Lesson 3 - The 3 Card Spread

Now that you are beginning to get a feel for the individual cards let's take it a stage further by combining them in a reading. The 3 card spread is a nice way to do this and is a quick way to gain insight into a specific issue - but first you need to form your question.

The best questions are those which need more than a yes/no answer. To give you an example, rather than ask "will my team win the cup?" it would be better to ask, "what needs to happen to ensure my team has a good  opportunity of winning the cup?". You can see that not only does the second of these open the way for greater insight into the situation but it also accepts that there are other factors which can affect the result - it is not a matter of fate! This is a crucial lesson in reading the cards as our futures are not set in stone. The best reading is one in which you have been able to give another person insight into their situation so that they may make the best decisions for their own futures.

Once you have formulated your question, hold it in your mind and shuffle the cards until you feel you are ready to start the reading. Then draw 3 cards from the pack (whether you take the cards from the top or from throughout the pack is really a matter of personal preference) and lay them face down and side by side in front of you. Of these, the card on the left will represent the past, the centre card will represent the present, and the one on the right, the future. Another way of looking at this spread is that the first position is that of influence, the second is the current situation and the third is the potential outcome. Turn the cards over one at a time giving yourself enough time to recall what each signifies.

    past                                   present                                    future

Next you will need to consider what they indicate in relation to where they are situated in the spread, and in relation to the question. This isn't difficult but may take a bit of practice. For example, if you asked a question about romance and were to turn over the 2 of Hearts in the first position, you might feel that this refers to a past relationship. However, if your question was about your career, the same card in the same position could indicate that a relationship had somehow contributed (past) towards your (present) career concerns. In the second example the relationship itself may not be in the past, but it's position tells us that it has influenced the current situation.

The best way to get the hang of this is to give it a go. Ask your friends and family to suggest topics that might form the base of a reading. Think how you would phrase a question around this topic. You can then start reading the cards as a set rather than individually, remembering that the future (or outcome) is a result of decisions and actions taken in the present.  Most importantly, try to remember that reading the cards is an art not a science. You wouldn't expect to paint a masterpiece in 3 lessons, so be kind on yourself. No-one expects you to be an expert overnight, except maybe you! Relax and let your intuition guide you.

Congratulations!!! You have completed a great deal in 3 lessons. If there are parts you aren't sure of you can always go back and recap. In the next lesson we will be looking at the Aces in a little more detail and finding out why the Ace of Spades has the reputation it does. Intrigued? See you there.