Tarot Spreads
Here are a handful of spreads to experiment with.
The way you spread the cards is quite important - each spread (whilst having similar types of position) yields differing information.
There are other layouts that do things like give you a year view, or an astrological perspective or whatever. Some spreads answer specific questions better than others (I've personally never found the Celtic cross good for this - it's almost as though you get too much information).
Any spread should give you the same overview, but one spread will highlight - for instance - emotional matters, whereas another might pick up outside influences better.