I was kind of terrified of the celtic cross spread at first. It seemed extremely intimidating at first, when I didn't have any core meanings of the cards memorized, and I knew that I'd be flipping through a Tarot book for each card during the entire reading.
Now that I'm a lot more confident and less book-dependent, I don't mind it as much. That said, though, I think that I still haven't found the "right" version of the celtic cross for me yet. That is to say, I still haven't found one that resonates with me.
For example, in a lot of spreads, card 9 supposedly represents your "hopes and fears". I won't mince words here: I can't *stand* this position. Yes, I am aware that sometimes the things we hope for are also the things that we fear. But a lot of time, they are completely different things, and I find the vagueness of a "hopes and fears" position to be rather irritating and hard to work with. Perhaps I just haven't arrived at a comprehensive understanding of what is meant by this position, but at present I really hate it.
I also dislike versions of the cc where there is an "outcome" card and an "alternate outcome" card. I'll admit it. I don't fully understand how the reading makes clear which outcome is likely to happen and what that likelihood is based on.
Obviously much of my frustration with this spread stems from my inexperience, and I totally realize that. But I also think that for the celtic cross and I to ever truly get along, I'm going to have to tweak it for clarity.
Again, please bear in mind that these are the thoughts of a beginner.