how do you design your own tarot spread/s?

hi i have being wanting to tailor a tarot spread to my or others specific needs/situation or question asked about...because sometimes you could do 3 or 4 readings to just feel that your question has been answered sufficiently.

how do you go about it? [what do you 'think' of in the first instance]

what questions do you ask?

then how do you translate that too an actual spread?

~ thank you
Celtic Heart

Spreads are nothing more than a series of questions.

In fact, some people do one-card-at-a-time readings that are essentially spreads, just laid out one card at a time, with each card representing the answer to a specific, narrowly tailored question. (e.g. "What do I need to avoid at the conference next week?"-- put down one card for the answer. Next, ask, "What action do I need to take to network at the conference?"--put down another card for the answer).

I read mostly for other people (face-to-face readings) whom I don't know. For many years now, I have almost always composed a spread on the spot, before the reading, that is tailored to that querent's problem. I take out a pad of paper and pen and ask them to tell me everything they want to know. Then I list the questions. Then I think how best to phrase the questions for a spread. Each question becomes a position in the spread.

That's what you need in order to create a spread that suits what you're looking for: a list of questions.

Celtic Heart said:

..because sometimes you could do 3 or 4 readings to just feel that your question has been answered sufficiently.

Click to expand...

And you should never need to do more than one reading on the same subject in the same time frame. If anything, it would only confuse and cloud the issue.

Get the spread right to begin with, and you shouldn't have the urge to do another reading to get more info.

Welcome to Aeclectic, Celtic Heart!

If you want to see the process in action, take a look at the Collaborative Spread Creation - Suggestion Thread and Index sticky Note at the top of this forum. As a group we've taken situations and created spreads for them.

making a spread

Welcome, Celtic Heart love your name...

I compose spreads by first setting out the design - i.e., a block of nine cards, or a 7 card pyramid, that kind of thing. I then assign a meaning to each line or position of the cards with a specific theme or question. Then I try it to see if it works, asking something I already know. I use a pad and pen to note the spread and if it works, I use it again

Your intuition will guide you...good luck!

Sometimes I just think of a question, type of question or variation of it and then google the phrase for lyrics, quotes or poems other times I have just made spreads from a song that has been going in my head (if I can make sense out of it). This way it makes it easier to remember and the flow usually is already there.. I like that others have based thiers on TV shows or movies or something..

The layout is another thing.. It can be hard to come up with a good flow but the flow of the layout is important. For instance with the Celtic Cross (there are many variations) but I've read the reasoning for the placements and flow. Some is for varification (and crossreference), confirmation and pinpointing. Some is for clarification. So basically the basic idea of the Celtic Cross is probably a good reference for making a spread..

Some spreads pop into your mind so easily so don't dismiss your abilities..

Good Luck

thank you so much for all the advice...

Celtic Heart said:

because sometimes you could do 3 or 4 readings to just feel that your question has been answered sufficiently

Click to expand...

mainly that is because i find one tarot spread doesn't always answer the questions i need it to answer, i want to ask multi-faceted questions that aren't represented in 'off the rack' style tarot spreads. this is why i'd like to learn to formulate my own.

Lotus Padma said:

Welcome, Celtic Heart love your name...

Click to expand...

thank you, i like yours, also


~ there is so much advice, good advice, i feel that i can now tackle this, actually i wonder i've waited so long to try it. mainly i think it's because i thought there was some 'secret formular' something that i wasn't privvy too. but it seems based on questions and intuition and i have lots of both! so i feel confident now and i'm going to give it a go maybe today. i'll let you know how it goes.
~peace ~
Celtic Heart

KMilliron has posted a guide for creating media-based spreads that you may find useful.
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=164592

I also second Rodney's suggestion of looking at the Collaborative Spread Creations - lots of useful information in those.

There is a lesson on Tarot Spread creation here:

http://hiddentruth.ca/main/tarot/how-to-design-your-own-tarot-spreads-written-by-teresa/

that might be helpful

Celtic Heart said:

mainly that is because i find one tarot spread doesn't always answer the questions i need it to answer,
i want to ask multi-faceted questions that aren't represented in 'off the rack' style tarot spreads. this is why i'd like to learn to formulate my own.
Celtic Heart

Click to expand...

Clear questions are the only way to get clear answers.
Try not to make one multi-faceted question... write it out (helps with clarity of thought) and then break it into individual positions. One card per position. And it is fun to use a layout so you can see how the cards interact with each other, but side by side is fine too, you can still see who is looking at or away from what or who, how the elementals blend or clash..

There are acres of spreads in the spreads forum, some very good, some horrible but it's a great place to start, particularly with a focus, like relationship or finances etc.

Welcome to AT!