Tarot Spreads: Layouts & Techniques to Empower Your Readings [Paperback]

Barbara Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 8, 2012

Bring power, precision, and depth to your tarot readings with this helpful and easy-to-use tarot book. It presents techniques usually found only in workshops, plus nearly seventy different themed spreads so you can choose or create the perfect spread for any question or purpose.

Tarot expert Barbara Moore explains what makes a great tarot spread and why, including how the principles of design and psychological response play a part. In addition to simple techniques that will make your readings more fun and more accurate, you will discover new ways to help you create a reading style that is all your own.

—Select a spread and use it effectively for guidance in important areas: love and relationships, achieving goals, spiritual journeys, financial abundance, health, and situation-specific advice
—Create your own spreads and modify a classic spread
—Perform a 78-card reading to deepen your understanding of tarot

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The tarot has been a part of Barbara Moore’s personal and professional lives for over two decades. In college, the tarot intrigued her with its marvelous blending of mythology, psychology, art, and history. Later, she served as the tarot specialist for Llewellyn Publications. Over the years, she has been active in the American Tarot Association and has spoken at tarot conferences around the United States. Barbara’s articles on the tarot have appeared in several tarot publications and in Llewellyn Publications New Worlds of Mind and Spirit magazine. She has also sat on the Tarot Journal editorial board. Barbara’s own education in the tarot has been and continues to be broad and enlightening. She has studied under renowned tarot scholars Mary K. Greer and Rachel Pollack, and she has taught the tarot to all manner of would-be tarot readers.

Barbara enjoys the challenge of giving a voice to tarot cards and oracle decks.  She has had the good fortune to write books for several decks, including A Guide to Mystic Faerie Tarot, The Gilded Tarot Companion, The Hip Witch Tarot, Enchanted Oracle and The Mystic Dreamer Tarot.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (April 8, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738727849
• ISBN-13: 978-0738727844
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Divination > Tarot

More About the Author

Tarot has been a part of Barbara Moore's life for over twenty years. Right from the start, tarot intrigued her with its marvelous blending of mythology, psychology, art, history, mystery, and magic, as well as its eminently practical applications. In addition to providing professional readings, Barbara consults for both Llewellyn Worldwide and Lo Scarabeo and is one of the founders of the Minnesota Area Tarot Symposium (http://minnesotatarot.com/).

Barbara enjoys giving a voice to tarot cards not only by doing readings but also by writing the books that accompany decks. She has had the good fortune to write books and booklets for several decks, including A Guide to Mystic Faerie Tarot, The Gilded Tarot Companion, The Enchanted Oracle, The Mystic Dreamer Tarot, The Vampires of the Eternal Night Tarot, The Witchy Tarot, The Dream Enchantress Tarot, Tarot of the Sweet Twilight, and Shadowscapes Tarot, Pagan Cats Tarot, The Pagan Magical Kit, and The Book Shadows Tarot, volumes 1 and 2. In the fall of 2010, her new edition of Llewellyn's Tarot for Beginners was released.

A Hermit at heart, Barbara has been getting out and about more, speaking at conferences, such as MATS, TABI, and Readers Studio as well as appearing on Beyond Worlds. When not exercising her newfound social skills, she is busy playing with her cards, writing Llewellyn's tarot blog, designing an exciting new tarot deck, and working on a novel that may very well include fortune telling.

You can contact Barbara through her website: www.practicaltarotreadings.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Spread Book For Everyone April 6, 2012

By Angelo Nasios

Format:Paperback

A star, cross, circle, square or triangle spreads comes in many shapes and sizes. The spread is the corner stone to a tarot reading, it is that very thing that makes the reading possible. Even laying out just one card is a spread, a one card spread but a spread non the less. There are numerous books that are devoted to the subject of spreads, listing spread after spread out of countless spreads. Some spreads are classic, some are created at the time of the reading, and they all can be edited, modified by each reader to suit their needs and the needs of the client when needed. Spreads are magical in that they can be created out of inspiration from anything. Seriously, anything. I saw a spread that was inspired by the cast of the Comedy Central tv show South Park. A spread can make or break the reading. A poorly designed spread could create a horrible reading as compared to a properly created spread which will allow the reading to flow with ease.

Spreads have been a issue I have contemplated over since I first picked up my cards. I went to the LWB and saw that there was something called a "celtic cross" spread. So I tried it and had no clue what I was looking at or what I was reading. what the heck does "that which is crossing you" mean?? Someone please explain? It was not till later I found out "crossing" means something which is opposing you. I wish someone would have explained that in the first place. Later on I saw other spreads like the Star Spread, the Horseshoe spread or the horoscope spread. At one point i had a collection of spreads that I printed out. But over time I found that I liked it best to create custom spreads for each client and their unique question & situation. I did that for a long time and a few years ago I shifted once more, focusing on 3 card spreads only. Using three cards fit well into my philosophy of Keeping it Simple.

I never liked putting spreads into shapes. So I would just put them in a straight line. What the heck is the point to a star or circle?? Pointless in my opinion. However lately I have been having to question my beliefs, I have been reevaluating my of my opinions for my book I am writing. Spreads have been something I had to question. I was hoping someone who write a book that would make a case for the purpose of spreads, the purpose of the shapes and give me some reason to change my mind. Give me a reason why I am wrong, show me the alternate way.

Enter "Tarot Spreads" by Barbara Moore.

Barbara does an excellent job in her latest creation. Tarot Spreads is a fantastic addition to the subject of Tarot Spreads. This book has given a lot for me to think about, it has caused the gears and cogs in my brain to turn. I can happily say that my position on spreads has been influenced and I am rethinking the subject.

Barbara says "Tarot Cards are like the subconscious mind, full of inspiration and wisdom that we didn't know we knew. Tarot Spreads are like the conscious mind. They help organize all that glorious raw data triggered by the cards so that we can interpret it and apply it properly to the situation in question". Which is a perfect analogy and really defines the role and purpose of the spread. It organizes the information presented by the cards in clear defined positions.

Barbara describes why the layout of the spread is important, which is something I wanted to hear. Ok Barbara what is it? Well she states that you need to think about art and graphic design and the psychology used in designs. Everything is designed with purpose. How people read either right to left or left to right. We see time as moving from Left to Right and so forth. So for example a linear line in a spread suggests time and events in a chronological order. Like the Past Present Future spread.

Barbara goes on to explain the "design principles" which is great. Here she talks about the characteristics of spreads, such as Balance, Symmetry and Spacing and others explaining their implications and influence of the spread. Ok so far she has me thinking and I am liking what I am reading.

No spread is the "end-all, be-all" as Barbara says, each spread has it's strengths and weakness. I really liked it when Barbara talks about our assumptions, that all spreads make assumptions about that question and about the answer and she give examples of this. This gives all of us some food for thought next time we use a spread or create a spread for someone.

Barbara stresses in her book that your personal style and beliefs are what are most important when it comes to the reading and the choice of spreads. Do you believe that the future can be known? If you don't you would not use a spread with an "outcome card" or edited a spread that has it to not include it. So you can pick up this book and will not have preaching you dogma on how you should read or what spreads you must use, rather gives you the tools to create your own or modify existing spreads.

This is not a Spread Bible or Encyclopedia on Spread, however it does have over 60 spreads which is just enough, there should be a spread for almost any situation in here for you and your clients. Yes there are other book that have more spreads but it is not quantity but rather quality which is the focus of this book. This book is better than most of the other spread books on the market. Because Barbara presents the information in a manner, much like if you were going to take a workshop on spreads where you have Barbara in front of you teaching why spreads are important, the inner workings of spreads and their purpose. Not simply throwing a bunch of spreads together and leave you to fend for yourself as is the case with most books on spreads. This is exactly what I have been looking for!

I compared Barbara's book to other books which deal with spreads. Eight books to be exact. What I have noticed in most of the books on spreads is that it is just a collection of spreads or it is a book with a large amount of spreads in addition to quick card meanings. Other books give spreads which sample readings using the spreads. Only one book is geared towards trying to teach spreads but in my opinion it was formulated and constructed poorly so it is not user friendly. Barbara's book really stands out as unique to the rest, there is only one other book that I own which comes close to being a true competitor, so we are looking at here a book which is above the rest in the spread category.

But this book goes beyond just listing spreads and explaining them, there is a chapter called "techniques to add to any spread", which are little techniques to add to your readings to spice things up. Barbara also guides you through creating your own spreads. This section is not overly complicated as you might think. Barbara says that a spread can be created via inspiration in many different things like pulling out a card from your deck and creating spread from it, like The Wheel of Fortune spread. At the end she shares with us how to do a "78 card reading" which is very ambitious and I don't think I will ever try it, but it is always good to know it is there.

There are somethings which are not in this book. There are no sample readings. You will be presented with the spreads but no follow up samples to see the spread in action. I am not sure if that is a bad thing, that is up to you. It would have been a nice addition but not having sample readings is not a huge deal in my opinion. Just be aware there are none.

There is something which I was hoping that would be in this book that is not, which is the subject of when "bad cards" appear in good positions in a spread and vice versa. This is something which I think stumps many readers. What I mean by this is , if a spread has a position called "What is good in the relationship" and The Devil comes up, how the heck is that suppose to be read? And vice versus. If you have a spread with "What is bad in the relationship" and you get The Sun how should this be viewed. I was hoping there might be tips and suggestions to deal with this issue however there is not. Maybe down the line Barbara could address this issue in a later edition to the book.

When I read a book I want to feel like the author is conversing with me as if we were face to face and I swear at one point I thought she wrote one passage just for me! The passage goes like this "there are ways to incorporate two or more decks into a reading... Do you have several versions of a favorite deck? (YES I do)... Some artists produce and sell a special edition of their deck and then a publisher will release a mass market edition.. (Yep I do, Legacy of The Divine Special edition and Mass market).. or perhaps you have a traditional RWS deck as well as one of the many variations, such as Radiant or universal. Guilty as charged, I have 17 RWS. I laughed while reading this passage.. It was a real pleasure to read this book. Barbara's writing style was very inviting and I read it all in one day, which I normally don't do with books. I was able to try one of the spreads listed for another fellow reader with good results.

In conclusion, Tarot Spreads by Barbara Moore is a breath of fresh air on the subject of spreads. It is a unique addition to the tarot market and will be a great addition to your tarot practice. I can honestly say that this book has giving me much to think about and I know the more I study it and apply it to my practice it will help make me a better reader. This book should be picked up by new readers in addition to a normal book on learning tarot cards meanings and basics for a well rounded introduction to tarot. Even if you have been reading tarot for years, this book can make you a better reader.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So much more than a book of Tarot spreads! May 31, 2012

By Zanna Starr

Format:Paperback

This book goes way beyond providing a collection of spreads - although it does do that. Barbara Moore takes us on a journey that begins with "examining the role of spreads in a reading" and continues with "how layout design influences a reading" and "how design affects the eye and the brain." We also learn how to analyze and modify a classic spread.

I recommend this book for people with all levels of Tarot experience and expertise. Even if you have been reading the cards for a long time, I can almost guarantee that you'll find something you had not thought of before or something you will be eager to try. I especially enjoyed the section on using quotations as a technique or inspiration for creating your own spreads.

I found the chapter on Design Principles and Layouts to be a refreshingly logical, practical approach to readings. Moore discusses topics such as Emphasis or Balance, Symmetry, Spacing, and Repetition. The Celtic Cross spread is a good example of how crossed cards draw the eye first, while the four cards surrounding them add balance. The vertical line of cards to the right feels separate and not as important. Design principles can be seen "in action" in single card spreads, pairs, line, bridge, grid, triangle, cross, and circle layouts. As the icing on the cake, Moore demonstrates how these principles would be used in reading specific cards in a Celtic Cross spread.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Tarot Spreads-Barbara Moore March 30, 2012

By Enchanted SilverBroom

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The reader is able to jump right in and start using the techniques discussed in the book. Easy read, easy to understand and very empowering! This is a must have book for Tarot readers.