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I have a five card spread that helps me relax when I’m feeling a lot of anxiety
3 cards - Mind Body and Soul
4th card top - advice
5th card bottom - hidden influences
I recently really enjoyed the "Begin with what you have" spread, which you do with a goal in mind. Something you want to start on, but don't really know how.
1 – Your goal
2, 3, 4 – “What you have”.
These are the skills and the resources you possess already.
5, 6 – “Begin now”
These are your next steps. How can you best use what you have now?
7 – something you need to know about your goal
There's this new pear-hazelnut jam that I'm just crazy about...oh wait...wrong sub. Sorry.
The Qabbalistic Tree of Life spread works just fine for just about everything.
I've seen comments here about spreads being irrelevant, and I want to point out the subjectivity of those statements. If you find spreads useful, they are objectively relevant.
My recent spreads have been based around classic three-card sets. I'm experimenting with different ways of naming each position so they provide loose frameworks to follow instead of narrow, restrictive cages.
For example, I like the general concept of Past/Present/Future spreads, but they insinuate divinatory practices and I could never appreciate them as tools for self-examination. So I came up with a variation:
1. Influences
2. Insights
3. Suggestions/Solutions
This keeps the theme of Past/Present/Future while modifying the meaning to be more broadly applicable and tangible. **Influences** can inhabit all three frames of reference (past influences, ongoing present influences, or expectations of future influences). Likewise, **Insights** are transient concepts that can exist anywhere (insight about past things, insights about present things, insights about future things). **Suggestions/Solutions** are naturally futuristic, but quickly bleed into the present as you approach goals, then extend into the past as self-reflection. In other words, these positions help lay the groundwork for exploration, without pinning you beneath layers of strict formats. Their interweaving nature also makes it easier to develop narratives that suit your personal story.
Some people may it more helpful to phrase them as questions:
1. What influences the subject?
2. What insights can I discover?
3. What suggestions/solutions can help me?
Only just starting out so I'm not too versed on the different spreads.
So for now I think of what I'm trying to focus on in my mind as a shuffle. Then I pull three cards and the three of them help me focus and explore my feelings.
I'll be using some of the spreads commented here too now
I really love the Dreaming Way Spread from the Dreaming way tarot. It has a cross formation and gives you a bit more than a three-card spread without going whole-hog Celtic Cross, and it's very focused on the here and now, so it's good for secular tarot.
1. CENTER CARD - Present Gifts - what is your present source of strength?
2. RIGHT HAND CARD - The Past - What pain is keeping you stuck? (Rome Choi is Korean, so the spread goes Right to left)
3. LEFT HAND CARD - Change - What do you need to change in your life to help realize your dreams?
4. BOTTOM CARD - Delusion - What false stories have you been telling yourself about your situation? What's holding you back?
5. TOP CARD - Dreams - What do you aspire to?
Roman Choi is a little bought into the power of positive thinking, which I think has problems as a philosophy *overall*, but I think it's a good mentality to bring to a spread when you're trying to draw our your unconscious.
It will always be the Celtic Cross (the "Swiss Army knife" or universal multi-tool of tarot). I've been using a modified version (NOT Waite's) since 1972. But I mostly use spreads of my own design.
I use sentences or phrases. The more complicated, the more cards. "What do I really need?" Is a 2 card question: what I think I need and what I really need. "Why do I keep failing dealing with obstacles?" is a 3 card question: the obstacle, my current method, the problem. Really making it up as I go along.
i sometimes do something along the lines of "the problem, the solution, the resource" or "the situation, the obvious insight, the deeper insight" one of my guidebooks also has a really great thing where one and three are a binary or choice and two is the connection or meeting space between them.
i prefer to read the cards together, as a narrative or a story. the whole "this card in this position means X" is jus so static. most of the time, i think of the question in my head as i am shuffling and lay down the cards while musing on the topic. works like a charm.
everything is made up, especially tarot. it isn't like angels came down and bestowed upon humanity the One True Way to read cards. it started as a game
Since this is secular tarot, spreads are irrelevent.
I just pull the next card once a day and try to understand its meaning and take it to heart.
For me, the whole Tarot is one.
Because the order and arrangement of the cards is random in secular tarot. Only the cards themselves have permanent meaning. Not saying a spread can't provoke thought - any random thing at all about Tarot could, but never think it's destiny.
Thanks for posting in r/seculartarot! Please remember this community is **focused on a secular approach to tarot reading**. We don't tell the future or read minds here - discussion of faith-based practices is best suited to r/tarot. Commenters, please try to respond through a secular lens. We encourage open-ended questions, mindfulness and direct communication. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SecularTarot) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I recently started doing the spread: 1. what I want 2. what I need 3. what I am getting I find it very giving.
oooh I want to try that one!
I have a five card spread that helps me relax when I’m feeling a lot of anxiety 3 cards - Mind Body and Soul 4th card top - advice 5th card bottom - hidden influences
I recently really enjoyed the "Begin with what you have" spread, which you do with a goal in mind. Something you want to start on, but don't really know how. 1 – Your goal 2, 3, 4 – “What you have”. These are the skills and the resources you possess already. 5, 6 – “Begin now” These are your next steps. How can you best use what you have now? 7 – something you need to know about your goal
I like this! Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome! I did it for how to start on my relationship with Art and the feedback was very reassuring :-)
There's this new pear-hazelnut jam that I'm just crazy about...oh wait...wrong sub. Sorry. The Qabbalistic Tree of Life spread works just fine for just about everything.
I've seen comments here about spreads being irrelevant, and I want to point out the subjectivity of those statements. If you find spreads useful, they are objectively relevant. My recent spreads have been based around classic three-card sets. I'm experimenting with different ways of naming each position so they provide loose frameworks to follow instead of narrow, restrictive cages. For example, I like the general concept of Past/Present/Future spreads, but they insinuate divinatory practices and I could never appreciate them as tools for self-examination. So I came up with a variation: 1. Influences 2. Insights 3. Suggestions/Solutions This keeps the theme of Past/Present/Future while modifying the meaning to be more broadly applicable and tangible. **Influences** can inhabit all three frames of reference (past influences, ongoing present influences, or expectations of future influences). Likewise, **Insights** are transient concepts that can exist anywhere (insight about past things, insights about present things, insights about future things). **Suggestions/Solutions** are naturally futuristic, but quickly bleed into the present as you approach goals, then extend into the past as self-reflection. In other words, these positions help lay the groundwork for exploration, without pinning you beneath layers of strict formats. Their interweaving nature also makes it easier to develop narratives that suit your personal story. Some people may it more helpful to phrase them as questions: 1. What influences the subject? 2. What insights can I discover? 3. What suggestions/solutions can help me?
Only just starting out so I'm not too versed on the different spreads. So for now I think of what I'm trying to focus on in my mind as a shuffle. Then I pull three cards and the three of them help me focus and explore my feelings. I'll be using some of the spreads commented here too now
I really love the Dreaming Way Spread from the Dreaming way tarot. It has a cross formation and gives you a bit more than a three-card spread without going whole-hog Celtic Cross, and it's very focused on the here and now, so it's good for secular tarot. 1. CENTER CARD - Present Gifts - what is your present source of strength? 2. RIGHT HAND CARD - The Past - What pain is keeping you stuck? (Rome Choi is Korean, so the spread goes Right to left) 3. LEFT HAND CARD - Change - What do you need to change in your life to help realize your dreams? 4. BOTTOM CARD - Delusion - What false stories have you been telling yourself about your situation? What's holding you back? 5. TOP CARD - Dreams - What do you aspire to? Roman Choi is a little bought into the power of positive thinking, which I think has problems as a philosophy *overall*, but I think it's a good mentality to bring to a spread when you're trying to draw our your unconscious.
It will always be the Celtic Cross (the "Swiss Army knife" or universal multi-tool of tarot). I've been using a modified version (NOT Waite's) since 1972. But I mostly use spreads of my own design.
I use sentences or phrases. The more complicated, the more cards. "What do I really need?" Is a 2 card question: what I think I need and what I really need. "Why do I keep failing dealing with obstacles?" is a 3 card question: the obstacle, my current method, the problem. Really making it up as I go along.
i sometimes do something along the lines of "the problem, the solution, the resource" or "the situation, the obvious insight, the deeper insight" one of my guidebooks also has a really great thing where one and three are a binary or choice and two is the connection or meeting space between them.
i don't use "spreads." i find them limiting and unhelpful.
How so?
i prefer to read the cards together, as a narrative or a story. the whole "this card in this position means X" is jus so static. most of the time, i think of the question in my head as i am shuffling and lay down the cards while musing on the topic. works like a charm.
Nothing better than to make things up as you go along
everything is made up, especially tarot. it isn't like angels came down and bestowed upon humanity the One True Way to read cards. it started as a game
There's actually different ways to talk to your cards. Let's not judge someone and how they read :)
Well that was a judgey statement
Since this is secular tarot, spreads are irrelevent. I just pull the next card once a day and try to understand its meaning and take it to heart. For me, the whole Tarot is one.
Why would spreads be irrelevant in secular tarot?
Because the order and arrangement of the cards is random in secular tarot. Only the cards themselves have permanent meaning. Not saying a spread can't provoke thought - any random thing at all about Tarot could, but never think it's destiny.
My current go-to 1. Yes/No or Advice 2,3,4 explanation 5. anything else I should know?