ANCIENT SEVEN-CARD SPREAD:

This is a very old spread first published by S.R. Kaplan, circa 1970, but not designed by Kaplan. It comes to me that this is an ancient Gypsy spread used for hundreds of years. This spread is a real zinger and a bit tricky to learn at first.  But WOW! Once you get the hang of it, look out!  Give it a try, you might really enjoy this unique spread:

This ancient 7-card spread is especially useful for a “yes or no” question but gives much more information. It is an excellent spread for people who are learning Tarot to practice working with the Tarot Major and Minor Arcana’s.

For instance: If four or more cards are inverted then the answer is usually no, or little likelihood of a yes, or consider that it is a delayed yes. Keeping in mind the premise is to gain insight about our choices and not to predict the future. The “no’s” and “yes’s” will simply challenge your thinking as you engage your own free will. Here’s how to get started: 

1. Separate the 22 Major Arcana cards (The LWB, little white book, that comes with the deck will show you which are the Majors and Minors.) from the 56 Lesser or Minor Arcana cards. The questioner or querent shuffles the 56 Minor cards and deals out the top 11 cards face down on top of the pile of 22 Major Arcana cards. The remaining 45 Minor Arcana cards are then set aside.

2. The querent reshuffles the new pile of 33 cards (11 Minor Arcana and 22 Major Arcana) while repeating aloud the question to be answered.

3. The reader then deals out the top 7 cards face up from left to right. If the first card is inverted then the diviner, instead of turning over each card from left to right, turns over the remaining top six cards from top to bottom.

4. Beginning at the far left: The first two cards represent the past: The first card for the distant past and the second for the immediate past.

5. Moving to the middle cards: The next three cards represent the present: The first for present influences, the second for present obstacles and the third for present outlook.

6. The last two cards at the far right of the spread represent the future: The first card for the future influences and the second card for the ultimate result.

7. The reader or diviner, reads the cards – stimulated by the symbolic pictures and aided by the actual divinatory meanings of each card. 

Key: Inverted cards are weakened, delayed or reversed - or blocked in meaning. Tarot scholar, Mary Greer, tells us that reversed cards give us extra guidance and we can upright them by our actions.

This is a spread that should be practiced a couple of times before using it with a querent. Once you get the hang of it, you will see how it vibrates to a yes, maybe, maybe not or no, not now. Be sure to notice that with all the cards together there is a picture being painted for the querent, not just a yes or no answer. This is where the reader does great service to assist querents in seeing this pictorial message being painted by the Universe.

Kristin Lee-Gray, CTI