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Tarot |
In the meantime, here are a few simple descriptions of the cards and their meanings:
MAJOR ARCANA
A good remembering tool is the Fool's Journey found at the Learning the Tarot site.
The Fool: (Appearing at or near beginning of spread) Confusion, Simple-mindedness, Ill-fated undertaking, (Appearing at or near end of spread) The magus, or wise fool, has had more than his share of challenges and hurts but has grown in wisdom and humanity.
The Magician: Self-mastery, Powerful will, Inspirational teacher
The High Priestess: Duality, Purity, Moody or critical woman, Spiritual woman
The Empress: The launching of a creative enterprise, Marriage, Fertility, Mother figure
The Emperor: Material attainment, Marriage, Father figure
The Heirophant: A wise counselor, Spiritual fulfillment, Introspective man
The Lovers: Relationships, A time of Decision
The Chariot: Victory, Management of opposing factors
Justice: Balance or imbalance, depending on the surrounding cards
The Hermit: A searching, Spiritual renewal, Highly cautious individual
Wheel of Fortune: A turn in one's fortunes (Usually for the better)
Strength: Inner strength, Difficult period in life
The Hanged Man: Sacrifice, Reverses, Total change of values
Death: Change, Reaping what one has sown
Temperance: Regeneration, renewed inner harmony and a more loving and understanding acceptance of others, need to remain stagnant
The Devil: Fear, division within the self, evil influences at work
The Tower: Psychological crisis, accident, or disaster
The Star: Hope, new lease on life
The Moon: Deception, delays, illusion, unsettlement
The Sun: Paradise found, the love of the life, filling up with happiness
Judgment: Decision of utmost importance is in the making
The World: Joy
MINOR ARCANA
Instead of listing the meanings of each and every card, just think about the general meaning of the number and the suit.
The suits correspond to the elements. The imagery of the elements may or may not be obvious depending on the deck you're using. (I prefer the Unicorn Tarot, and the elements are quite obvious though they are not as I prefer them--see the descriptions on the Swords and Wands.) Here are some short descriptions of the suits:
Cups: Represent Water. Cups cards usually deal with emotion level and love. However this does not necessarily mean "passionate love." It may deal with friendships, inner emotions, choices, self-control (emotionally), and spirituality as well.
Pentacles: Represent Earth. Pentacle cards usually deal with wealth. Like with Cups, it doesn't necessarily have one cut-and-dry meaning. It may mean monetary wealth, wealth of happiness, possessiveness, and wealth of knowledge.
Swords: Like with the athame/wand debate on the tools page, the suit of swords represents either air or fire, depending on personal preference. I like to think of them as fire, so if you feel otherwise my description of the suit of wands/staves/rods applies here and vice versa. I think they represent Fire and Action because the 7, 8, 9, and 10 of Swords cards, to me, are good indicators of Fire qualities that can also be found in astrology. Action can mean anything from taking a direct action, to an event happening, to even a caution to remain stagnant.
Wands/Staves/Rods: As explained above, I consider the Suit of Wands to represent Air and Intellect/Communication. The 5, 8, and 10 of Wands seem to have direct Air qualities to me (Communication and working together-5, Incoming or outgoing messages-8, A heralded triumph, possibly of the mind rather than the sword as a sword is not seen in the card-10). Intellect has meanings such as knowing when to talk and when to listen, to think things through, or to make a decision.
The numbers of the suits basically mean magnitudes and each number has it's own BASIC themes as follows:
Aces/Ones: Beginnings
Twos: Conflict
Threes: Career
Fours: Attainment
Fives: Fulfillment
Sixes: Time of Decision
Sevens: Change
Eights: Imbalance
Nines: A New Path
Tens: Wins and Losses
Pages: Young People, Students, (Usually under age 35), Children, Infants, or Pets
Knights: Thoughts or Changes
Queens: Women, Usually over age 35
Kings: Men, Usually over age 35
Now that you've seen these descriptions, my first suggestion is to FORGET THEM. A lot of people read the Tarot by simply laying out the cards and telling a story using the characters, some are clued into a meaning by a secondary symbol on a card rather than the general meaning, and some people just let themselves babble.
To do a reading, for myself or someone else, I usually shuffle the cards a total of 15 times between readings to cleanse them. (I also like to give them a thorough cleansing and consecration once a month at the full moon, and keep them in a protective bag made out of a natural fiber. Silk, cotton, and linen are all cloths that many make their tarot bags out of, if you'd rather not buy a bag.) I talk to the person (or remain silent for a self-reading) but focus my mind on cleansing the cards. The first three times I shuffle, I feel air rushing through my arms and hands, through "pores" in the cards, and blowing all old (especially negative) energy from previous readings out of the cards. I shuffle three more times feeling my hands as flames, burning the old energy out of the cards. Three more times for water, washing the "ashes" and traces of energy from the cards, and then three times for earth, feeling the cards as solid and glowing with new, natural, non-human energy. Finally, I shuffle three more times, imagining I'm filling them with my own essence in the form of a pure white light. I don't like to use reversed cards, so I'm careful to keep them in the same direction. If I'm reading for myself, I simply spread out the cards (in an overlapping line) at this point, face down, close my eyes, and select cards. If I'm reading for someone else, sometimes I have them shuffle the cards three times, then spread out the cards. When I choose for myself, for each card, I focus on the meaning of the position in the spread I've chosen in which it will fall. For other people, I simply tell them to start choosing cards (if you tell them the number to choose, they will focus on choosing the right number, not on the situation) and I try to project the position meanings to them for each card. When they have the appropriate amount, I tell them that's enough and begin the reading. Once the appropriate number of cards is chosen, they are laid out in the same order, and the reading has begun.
First of all, you may want to tell the person to take notes on the reading, or keep a mini tape recorder with you. Start talking the minute you reveal the first card. Simply tell the meaning of the card, the meaning of the position the card is in, or state particular symbols or impressions that immediately jump out at you when you first look at the card. When they are all laid out you can link them and connect their meanings. Go by instinct, but also watch your querent. (If you are reading for yourself, you can probably just go by instinct.) More open-minded querents tend to nod or smile slightly if you've hit something they understand. When that happens you can usually ask them questions to clarify. (Though you don't want them to think you're prying or reading their minds--I suggest to play dumb with your questions. For example, if you see an engagement coming up, you can simply ask, "Do you have a boy/girlfriend?" Wait for an answer, then you can say, "Do you feel deeply committed to him/her?" That way, if they say yes, you can go ahead and tell them about the engagement, and if they say no, you can simply say, "That may be a problem because I think he/she is deeply committed to you.") Be careful how far you go. If the person tenses up or declares "NO!" to a question you are almost sure the answer is yes, the person may be hiding something they don't want blurted out in public. (Using the engagement example again, if you ask them if they are committed and you see their eyes widen, body tense a little, and they pause before squeaking out a "Yes...." they could be hiding something such as an affair. In a case like that, pursue the subject no further or use your best judgment and handle it carefully.) If you are still unsure about a point, Silver Ravenwolf gave a tip on doing card readings--take out all the major arcana from the deck (it's easiest if you take them from a secondary deck and already have them separated), shuffle, and lay out a card or two or three (depending on how you prefer to read). The major arcana are straight to the point and if you have any doubt, they should be able to reinforce a thought or determine the thought wrong.
Going back to the idea of making sure you're on the right track, as mentioned earlier, if you have the querent taking notes on the reading, you might be able to glance at what they're writing. This should give you a clue on what they want to hear and it's a good way for them to remind you of points they want you to clarify later without having to listen to a whole tape. You certainly won't be able to remember everything you said when you're done with the reading!
Some other words of warning: If a card such as the Death, Devil, or Tower card shows up, you may want to immediately reassure the querent that it doesn't necessarily mean they are going to sell their soul to Satan or anything like that. And absolutely under no circumstance should you tell them they are going to die! At the worst, tell them that trouble may lie ahead and then search the cards for clues on how to avoid it. The cards are a guide, not a definite source for the future. It's not a be-all and end-all and with every action they take, even by getting the reading, they may learn a little something that changes what you see in the first reading by changing their own outlook on life. (Humans have the free will that leaves the general future undetermined...it's what got us kicked out of the Garden of Eden, remember? *grin*) Also, a change may not always be for the better, and it may be drastic, but it can also be necessary for a person to move ahead.
You may also want to do a second reading to clarify points from the first one or use another tool such as Runes or I Ching at the same time to give you more information. I also suggest to keep a journal of your spreads and interpretations. Leave a blank page after each entry so you can go back later and fill in how the spread related to real events. I usually write the date, the spread I used, the cards laid out, their basic, short meanings (which I usually just copy from the little booklet that comes with the deck), and my interpretation. Keeping a journal helps you in the long run by showing past interpretations and writing helps you remember the meanings of the cards faster (even if the card seems to have a different meaning for you than stated in the book). Finally, don't pry into a person's life. If they decide in the middle that they no longer want their cards read, honor it, and don't read them later to try to find "that secret." Harm none...that includes their privacy.
See the Celtic Cross spread and how to read it.
See the Yin Yang spread and how to read it.
These two spreads are from the On-line Tarot course. I will put up my version of the Celtic Cross (I vary it slightly) and a few other spreads soon when I create the images for the spreads.
Information here comes from personal experience and the book "Classic Tarot Spreads" by Sandor Konraad.
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Like the Tarot? Here are some more books on the subject to help you along with your readings:
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