Konraad's Past Life Spread pt. 1

Thirteen

New Study: *Konraad's Past Life Spread*

It's complicated, but Waaaaay Cool!

I was asked about a past life spread. I posted Konraad's spread and, as knew some folk wanted to discuss this complex but very useful past life spread, I figured I 'd better post it here as well. I'll be going over how to lay it out, here, in 2 parts, and then posting how to read it in 4 other posts, one for each aspect of the spread. Here we go!

Konraad's Classic Tarot Spreads gives a past life spread. You use all the majors. It's a little complex, but I'll try to lay it out. Use a BIG table, you need a lot of room for this one.

The idea is that we many past lives. And what we did in each one can affect aspects of our present life. Make it work or not work. This spread tells the querent which aspects of their current life (or childhood) were affected by a particular past life. And it lays out that past life.

Here's what you do: First, you seperate out the 4 aces. Then seperate out the majors. The lay-out of the cards will be as follows: 4 groupings of cards, each one called a "Throne," standing for some aspect of the querent's present (and past) life, and each crowned with an Ace. The Ace indicates the feel of that aspect of the person's life.

*******ACE*******(Throne 2)
***18*14*4*3*****

***ACE*** - ****ACE*** (Throne 1 & 3)
15*11*2*1* - *13*7*6*5*
*******19 - ********17

*******ACE***********(Throne 4)
21*20*16*12*10*9*8*22

You have the querent suffle the aces, then set them down as shown. They "Crown" the 4 thrones. So, Ace #1 (which will crown Throne 1) is set down to the left, then ace #2 is up top, then lay down ace #3 to the right, and #4, the final ace, below.

The Aces 1-3 (and their Thrones) refer to present life. The question is, what aspect of the person's present life is this past life going to explain? So, if this was a time in the person's early childhood where they were always home sick, the past life will explain that. Similarly, it'll explain why their career is frustrating, and why their current love relationships are filled with quarrels. The Ace hints at the parts of the person's present situation that the events of the past life are responsible for.

The meaning of the aces changes depending on the Throne.

Throne #1 = Early childhood/destiny
Ace of coins = Strength and vitality
Wands = Work and responsibilty
Cups = Love of pleasure
Swords = Poor Health

2 = Career
Coins = Faovrable
Wands = power
Cups = insufficent effort
Swords = frustrations

3 = Love & Marriage
Coins = Powerful
Wands = conflicts
Cups = Joy
Swords = Quarrels

4 = Past Life
Coins = Unhappy
Wands = Struggles
Cups = Beauty
Swords = Great power
 

Thirteen

Part 2

Right. So. You lay out the aces and now, having had the querent suffle just he majors (though I like to add in the court cards as well) you lay down the cards below the aces to form the thrones:

*******ACE*******(Throne 2)
***18*14*4*3*****

***ACE*** - ****ACE*** (Throne 1 & 3)
15*11*2*1* - *13*7*6*5*
*******19 - ********17

*******ACE***********(Throne 4)
21*20*16*12*10*9*8*22

It takes a little practice to lay them out. But it works like this. Start at Ace #1. Starting from the left, Card #1 then #2 of Throne1. Up to Throne2. Starting from the left, cards #3 and #4. Down counter-clockwise to Throne3, cards #5, #6 AND #7. Down to Throne4. Cards #8, #9, #10.

So. Throne1 & 2--get two cards. Throne3 & 4 get three cards. With me?

Back up. Still moving in from the left, Throne #1, gets 1 card, #11. But now we're moving clockwise, twice around--one card per Throne. So, #12 goes to Throne4, #13 to Throne3, and #14 to Throne2 and back home to Throne1 with card #15, down to Throne4, #16....

And now we finish off Throne3, with 17 right below there, like a puntuation mark. Under #5. Keep going, finish off Throne2 with #18 (there at the left end), and finish off Throne1 with #19, right below card #1.

Throne4 is the only one remaining that still needs cards. Put #20 & #21 to the left. Then, the last card, #22, goes to the right. See, past life. Last comes first, what was on the bottom rises to the top. You get the idea.

Practice it a little and you'll see it's rather fun. It's 2 cards, 2, cards, 3 cards, 3 cards --counter-clockwise. Then 1 card clockwise, two times around, and finish up 2 to the left, 1 to the right.
 

Thirteen

Any questions about laying out the spread? If not, go onto the post: Konraad's Past Life Spread: Throne 1. It'll discuss how one reads this monster ;)
 

Jewel

I will be posting my spread here on Friday as I will be computerless until then. Thanks for following up on this spread Thirteen. I am still trying to determine which deck I want to use ~giggles~. I am thinking a multi-cultural deck would be good, then again I wonder if I would not be better off doing the spread with a deck I am very familiar with and then comparing the layout with a multi-cultural deck. I have a way of complicating things *ROFLMAO*
 

Thirteen

Good point about choosing a deck! Past life doesn't work real well with cards that have a time-specific theme. I mean, you use the Mythic Tarot, and you start to think the past life is in ancient Greece or Rome every time, right? :) So you want a deck that's out of time or time neutral. I suspect, though I've not tried it, that either classic or very stylized/symbolic would work best. Or, as you say, one of those combo decks that have a multicultural theme.
 

catlin

Thanks!!

Thanks for sharing this spread! I'll try it out and see how it differs from the Abraham spread.
 

Jewel

Thirteen said:
Good point about choosing a deck! Past life doesn't work real well with cards that have a time-specific theme. I mean, you use the Mythic Tarot, and you start to think the past life is in ancient Greece or Rome every time, right? :) So you want a deck that's out of time or time neutral. I suspect, though I've not tried it, that either classic or very stylized/symbolic would work best. Or, as you say, one of those combo decks that have a multicultural theme.

Well Thirteen I have not gotten a chance to do this yet, and I am still in a quandry about what deck to use ~frowns~. Something keeps telling me I need a multicultural deck for this ... I sort of want to do it with my Cosmic Tribe deck (that deck and I really understand each other), but I am still debating whether I should use the World Spirit or Ancestral Path. Help me make a decision here ... please .... *LOL*. I know it sounds silly and that I should just pick one and go, but I am to indicisive to make the decision myself. I keep going back and forth between them, and as you can see I have not done my homework!
 

Kaz

Jewel,
I just used the Robin Wood and I think it was very true.
I'll post the cards later.

Kaz
 

Jewel

Kaz said:
Jewel,
I just used the Robin Wood and I think it was very true.
I'll post the cards later.

Kaz

Thanks Kaz! I love that deck too so that is another option. But I just have this nagging feeling that I need to use a multicultural deck ... not sure why. Sort of frustrating actually.
 

Kaz

just pick one that seems like talking to you, don't choose yourself, let it choose itself

Kaz