How many spreads?

[Apollonia]

Greetings everyone.
I`m a Tarot fan still getting familiar with the cards, but the only spread I do so far is the common 3 card spread.
However, in time, my goal is to read for others as well.
Here comes the question: how many spreads you think one should know, when reading for other people?
Thank you.

There are five actual spreads that I use regularly when reading for others:

Celtic Cross (my main go-to)
Past/Present/Future
Do/Don't Do/Advice
Horseshoe (Body/Mind/Spirit/Friends/Family/Relationship/Career/Finances/Blessings)
10 card "If and When" (for questions like, "Will I ever get married?")

And then the ever-popular "Making It Up on the Spot" Spread where I just make up positions and keep adding positions based on the question.

Over the years I've experimented with other spreads, but in reading for over 25 years, these are the ones that have endured.

 

[Grizabella]

You need a good general spread that will pull out specific information on all different areas of their life separately.

You need a good spread which will tell them what they need to focus on / work on right now.

But most of all, you need to be able to tailor-make unique spreads quickly for unique situations. That is the skill that has helped me the most over the years.

I most commonly just make spreads up on the spur of the moment, depending on the sitter's question. I have a spread of my own I often use that starts out with 7 cards and can include more as necessary.

I really don't think it's necessary to have a bunch of spreads memorized. When I was newer to the cards, I thought it was necessary so I was very impatient with myself that I couldn't remember some I'd seen or didn't know which to use for which questions or occasions. I was making it much harder than it needed to be, really. If your sitter asks you about an area they're concerned with, you can easily work with them to refine their thoughts and form them into appropriate and precise questions. It just takes some practice.

 

[Farzon]

Greetings everyone.
I`m a Tarot fan still getting familiar with the cards, but the only spread I do so far is the common 3 card spread.
However, in time, my goal is to read for others as well.
Here comes the question: how many spreads you think one should know, when reading for other people?
Thank you.

I think that totally depends on your personal reading style. I started with using the Celtic Cross when I began reading, but today I prefer smaller spreads. I think bigger spreads mostly gather too much information in some cases. Smaller spreads can be very precise and focused for everyday questions.

And three cards is for me always one of the best methods of reading - it provides just the right amount of interaction between the cards.

For more specialized questions I also like to design my own spreads. It's simply the best way to cover the different aspects of an individual question.

 

[Barleywine]

I think that totally depends on your personal reading style. I started with using the Celtic Cross when I began reading, but today I prefer smaller spreads. I think bigger spreads mostly gather too much information in some cases. Smaller spreads can be very precise and focused for everyday questions.

And three cards is for me always one of the best methods of reading - it provides just the right amount of interaction between the cards.

For more specialized questions I also like to design my own spreads. It's simply the best way to cover the different aspects of an individual question.

Three cards is the bottom end of what I find useful, and I don't use it much; even for very specific questions I have a multi-layered four-card spread I like better. I find that, the fewer the cards, the more gaps that have to be filled in with "intuitive guesswork" (I "read the cards," I prefer not to have to mine my own subconscious for additional meaning.) I also design most of the spreads I use, if I'm not going with the Celtic Cross. The way I redesigned the CC, that provides me "just enough information."

 

[Sulis]

I usually use either a 3, 5 or 7 card 'spread'.. I've put spread in inverted commas as the spreads I use are very free-form.

Occasionally I'll use my own version of the Celtic Cross spread which is modified to turn it into a spread of advice.

 

[Farzon]

Three cards is the bottom end of what I find useful, and I don't use it much; even for very specific questions I have a multi-layered four-card spread I like better. I find that, the fewer the cards, the more gaps that have to be filled in with "intuitive guesswork." I also design most of the spreads I use, if I'm not going with the Celtic Cross. The way I redesigned the CC, that provides me "just enough information."

When I started exchanging readings here, I found that many thought my readings were too short and I still struggle to lengthen them.
Actually, I like some ambiguity in my readings for myself... but my preference for short readings seems to be very unique in the community.

I'd be very interested in your modifications of the CC, sir! (Was it the one you used in your experimental reading?) I think I should practice it more often...

 

[Barleywine]

I usually use either a 3, 5 or 7 card 'spread'.. I've put spread in inverted commas as the spreads I use are very free-form.

Occasionally I'll use my own version of the Celtic Cross spread which is modified to turn it into a spread of advice.

Interesting, in that I see everything in my modified CC except the two "past" positions as providing advice (and even those can shed light on why present and future actions are advisable, or at least explainable), with the outcome card as the last word in that department

 

[Barleywine]

When I started exchanging readings here, I found that many thought my readings were too short and I still struggle to lengthen them.
Actually, I like some ambiguity in my readings for myself... but my preference for short readings seems to be very unique in the community.

I'd be very interested in your modifications of the CC, sir! (Was it the one you used in your experimental reading?) I think I should practice it more often...

This is the one I'm using now, but I'm about to tweak it very slightly again based on a conversation here yesterday. That's what I love about this forum, it keeps me thinking and experimenting. Note that I've pretty much stopped using a significator, and I've been having fun with the additional step I call the "environmental development line" (Cards 4, 1, 2, 6 and 8 in a row). I also reconfigured it in a similar way to be more "ED friendly," another adjunct to a straight read of the spread positions.

 

[Sulis]

Interesting, in that I see everything in my modified CC except the two "past" positions as providing advice (and even those can shed light on why present and future actions are advisable, or at least explainable), with the outcome card as the last word in that department

Here's my version, it's only slightly tweaked but I find it works well: http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=4151956&postcount=8

 

[Tanga]

When I started exchanging readings here, I found that many thought my readings were too short and I still struggle to lengthen them.
Actually, I like some ambiguity in my readings for myself... but my preference for short readings seems to be very unique in the community.

Indeed?... I wait to experience a "short and sweet" reading from you.
...I regularly find that if there's a photo - for me, there's no need for all the flowery discussion around it with descriptions - so I find myself skimming through peoples readings to get to the relevant bits...

RE:CC This is the one I'm using now, but I'm about to tweak it very slightly again based on a conversation here yesterday. That's what I love about this forum, it keeps me thinking and experimenting. Note that I've pretty much stopped using a significator, and I've been having fun with the additional step I call the "environmental development line" (Cards 4, 1, 2, 6 and 8 in a row). I also reconfigured it in a similar way to be more "ED friendly," another adjunct to a straight read of the spread positions.

Thankyou Barleywine...
May I request your aforementioned spread on "Health & Happiness" please?


Thankyou Sulis - I'm reading through and pondering food for thought.