Cult of Tarot Forum

When you're reading tarot, what's your magic number of cards for a spread? Are you in the "less is more" camp? Is the classic Celtic Cross your jam?

My magic number is without a doubt the Four. It's my best number in everything. I love four card spreads, they just work best for me. SWOT - Blind Spot - Desire Spread - all kind of crosses (well, with a card in the middle that's five...) - Four Directions - Four Elements - my mind works four-fold

I don't do the Celtic Cross very often but I do like what I call the Celtic Wheel - only the first, the cross part, without the staff. It gives a lot of information, and additional cards can be added if needed.

Somehow, everything fourfold makes me happy.

Me to, 4 is for me the right number, plenty of information. And I only use the majors, in a free open spread no positions. I do read from left to right, but also mirror, and look for the highest rank card for main influence. If need be will also pull another line of 4 to answer any other question that may be asked.

I haven't done a whole lot of experimenting with different things, but so far I like 3 cards.
It can be a bunch of different things (past/present/future, me/you/us, so on and so forth), but it's also few enough cards that I don't forget the meaning of the first one by the time I've gotten to the third. x3

Three for me too. It's enough, especially for reasonably frequent questions, although I did enjoy working that Ikigai spread of Nemia's.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=80

I'll put my vote in for 3! And multiples of 3. I like 6 and 9 card spreads too. 9 cards is especially juicy as you have the four corners, the cross in the middle, 3 rows and 3 collums. But I think I mostly use 3 for quicker readings for myself.

I don't think I ever lay out four cards, unless I'm using a spread I found somewhere. Not that there's anything wrong with it of course! I must just work in 3s.

Off at a slight tangent, because I don't have a particular favourite spread ( although it's either 3, 9, 11 (the Celtic Cross) 15 or 16 cards generally) but I always shuffle in multiples of 3.

In between different questions, I always shuffle 9 times. Whilst asking for further details surrounding the same question, I shuffle 3 times.
In between customers, I shuffle 27 times (3 X 9).

I prefer odd-numbered spreads. I usually work with 5 cards, followed by 3. I rarely exceed 7.