3-Card Spread/Questions/Journals

ChaimGarciaNJ

Hi All,
Being new to Tarot, I thought it might be beneficial to get others' approaches. :)

It has been suggested to me numerous times to begin with a 3-card spread to get familiar with the cards, my intuition, etc. That being said...

Should I actually ask a question each morning before drawing cards? If so, should the questions be only about the day itself or something 'further off'?

Or should I just draw cards and reflect on them during the day and then come to a conclusion about them later at night?

Once done, It's also been suggested to journal my results. To write down the 3 cards in a notebook and what I 'got' from them, each day. Does anyone do this? Do you think this is a good idea or is there something that could/would 'work better'?

Thanks again all for your patience and help. :)
 

connegrl

The daily 3 card spread I use is general. What do I need to know, How is it important and advice. I draw and record what I've drawn in the morning and my thoughts on the cards. In the evening, I make notes on how the cards related to my day. I've tried drawing in the evening, but my cards always want to come up for the upcoming day. LOL

This is really one of the best ways of learning your deck and coming up with your own meanings for the cards.

I prefer general spreads without questions and often read without positions. I just look at the flow of the cards. I didn't do this when I started out, tho. also didn't use reversals initially. When I see a card flipped upside down, it messes up my concentration. There are other ways to determine if the card is reversed.

Welcome to AT!

Jen
 

Red Emma

3-card spreads

When I began, about +/- 10 years ago, it was suggested that one draw a single card every morning, journal it, think about it, then at the end of the day compare the day to the card.

At that time I was using a Celtic Cross spread every morning as suggested by whatever book I was reading. I became thoroughly bogged down in the interpretation which took an hour or more. I nearly gave it all up, then I chanced across a 3-card spread: issue, advice, outcome. It works quite well for me and has become my staple for nearly everything. Of course, I use it only for myself since, except for an occasional grandchild or friend, I don't read for others.

Best wishes as you explore a new and fascinating path.
 

ChaimGarciaNJ

Red Emma said:
When I began, about +/- 10 years ago, it was suggested that one draw a single card every morning, journal it, think about it, then at the end of the day compare the day to the card.

At that time I was using a Celtic Cross spread every morning as suggested by whatever book I was reading. I became thoroughly bogged down in the interpretation which took an hour or more. I nearly gave it all up, then I chanced across a 3-card spread: issue, advice, outcome. It works quite well for me and has become my staple for nearly everything.
Hi Emma,
Thanks for the feedback. What exactly do you 'do' when doing a 3-card reading? Do you ask a specific question? Or do you just draw 3 cards in the morning and see how the events of your day line up with the cards? If you just see how the events of the day line up with the cards, what exactly is the benefit of drawing cards at all? Am I making sense? :)
~Chaim
 

ChaimGarciaNJ

connegrl said:
I prefer general spreads without questions and often read without positions. I just look at the flow of the cards. I didn't do this when I started out, tho. also didn't use reversals initially. When I see a card flipped upside down, it messes up my concentration. There are other ways to determine if the card is reversed.

Hi Jen,
May I humbly ask, what the purpose of the 3 card spread would be for you if you're not asking questions or looking for anything specific? I'm not sure I understand the benefit of drawing 3 cards without specific purpose, then reflecting on them at the end of the day?

Please forgive my ignorance. I'm just trying to understand. :)

~Chaim
 

Wildfyre

I normally don't ask specific questions of my deck. Let's say I'm doing my daily 3-card in the morning. What I do is find a quiet moment in a quiet place and begin handling my deck. Shuffling my cards, cutting the deck, pulling cards from the inside to the outside, however I feel like doing it. Rather than ask a specific question, I focus on myself, my day, whatever it is that's on my mind. Then when it feels right, I stop moving my cards and draw.

My feeling is that my deck knows me, and it knows what I'm asking of it.

But you'll find that SO much in Tarot is personal preference, from the way you store your cards to the way you shuffle to the way you read. Find what works best for you and stick with that, even if it's not "normal". Hell, I don't think ANYTHING I do regarding Tarot is normal.

At to elaborate, sometimes you aren't really looking for anything specific. Sometimes we get bogged down by specifics, and we are looking for our cards to give us a certain answer or a certain direction, instead of remaining neutral and just letting the cards speak to us. For me at least, focusing on my issue or question or whatever it is I'm seeking guidance on works better than asking a direct question.
 

Red Emma

3-card-spread

ChaimGarciaNJ said:
... then I chanced across a 3-card spread: issue said:
Hi Emma,
Thanks for the feedback. What exactly do you 'do' when doing a 3-card reading? Do you ask a specific question? Or do you just draw 3 cards in the morning and see how the events of your day line up with the cards? If you just see how the events of the day line up with the cards, what exactly is the benefit of drawing cards at all? Am I making sense? :)
~Chaim

You do whatever you do when you read with any other spread. Ask a specific question, ask for a general reading about the day ahead, etc.

I recently did a 'general' spread about the day ahead. The 'issue' card was the 10 S, which I consider the worst card in the deck. It turned out that my husband and I had a major row by lunch time.

Before that I had considered the 10 S to equal to having the engine from a passing jet fall on your house. I posted the situation on ATF and learned that this card more frequently refers to emotional pain than physical occurrances. Anyhow, although I don't use more complicated spreads -- in my situation they're not useful -- this one does fit my needs. I've not ever asked a quesiton of it that I didn't get a useful answer.

Also, the time of day doesn't matter. Just whip out the deck any old time, ask your question and deal 3 cards. You'll get your answer.
 

geministar

For me, a one-card daily works best. Depending on time, sometimes I will draw it in the morning and other times I will draw it the night before.

I ask the question "what do I need to know today", write down my thoughts on the card in my journal, then at the end of the day, see how my day measured up to the card and write some more in my journal.

I also like to think about the card during my day and this also helps me get to know my cards better.
 

nicki

I agree with geministar and the one card a day, I only started studying in October and was getting in a tizz trying all different spreads! I then decided to go back to basics I bought a good journal and tarot bible then going through my cards randomly one by one (long process, but worth the effort) I wrote down what I thought that card meant then compared the meanings from my tarot bible. This allowed me to really get to know my cards and i now repeat this process with each deck I buy. If I have time i draw one card in the morning if not then I draw it at night and then apply that card to my day and write it down. One tip is practice, practiceand practice again. Hope this has helped.

nicki
 

SunChariot

I'm not sure about the three card readings or if you have to do a reading a day. I never followed anything like that, and I'm happy with where I ended up. I just read whenever I wanted when I started and on whatever subject called to me.

Yes to the Journal. Your journal is an invaluable learning tool for so many reasons. I have always kept all my readings and it has been an enormous help to me to be able to look back on them over time. First to see my progress which lets me be sure what's working for me and what's not, secondly because there have been so many times (especually in the beginning) there were so many times when things I saw in a reading for myself sounded like such total nonsense, and then when I read the reading over months later it was alll completely true. Sometimes we just have these blinders on and cannot see or understand the truth of a situation right away. You might find that readings that seemed like the were false were all perfectly true when you reread them later.

Also I keep the readings I did for others with feedback. The feedback helps you improve your skills, as well as any new techiques on Tarot that I might want to reread later.

Bar