {The cards from where we were dealing the reading} and the bottom card. We use it for extra info or it gives an extra message. Could be something completely different from the question, but relating to the subject.

I think whatever you do that works for you is what you should do. I'm not sure why we started doing the two top and the bottom card, but we use it for almost all readings.

BeyondtheVeil