The Fool from Russian Tarot of St Petersburg

…I have to admit I’m a bit laissez-faire. I have several favourite tarot spreads: one, two or three cards, a seven card wheel spread (six + one in the centre) and the good old Celtic Cross.

The wonderful thing about the CC is that you can use it for almost any question. You can use sections of it – like the horizontal time line: past, current issues and near future. You can use the first part (the cross) or the second part (the staff). You can pick out the cards that appear to be most relevant and use the others as the supporting cast.

Mostly, I don’t use any spread at all – preferring to let the cards do the talking, rather than me shoehorning them into a formal structure. Having said that, sometimes using the restrictions of a predetermined layout can bring an enormous amount of detail to a reading. It also helps you narrow down what the card means in the context of the question.

I can’t say for sure how I choose whether to use a spread or not. If I’m reading face-to-face, then I generally use one of the spreads mentioned above… clients like to see a little ritual, don’t they?

Do you search for the perfect spread for each question, or do you have one or two old favourites?