It is Day 3 of the meme, which should correspond with Days 11 through 15, since each question is supposed to take up a full day of contemplation. Instead, I’m truncating it down to 5 questions per day to finish off the challenge.

See previous postings:

Questions 1-5 (Day 1)

Questions 6-10 (Day 2)

11. What spread do you use most often/prefer and why?

I used to have a strong preference for the Celtic Cross, but really the only reason for that was habit. I knew the spread like the back of my hand and it was comfortable. My practice has evolved and now there is no single spread that I use most often. I listen carefully to the client’s needs and usually custom-tailor a spread for that client.

12. Have you ever created your own spread? If so, how effective is it? (Feel free to show the spread.)

Yes. All the time. If it would serve the client, then I will incorporate the client’s religious beliefs, faiths, traditions, culture, or just his or her specific inquiry needs into the spread that I devise. My spreads are generally based on some sort of cross or sigil. I have found that these tailor-made spreads are astonishingly effective when applied in the most precise way to both the client and the question.

Here is one example of a spread I recently devised, called The Insight Cross:

13. Is there a card that continuously stumps you when it is drawn? Why do you believe this to be so?

Key 18, The Moon often stumps me. When it is the only card drawn, I get the meaning. However, when I need to understand it in the context of other cards, or even in the context of a client’s specific question, it is often difficult for me to explain The Moon as it pertains to our everyday life. Intellectually most of us can understand The Moon, but extrapolating its application is a little more elusive for me.

14. For what purposes do you usually use the Tarot?

These days, only to read for others. I do not read tarot for myself. Instead, I will patron another professional tarot practitioner for a reading. It supports their tarot business and I feel it’s more objective than me reading for myself.

15. How much emphasis do you put on the textbook meanings for cards, and how much stress do you place on the “feeling” you get from cards through their artwork/symbolism, etc. Do you do both, or one or the other?

My analysis begins with the classical meanings for the cards. However, I cannot stress enough how important it is to look at the overall landscape of a spread and see how the cards relate to one another. From there, exercise intuition to truly understand the holistic meaning of the card as it directly pertains to the client’s inquiry. How that can be done artfully and accurately is learned only through practice, practice, and more practice. You need to gain a great deal of experience before you understand the depths of intuitive reading.

Subsequent Updates:

Questions 16-20 (Day 4).

Questions 21-25 (Day 5).

Questions 26-30 (Day 6).