"Tarot, Get the Whole Story:
Use, Create, and Interpret Tarot Spreads"

By James Ricklef

Review by Kim Huggens

The Tarot world is undergoing big changes, and these big changes have been growing over the last ten years.  Maybe it is the advent of internet Tarot communities that have enabled current wisdom to evolve in leaps and bounds, or perhaps it is simply time for this to occur.  Whatever it is, Tarot enthusiasts are looking at Tarot in new ways – ways that don’t tend to have books devoted to them.  No longer do we all want to copy a spread straight from a book and try and crowbar our question onto its (usually) complex and arcane layout.  No longer do we want to memorize dozens of spreads created by nameless and faceless Tarotists decades ago.  

No.  Instead we want to think for ourselves, create our own spreads, and create unique, original, flexible, useful spreads.  But how do we do it?  Where do we start? 

James Ricklef’s new book, Tarot: Get the Whole Story is an easily accessible, fun, and inspiring study of this big question.  Essentially it explains to the reader how to create spreads, where to find inspiration, and what kind of spreads might be created.  But oddly (and thankfully), it does so in a non-prescriptive manner which leaves your mind racing with ideas and possibilities. 

The first part of the book deals with how to create a spread, and where you might find ideas for doing so.  Most obviously, it touches upon creating the spread based around the question you wish to ask.  However, Ricklef goes one step further.  He also discusses using shapes (such as triangles, squares, trees, and pentagrams) as the sole inspiration for a spread, as well as using the Tarot itself to create the spread.  This is done by dealing cards and deciding what issues they raise in relation to the question, then using those sub-issues to create the spread positions.  He looks at gaining inspiration from “other sources or systems” (and he chooses Buddhist principles as his example), modifying existing spreads, and (most importantly) he explains why we might wish to create spreads ourselves.  What makes this section a joy to read is the complete lack of cliché: there is no “if it feels right do it!” philosophy that is often repeated time and again, and instead Ricklef explains the advantages of creating your own spreads in detail.  He also uses several examples throughout this section to highlight what he is saying, and gives various suggestions for you to play around with.  These suggestions (“exercises”) and the examples and ideas Ricklef uses will inspire even a hardened Tarot veteran simply because they are so original and fun – and they are simple enough that a beginner who has picked up a Tarot deck for the first time that day can start using them.   This first section will be an eye-opener for anybody wishing to break old Tarot habits, and will show just how flexible Tarot and spreads can be to any beginner. 

The second section of the book appears at first to be a long list of spreads, and my first thought was “Oh no, he’s sold out!”  But, thankfully, I was wrong.  This is indeed a bunch of Tarot spreads – but instead of being just spreads on their own, they are almost like lessons in Tarot spread creation.  Ricklef uses them as examples, giving not only the basics of how to use them for yourself, but also explaining how he came to create each one.  These explanations serve to show where you can find inspiration, and what you can do with it when you’ve got it.  And what’s more – Ask Knighthawk is back again! 

Anybody familiar with Ricklef’s previous book, Tarot Tells the Tale, and his regular column, Ask Knighthawk, with the American Tarot Association, will know what this means.  “Knighthawk” takes questions from querents via letters, and responds with a Tarot reading in the same manner – except that these querents are fictional, mythological, or historical characters who ask questions about their lives/stories.  Ricklef uses this Ask Knighthawk format to showcase the spreads in action, not only explaining how he creates each spread for that question (or uses it), but also showing and explaining the interpretation and reading process.  Here we can see a master at work – and what better way to learn is there? 

This section will help any reader – no matter their experience with Tarot – understand how to choose a spread to fit a question, how to interpret tricky cards (such as ‘bad’ cards in positive spread positions), and how to use small spreads.  Anybody who has read Tarot Tells the Tale will understand that Ricklef has already ‘campaigned’ for greater use of a simple three-card spread – something that I believe should be listened to much more.  Who wants an unwieldy Celtic Cross when a few cards can tell you a great amount of information?

There are some fantastic spreads in this section, accompanied by some very moving and interesting (often eerie) readings for fictional and historical characters.  There’s spiritual spreads, spreads you can use without a definite question in mind, spreads for love, spreads for work, spreads for your mundane life…  There really is something here for everyone.  I am particularly fond of the Sorrow’s Alchemy spread (performed for Wendy Darling, one of the main characters from my all-time favourite book, Peter Pan.)  Ricklef even goes so far as to offer alternatives to the spreads or suggestions of ways to modify them.  Finally, Ricklef tackles the subject of ‘non-spreads’ – the technique of just throwing down a few cards and interpreting them. 

Ricklef’s writing style is endearing, clear, and makes you want to read on, and the book itself is, quite simply, perfect.  It strikes an excellent balance between beginner and advanced reader, and I think it will inspire anybody who reads it to bring a little life, fun, and flexibility back into the Tarot spreads they may take for granted.