When I do #tarot readings I far prefer a 3×3 grid layout/spread.
The top row represents Thoughts & Decisions.
The middle row represents Feelings & Emotions.
The bottom row represents the Physical & Material world. This includes money, possessions and home.
The leftmost/first column is the past, as it pertains to the future.
The middle column is the near future.
The right hand column is the further future. Depending on when I am doing the reading this may be a few months or the next year.
The first card I turn over is always the centre card. This is the focus of the story I am to tell and other cards will be interpreted in relation to it.
If a reading leads me to a story with an unclear path I may draw a tenth card for clarity.
My cards are kept wrapped in a silk cloth. Some tarot practitioners believe this protects them from outside influence.. it certainly helps protect the cards and provides a clean surface on which to do a reading.
I have mentioned before that I am an atheist, but see tarot as a psychological tool. Readings can help people make up their minds about things they were previously indecisive about, comfort them that some troubles are transitory or that change need not be feared.
@snuffleorc I love this! I’ve always designed my own tarot spreads, because most of the “official” ones, such as the Celtic cross, feel unnecessarily complicated to me. But I think that’s only because they don’t resonate with me as a reader. I do appreciate them if someone else is doing the reading.
I love using lines of 3, and the way you designed this spread makes a lot of sense to me.
@snuffleorc I’m always doing that! I love to read tarot books, and I’ll take little bits from here and there to combine into something personal.
One of my favorite things from a book is Liz Dean’s “Quintessence.” In case you’re not familiar, it’s when you add up all the numbers of the cards and keep adding digits (like in numerology) until you get 21 or less. Then you match the number to a major arcana card that offers clarification or an overarching theme to the reading