Situation, forces & direction
Strengthens · Weakens · Potential
For evaluating something that already exists — a relationship, job, project, or process already in motion.
When to use this spread
For evaluating something that already exists — a relationship, job, project, or process already in motion.
Why this spread
When something already exists, a relationship, a job, a project, the question is not "whether" but "how well". The three positions build an assessment: what holds it up, what wears it down, and what it could become if you nurture the first and stay aware of the second. A spread for deciding whether to invest.
The positions and what each one means
- 1
What strengthens
What works in favor of the situation - 2
What weakens
What erodes it from within or from outside - 3
Potential
Where it can go if the current balance remains
What sets it apart
These two spreads are close cousins; this is the first candidate to merge if the catalog is ever simplified.
Example questions
What strengthens and weakens the project I started?
Open with this questionWhat is the potential of this professional move?
Open with this questionMore spreads in "Situation, forces & direction"
- Situation · Challenge · Advice3 cardsWhat is happening now, what is getting in the way, and what to do with it. The most practical of the three-card spreads.
- Support · Block · Tendency3 cardsAn alternative to yes/no. Instead of a fixed answer, it reveals the forces at work and the direction things currently lean toward.
- 5-Card Question Reading5 cardsThe same question, with more depth: adds the root of the situation and advice above the forces acting within it.
- Seven-Card Horseshoe7 cardsA middle ground between five cards and the Celtic Cross: adds past, hidden influences, and a possible outcome without the complexity of ten positions.