What Spread to Use?

[Village Witch]

I'm trying to figure out what spreads fit best for certain time frames and questions.

For daily reads, I draw three cards.

Weekly reads are usually a five card draw.

Monthly reads are anywhere from seven to nine cards.

I seldom draw a 3X3 but will on occasion. I find 3x3 spreads to be very redundant. Perhaps I am simply not understanding this spread.

I lay GT's to get a general view of what is going on in my life over several months to a year.

What spreads do you use and for what?

 

[ThtDancerGuy]

I'm trying to figure out what spreads fit best for certain time frames and questions.

For daily reads, I draw three cards.

Weekly reads are usually a five card draw.

Monthly reads are anywhere from seven to nine cards.

I seldom draw a 3X3 but will on occasion. I find 3x3 spreads to be very redundant. Perhaps I am simply not understanding this spread.

I lay GT's to get a general view of what is going on in my life over several months to a year.

What spreads do you use and for what?

Hi Village Witch,

Great question. My favorite spread to pull is just a simple 3-, 5- or 7-card line reading for specific questions. When I'm reading I like to make a client's question as specific and direct as I can so that I can understand what is being asked as best I can, and so I can fully understand what I'm seeing in the cards. I also feel like so many people abuse and overuse the 9-card Box spread by asking questions that a. do not need that many cards to answer, and b. are super simple things, like yes/no questions, which a nice line would answer better. I think that has to be my biggest pet peeve with readers, that so many don't know what questions go to what spreads...

 

[Village Witch]

I think that has to be my biggest pet peeve with readers, that so many don't know what questions go to what spreads...

Well that's why I asked. :-D

In what circumstances would you use a 9 card box spread, if ever?

 

[ThtDancerGuy]

Well that's why I asked. :-D

In what circumstances would you use a 9 card box spread, if ever?

I would opt for a 9-card Box spread if I had a certain area of life, like love or school or even a specific situation going on, where I wanted just a general overview of the energy around that topic. I find the 9-card Box is best utilized when you want to look at something and its many different facets. Some people even refer to it as a "mini Tableau" because it carries that kind of weight.

 

[Barleywine]

I generally don't do short daily or weekly readings, and I like the 3X3 for both monthly outlooks and for area-of-life readings. The GT I use for 6-month to 1-year readings and cover all of the relevant life-focus areas in one fell swoop.

Three-carders I use for practice in reading combinations, and might go to five for more complex exploration (the difference between a simple sentence and a compound one). I don't think I've ever used a seven card line, but it could be useful for weekly readings since you could build a day-by-day narrative to see where the "high points" and "low points" lie.

 

[Village Witch]

I would opt for a 9-card Box spread if I had a certain area of life, like love or school or even a specific situation going on, where I wanted just a general overview of the energy around that topic. I find the 9-card Box is best utilized when you want to look at something and its many different facets. Some people even refer to it as a "mini Tableau" because it carries that kind of weight.

Thank you. I will give that spread another try.

 

[Village Witch]

I generally don't do short daily or weekly readings, and I like the 3X3 for both monthly outlooks and for area-of-life readings.

I understand the area-of-life/specific focus of the 3X3. What I don't understand is using the 3X3 for monthly outlooks. What if two or three different things happen in a month? I don't see how that would fit in 3X3 spread.

 

[Barleywine]

I understand the area-of-life/specific focus of the 3X3. What I don't understand is using the 3X3 for monthly outlooks. What if two or three different things happen in a month? I don't see how that would fit in 3X3 spread.

When doing more general readings, I tend not to look at specific "things happening," but rather "environmental bias" or "situations developing." This gives a bit more interpretive latitude. I don't see monthly as being much different from weekly when only a general question has been asked. The 3X3 just gives more angles to explore over time, a bigger "sandbox" to play in.

 

[Village Witch]

When doing more general readings, I tend not to look at specific "things happening," but rather "environmental bias" or "situations developing." This gives a bit more interpretive latitude. I don't see monthly as being much different from weekly when only a general question has been asked. The 3X3 just gives more angles to explore over time, a bigger "sandbox" to play in.

Many thanks, Barleywine. I will try your approach. I love this forum. I love learning and exploring with the cards. <3