The simplest spread of all is the one-card spread. You choose a subject and turn over one card to gain insight into that subject. You might think there is not much useful information to be gained from one card, but that is not the case! What a one-card spread lacks in diversity, it gains in simplicity and directness. The guidance you receive from one card is succinct and easy to remember.
The daily reading is a one-card spread with a time period subject—one day. The purpose of the daily reading is to heighten your awareness of one approach to life for a single twenty-four-hour period.
To establish a daily reading practice, follow the guidelines found here and in the Learning Procedure section in Chapter One (page 9). Keep a journal, if you can. After a while, you will find it interesting to go back and trace the pattern of your choices.
I started studying the tarot in earnest when I was spending my days caring for my two boys, both under five. One day I calculated the distribution of my daily cards to that point and found the following:
How clearly this described my life at that time—heavy on the real world (Pentacles) and basic forces (major arcana) and not so heavy on individual creativity (Wands).
You will probably be surprised to find that you draw certain cards over and over. Of the fifty-seven Pentacles I recorded, I drew the Ace and Queen eleven times each! At home with my children, so many of my days reflected the themes of these two cards. The Queen of Pentacles is the ultimate nurturing mother. The Ace of Pentacles offers opportunities to enjoy the material side of life, and it doesn't get more material than changing dirty diapers!
I picked these two cards so often that I became suspicious about them. I examined them closely one day to see if I had damaged them in such a way that I would be more likely to select them. They appeared no different from the others. I was simply drawn to them because they expressed my situation at that time. The cards you select frequently will tell you about your concerns.
Three-card spreads are also simple, but provide a little more detail about a subject. The number three is a powerful, archetypal number. It communicates the idea of two factors combining or developing into a third. It also implies one factor branching into two different paths or choices.
Many traditional spreads have three cards, such as Past/Present/Future or Romance/Career/Health. You can create a variety of three-card spreads using the Flex spread which will be discussed in Chapters Ten and Eleven.
The Quick Insight spread uses three positions from the Celtic Cross (page 283): position 1—the heart of a matter, position 2—some related factor, and position 9—guidance. The first two positions capture the core dynamic of a subject –its essential energy (1) and some other factor (2). The guidance card (3) to the right provides perspective on that combination.
Figure 12 shows a sample Quick Insight spread. The main subject is a situation—“my dispute with a contractor.” A quick interpretation might be:
This situation is an opportunity to be confident and sure of success (Ace of Wands in position 1). A factor for change (position 2) is that I need more detail and knowledge before I can take advantage of that opportunity (Eight of Pentacles). The guidance card reinforces this idea, but with stronger energy (Hierophant—major arcana). Since the Hierophant and Eight of Pentacles are reinforcing cards, the guidance is a strong push toward learning and studying. The message of this reading is, “I should become more informed and educated to encourage the potential for success in this contract dispute.”
Small spreads are easy to use on a regular basis. They give you the opportunity to connect with your Inner Guide frequently. Small spreads are meant to be quick, so the reading procedure for them is simplified (see the Simplified Reading Procedure page 330). If you never go beyond small spreads, you will still gain tremendous value from your tarot cards.