Additional Spreads
Extensions of the Basic Spread
In Chapter 3 we described the basic spread of the open reading: three cards from the major suit laid down side by side from left to right. Later, in Chapter 7, we discussed the extension of this spread to include the minor suits, but the basic spread can be extended in other ways as well. For example, during the reading we may feel the need to add more cards to clarify an unfinished issue or to finish the reading on a more optimistic note if the querent appears to be in a difficult emotional state.
A card that we can see without opening additional cards is the “hint card.” This is the card that sits at the bottom of the deck, so that we can see it just by turning the deck over. Sometimes I glance at this card before laying out the spread, but I don’t say anything about it for the time being. Later on I might want to integrate the hint card into the reading without defining its role in advance. For example, I can interpret it as a general statement about the query, as an additional or side issue that is relevant for the reading, or as offering a useful perspective through which to look at things. If I feel this would serve the reading, I can also take the hint card out of the deck and lay it open to the querent’s view beside the other cards.
It is also possible to obtain a single card that sums up the three-card spread by means of a numerological technique called theosophical addition. By this method, we add up the numbers of the cards that came out in the spread. If the total is less than 22, we pick out the card in the major suit with this number, and this becomes the summary card. If the sum is 22 or more, we add its digits together. For example, if the three cards in the spread are the Wheel (10), the Star (17), and the Sun (18), the sum of their values is 45. Adding these two figures together (4 + 5) gives the Hermit card (9) as the summary. Should the summary turn out to be one of the cards already in the spread, we can see it as a special emphasis to be put on this card.
Naturally, the most direct way to extend the basic spread is just to take out additional cards from the shuffled deck and lay them beside the first three. We do this according to our spontaneous feeling during the reading. For example, when we read the cards as a story with a time line, we can add one or more cards on the right to see how the story continues. We can also add a card on the left to see the origin of the situation. Another option is to form a cross shape by adding two cards to the basic spread, one above the middle card and one below it. Interpreting them in the spirit of the symbolic language of the vertical axis discussed in Chapter 4, we can see the top card as related to spiritual aspects or a higher level of meaning. The bottom card can represent deep underlying patterns, subconscious feelings, or the emotional base motivating the query.
The choice spread, which I learned from Jodorowsky, is suitable for a situation where the querent has to choose between two or more options. First, we should make it clear to the querent that the cards will not decide for them; the cards will only give the querent a new perspective that might help them make their own choice. Then we ask the querent to make a mental division of the surface of the table (or the spread mat) into two equal parts, one beside the other. The querent should decide which part represents each one of the options, but at this stage it is better that they keep this choice unknown to us. We can naturally expand this to more than two options. Now we hand them the deck and ask them to shuffle it and lay three cards facedown in each part.
Instead of exposing the cards right away, it’s a good idea to begin by trying to figure out the querent’s emotional attitude from the way in which they lay the cards down for each option. First of all, we may watch their movements. Do they lay the cards in a confident or hesitant manner? After laying them down, do they correct the cards’ position or orientation in order to create a more orderly structure? We should also notice the order in which they lay the cards. For example, if they lay the first card on the left, the second card on the right, and only then a third card in the middle, this creates a movement of convergence and retreat after an initial advance.
Now we should look at the way the cards are arranged on the table. For example, if the querent laid the cards in the bottom edge of the available area, it means that they aren’t taking advantage of the entire range of opportunities available to them. If they lay each card in a higher position than the previous card, this expresses rising and advancement. If the cards aren’t parallel and their top parts are farther away from each other, it may mean expansion or divergence. If their top parts come closer to each other, this expresses convergence, or a process of focusing. In other words, we apply the rule “everything is a sign” to the way the querent lays the cards on the table.
Now is a good moment to stop and share our observations with the querent. This could also be a good time to ask them which option each part represents and refine our observations accordingly. Having done this, we can turn over the cards to expose them and then read them as a separate spread for each option. Of course, we should pay special attention to parallels or opposing features arising between the two sides.
The basic idea of the choice spread can be further extended to other situations, and we can improvise on it in different situations. The idea is to let the querent lay the cards facedown, and then turn them over and read normally. In general, we can interpret the first stage as expressing the querent’s emotional preferences and the second one as the expected dynamics or outcome of the situation.
In the open reading method we usually do not use spread layouts with a fixed role for each card, but sometimes we may want to do something of the sort, either having decided about it beforehand or as an improvisation during the reading. We can use one of the many spreads that appear in various books and websites or we can create a spread of our own.
A common source of inspiration for creating spreads is geometrical shapes, which have a symbolic meaning. For example, several books present a spread based on a five-pointed star oriented with one tip at the crown. In my version of it the star corresponds to a human shape, with the star’s points representing the head, two hands, and two feet. Imagining the star shape on the spread mat, I put a card on each of the five corners. The head card describes the querent’s thoughts. The feet cards describe what the querent is standing on, meaning external factors. The hand cards describe the querent’s actions in response to these factors. The hand and foot on the left describe internal influences, while the hand and foot on the right describe the external environment. In addition, at the center of the star I put a sixth card to represent what is in the person’s heart.
Another source of inspiration for a spread may be shapes of physical objects: a house, a boat, a car, a tree, and so on. Jodorowsky once showed me such a spread when he asked me to think of some shape. I said “house” and he created the shape of a house using the cards. Then he started to interpret the meaning of the cards according to the function of the house parts. The roof is what protects me. The walls are what separate me from the surroundings. The windows are the way I look at reality. The door is what I let come into my life. The chimney is what I let out.
An interesting source of inspiration for a shape spread can be the arrangement of figures and objects in a tarot card. For example, we can get a perspective on the different aspects of the querent’s life using a spread based on the World card. We lay four cards at the corners of a rectangle to represent the four animals of the card. We then lay a fifth card at the center to represent the dancing figure. We interpret the first four cards as a description of the four life domains according to the correspondence table in Chapter 7: body, desire, emotion, and intellect. The fifth card represents the querent’s unified being as an individual acting in the four domains.
We can do something similar with other cards as well. For example, with the Wheel card we can put a card for each of the three animals in order to describe influences that are on the rise, at their peak, and diminishing. A fourth card at the center of the wheel can represent the central factor driving the process. A fifth card under it may represent the wheel’s base standing on the ground, meaning external conditions and unchangeable factors.
With the Lover card, the standing figures can be represented by three cards: the querent as they are now, the past that they are disengaging from, and the future that they are supposed to advance toward. A fourth card on top can also represent the angel, indicating a divine hint or message.
With the Magician we can devise a shape spread inspired by a well-known psychological model called the Johari window. A top card, corresponding to the magician’s face, represents the querent’s basic feeling of self-identity. A card at the center is “on the table,” representing what is known both to self and others. A card on the left, where the magician is looking but outside the card frame that is our field of vision, represents what is known to self but not to others. A card on the right represents what is unknown both to self and others. Finally, a card at the bottom, “below the table,” represents what we can see but the magician cannot, which is what is known to others but not to self.
The words spread is based on an original idea by the Israeli poet David Avidan. It is suitable for focused questions that can be formulated as a short and clear sentence. After shuffling the cards, we lay down one card for each word in the sentence, plus one additional card for the final answer. Prepositions and other connecting words don’t count as separate units but are joined to the words following them. We can also group together several words and lay one card for the entire group instead of a single card for each word.
We lay the sentence cards in a horizontal row, moving from left to right, and under the row we lay the final answer card. In the reading we interpret each card according to the meaning of the corresponding word and its function in the sentence. An opening word of interrogation (such as what, when, or why) represents the status of the querent and their attitude toward the query. We can also combine this method of reading according to the word meaning with the usual way of interpreting the card images, as we do in the row spread. The single card below summarizes the complete spread and represents a final answer to the question.
For example, if the question is “What bothers me in my relationship with Mira?” we can draw five cards for the words and one more card for the final answer:
what — the querent’s attitude toward the question, from what position he’s asking
bothers — the bothering factors from the querent’s point of view
me — the querent’s role in the relationship
in my relationship — the relationship itself, what it involves
with Mira — the position of the partner and her role in the relationship and its problems
final answer — an overall view of the difficulties and perhaps a hint for a possible remedy