Which is the right spread?

The right spread to use for my reading.

You should always use a spread that you feel most comfortable with and know well, but saying that, it will also depend on the type of question being asked. You will have to practice several spreads and get to know the positions off by heart so that you can concentrate and focus on the cards being laid in each of those positions. For instance, if the client is asking about applying for a new job. There are quite a lot of possible options to consider, so just using a 3 card spread such as, Past, Present and Future may not reveal everything about what the client has to offer, why they want a new job, and any other issues that might determine future prospects. You may be limiting yourself to all the issues surrounding why they want a new job in the first place.

I would use a larger spread such as a 9 card, 3 by 3 and split things up a bit more so as to delve deeper into what, why, where, who etc. I remember one of my very first readings for a friend of a friend. I had bought myself a learning pack of cards with the meanings written on them which I had tried to learn in a couple of weeks but had no idea about spreads. I sat on the floor, shuffled my cards and started to  lay them down, one by one in a straight line. After I had laid about six cards down in a line the client started to ask me more questions and so I started to deal more cards onto the end of the line. After about an hour and most of my cards had been laid out, more questions were asked and finally I ran out of cards. I didn't know what to do so I started to pick the cards up from the start of the line and put them on the end but this just made everything complicated. Eventually after a couple of hours I said that I could not see anything else in the cards and that this is the end of my reading. At which point I felt very stupid and offered to give them the reading for free.

Start with 3 or 4 to begin with and try to aim for between 10 to 15 to have enough to cover most questions.

I remember one of my very first readings for a friend of a friend. I had bought myself a learning pack of cards with the meanings written on them which I had tried to learn in a couple of weeks but had no idea about spreads. I sat on the floor, shuffled my cards and started to  lay them down, one by one in a straight line. After I had laid about six cards down in a line the client started to ask me more questions and so I started to deal more cards onto the end of the line. After about an hour and most of my cards had been laid out, more questions were asked and finally I ran out of cards. I didn't know what to do so I started to pick the cards up from the start of the line and put them on the end but this just made everything complicated. Eventually after a couple of hours I said that I could not see anything else in the cards and that this is the end of my reading. At which point I felt very stupid and offered to give them the reading for free.

By the way. The people who I did this reading for, asked me back two more times and they paid me both times, insisting I accept payment for both readings. They got everything they were asking for including more, which was a baby girl. One of the readings was about having a baby because they hadn't been able to conceive for several years and doctors couldn't find out why. So when I saw a very strong possibility in my second reading and then even more in the third reading maybe it was that hope I gave them and at last many months later they got in touch with me to tell me the good news. Strangely enough I was about to pack up my cards and give up the hope of becoming a Tarot reader. This news now  spurred me on and now 40 years on I still believe that there is something very special in the Tarot, it's just about belief.