Some Readers prefer to amass an extensive collection of spreads, whereas others like to create new ones for each reading. I like to keep to a small pool that can be used with different decks and are easily adapted to different contexts. The familiarity ensures I don’t have to worry about forgetting what a position signifies and can be 100% focused on the cards. But there is no right or wrong. If an arsenal of spreads works for you, that’s great.
Popularised by Sasha Fenton, the “Consequences” spread was once quite popular in the 1980s and 1990s. I saw several Readers still using this in the 1990s but by 2000 it seemed to have vanished. I first came across it in Sasha Fenton’s Tarot In Action!, which I primarily purchased because it was illustrated with the deck I then worked with (the beautiful The Prediction Tarot). I found the Consequences spread a helpful layout and used it a lot, especially when I started doing readings for other people.
The Consequences Spread, can be adapted to all contexts (love, work, finances, health). You can also use Tarot cards, Kipper Cards, the Petit Lenormand Oracle, the Oracle Gé, or Playing Cards. I used the latter in early June for a woman considering resigning from her job.
The Consequences Spread is dealt as shown below.
- The Questioner’s card.
- The person or situation.
- Matters affecting the person or situation.
- The past.
- The future.
- Suggested course of action.
- Outside factors.
- Consequence.
Rebekah has dark-blonde hair and is in her forties, so I selected the Queen of Hearts as the Questioner card. The remaining 51 cards were shuffled, cut and dealt as below.
Cards #2 and #3 were the 4 of Spades and 5 of Clubs. Rebekah feels physically and mentally exhausted (4 of Spades) after returning to a busy and demanding role (5 of Clubs). Rebekah had been off work for some time due to illness. The combination of Spades and Clubs emphasizes that Rebekah is severely taxed with a heavy workload.
The 4 of Diamonds, as card #4, can indicate sitting behind a desk. Rebekah is no stranger to the office. She has worked for the company for almost 15 years at the same desk and in the same role. However, Regina Russell also states that the card signifies the office or den in the home. On putting this forward, Rebekah told me she had worked from home for almost 12 months before returning to her place of work. She now finds the commute tiring.
The fifth card signifies the future. Here we find the King of Clubs, which would represent Rebekah’s boss. In my experience, when a Court Card falls here (card #5), it identifies who will initiate the events or circumstances revealed in card #7, here, occupied by the 2 of Diamonds:
There are meaningful discussions to be had soon. During these talks, Rebekah’s boss will put forward different ideas and scenarios to help Rebekah. As the 2 of Diamonds is also said to indicate imagination, these could well be things that have not occurred to Rebekah. Likewise, Rebekah can put forward suggestions and ideas.
After these discussions, Rebekah can decide what she thinks is best for her (card #6 Ace of Spades), and in doing so, she will be able to move forward.
Traditionally, the Ace of Spades is a card of endings, but I did not read it as tendering her resignation. Why? Intuition. The consequence, 8 of Clubs, can show a new job, but also new duties or transfers. I said that after discussing different scenarios, Rebekah would choose (Ace of Spades) to transfer to a new role (8 of Clubs) that is less stressful for her in her current role. Rebekah is an insurance underwriter but her new role will likely be more administrative or secretarial (the 8 of Clubs falls next to the 2 of Diamonds).
When? There are a couple of timing methods available. First, clubs are associated with weeks. So we could say in eight weeks (end of July). Clubs are also the suit of earth and summer, which would indicate around the third week of August. Both point towards July/August.
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Deck: Deluxe Playing Cards (Alf Cooke), c. 1930 – 1940.
Consequences Spread: Tarot In Action! by Sasha Fenton, published by Aquarian Press in 1987.
Journal of a Cartomante 