Joan Bunning - Learning Tarot Spreads

OTHER BOOKS BY JOAN BUNNING

Learning the Tarot

Tarot Card Combinations (with Dorothy Kelly)

Learning Tarot Reversals

To David and Jonathan

First published in 2007 by

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:

500 Third Street, Suite 230

San Francisco, CA 94107

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2007 by Joan Bunning.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

Illustrations from the Universal Waite Tarot Deck reproduced by permission of U.S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford, CT 06902 USA. Copyright 1990 by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Further reproduction prohibited. The Universal Waite Tarot Deck is a registered trademark of U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

ISBN 10: 1-57863-270-6

ISBN 13: 978-1-57863-270-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request

Cover and book design by Kathryn Sky-Peck

Typeset in Centaur

Printed in the United States of America

MG

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1992 (R1997).

I want to thank my family and friends near and far for their steady love and support, especially my husband Steve and children Jonathan and David.

I'm also grateful for all the myriad gifts brought to this project by the staff at Red Wheel/Weiser. In particular, I'd like to thank Caroline Pincus, Jordan Overby, Kathyrn Sky-Peck, Rachel Leach, and Laurie Trufant for their hard work, patience, and good humor every step of the way. You make the process a pleasure.

Finally, I'm deeply grateful to all those who honor the inner life. Just knowing you are out thereseeking as I amhas sustained and inspired me more than I can say.

I magine standing on a train track with a train approaching in the distance. This train is your future. From your perspective, all you can see is the engine bearing down. The only information you have is what is directly in front of you.

But now imagine rising up and looking in all directions. You can see where the train has come from and where it's going. You can pick out the path you took to the track and see others as well. You have much more knowledge about the total situation.

A tarot reading is one way to rise above the track of your life so you can see forward and backward at the same time. Your present moment is no longer a limited view at track level; it becomes all-encompassing.

How does a reading do this? It opens a line of communication with a part of you that exists at a higher levelyour inner guide. Your inner guide knows you very well. It understands why you're standing where you are in the path of an approaching train. When you can contact your inner guide, you enjoy the benefits of both perspectives at the same time.

As you turn more and more to your inner guide, these two views will gradually merge. You'll start seeing your life in a more expansive way. You'll notice the many options available to you and how they connect. With this greater awareness, you can decide where you choose to be at any moment. May you find your cards ever useful as you walk the rails!

W elcome to Learning Tarot Spreadsthe third book in my series about the tarot. In this book, I talk about spreadsthe patterns we use to lay out cards for a reading.

This book is designed for students who are familiar with tarot basics. If you're completely new to the tarot, I recommend starting with my first book, Learning the Tarot, or some other beginner's book. Once you know the fundamentals, you'll be able to put the concepts in this book to good use.

To me, the tarot is a tool for personal growth and understanding, so this book is oriented toward readings you do for yourself. The lessons focus on personal readings, but I do talk about how to do readings for others in .

Most books about spreads are a cookbook of samples. They offer a variety of layouts to explore, but don't go into much depth about each one. In Learning Tarot Spreads, I take a different approach. I want to help you understand spreads more completely. What features do they have in common? Which ones are best for certain subjects? What makes a spread successful? There's so much to discover about these patterns.

contains additional material about spread positions with sample layouts of many kinds. I hope you find this information useful and fun.

O ur lives have two dimensionsthe outer, based in the physical, and the inner, based in spirit. A tarot reading is a way to connect these two worlds. The cards exist in the physical, but they're also portals to the inner dimension, conveying meanings that exist on this deeper level.

When you do a reading, you show faith in life's meaning. You demonstrate your intent to know your world more completely. You consciously open yourself to the inner realm so its messages can be revealed.

What a wonderful and mysterious process! How can you best encourage it? How can you approach a tarot reading so the cards communicate their messages? In these lessons, we'll explore these questions.

There's a tension between structure and freedom in many areas of the tarot. Should card meanings be fixed or fluid? Should a reading be formal or casual? Are rituals required? Readers often debate these questions about the best way to carry out a reading.

At a minimum, there must be a plan for selecting and examining the cards. This can be as simple as picking a few cards at random, or it can involve elaborate preparations and procedures. Most readers prefer an approach somewhere in the middle. They like having a procedure to follow, but not one that's too restrictive. They want to be free to improvise, but not in a vacuum. They just need a framework to guide and direct their intuition. This is the purpose of the tarot spread.

A tarot spread is a predefined template or pattern that defines how to distribute and interpret the cards in a reading. A spread limits the scope of a reading for greater focus and clarity. It gives you a predictable way to enhance your intuition without stifling it. It adds structure to the otherwise free flow of a reading.

The basic unit of a spread is the positiona placeholder for one card. shows this spread as it might appear after cards have been drawn.

Figure 1. A 3-card spread pattern.