A “Human Dynamics” Situational Posture Spread

When I worked in corporate business, one of the major preoccupations of senior management was assessing the influence of "human factors" (which really meant human strengths and weaknesses as addressed in policies and procedures) on company performance. In tarot terms, the posture we assume in any situation is similarly affected by the "human dynamics" attending …

A 3-Card “Twist” Example Reading & Walk-through

I tried out this spread by asking "What is the advice for tomorrow?" The first picture below shows how the draw progressed within the overall pattern. I didn't deal all of the face-down cards, just the three face-up ones, but I thought it would be useful to put in placeholders showing the flow of the …

The 3-Card “Twist” Advice Spread

I'm intrigued by surprise endings in tarot readings, which I usually achieve through face-down "hidden" cards. But here is a spread that uses the successive "facing" of the randomly-drawn cards to offer the possibility of a "twist" or emphatic bend in the flow of the narrative. This spread requires the use of reversals to populate …

A “Rotational Bias” Mixed-Media Decision-Making Spread

Here is another "mixed-media" spread, in this case using a coin-flip to determine the direction in which to deal and read the cards. It requires pulling "clockwise" cards from the top of the deck and "counter-clockwise" cards from the bottom. Reversals may be used with this spread.

The “Elemental Crossing” Decision-Making Spread

Here is a decision-making spread that uses Elemental Dignities and the compatible or incompatible divinatory nature of cards in combination to identify which of four resolution modes appears to be the most favorable. The central "focus" card for the decision can either be selected intentionally in advance or pulled randomly during the deal. Reversals may …

The “Carrot and Stick” Situational Development Spread

This is a type of decision-making spread that examines the odds of success or failure in any significant change scenario. It requires separating the deck into two stacks, one with only the minor cards and the other with the court and trump cards. The two sets are dealt separately into a "three-plus-three" array with the …

The “Fool’s Itinerary” Success Path Spread

This spread assumes that there are two ways to contemplate the likely success of any endeavor: the "easy way" and the "hard way." It includes a three-card planning stage, a "trigger" card and a choice of paths dictated by the orientation of the trigger card, either upright or reversed. It is necessary to allow reversals …

The “3-Card a la Carte” Decision-Making Spread

Those of you who follow me know that I'm not a fan of three-card readings. In my opinion they take too narrow a slice of the deck and tell too shallow a story, requiring  considerable intuitive guesswork to fill in the gaps in the narrative. I prefer not to work that hard when the information …

Should I or Shouldn’t I? – A “Measure of the Moment” Reading

After having spent most of the last month in my house, going nowhere but into the back yard, I've been itching to get into the outdoors and do something active. The governor here has been encouraging it, but so many people are following his advice that the parks and trails are crowded, defeating the purpose …

The “Ring Pass Not” Critical Decision-Making Spread

I'm a firm believer in the idea that tarot can aid us in making momentous and potentially life-changing decisions as long as a judicious method is devised for applying its testimony. Like the old caveat about astrology ("The stars don't compel, they impel"), the cards in a reading should be treated as either encouraging or …