Help with directions?

I was wondering if the direction of a 2nd card in relation to the 1st card means anything? Like, if the 2nd card was above the 1st card, does that hold any special meaning, or difference from if the 2nd card was below the 1st card?

Also I was wondering about the order (directionally) to put the cards down. Is counterclockwise anything different than clockwise? What about left-right, right-left, top-bottom, bottom-top?

I want to make a few spreads of my own, but some special element seems to be missing when I try. If the directions mean something, then maybe when I design a spread for myself, it will seem more accurate, and trustworthy.

Maybe the directions mean nothing, or maybe it's a thing that differs from person to person, but I would love to have a spread that other people could connect to as well. Maybe I am asking too much, heh.

Thanks to all who may answer any of my questions, and for reading such a long post. =]

Hi Lynny,

Welcome to AT!

Lynny said:

I was wondering if the direction of a 2nd card in relation to the 1st card means anything? Like, if the 2nd card was above the 1st card, does that hold any special meaning, or difference from if the 2nd card was below the 1st card?

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Unfortunately, my answer is "Yes. And no." For me there seems to be an organic, for lack of a better word, reaction to how to lay out the cards. Depending on the positions in the spread, sometimes it makes more sense to me to put the second card above the first, sometimes it feels right to put it below, etc.

Lynny said:

Also I was wondering about the order (directionally) to put the cards down. Is counterclockwise anything different than clockwise? What about left-right, right-left, top-bottom, bottom-top?

Click to expand...

For me, and YMMV, the order in which the cards are laid down needs to flow. If the positions in a spread are laid out in a haphazard manner, then I either won't use the spread or I'll change the order of how the cards are laid out so that the flow is better. Again, depending on the positions that are covered, sometimes it makes more sense to lay out the cards clockwise, sometimes counter-clockwise, sometime from left to right, etc.

For me, any spread that looks at any type of duality, be it decisions, paths or perspectives, should be organized as such with one path on one side of the spread (I usually prefer these types of spreads to have a left/right orientation, but there's no reason they can't be top-bottom) and one path on the other side.

I like spreads that make some type of shape other than a straight line. A relationship spread with enough cards can easily be made to look like a heart. A decision/alternate path/different perspectives spread can easily be made to look like a fork. And on and on and on. Other people don't care about the layout of the cards. And that's fine too.

Lynny said:

I want to make a few spreads of my own, but some special element seems to be missing when I try. If the directions mean something, then maybe when I design a spread for myself, it will seem more accurate, and trustworthy.

Maybe the directions mean nothing, or maybe it's a thing that differs from person to person, but I would love to have a spread that other people could connect to as well. Maybe I am asking too much, heh.

Click to expand...

That's the great thing about AT being a learning forum. Post your spreads and even if you don't want input on what might be missing or how the layout could be improved, people like me will likely give you that input anyway!

Lynny said:

Thanks to all who may answer any of my questions, and for reading such a long post. =]

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This was a short post. Trust me.

Rodney

Hi Lynny,

directions differ from person to person I think, although there seems to be a broad consensus amongst those knowing about cartomany as well. Any cartomany will give you a basic understanding of the directions, be it Kipper, Gypsy oracle, Lenormand or playing cards.

From my experiences, cards that are lying above tend to be about the mental and spiritual plane, cards that are lying below tend to be about the material plane. Cards to the left are about past matters, cards to the right are about future matters. Circles are about union and one-ness to me, clockwise or counter-clockwise is unimportant to me. (But I'm sure people will disagree with me. ) Triangles are about three parties involved, two pillars are about two parties involved, squares are about four different things. I could go on and on about this, geometric patterns are worth investigating IMO.

In the end a shape is just a shape to me. When I feel that a given layout doesn't ring true for the moment I change it to allow a nice flow, as Rdoney called it. I have been known to change a layout mid-reading to allow for better mergence.

I always like to look at which way the figures in the cards are facing as i've found this can reveal who/what is influencing who/what if at all, so i always take that into account when looking at or developing new spreads.