How to Use Tarot Spreads

by Sylvia Abraham

To give good Tarot readings you need to be able to do three things. You have to know the meanings of the cards; understand the meaning of each position of the spread; and be able to combine those two into a logical story which answers the question. Sylvia Abraham reveals the secrets of all three in How to Use Tarot Spreads.
The book begins with instructions on how to prepare to give a reading. Next, the author gives interpretive meanings for all seventy-eight cards. If you have little or no experience with the Tarot, this will become part of your basic knowledge. If you already have your own interpretations for the cards, you can either stay with them, use the ones given here, or combine the two as you see fit.
Finally, the book includes thirty-seven Tarot spreads covering a wide variety of topics so you can give an explicit and specific reading on just about any important subject. Do you need readings for romance – finding new lovers or a soul mate? The readings are in the book. Do you want spreads to clarify family problems, marriage difficulties, or breaking bad habits? The layouts for these questions are in the book. Would you like to discover information about past lives, spirit guides, or when to take a vacation? You'll find the methods to answer those questions in this book, too. These are just some of the many spreads you'll find in How to Use Tarot Spreads.
Learning how to combine the meaning of a card with the meaning of a position in a spread can be difficult to learn. What most people need is examples of how it is done. Every spread in this book has a sample reading so you can learn how to interpret the cards within a spread. Soon, you'll be using the Tarot like a pro!

Genres: Tarot, Reference, Divination, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Metaphysics

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite tarot "how to" book, but perhaps a good beginning book. Unfortunately, did not feel that this was grounded in any particular tarot tradition/ school, and thus feared it was without tether to a broader school of thought.

[Delacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this book has been part of my tarot book collection for many years. And I used it a bit at the beginning of my tarot journey, but stopped. I revisited it recently for a project and I realized WHY I stopped using it back then. The spreads themselves seem good when you look at the title and the layout. However, once you start examining the position questions in the layout.... some were not appropriate for most users, seeming random, too specific (eg in the All About Me spread, one position asks "why do I feel victimized?" really so someone doing this reading must feel victimized which is just weird to present that as a standard) too many positions worded as yes/no statements. Likewise, her sample readings had some weird interpretations, with some big jumps in WHY that the cards didn't seem to support. Overall, I didn't find this book overly useful for personal reading use or for my project, so can't recommend the book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interpretations of cards don't match up with conventional wisdom, but an intersting array of spreads and examples.

[Beate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference book that I use all the time.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little book for tarot. Doesn't have a lot of spreads, the ones that it does aren't the most practical for me. Still useful.
~T

[Tom L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another of my "go to" books whenever I'm trying to figure out which spread to use or how to answer a question.