Spreads how I love thee...

Hi

I am doing a circle session on spreads next month and I thought I would canvass opinion from the wealth of experience here on AT.

We are having an open discussion, I would love to know your answers to the following (and anything else you want to say about spreads too):
-Does size matter (do you like the huge CC or prefer the simply 1-3 carder)?
-whats your favourite spread
-Whats your least fave spread
-what do you find confusing about some spreads
-how do you clarify spreads (if you do)
-which spreads do you use for what type of question, or do you use the same spread all the time
-How do you shuffle for spreads, do you do one shuffle or do you shuffle for each spread position

The ultimate aim is to find out what makes a good spread, am after any wisdom you can offer.

When I first started I found myself in the CC trap, and it confused me that spread and it still does. I know usually make up the spread as a go along, taking inspiration from spreads I have used previously, for example I do like the 'hidden issue/fear' from the horseshoe.

One of the spreads that I often on myself for fun is the Romany spread as it’s a free format spread, its like a story unfolding, because it has not positions you can play with it, and I like to mix numerology in it to.

Any feedback from you guys would be appriciated

-Does size matter (do you like the huge CC or prefer the simply 1-3 carder)?
I don't think size does matter, I find myself using 3 or 5 card draws, but I will also find myself doing spreads that are 14 cards long. It all depends on the question.

-whats your favourite spread
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4608

I found it when I first started tarot, and I keep coming back to it.

-Whats your least fave spread
It's not a SPREAD as such, but I hate yes/no questions. I prefer questions asking WHAT you can do to achieve the goal you want, not "will it happen". Apparantly I'm a fussy one.

-what do you find confusing about some spreads
There are some spreads I've come across where different positions will seem to have the same meaning to me. I think that's my learning difficulties coming through though, so if a spread confuses me, I don't use it.

-how do you clarify spreads (if you do)
If there is a card that doesn't make sense (or cards), I will simply draw two more cards for that confusing card, and use those to help put the original card into context. If, however, MOST of the cards make no sense, I'll type it up into word, come back to it a day later, look again, and if it still doesn't make sense, I'll scrap it. If I CAN understand it, I will copy it up into my tarot journal.

-which spreads do you use for what type of question, or do you use the same spread all the time
If it's a general question, I'll often just draw out 5 cards, and read them as is, but if there's a specific question, I'll use a spread that feels best to me at the time.

-How do you shuffle for spreads, do you do one shuffle or do you shuffle for each spread position
I shuffle once, then lay the cards out, drawing from the top.

Hi, 214Red Just wanted to share my thoughts with you I'll do it like SP has, question by question

-Does size matter (do you like the huge CC or prefer the simply 1-3 carder)?

Hmm, I want to say, "Yes, size does matter, but only in the moment" but that's not helpful at all. So no, size doesn't matter overall. Just sometimes I feel too snowed for a big spread; other times I want to see more of my deck, or allow the intricate relationships between cards to unfold, so I use a bigger spread (I like Elemental Dignities, too, as I am a sucker for punishment and like to confuse myself, so big is good to supply lots of grist for that mill).

-whats your favourite spread

I have two. My own "daily" spread is one that never fails me. I love using it and find it endlessly helpful. My other favourite (because I'm a sucker for punishment) is the Opening of the Key spread, which is less of a spread and more of a three-ring circus or full-scale military operation I only really use it with my Thoth deck, though, oddly enough.

There are many other spreads, though, which impress me and which I want to learn, including this one. I also have recently come to the fold with the Celtic Cross, which I am finding more and more useful as I become a more confident reader. I enjoy using it for new sitters, as it tends to be great for breaking the ice.

-Whats your least fave spread

Hmm, anything that has "his thoughts about her"/"her thoughts about him"/"his feelings about her"/"her feeligns about him" . . . generally anything that is not mature, empowering and responsible.

-what do you find confusing about some spreads

Sheer numbers of unnecessary cards. Also, the tendency to always feel the need to include an outcome card, even when the spread doesn't really address "the future". Pet hate.

-how do you clarify spreads (if you do)

The only one I really clarify is the CC, and that's because I kind of got the habit from a fellow ATer, tigga. She laid out cards willy-nilly on top of her CC, and I loved how organic it was and how utterly perfect it always turned out. She's quite the reader .

-which spreads do you use for what type of question, or do you use the same spread all the time

I tend to use the 5-Card Horseshoe often for specific questions; otherwise, a CC or free-form spread does it for questions for me. I tend to rarely have questions, so when I get the urge to read, I scroll through the Index in this subforum to find one I'd like to try.

-How do you shuffle for spreads, do you do one shuffle or do you shuffle for each spread position

One shuffle at the start, always.

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I also read Lenormand cards, and favour the 9x4 spread for that, as I adore the complications that arise when all the cards are laid out, and the myriad ways to read combinations and find connections. I love my Lenormand deck, so the opportunity to lay out all the cards and have those luscious images all gazing up at me at once is fantastic. It sounds somewhat like your Romany spread, though I must say that's unfamiliar to me.

-Does size matter (do you like the huge CC or prefer the simply 1-3 carder)?
I don't like too many cards, any more than 9 or 10 is too many for me. I don't think size matters really, whatever works for the person. I find though that the cards are better at getting their point across with a few cards than with a whole lot, less is more sometimes.

-whats your favourite spread
I usually make up my own. I just write down questions that I want answered about a subject, then make those questions positions and call that a spread. I never bother to arrange them in a fancy pattern either, because I don't see the point. Straight in a line or a couple of lines works for me. I quite like three card readings, because they get to the point and I find them very clear, and I like one card readings for much the same reason.

-Whats your least fave spread
I don't like spreads with significators, I don't get the point of them. I don't much like spreads with an outcome position, I prefer spreads that are less fortune telling and prefer ones with positions such as 'what can I do' etc. rather than giving a prediction. I find predictive positions somewhat limiting and pointless. I include predictive questions sometimes, but more proactively, such as 'what will happen if I do this'. Those kind of positions actually help me enact change or make a decision, rather than just being given an 'outcome' and then waiting for that outcome to happen without doing anything.

-what do you find confusing about some spreads
Oddly worded positions, where it's unclear what the person means exactly or the wording is very convoluted. Which is why I tend to just make up my own, because I basically only read for myself and that way I know I'm addressing what I want/need to address. I don't much like spreads with positions that ask for a yes or no, or timing, just because such questions are too hard decipher the answer.

-how do you clarify spreads (if you do)
I try not to, because I think that it defeats the purpose of doing a reading if you're just going to keep drawing more cards rather than look at the answers you were given. The answers are in the cards that were drawn for the spread, not in the rest of the deck. I used to do it, but it always made me more confused...but I used to just take out the one card that was bothering me, ask the cards to help me understand what this card means and then reshuffle and draw another card off the top of the deck. I used to look at the bottom of the deck, or draw the next card off the top, as I had heard something about it being the shadow card of the reading that gives more information, but now I don't bother doing that. I only read the cards that turn up in the spread, and I don't consider the card on the bottom of the deck or whatever to have any connection with my reading.

-which spreads do you use for what type of question, or do you use the same spread all the time
Basically I just write down my questions and use those questions as the positions for a spread, or I'll go look one up here or maybe use one from a book if I can't think of something or want something different. If I'm doing a daily reading, I always pull either three cards without positions or one card, and for a monthly reading I usually do a card for each week.

-How do you shuffle for spreads, do you do one shuffle or do you shuffle for each spread position
I shuffle the cards like I would a deck of playing cards, and I don't use reversals so I keep all of the cards up the right way. I kind of meditate/think about the question and try to calm myself and think of nothing so that I'm neutral, and then I shuffle while saying the positions of the spread. Not sure why I do that, I think I feel like it lets the universe know what I want answered or something and stops my mind from wandering. Then I'll usually keep shuffling until I feel like it's time to stop, I usually shuffle about 20 -30 times, and then put the deck down and draw the cards off the top of the deck. I lay them face down, and then turn them over one at a time, reading one at a time.

Thanks Thorhammer, Skadis, Haunted for taking the time to write indepth responses.

it was very interesting to read, i will follow with feed back from the circle when i get it and see if it mirrors what has been written here
Nik