December 4th, 2024 § Comments Off on Tarot Note – the tarot suits § permalink
Get to know the differences between the Tarot suits by examining each card in relation to its counterparts in the other suits.
For instance … try pulling out all of the Kings: King of Swords, King of Wands, King of Cups, and King of Pentacles.
What about them are similar? The similarities might be thought of as their ‘king’ aspect.
What about them are dissimilar? These differences are the traits that make them distinct within their own suit.
Now try this with each of the other three Court Cards … then all the Aces, Twos, Threes … you get it.
It’s a fabulous way to get to know Tarot in general, and a especially excellent way of getting to know your own particular deck.
November 26th, 2024 § Comments Off on Lessons from the Field – tarot reading in the wild § permalink
These three points become super clear when you regularly read cards for multiple people over the course of a few hours …
- There seems to be a daily theme, ie. during a particular session, many of the same cards appear in multiple people’s readings no matter how well the cards are shuffled
- People are almost all interested in the same questions … work, health, love
- Everyone is looking for validation and hope
So what would the Tarot lesson be? …
Wherever you are, the people around you are likely facing similar issues to what you’re dealing with, and they’re probably concerned about the same type of questions you are. And finally, whether we appear sure of ourselves or not, all of us can use some hope and validation.
With that in mind, let’s try to be good to each other. We can definitely use each other’s help.
November 17th, 2024 § Comments Off on Tarot Notes: Using Tarot Elements § permalink
When looking at cards in a Tarot spread, obviously we pay attention to the Suits, ie. Cups, Wands, Swords, and Disks/Pentacles.
But instead of just considering the Suits in terms of the areas of life they represent, ie. Swords for the mental realm, Cups for emotions, Disks for the physical, and Wands for the spiritual … we can also look at how the elements of each Suit interact and influence each other, and how that interaction can provide clues about the atmosphere of the situation described in a reading.
And just to be clear, by ‘elements’, I mean the actual four basic elements as found in nature that are associated with each suit.
The most common Tarot Elemental Associations are:
Cups – Water
Wands – Fire
Disks – Earth
Swords – Air
So if you have a lot of Cups in a spread, Cups being associated with water … the situation likely feels fluid, flowing, moving, like water does. The feelings it represents creep into all the crevices of our life.
Lots of Wands suggests a potential blaze, a sudden roaring up of energy. Or maybe it’s a quieter, simmering flame, just keeping things heated, like a passion burning, but contained.
Or Swords … in which case it’s the element of air … blowing hard or softly. Air might stay still for a moment, but like our state of mind, it can change in a flash, from one direction to the next.
And finally, if you’re looking at a lot of Disks/Pentacles, we’re talking about a physical state … the feel is earthy, like the soil. It’s more solid than the other Suits, less likely to fly off, burst out, or flow away … at least on its own.
But what if there’s a mix (which is more likely than not) … let’s say a mix of mostly Cups and Disks?
Elementarily, if there were more Cups than Disks, you might imagine the earth/soil flowing with the water, changing from a solid into something a little more muddy, more malleable, causing new shapes to be formed. It could be a situation where what had seemed hard and fast is no longer that. It’s been altered by an emotional circumstance or perspective.
Or it might be the reverse, more Disks than Cups … the earth being so dry, it absorbs all the water. In that case we might feel the situation as being less likely to change outright, at least not without some strong inputs … and you’d look to see if there are any of those in the details of the cards.
Another example might be a mix of Wands and Swords … here, without even looking at the pictures on the cards, you know that you’re seeing something very different than the above scenario.
Air and fire can be a heady, and potentially dangerous mix, likely more intensely dynamic than the water/earth interaction. The wind can be so strong it blows out the fire, ie. logic over passion … or maybe the fire just gets bigger with each puff of air. Looking at the details will tell you which, or something in the middle.
You get the idea. There’s all sorts of combinations. Paying attention to these interactions and imagining them as actual elements can give you a sense of how the situation might feel to the person getting the reading, beyond what’s in the storyline itself.
If you haven’t been thinking of the suits this way, try it out.
Oh … and don’t forget, each of the Major cards has an element as well. Throw them into the mix and now you’re really getting somewhere …
September 30th, 2024 § Comments Off on Tarot Notes: Looking for Patterns § permalink
When reading cards in a spread, we identify what cards are in what position, and consider how the meanings of those cards relate to their position, and to each other. But before diving into those details, it’s a good idea to stop for a moment and take a quick overview to see if there are any obvious patterns that jump out.
Are there a whole lot of Major cards, or Court cards, or particular suits or numbers? If so, we’ll be wanting to look at those groups especially, or at least use them to feel out the theme of the reading, whatever the details might be.
For example … if within a Tarot spread, the majority of cards are Majors – I’d read that as a situation where bigger energies are playing out and that the person getting the reading might not be as in control of what’s happening as usual. Alternatively, if there are mostly Minor cards in the spread, it’s likely a situation where the querent is more in charge of what’s being described than not.
As another example, let’s say there’s bunch of Swords – or Cups, or Disks, or Wands … if one suit predominates, it’s the energy of that suit that’s playing out most within the spread.
Or maybe there’s a lot of Court Cards … are there a lot of people involved in the situation at hand? Or maybe the querent is acting with many different faces, or in many different roles?
Are there a lot of the same numbers repeating in the spread? How do they relate to the Major cards of that number?
Or, maybe most cards are bigger numbers, ie. 8s, 9s, or 10s, or the later cards in the Majors … is something about the situation ending? Or maybe there are lots of smaller numbers … is something just beginning?
You get the idea … we’re looking for patterns as much as we are the detailed meanings of the cards. The patterns let us see what the spread is talking about, while the individual cards each describe their own piece of that bigger picture.
September 13th, 2024 § Comments Off on Tarot Notes: Draw Your Own Cards § permalink
You may have noticed that lately I’ve been posting quite a few random pictures that I’m identifying as Tarot images … some examples: 8 of Disks, The Lovers, King of Wands, The High Priestess, 7 of Swords, King of Disks …
Not all these pictures were originally drawn as Tarot images, but as I looked at them, it occurred to me that they could be. Others were quite intentional.
In any event, the Tarot Note here is that it’s a great Tarot exercise to make up your own version of any Tarot card you might feel like drawing or collaging or photographing or sculpting … whatever medium you like using. Use the ideas you’ve come to see reflected in each card to come up with your own version.
The more you make the Tarot your own, the more clearly it communicates … or at least deepens your understanding of various symbols and ideas you find in it.
So if you’re not making up cards already, give it a try … try just one, or just the Majors, or maybe even a whole deck, they don’t have to be good. It’s the process that matters, not the final result.
And who knows, you might end up coming up with an amazing new deck. If you do, let me know.
September 1st, 2024 § Comments Off on Tarot Notes – tarot journalling § permalink
What I’m about to say is the most obvious thing in the world, and has been said in pretty well every how-to book about Tarot reading you can find, but I’m going to say it again anyway …
… if you’re trying to learn how to read Tarot cards, it’s a really, really good idea to keep a Tarot journal as you go.
Tarot Journals are especially good for:
•recording readings you do for yourself, and others – with notes on any new connections you may have observed during those readings
•building your own personal list of card descriptions and key words
•pictures and/or doodles of cards you pull
•pictures and/or doodles of cards you make up
•spreads you come up with and/or want to remember
•notes from Tarot books or podcasts you might be listening to
•colour charts, astrological, and kabbalistic associations, gemstones, talismans, animal totems, runic connections, iChing coin tosses … whatever it is that you’re doing or thinking at the moment that connects to your Tarot journey
You don’t have to keep writing in this journal forever (though maybe you’ll want to), but Tarot journalling is definitely one of the most important self-training tools you can have. At least it was (and still is) for me.
August 23rd, 2024 § Comments Off on Tarot Note – using key words § permalink
If you’re learning Tarot and feel comfortable with the meanings of each card, but have some trouble telling a story when you have multiple cards in a spread, try this exercise …
Lay out your spread, then for each card, choose one key word. Put those words into a sentence related to your question. For example …
Question: How will my interview with Mandy likely go today?
Pull 3 Cards:
8 Disks: key word – Steady work
Emperor: key word – Boss/Mandy
6 Wands: key word – Victory/Win
Sentence: Meeting with the boss, Mandy, to discuss steady work will likely be a win.
You can play around with the structure of your sentence, and maybe even update your keywords as you see things coming together, but keeping it simple is always best.
Here’s another example using the same cards but with a different question, and two new key words …
Question: I’d like some advice for my interview with Mandy today
8 Disks: key word – Reliability/Work Ethic
Emperor: key word – Boss/Mandy
6 Wands: key word – Success
Sentence: For likely success in the interview, highlight your work ethic and reliability to the boss, Mandy.
Starting off with smaller spreads is easier, but with practice, you’ll soon be comfortable with larger spreads as well. Give it a try!
August 7th, 2024 § Comments Off on Tarot Note – Self-Reading § permalink
Having trouble reading for yourself, but less, or no trouble reading for others? If so, next time you do a self-reading, try throwing your cards, then describing them out loud, just as you would if you were reading for someone else.
When we just quietly scan cards, it can be easy to jump from one thought to the next with no unifying thread. Speaking out loud slows us down, allowing us to start formulating a narrative (or more specifically, the answer to our query) that could be easy to miss if we’re just hopping from one image to another in our minds.
If you don’t do it already, give it a try.