This straight-forward seven card spread is excellent when you want to get to the point quickly, but still want there to be enough information to be useful. I use it often.

4. The Situation Though it's the fourth card drawn, the Situation Card represents the crux of the issue being discussed. It is what this spread is about. Examine this card first to determine what area of the querent's life is being highlighted.

1. Recent Past This card represents the situations, people or energies that most recently influenced the issue at hand. Look carefully at this card to further understand the situation (card 4) and what helped lead the querent to where they are now.

2. Present The Present card takes a look at where the querent is now, relative to the situation (card 4) being discussed. As the energy of the past card helped create that of the present, the present helps create that of the future.

3. Near Future This card represents the likely energy the querent will face if they continue as they're going now. The future is always maleable, nothing the cards say is written in stone. It's here though, that you might really want to take a look at the connections (or lack thereof) between the present (card 2) and this card. What steps could make the present the future? What steps could be taken to avoid that?

5. How Others See You This card describes how others close to the situation see the querent. If the card selected for this position is from the major arcana, it's very likely that how others see the querent is how they actually are (within the situation). If the card is from the minors, it's possible that other people are a little behind in understanding where the querent presently stands.

6. Your Challenge Look to this card to see what energies, situations, behaviours or individuals might be posing particular difficulties for the querent.

7. Your Gift This card describes the energies, situations, behaviours or individuals that offer support to the querent. If the card seems challenging, explore how that particular challenge has or can support the querent's present goals.