Sometimes all you need from a tarot spread is a quick snap-shot of the situation and the direction it’s heading in.

You may also want to be able to go back to your reading and glean some more information from it.

What if you also want to apply some other techniques you couldn’t apply to other tarot spreads, like elemental dignities?

The 3-2-1 Tarot Spread will give you just that, and more, as I will show you…

Three

Lay 3 cards out in a row – these are your ‘scene-setters’ and will tell you what is happening currently.

Two

Lay 2 cards over the first 3 – these are showing you the direction your situation is heading in. What’s interesting about these two cards are that they are often the product of the two they overlap & are directly related to them, the next step in the development of your situation.

One

Finally lay the last card on top of the previous two, overlapping them also. This is your projected outcome for your situation and again is the product, or culmination of the previous two cards.

A 3-2-1 Tarot Reading

To show you how effective this little tarot spread is, I’ve done a reading with it for myself using the gorgeous Sun and Moon Tarot. I’ve been working behind the scenes recently to bring a new Tarot Card Meanings section and a Forum to the blog. Both of these sections will be intrinsically linked so it made sense to ask about them both, and the success of the project.

Three

If we look at the top line first, we can see the 10 of Wands, the 10 of Pentacles and the Universe (the World). This makes lots of sense to me as I’ve devoted all of my time to this project and while I love seeing it come together, I’m also feeling the strain of it. It is nearing completion, for stage one and I’m really satisfied with it so far.

Two

The second line is a product of the first, meaning the 4 of Wands is a product of the 10 of Wands and 10 of Pentacles. What a great product! We could say the 10 of Pentacles gave support and life to the 10 of Wands, resulting in our first stage of completion, the 4 of Wands. Those three cards also make an interesting combo if we read them in a triad.

The second card of the second line, the Ace of Pentacles, is a product of the 10 of Pentacles and the Universe. How fabulous! The 10 of Pentacles is the energy of this reading and is being very productive! Success and productivity all in one line – I couldn’t ask for more.

One

The final outcome, or the result of all the cards is the 4 of Pentacles. Not the best card in most decks, but in the Sun and Moon Tarot, a redrawing of the Thoth Tarot and blended with the Rider Waite-Smith, it represents power, of the foundation kind. Building a strong foundation by tapping into your personal power and using the power of the elements in creation.

With that in mind, and as the outcome card, the 4 of Pentacles is excellent. The Ace of Pentacles rooted the 4 of Wands and gave it form. Stage one now has a strong foundation. I’m happy and can look at the 10 of Wands with an easier eye now.

I’m also loving the repeating pattern of three circles found on the Universe, the 4 of Wands and the Ace of Pentacles – suggesting cycles and continuation and in a perfect grouping of 3:

Triplicity, expression, expansion of the idea, growth, first stages of completion.

Tarot Tip: Because the number of cards in this spread is a multiple of 3, you can use Elemental Dignities if you like. Or, if you prefer, you can just read in groups of three in any triad formation for gleaning extra information if you require it.

Did you love the 3-2-1 Tarot Spread? Let me know how you get on with it, and if you use a technique like elemental dignities to go deeper into the spread. What other techniques would you use to read this tarot spread with?

Catherine

At the prompting of some Universal inspiration a few years ago, I devised my Daily Tarot Reading Spread. It developed a card at a time and remained at five cards for a while before I added the sixth card, which was designed to leave me with something to think about in connection with the reading.

I wanted to share it with you here as it’s a useful spread, allowing you to skim the cards for a quick outlook, or going deeper by analysing the cards more fully.

It’s a linear spread, that is, it’s laid out into a straight line, meaning you can read the cards sequentially. It also allows you to read them using elemental dignities and card pairing too.

Let’s have a look at the positions:

1. Myself – this is how I am on this day, how I’m feeling, my mindset, my energy or not.
2. Theme – this is the theme for the day, be it good or bad, I will get an idea here.
3. Challenges – this can represent people or situations, but either way it’s a warning.
4. Responses – this is my likely response to the challenge suggested before.
5. Advice – this is advice directly from the Universal Source relating to the day.
6. Thought – and a final Thought for the Day, which will either confirm the reading, or ask me to expand my thinking.

If your Response is negative or unproductive, the Advice card will show you the correct response, or how to adjust your situation with an action or different way to see any issues raised. You can change Response to say “this is my suggested response”, if you prefer to prepare before acting.

You can change around the position and rename them to suit yourself – the beauty of this spread is it’s flexibility, so have a play and see what you might do differently. Don’t forget to let me know what worked for you – use the comments section to share your experiences.

Using the Daily Tarot Spread for the Week Ahead

This is such a great tarot spread that it works equally well for the week ahead. Simply replace the ‘day’ for the ‘week’ in the decriptions and you’re done! You can also use 2-3 cards per position if you’re in the mood to flex your tarot muscles, though one card in each gives lots of information particularly if you bring in other techniques to help you.

To see how amazing the Daily Tarot Spread works for the week ahead, I’ve shared my reading from this morning. This is for the coming week.

I used the gorgeous Legacy of the Divine Tarot for this reading:

1. Myself – the Empress
2. Theme – 7 of Cups
3. Challenges – 10 of Wands
4. Responses – 2 of Cups
5. Advice – the Devil
6. Thought – 3 of Coins

Using the Card Ratio to assess the Tarot cards in my Daily Tarot Reading Spread, I have:

• 2 Major Arcana
• 0 Court Cards
• 4 Minor Arcana
• 1 Fire
• 2 Water
• 0 Air
• 3 Earth

I’ve been in a creative mood of late and while I have lots of ideas, I need to remain focused and not lose sight of my goals or purpose, and while I’ve been growing my business, I need to keep a nice balance between work and play.

So despite a tough week of work ahead, it’s still pretty much down to me in how much effort I put in, making the right choices and just getting on with the task at hand despite how much work there really is!

A reading without any air cards can signify that I’m not considering all of my choices well, or thinking about things at all or clearly. However, it can also signify that I have thought things through enough and now I’m implementing those plans – this reading is nothing if not action packed.

If we add all numerical value of the cards in this reading, they total 40 and reduce to 4 which we can equate to the Emperor – the need to take control and see the job done, no pussyfooting around – time to crack my own whip.

Pairing the cards

You can apply this wonderful technique at the end of a reading for extra insight or more clarity. Simply take the outside cards and read them in combination, that is, read 1 and 6 together. Then pair 2 and 5, and finally, 3 and 4.

Pairing my cards looked like this:

Empress and 3 of Coins

Wow, both earth cards, both number 3′s, both working and productive cards. Creativity productivity, seeing results for your efforts.

7 of Cups and the Devil

Delusions of grandeur, delectable distractions that can interfere with all the productivity above.

10 of Wands and 2 of Cups

Sharing the load with business partners, friends and lovers. Calling in the cavalry when things get heavy.

So you can see just by pairing the cards I gained some extra information and know to be extra careful with distractions – they won’t get my work done. Giving in to my weaker side will be detrimental to my productivity this week and could be the cause of the burden I feel with the 10 of Wands. A more organised 3 of Coins would ensure a smoother operation next week and as the card in the Thoughts position, it has given me the tools I need to be more productive this week and get all my work done.

Now you can see why this is one of my favourite spreads, give it a try and let me know how you get on with it. Use it as the Daily Tarot Spread, for the week ahead or even ask a specific question – it’s really accurate at getting to the bones of an issue.

Share your experiences in the comments and any other questions you may have for me – I can’t wait to hear how you got on!

Catherine

I have been asked so many times, “Stacy, can you write a post about how you do the breakdown your dream interpretation?” My answer is always the same. ”No, I can’t!”  It’s not that I don’t want to share…or maybe I don’t in all truthness. I have tried in the past with utterly boring and snooze inducing results. However, I was asked another question and I thought, “Hmmm, I could do that!” So, with inspiration from our Kate, here is what she asked of me and here is how I will respond…

“Stacy, my love, BREATHE!!! If you can’t write about how you work out the dreams and their symbols, could you write about the spread you use after you’ve done the dream interpretation?”

Side note: I knew I could and was eager to share, but first let us give credit where appropriate. Although you all know I’ve been doing dream interpretation for over 30 years, I only recently added tarot to my repertoire. A dream in most cases is a message about your current state of events, but by adding tarot, you now receive the gift of a path clearing, allowing you to take steps in your waking life to ease the anxiety that causes these dreams to manifest.

Mystic Dreamer Tarot

I am a self taught tarot reader, but have gone to classes taught by the fabulous Amberstones of the Tarot School, here in NYC. The deck I learned on, and this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, was the Mystic Dreamer with text by Barbara Moore and stunning and surreal artwork lovingly provided by Heidi Darras. I bonded immediately with this deck and it was my only deck for quite some time…even before the Waite Smith! I use the Dream Spread that Barbara has provided on page 41 of her accompanying book,  The Dreamer’s Journal. Since it is not my own creation, I asked Barbara if she wouldn’t mind if I wrote about my using her spread and she was gracious and kind and gave me the A-OK so let’s get to it!

Dream Interpretation Spread

I use this 4 card spread if it is an issue or event that is fairly new to the dreamer. If I feel that this is a long standing conflict, unreleased emotions resurfacing because they have not been dealt with or someone returning back into their life after a long absence, I tweak the spread a bit. For the latter, I add another card in the 1st position and it is called Past Event. I then continue along with the rest of the spread that Barbara created.  

 For the sake of ease, we will give the Past Event card the number 0 so as not to confuse those who have not tried the spread yet.

• 0 Past Event:  If a Major Arcana card comes up I feel certain that this is a long standing issue that has recently started coming to a head again. This is the card that I feel has the most relevance over the others because it gives us a background on the anxiety. If it is a court card it alerts me to either a person or an energy around the querent or one that they may need to adapt or drop. If it’s a pip card it signals an action that was taken or needs to be taken and it is not being acknowledged, so the dream is doing all it can to get your attention.
• 1 Overall Theme of the Dream: This card will indicate what is currently going on. It will be a warning of an impending loss, a big decision that needs to be made, a situation that is arising that needs to be dealt with or the feelings and emotions that the dreamer is experiencing that are causing anxiety. In the case of happy, joyous dreams this card is that Cosmic High Five that says to you, “Good job!  Well done.”
• 2 What is blocking this message:  There is always the biggest reaction to this card! It is sometimes so hard to see clearly when we are in the midst of a tumultuous situation that we miss signs, clues and messages. Our lives are so busy, we’re running like crazy, meeting deadlines, providing for our families, helping others…we don’t take the time to stop and think about that crazy dream because it’s just silly. Therefore, when this card is read, I am never surprised to see the furrow in the eyebrows, a slight wiggling in their seat and I know to be quiet for a bit, allowing them time to digest what I have just told them.
• 3 Message of this dream:  Here is the card that lays it all out for you.  If the 6 of Cups, a normally happy card, came in reversed and the dreamer tells you that an old ex reappeared and that they had a very toxic, on again off again relationship, it would be a clear message indeed. But, as readers, we understand that the heart knows what the heart knows, so all we can do is put it out there and hope for the best. If The Devil came up, I’d inquire into any kind of overindulgence, whether it is food, drink, drugs, shopping…even obssessive thinking. If a Knight came in and the dream was of a romantic sort, (depending on the suit!) I’d say there is a good chance that they will meet someone soon.  Whether they stick around….that’s another dream!
• 4 Lesson to be learned:  By this point, the dreamer’s mind is spinning at such a rapid pace that it’s important to take your time. Although either way it’s a fairly short spread, when dealing with sensitive, vulnerable and personal (sometimes even embarrassing) issues, it is best to flip the card, give it to the dreamer and let them look at it, ruminate on it for a bit, and then see what they think. This helps them to be more proactive in their decision making and will reduce the possibility of that person making you a crutch for their every decision. I let them ask as many questions as they need to, but I try to have them provide the answers.

Side note: I can work three ways. Via Skype  is my preference. It’s 100% real time, interactive and allows me to read the dreamer’s aura and relay messages. I can also show them the tarot card clearly if they are not familiar with the deck. By phone will also allow back and forth conversations, but they can’t see the cards. Via email is my least favorite. Way too much typing, too much post dream interpretation back and forth instead of just sitting back and absorbing it all slowly. Regardless of the method I use, if it is for a fellow tarot reader, I never interpret the cards, but do show/tell/type the cards that were drawn and I always read reversals with one exception. When every card comes out reversed! It’s my previous I Ching study and practice that compels me to do it that way, but feel free to read however you feel most at ease and open.

So, have a dream, write it down, work out the symbols first since Tarot and dream symbols are NOT the same and then try the spread! You will be amazed at what you might learn about yourself, will come into your new sense of power by figuring out WHAT is causing this anxiety in my waking life that it is infiltrating my dreams? Many thanks to Barbara Moore and Heidi Darras for their beautiful and loving deck and accompanying book, but mostly for allowiing me to share her spread with all of you.

Sweet Dreams,

Stacy

Dream Interpretations Using the Mystic Dreamer Spread

• Decoding Your Dreams With Tarot
• Post Traumatic Stress Dream
• Finding Your Voice
• A Dream of My Own

Mystic Dreamer Tarot (Book & Cards) by Heidi Darras, Barbara Moore and published by Llewellyn.