The First Operation will use an alternate three-card spread to not only define the subtopic that the Seeker wants to concentrate on within an investigation, but will also use the First Operation to draw the first card.
The cards accompanying the signifier are taken as a pile and put at the bottom of the pile in the hand when the signifier is found via the First Operation. Then the topmost card should be the signifier card.
The card that comes behind the signifier card directly following the signifier is drawn out as Card 1. The thesis of the answer to the Seeker's question is represented as that card. Set the signifier and Card 1 down, and face-down should be put on the remaining deck.
Fan out the cards and have the Seeker pick two more cards for you. Card 2 becomes the first card removed from the fan; Card 3 becomes the second card drawn. On the right side of Card 1, they are put such that there is now a row of cards: the signifier, and Cards 1, 2, and 3. Although the thesis was Card 1, Cards 2 and 3 are the argument, the most important success indicators, or the energies surrounding the condition of the Seeker that will most likely influence the future.
Expanding on the Three-Card Spread
The simple three-card layout is well adapted for extending into several card spreads that for the first three cards would have greater information. A seeker may ask follow-up questions on those three cards after drawing the three cards and interpreting the spread, or inquire about information. Subsequent cards are drawn and put below and above the card on which the current additional card is being created. For example, for the "past" place card, a seeker has a follow-up query about the reading given.
If the practitioner wants to answer the follow-up question, he or she will draw and put an additional card below the "past" location card and interpret it accordingly. For either of the three cards, current, former, and possible future respectively, the practice can be carried out.
