Your go-to spread

violetdaisy said:

I usually do just a 3-card spread, with the meanings of the positions changing as needed. Sometimes it's "what three things do I need to do for..." Other times it's a Past/present/future thing.

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Can I ask what do you normally do when changing positions for the 3-card spread? In other words, how do you "inform" your cards that you are using a set of different position meanings? Has the deck ever get confused when there is a subtle change, say, you would change the right position from "outcome if I take the advice", to "outcome if I don't take the advice"?

violetdaisy said:

I usually do just a 3-card spread, with the meanings of the positions changing as needed. Sometimes it's "what three things do I need to do for..." Other times it's a Past/present/future thing. Outside of that I do like spreads with 7cards or less - I think the horseshoe I use is 7 cards

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Yup, what she said spread

I make up the spread depending on what the question is and what exactly I feel the querent needs to know. Then I'll use multiple cards for each spread. I typically don't like to pull the cards out myself- instead I rely on "jumpers" or cards that fall out so they/the spirit guide tell their own story instead of me manipulating it.

I tend to stick to two or three cards -- two cards as a daily draw, three as a query into a specific issue. The three-card draw is probably my favorite due to its extreme versatility.

Once a year, a month or two before my birthday, I've started using Christine Jette's Karmic Insight spread to supplement my solar return chart as I start planning for the new year.

mydearruby said:

Can I ask what do you normally do when changing positions for the 3-card spread? In other words, how do you "inform" your cards that you are using a set of different position meanings? Has the deck ever get confused when there is a subtle change, say, you would change the right position from "outcome if I take the advice", to "outcome if I don't take the advice"?

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I feel as long as I am clear with the position descriptions before I start shuffling the cards will respond accordingly. Naming the positions after you've shuffled and are ready to draw could result in weird readings.

violetdaisy said:

I feel as long as I am clear with the position descriptions before I start shuffling the cards will respond accordingly. Naming the positions after you've shuffled and are ready to draw could result in weird readings.

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Thanks! Do you think it necessary to write down the spread before shuffling?

mydearruby said:

Thanks! Do you think it necessary to write down the spread before shuffling?

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Nope, just have a clear idea in your head. However I tend to want to look back on reads I have done so writing down the position meanings, corresponding cards, and what deck I used lets me set it all back up later if I want to take a second look at things.

If people don't have a set issue on their mind (or aren't prepared to tell you), I use this one. It'll show you where the hot-spots are. Otherwise, I have any of the other spreads I've invented, also listed there (search the spreads area with my name in "threads started by"), depending on the needs of the moment, or I cook one up there-and-then. But the one I linked to first gets used by far and away most often.

violetdaisy said:

Nope, just have a clear idea in your head.

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I don't even bother with that, often. Sometimes I won't know how I'm going to lay the cards out until the first one lands on the table. Then the others just follow, and end up wherever they need to. That's called "cooking up a spread".

It depends on what kind of reading I'm doing. If I'm reading for my free clients I'm most likely throw down three cards and they mean whatever I need them to mean.

If I'm reading for paid clients who know their question and can share it I tend to favour a horsehoe. If they're paid but won't tell me the question I try to limit the number of cards (I charge per card) and use what is essentially the first half of a celtic cross, more or less. It's a spread that I've adapted for the purpose. If they want to then narrow down on what comes up I'll do a horseshoe for them. Doing the two spreads can get pricey which is why I try to keep the card numbers down (plus my own time and energy).

I'm doing a project right now where I interview all of my decks. So if I'm reading for myself that's most likely what spread I'm using right now. If I need answers I'll do an exchange. I struggle with reading for myself at times.