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Tarot Spreads is divided into parts or chapters, each of which dives into topics needed to create and use your own tarot spreads, as the title of the book suggests. Part One opens with a basic introduction to tarot, from its history to the card meanings themselves. Wall makes it clear, however, that tarot is not a closed practice and therefore open to all walks of life. However, she does mention that some interations are closed and that respect should be given to those practices and traditions unique to the Romani people. I loved the inclusion of this statement right in the beginning because, just a few years ago, everyone was all up in arms about whether or not tarot was culturally appropriated. To err on the side of caution, I briefly stopped including tarot spreads on my full moon ritual worksheets, as well as some other places, but after some additional research, I decided this caution was largely unfounded. Wall does include a brief history of tarot, being sure to mention that much of what we believe today is based on lies, much like witchcraft itself. It's a shame so many occultist opted to make stuff up to legitimize their claims and practices, instead of being honest.
Wall approaches the read through conversation, with headings being questions the reader might be asking her. I thoroughly enjoyed this approach as it makes it easy for a reader to find the information they are looking for quickly. If you already know tarot is for everyone, you can jump ahead to more pertinent information, such as how to read tarot for yourself or for others. This approach also makes sense in light of Wall's view of tarot. Wall states that "tarot is a language," one that takes practice to learn.
The following parts or chapters then delve into reading and creating your own tarot spreads, which is really the heart of the book after all. Wall makes it clear that spreads are not necessary for reading tarot, but they help clarify our thoughts and questions, allowing us to dig into what we really want to know. Tarot spreads, whether they were written by others or yourself, offer insights into the questions we want answers to and how we want to receive those answers.
What I found most interesting, however, was that Wall argues the shape of the spread ultimately doesn't matter, at least in most regards. Instead, the shape offers structure to the reading, not necessarily insights into the meaning of the cards themselves. Obviously, there are exceptions, specifically if you built meaning into the placement of the cards, but at the end of the day, you could read all your spreads in a straight line and get the same answers. The spread is really there to offer clarity, discovery, insight, advice, and support, not to direct the meaning of the cards. Just like tarot is a language, a tarot spread is a conversation between you and the cards. They support a richer and nuanced conversation, but aren't required to read tarot. Wall makes it clear that sometimes spreads aren't needed, especially if you are unsure of what you actually want to know and ask.
Not only does Wall offer insights into when and why you should create your own spreads, she also details how to do it yourself. She opens Part Three, however, by making a note that you do not have to write your own spreads to be a great tarot reader. There is nothing wrong with using spreads written by others, and I appreciate her including this. It's not cheating to use other people's spreads, and it doesn't make you less of a tarot reader or witch to use what others have created. Besides, we have so much we can learn from each other, so why not take advantage of what others have already done? However, writing your own spreads is a skill and can help you develop as a tarot reader.
Wall offers three different methods or approaches with examples for writing your own tarot spreads: Magician, Hierophant, and Priestess. My personal favorite was the Magicina approach, which is chaos unleashed. Basically, you lay everything out there, dumping everything from your mind into one spot, and then basically fitting things together until it works. I am not going to lie, this is often my approach to life. I have a plan, but I have to get everything out before I can put all the fine details together. The Magician approach is just that.
The Hierophant, however, takes inspiration from others, looking at spreads you have already found and favors, and mashing them together into something that is useful to you. I also love this approach, and it's one I often use when creating lessons for my classroom. There are so many amazing resources out there, but they very rarely cover everything exactly how I need them to, so I beg, borrow, steal, and heavily modify to make things right for my classroom. This same approach can be used when writing your own tarot spreads.
The last approach, Priestess, is much more complicated and relies heavily on the tarot cards themselves. This is definitely an approach that should mostly be used by those already adept in tarot, but that doesn't mean it's closed to novices. Basically, the reader uses tarot cards to help determine the question they answer or how they help you answer your question. This seems too unstructured to me, but I can definitely see the whimsical approach working for certain people; I, unfortunately, am not people.
Once you've created a tarot spread, Wall suggests testing it on a hypothetical person with a hypothetical question that is far removed from your own and then revising as needed. What is so great about all of this is the inclusion of examples, exercises, and practice. Wall doesn't just tell us how to create our own spreads; she invites us to practice creating and reading spreads before sending us off into the world on our own. These exercises are lengthy and well worth the work through. Honestly, these are some of the best exercises I have seen in a book in a long time, and I highly recommend spending time doing them before jumping into writing your own spreads.
If you are interested in reading tarot or taking your tarot reading to the next level, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Tarot Spreads: How to Read Them, Create Them & Revise Them by Meg Jones Wall. This will likely become a tarot staple in the future because it offers so much more than traditional reading. Instead, Tarot Spreads invites readers to chart their own course in self-discovery, spreading their wings to find clarity and peace in this chaotic world.
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