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The 3 card reading is among the most useful spreads in Tarot, because it allows the Reader
so much latitude in his/her reading, thus emphasizing the all important aspect of intuition.
The 3 cards can be read from left to right.
Past..........Present.....Future
Or put another way.
Foundation.....Cover......Outcome. Or
Fading ...... Zenith .... Rising. Or
We can drop the left to right intep, and look at the cards from the point of view of,
Modifier...... Prime Card ..... Modifier.
Which leads nicely to what is in my experience the greatest strength of the 3 card spread. The 3 card spread is just ideal for asking yes/no questions, and the system I use has been very successful. I learned it from my friend Don, but he swears he does not remember ever cooking it up himself. Anyhow here is how it works.
Modifer...... Prime Card ......Modifier.
....1 .................2 ................... 1
Basically we ask the guide a yes/no question, and then shuffle the deck. Then I pause, ask again for the guide to bless the reading, and split the cards. Putting the lower split on top of the deck. This is the primary card. I smooth the edges of the deck and now place the cards out. Left, leave a stack. Right leave a stack. Center place the prime card in the center position and turn all three over.
Now if the card is upright its value is positive and if reversed the value is negative. So we have a range of possible numbers from -4 to +4 including a Zero. -1 +2 -1 =0 or 1 -2 1 again Zero. IF the result is positive, the answer is yes. If the result is negative the answer is no. It is best to Phrase a question, if possible, so a positive answer, is a yes. Will I get the Job, vs did I blow the interview. Upright cards generally reflect positive energies, and we want positive energies to indicate a positive result.
If the result Zero's then we interp the guide is not going to answer the Yes/no portion of the Question. It has been my experience though that the guide still takes the opportunity to provide us with some guidance.
This reads awkward I know. The system works far more simply in practice than it sounds when described in theory. In a recent reading a woman who has been interested in "The Craft" for some time asked if she "should" take it up as a study, asked this as a yes no question. Now I had just completed a CC spread, which indicated she was feeling inhibited from expressing her true self by a male figure in her life. Someone Quite close.
We Drew:
9 of Swords (R) ..... 7 of Swords ...... Princess of Pents (R)
......-1.................+2....................-1 = Null
So we got a null answer, and I expected one. Questions to Innana asking her to chose for us almost always return a null answer. She is not about short circuiting our free will. Still we get some guidance. I saw the 9 of Swords reflecting the Q's self doubts, and the 7 of Swords in my deck showing a pirate woman boldly striking out on her own, and leaving her ship, her old life, in the distance behind her. Told me that to embrace her true self the Q needed to assert herself. The Princess of Pents however is the Gaia card. She is about the loving, sensual, Maternal woman. Her appearance convinced me that the male figure in the CC spread was in fact her partner in her primary relationship, and that she (as Gaia) felt uncomfortable asserting herself around him.
The Q. responded that the reading was in fact on, she does feel uncomfortable pursuing her magical side around her husband. He may not be actively deterring her pursuing the craft. He may be openly skeptical and she knows magick is something he would find silly. From our perspective as readers, the Q was provided with information she needed to choose her own best path.