Trying to find a spread

[Kitichi]

Hello all,

I saw someone do a spread that was 25 cards. I don't think I can draw it in ASCII. Basically, it was 3 circles. The first circle was 8 cards, like this:

---5---
-6---4-
7-----3
-8---2-
---1---

The next 8 cards were between the first 8, in the same order, though it seemed more that they were laid on either side of the even numbered cards rather than being laid directly between each of the first 8 cards. The final set of 8 were laid on the outside of the original 8, one per original card, and were laid perpendicular to each original card. The 25th card was put in the center of the circle.

Has anyone seen a spread like this before, and know the positions for it? I keep looking for a circle spread but I haven't found anything to match this.

 

[Astraea Aurora]

Hi Kitichi

I have never seen such a spread but it could have a variety of positional meanings or areas it works for.

1) The circle layout reminds me of astrological spreads where 12 cards are laid out in a circle and read according to the 12 astrological houses.
2) Laying out three circles could be about the past, present and future influences on a situation.
3) Each of the 8 cards in a circle could be about a different subject. Like home, family, job, finances, love life, social life. It reminds me of Gypsy spreads that cover a lot of topics in one reading. - Maybe the three circles have different meanings as well. The first circle could be about your family and partnership, the second circle about your friendships and social life, and the last circle about your job and everything in your life outside of the first two areas.
4) The way you describe the layout could indicate that the first circle describes the situation at hand (maybe from various points of view), the second circle gives additional and deeper understanding of the first circle, and the third circle shows possible solutions to the situation at hand.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Astraea Aurora

 

[Rovay]

Can't you remember who this "someone" who did the spread was? Perhaps it was his own spread.

 

[Kitichi]

Hi Astraea,

Thanks for your thoughts. From what I could tell, there were 8 categories in the spread. It wasn't clear to me if the middle cards (the ones laid between the original 8) went with both categories (e.g., the card between position 1 and 2 gave info on both the topic of position 1 and the topic of position 2) or not. It seemed like the last 8, laid at the ends of the first 8, did provide info on the original 8. So it sounds like it could be a combo of 3 and 4 going on. At the time, I was too nervous to ask about the "technicalities" of the spread, but once I got home and started writing down what I remembered, I realized it would be helpful for recalling what I'd heard. Was hoping it was a general spread used by many that I could find to help with my recall. Maybe I'll try to search with gypsy spreads as keywords to see if I can stumble upon it. Oh well, hopefully the next time I find myself in such a situation I won't be too nervous to ask.

Thank you again!