Quest for Glory Spread

I thought that I had posted this before but I couldn't find it so here goes.
This spread comes from the computer game Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness designed by Lori and Corey Cole for Sierra Online (a great game from a great series that I would love to discuss with fellow fans).

A gypsy tribal leader named Magda reading with the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg in the game uses the spread to aid the hero. It is used to find out about a person's past, present, and goals for the future. It is generally used to find out about a person who is not sitting at the table with you and brings up the ethical question "Is it right for me to get information about a person without their permission?" Everyone must decide this for himself or herself.

..............................................10
....................8
.......................x9

2..................1...................6
..x3......................................x7

....................4
......................x5

1. The subject – who this reading is about
2. Their distant past – (I think you get to decide how “distant it is” but this could be considered their developmental years
3. Crosses 2 – What effect this had upon their life
4. Their recent past – What they have been up to lately
5. Crosses 4 – The effect that this has had upon them
6. Their Present – What they are working on/dealing with right now
7. Crosses 6 – The effect this is having on them
8. The future as they would have it – this is an important distinction, it isn’t what will be but what they want to be
9. Crosses 8 – The effect that this future will have on their life (people who are uncomfortable with using the cards to predict he future as such could instead use this position to mean “what effect their future goal has on their present action” but I think that that gets a bit muddled with card 7 and is also less dramatic
10. The card that is the ruling influence in their life. This position was used for dramatic effect in the computer game the readings appeared in. I could see people leaving it out or crossing the first card with it. One could argue that this information is supplied with card #1. I think it bears some experimentation to see whether or not this card adds useful information.

One of the strengths of this spread is that the cross cards really clarify the cards they are laid upon. This is especialy helpful for those of us who do not often read with reversals. So when a Queen of sword comes up it is easier to understand which facets of this card's personality are coming into play. If she's crossed by the Chariot we can see the side of her that is dedicated and clear-thinking. If she is crossed by the 5 of Cups we know this is about the bitterness and disappointment associated with the Queen.

I have done a couple of reading with this spread before and have liked it. I will post one so you can see it in action.

A sample reading for this spread is here: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?p=517962#post517962

i recall that post, and i saved it a while ago. was this you?

I used a spread that I actually got from a computer game: Quest for Glory IV Shadows of Darkness... rather ominous title I know, in it a Gypsy uses the Russian Tarot of St Petersburg to conduct readings for the hero. In case anyone's worried, the game was very pro-gypsy and showed that much of what was said about them was a misunderstanding based on fear and superstition.

Ok it looks a little like this

.........8.............10
.........x9

2.......1........6
x3...............x7

.........4
.........x5

Hmm that looks odd I'm still trying to learn how to raw layouts on a message board. Anyway the spread normally is used to find out more about a person their past present and the future that they are planning.

card 1 represents who the reading is about
2 is their early life and upbringing
3 crosses 2 and shows how their upbringing influenced their life
4 represents their later youth and beginning of their independence
5 crosses 4 and represents how this influenced their life
6 represents their maturity
7 crosses 6 and shows how 6 influenced their life
8 represents the end of their life or more specifically their death (in my reading I actually got the 10 of swords which reflected the violence of the man's father's death
9 crosses 10... I read this as the influence of their death on others

10 is the card that "rule the reading" and shows how they are now. In this reading it showed his father being at peace.

In a regular reading (living querent) 6 and 7 are the present, 8 represents the future they plan and 9 represents how that future will affect them and others. 10 represents the overriding influences on their life and connects the "theme" of their life. If 0 were, say the 7 of wands than their life might have usually involved some element of a struggle.

The reason I liked this approach is that it is a way of finding out more about the departed without actually invoking them like one might do with a ouija board or other more traditional séance activities.

Edited to correct heinous spelling errors.

Click to expand...

i'm very glad you posted this, and i like the update, but thought you might like this included for solidarity/expansion. =)

i do not have much experience reading with this spread myself, so when i use it, i've been having trouble understanding it, but i'm becoming more familiar with it. (i, too, was a big fan of that particular title. to this day it remains one of my favorites if not THE favorite classic computer game.)