What is a Tarot spread - Tarot Spreads
A spread is a preset pattern for laying out the Tarot cards. It defines how many cards to use, where each one goes and what each one means. A spread is a template guiding the placement of the cards so they can shed light on a given topic. It is within this template that the meanings of the cards come together so beautifully.
When the requisite number of cards is laid out, the rest of the pack is put aside and not used. Glance quickly at all the cards laid out and note if there is a preponderance of any one suit or if there are many court cards or cards of the major arcana. These indicate the general trend or direction in the readings.
- Many Wands - Change
- Many Cups - Love, Goodness
- Many Swords - Strife
- Many Pentacles - Political action or Intrigue
Remember that readings depend not only on the meaning of the individual card but also on its place in the layout and the cards on each side may also affect the interpretation. Question generally fall in one of the following categories :
- Relationships - love, marriage, family matters etc.
- Material things - money, business affairs, property etc.
- Interests - personal accomplishments, travel etc.
- Pyscho-Spiritual matters - problems encountered on the mental and spiritual plane.
Tarot spreads ca be of any size or pattern. A spread can contain just one card while Rahdue’s Wheel includes all 78 cards and creates a vast tableau of one person’s life.
Most spreads contain between sex and fifteen cards. This range is small enough to be manageable, but large enough to cover a topic in some depth. The pattern of a spread often forms a design that reflects its theme. For example, the Horoscope spread is in the shape of the traditional circle that forms a person’s birth chart. The twelve cards of this spread correspond to the twelve houses in astrology.
When cards are related to each other in a spread, an entirely new level of meaning is created. Combinations appear and a story line develops with characters, plots and themes. The weaving of a story from the cards in a spread is the most exciting and creative aspect of a tarot reading. It is actually an art.
