A spread is a set of positions, each a question. The card that lands there answers that question. This is why every card on this site has a written reading for each of twenty positions: The Tower in the Past is an upheaval you have been through; The Tower as Advice suggests letting something fall; The Tower as Outcome warns of a shake-up ahead.
Read the question, then the card
Before turning a card, read its position aloud: What is at the heart of this? What helps? What should I watch for? Then turn it and answer that question with the card. If the card's general meaning does not seem to fit the position, ask what the card would say if it were answering exactly that question.
Start small
The Three-Card spread (past, present, future) is the best training ground. Move to the Celtic Cross once three cards feel natural; its ten positions are three-card readings nested inside each other. Or design your own spread: name each position as a question you want answered.
