I'm sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I read this a few weeks ago in the spread index and wow! The idea of formatting the CC as a cross opened up a lot of new ways to read it for me. I ended up tweaking my positional meanings and the general layout based on some of the different ideas in this thread and a few others. Mainly wanted to share because I loved reading other people's takes on the spread and as a result I'm actually enjoying the CC for the first time!
(Okay, fine - I'm also very tickled with my new "What ____s you" keywords; it's silly, but I love melodramatic touches like that when I'm reading for good friends and I usually get a couple of giggles out of them as I announce the cards
)
......5
........ Read upwards 6-5: Emotional & spiritual outlook - internal influences
3
...1/2
...4
.. ---> Read Across: Immediate situation. The past, how it affects you now, how it affects the outcome
......6
........ Read clockwise 6-4: What makes you who you are, how the past/your hopes/fears connect.
......7
........ 7 is a doorway from your personal sphere to the path suggested. How "who you are" becomes action.
......8
........ Read down 7-9: Your path. The practical cards: what you should do and what may happen along the way
......9
........ 9: Sometimes a summary/advice card. Often is clarified by the shadow card (bottom of deck)
.....10
....... 10: The outcome that may come to pass if the influences and conditions of the spread are met.
1.
"What Covers You" - The Querent
Your current state of mind, persona, and situation in life
2.
"What Crosses You" - The Present.
Immediate opposition, a challenge; internal or external. Sometimes an unpredictable change
3.
"What is Behind You" - The Past.
The past in relation to your current situation; events that may have led to the present and how they affected you
4.
"What is Before You" - The Future.
The immediate future and how it will arise from the present; how it will affect you and your situation
5.
"What Crowns You" - Your Aspirations & Attitudes.
Your hopes, dreams, and goals as they pertain to the situation (immediate or distant desires); your general outlook or beliefs.
6.
"What Founds You" - Your Unconscious.
Your deeper emotions, acknowledged or not; the root of the problem and why you're asking. Your values, motivations, and fears.
7.
"What is Within" - Your Actions & Opinions.
The things you say, do, think, and feel; how your unconscious affects your actions in the matter
8.
"What is Without" - Actions & Opinions of Others.
The influence of those around you on your self or situation, your environment and relationship to it
9.
"What Will Beset You" - Future Complications & Consequences.
Things that will result from the other influences, possibly something overlooked in the present that will come back to affect you; a "wild card"
10.
"What Will Be" - The Outcome.
The culmination and resolution of the reading: the finality of your situation.