celtic cross/different layouts?

i like to toss three cards at the end if i get confused or frightened by the 10th....then take a light feel for the 3 final cards.

I read cards 7-10 differently.

In order to stress the movement from the external to the internal, I read them as :

Card 7 - What Others think of the situation

Card 8 - What You think of the situation

Card 9 - What the Cards think of the situation (or Higher Self)

Card 10 - Ultimate Goal or Outcome

This removes the Hopes/Fears aspect from the card position, but allows it to come up still within the context of the card and the reading, if appropriate.

Cards 7 through 10

I've been studying the Tarot for two months now and of course have been exposed to the Celtic Cross spread. In the literature I've read, there are two lines of thought as to the meanings of cards 7 and 9:

First Method
Card 7 - Yourself
Card 9 - Your hopes and fears

Second Method
Card 7 - Your hopes
Card 9 - Your fears

I know that ultimately, with practice, my intuition should tell me which method will work best for me (just as it did with respect to the various positions for cards 3 through 6), but I was wondering if anyone who has more experience using the Celtic Cross spread could give me some insight on either or both methods of reading cards 7 and 9.

Thanks,

Hal