From: agray@axion.bt.co.uk (Andy Gray)
Newsgroups: alt.divination
Subject: Re: New Topic: Reading for/about yourself...
Date: 23 Nov 92 14:00:27 GMT
Organization: BT Laboratories

In article <1992Nov20.122114.27148@cs.nott.ac.uk>, pcxsws@unicorn.nott.ac.uk (S.Ward-Smith) writes:
|> In article <#+mq!cq@lynx.unm.edu> blowfish@carina.unm.edu (rON.) writes:
|> >
|> >Greetings!
|> >Just wanted to kick up some discussion around here. :)
|> >Couple of questions-
|> >1) How accurate do you find readings that you do for yourself? Do you have
|> >a particular deck that you use for yourself and not for others? Do you have
|> >any problems reading for yourself ever?
|> >

I've found that it is often quite difficult to be objective when reading for my
own circumstances. It's very easy to think very positively or very negatively and
not to take in all that the cards are saying, so I'm including a technique that I
have used to assist in more accurate readings.

My main spread is the celtic cross, as I am still a beginner, although I do
occasionally use others as experiments. The person who taught me gave me a
technique that I have found to be very useful, that of using extensions to the
main spread. Here's how I use them, starting with "the bleedin' obvious"!

	1.	shuffle and split the deck as usual, concentrating on the reason
		for consulting the cards
	2.	deal the cards onto the daath, placing every 7th card on the silk
		using whatever spread is desired, ie celtic cross
	3.	look for main trends, abundance of particular groups.
	4.	if there are more than 4 cards from the major arcana, I then do
		a major only spread
	5.	an abundance of any particular suit shows the emphasis of the
		spread
	6.	look for any contensions, ie sword significator or crossing card
		surrounded by swords and deal with those

Once these initial actions have been performed it is often the point at which you
can jump to conclusions, and so extensions can be brought into play. Look at all
of the cards in the spread and get the gist of what it is saying. Then chose a
card and then deal out another 6 cards to the daath placing the 7th against the
chosen card. Repeat this another 3 times so there are 5 cards in all including
the original. These cards, in order, shed more light on the original, giving a
clearer indication of what is being told.

As an example of this, I sat in when my mentor gave a reading to a friend who was
seeking advice on marital separation. I was unable to answer all the questions ao
called him in. The spread contained 4 instances of XIII (death) in separate
extensions for the crowning card, the base card, crossing, and future. The
message was clear, she *had* to make changes. In almost all of those cases, XIII
was the 2nd extension card, leaving the 3rd and 4th to define the state once the
changes had been made.

I've certainly found that the use of extensions to the basic spread have made the
task of being objective in looking at myself easier, and have focused my mind to
clearer conclusions. It also yields answers which are sometimes not the ones that
would be made in the original spread.

As always I'm happy to receive feedback from others, especially constructive
comment from more experienced readers

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