Tarot
Card Values
In learning to read the tarot, the listings of meanings for a card
should be whittled down to what relates to the information sought,
question asked, or surrounding cards, as with a nonspecific reading
when the querant seeks only a general idea of current surrounding
influences. This means that not all meanings listed for a card apply
in any given reading. Nothing can be more confusing to the querant
than to have a list of possible meanings rattled off with no clue
as to which one is pertinent, so use your intuitive powers to get
an overall impression from the cards present so they form a cohesive
unit. Visions or sensing a strong interpretation for a card should
prevail over all, since the tarot is a tool of mediumship, channeling,
and connection with the Divine in counseling. You may want to read
each card as it falls, or turn over a laid-out spread one by one,
or you may prefer to see the spread all at once for a unified impression.
Usually, the cards can be connected into a lucid sequence of events
and impressions, and this is how you should read them. Other times,
there are specific areas covered in a placement, and the card should
be read to relate to that place meaning. Even after following the
place settings of the cards, there is still a flow between them
that you will perceive and relate to.
I
feel that since reversed Tarot cards are a recent innovation, and
there are sufficient cards in the deck for a concise reading, these
reverse meanings may be ignored as you right the card, or else they
may be read as lessening the influence of the card or delaying the
influence. Again, you will learn to trust your intuition with practice,
and let this be your guide in the interpretations. For me, the Aces
are power cards, and I always read them as upright. Remember that
in the original tarot decks the number cards were double-sided,
meaning that there were no reverses for these. The court cards and
Major Arcana were pictures that could be seen as upside-down, but
as these were considered power cards or people cards, they were
righted for the readings. Today, all the cards tend to be illustrated,
so you must decide for yourself what avenue of approach to use,
and I will list suggested reverse meanings later on.
There
are those who say that you must stick to one style of reading so
as to gain proficiency, but I believe that nothing in Nature is
stationary, so why should we attempt to be contrary to Nature? If
you normally turn reverses right side up, but in a reading your
psychic pull tells you that a reversed card should be read as delay
or lesser power, then do so. If the spread you use has a set guide
for each space where you place a Tarot card, but you see an unfolding
series of events, read it the way you see it. The reading is not
for you, but for the querant, and if there is something that the
Divine wants to impart, it will be there.
In
the area of revealing the import of the cards, tact is a major consideration.
You need to be careful with how you phrase things. I did a reading
for a woman who was trying to come to a decision about a man she
said was her boyfriend, and while the cards were obviously telling
her it was time to let go, she was the type of person who needed
to be told in no uncertain terms what was being indicated. I prefer
to let people draw their own conclusions from the influences indicated
in the cards, so that they can see what the possible outcomes are
for any particular action they might take. This woman, however,
was not content with that, and wanted the blunt, in-your-face meaning
of the spread. Her strong energy was clearly reflected in the cards,
and she was finally satisfied with having this presented to her
in no uncertain terms. For her, the reading progressed from showing
that the influences for a relationship were not there, to flatly
stating that the cards showed the guy simply was not interestedso
how could he be her boyfriend much less a candidate for marriage?
She accepted that, and I felt she had to already know this, but
wanted to ground herself psychically before accepting his rejection
of her romantic overtures. For her part, she acknowledged the reality
of the situation and even admitted that the man was really only
an acquaintance whom she was pursuing, and recognized that she was
on the borderline between ardent and harassing. With that understood,
she was able to let go without a loss of self-esteemthe chemistry
or energy for a relationship just was not there.
Care
must be taken in reading cards in a spread that may seem to have
a heavily negative overtone. The individual cards themselves depict
various influences and conditionsthings that you may interpret as
giving warnings about negative energies, about delays or obstacles,
and offer alternative avenues of approach to a problem or situation.
If you see a physical death in the cards, should you reveal this?
Tough decision. By withholding the information, a person may be
shocked when the event occurs, but by giving the information, a
person may blame you for the event. You need to determine what the
person seems willing to listen to, and approach with consideration
to the person's feelings. You could ask if someone is ailing, if
this is what you see, or if the querant has checked with a close
relative (for example) lately, and if not, that this might be worth
doing.
When
I see something momentous in a reading, I will try to draw out from
the querant what this relates to, and usually the person is already
aware of a problem and appreciates the confirmation in order to
be prepared. In other cases, I prefer to give a more indirect warning,
so that instead of saying, for example, "You will be in a car
wreck in two days," I would say, "You have to be very
careful, focused, and aware of your surrounding when driving for
the next two days because there is a lot of chaotic energy around
you and automobiles." The first interpretation leaves no opportunity
in the mind of the querant to avoid the situation, while the second
interpretation offers the querant a chance to avert an accident.
Remember that the primary goal of a reading is to see what energies
are influencing a situation and how to work with them or deflect
them as desired by the querant.
Not
all negatively influenced readings reflect the true situation, so
be prepared to assess the emotional state of the querant. There
are times when the person getting the reading has already determined
that everything is awful, and this is passed on into the cards.
To overcome this, you must draw up additional energy from the Earth
and from the Universe to get a clearer picture of any given situation.
The
other end of the spectrum is what I like to call the "happy,
happy, joy, joy" readings, where the querant is so enthusiastic
and optimistic, and everything turns up gloriously in the cards.
Perhaps this is a realistic assessment, since there are people who,
without thinking about it, manipulate energy by sheer upbeat personal
energy. These are the rare, haloed onespeople who succeed at everything
with very little effort, and I can only imagine that they are high
up in the spiritual scales. With these people, you have to look
through the overlay of optimism to see what is really happening
below the surfaceotherwise, all you can say is that everything is
just great. By focusing beneath or past the aura, which looks like
a bright sparkling haze, you can then make out the sensible information.
Yes, this is generally a reading of good things, but beyond that,
you can see what is going on when and where, in career or family,
and so forth.
Once
you have given your reading, there may be some areas needing clarification,
so you may want to take one of the cards from the spread and use
it as a base for another spread laid over it. In this case, you
are focused on the issue represented in the card, and you gather,
reshuffle, cut, collect, and cast the next spread to broaden the
scope of the information received through the earlier card. With
my Tree of Life spread, illustrated later on in this book, I can
lay out the spread in a single layer, and if seeking more information,
continue to lay out the cards without reshuffling. Another technique
is to lay out the cards in a spread, then reshuffle the remaining
cards in your hands and lay out one or more to extend the reading
of a particular card in the spread. These additional cards form
little rivers or branches extending from those cards being further
investigated. This type of layout is done after the complete spread
is first laid out. If a spread has ten cards, for example, you would
cast the ten cards, and as you are reading them, you might pause
at one of these cards, shuffle the remaining deck again, and run
a few cards off the one that interested you for clarification. An
important thing to keep in mind when expanding a reading is to not
over-stress your own energy levels. If you feel you are becoming
tired, fuzzy-headed, or headachy, draw up more Earth energy for
support.
Some
people become tarot addicts and want a reading every day, or even
several times a day. This is not a good idea, and unless you want
to get calls at all hours of the day and night you should advise
people that once a month is more than sufficient, with once every
six months being the best practice. You do not want to enable the
tarot as a tool for someone to put off the decisions of daily life,
so you may find you need to put your psychic foot down with the
querant who never seems to get enough information before taking
any type of action.
As
you experiment with the tarot cards and develop your psychic abilities,
avoid letting the cards become the end all of your activities. The
key to readings is that they provide insight for a situation, but
the situation will not be resolved simply by reading the cardsaction
or response of some sort must also take place. The cards only offer
a glimpse of how things are currently lined up, but that can change
depending on what is or is not done by the querant. This is not
to say that the tarot may not be used daily by any means. Drawing
a single card at random from your deck in the morning while focusing
on asking what the tone for the day will be can help you see at
the outset what influences are working around you. This does not
entail a deep reading with a detailed card spread, just a quick
glance at what is in the air, and is much like pulling a daily rune
from a rune pouch. Doing a daily spread for yourself is fine for
the practice, but after awhile you will probably discover that there
simply is not enough time between readings for them to offer much
variation, and with mostly mundane matters reflected in the cards,
the scope of the readings becomes very narrow.
Numbers
and Suits
Numerology can play a part in the readings, and there are additional
meanings for multiples of numbered cards. Each number, 2 through
10, has its own significance in the tarot, and is influenced by
the suit. Each suit has its own qualities and influences the tone
of the spread by the amount represented, so that if, for example,
the cards are mostly wands, the reading is mainly career and creativity
focused. If there are three or more cards of one number, the number
itself indicates the focus of the reading, so that if the spread
with the mostly wands cards contains several 6s, you know the reading
is more likely attuned to career and an impending decision. The
suit of an Ace in a spread of cards may be used to indicate a timetable,
subject to interpretation, which is covered in part three.
I
see an overall influence in a spread by the general interpretation
for the pips or court cards, as well as by additional meanings for
multiples of 3 and 4 of the same card. Thus, there are three or
four suits represented to achieve the multiples of a number2 of
wands, swords, cups, and coins gives you four 2s. An additional
number comes from the Major Arcana, so that if, in this example,
there is also the Drawing Down the Moon (High Priestess) card in
the casting, then there are five 2s, since this is the numeral usually
assigned to that Major Arcana card. While doubles of the numbers
2 through 10 in a spread are not normally given special significance,
I generally interpret this as a lightweight influence of the number,
so a spread with two 10s, as an example, indicates moderate success
in the subject of the reading. When there are several sets of multiple
cards, I read them as a coherent and interrelated whole based on
the other cards and the subject of the reading. Aces and court cards
have additional meanings for doubles, with Aces indicating something
powerful and impressive, and court cards relating to people interactions
and social events. The Aces are also matched in the Major Arcana
with the Witch (Magician) as the number 1.
Meditations
and Pathworking
Meditation is a good process for gaining a feel for the cards of
the Major Arcana, for it involves looking inward without paying
attention to the externals, and provides a means of receiving information
from the Divine and the Universal Unconsciousthe storehouse of universal
experience accessible through altered states of consciousness. There
are different ways of meditating, and you should follow the type
that suits your needs. When you have an issue requiring clarification,
a problem for which you cannot seem to find a solution, or a remedy
you cannot quite grasp, meditation will often remove the barriers
to creativity and lucid thought. Through meditation you release
the subconscious mind to work on a problem that your conscious mind
was perhaps too busy or impeded to properly address. Conscious fear
of change, inadequacy, hopelessness, or uncertainty can stymie the
creative process on that level, so this is when you tell the conscious
mind to lie down and take a rest, and let the enthusiastic energy
of the subconscious mind take over. For each type of meditation,
you first focus on the issue you want to see resolved, then dismiss
it from your mindstop thinking about itand proceed to the meditation.
One
method of meditation is to simply go for a walk. Your conscious
mind is actually occupied with the activities of moving your feet,
noting the distances and motions of objects, the scent of the air,
the sounds of the birds, and the view of the landscape around you.
While this is happening, the subconscious mind is plugging away
at the problem, and the answer will burst upon your consciousness
as a sudden bolt of insight. You snap your fingers and say something
like, "Of course!" and finish your walk with a happy,
light step. A second method of meditation is to think about what
you are seeking, then lie down and relax, releasing your cares into
a half-sleep. During this time you are accessing the subconscious
mind, but you are not in a dream state. This method is best for
healing and matters of the heart: love, loneliness, remorse, companionship,
and the like.
For
tarot meditations, there is a third stylesitting comfortably but
erect, with both feet on the floor and hands resting in your lap,
so that you are ready to gain insight into specific problems or
issues by addressing them. The procedure is usually two-fold: breathing
and visualizing. Begin with breathing and muscle relaxation exercises
to release tension, (a pattern of mentally counting "one, two"
then holding a count while inhaling, and exhaling to "one,
two" and holding a count before resuming the process, while
also tensing and relaxing the muscles from the feet upward and down
again), then move into a visualization to take you to a safe place
from where you move on to find a solution as presented to you by
the beings you encounter in your travels or from looking into a
reflective surface at the destination (a pool, well, cauldron, etc.).
You can also slip into a meditative state by standing in a relaxed
position and letting your thoughts detach and take flight. For meditating
with the tarot, the easiest method is to be seated at a table while
gazing at a selected card, seeking from within yourself the hidden
meanings of the symbols and how they apply to you. This enables
you to tap into the Universal Consciousness of symbols and unspoken
interpretations, of senses and feelings, of intuition and comprehension.
Pathworking
is also a method for developing your insight for each card of the
tarot. It is very much like a sitting meditation, only what you
are doing is encountering specifically the beings on each card,
walking with them for a while in their setting, listening to what
they may speak or indicate through gesture and action, and learning
directly from the card what meaning it holds for you. The technique
is often used in association with a Kabbalah pattern for magic called
the Tree of Life (different from my card spread), which depicts
three pillars containing ten forms of being, interlinked through
pathways. The whole is a blueprint for showing the process of bringing
something into being through the application of manifesting force
into a formthat is, creating through concept. The cards of the Minor
Arcana are aligned with the forms by suits and court cards, while
the cards of the Major Arcana are the twenty-two pathways between
these ten structures, or emanations. This area of study was popularized
by the Rosicrucians and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and
plays a strong role in Ceremonial Magic. It is because of two separate
ideas of where the Major Arcana cards should be placed on the Tree
of Life that the Strength and Justice cards may be reversed in their
numbering, with the Golden Dawn changing the numbers from 11 for
Strength and 8 for Justice to 8 for Strength and 11 for Justice.
Today, depending on the tarot deck, these cards have either number,
with most of the older numbered decks favoring 11 for Strength,
but the newer decks (as with the various interpretations of the
Rider-Waite Tarot) using 8 for Strength since it actually fits on
the Tree better at that position. However, the earliest decks from
five centuries ago were not numbered at all, and any numbering is
only a couple of centuries old, so use what you feel is appropriate.
The
archetypes of the Major Arcana may be applied to any magical system
simply because they are universal concepts. Pathworking, then, may
be done with or without the Tree of Life method, simply by moving
with the card imagery, or through envisioning the starting and ending
points on the Tree and traveling along the bridgeway linkage with
the card imagery. In either situation, you are opening yourself
to the subtle meanings of the card. Pathworking may also be done
as a guided meditation by having someone else work with you, or
by using a recording that you have purchased or created for yourself.
Now
that you have a little background information on the tarot, take
out your deck to use along with the next two parts, or use the illustrations
provided, and let's get started on the cards. Part two is devoted
to the Major Arcana, and part three looks at the Minor Arcana, including
the multiples. After this the cards of the individual suits are
addressed, followed by information on using spreads and looking
at the relationship between paired cards. Finally, a list of key
words, tarot exercises, and a record-keeping chart rounds out the
text. The idea of tarot reading is to enjoy what you are doing.
If
you would like to consecrate your deck before using, you may do
so by stating, "I call upon the Goddess and the God, the Power
of the Earth and Sky, Moon, and Sun, that this deck be consecrated
to my use." Then sprinkle a little sea salt over the deck as
you state, "by Elemental Earth"; pass the deck through
incense smoke, "by Elemental Air"; pass the deck quickly
through a candle flame as you state, "by Elemental Fire";
and sprinkle very lightly (so as not to damage the cards) with spring
water as you state, "and by Elemental Water" (wipe off
any water spots), "is this deck cleansed and made ready for
my use, so mote it be." An alternate method is to pass the
deck through incense smoke and set it on the pentacle while stating
words of purification and consecration: "Through incense smoke
is this deck cleansed and purified, grounded by the pentacle, and
consecrated to my use by the power of the Lady and the Lord. So
Mote It Be!" Wrap the deck in silk or cotton cloth without
the box it came in. Any color may be used for the cloth, but it
should have significance for you, such as black for protective power
and warding negativity, purple for spiritual power, green for Earth
power, red for success power, silver for Lunar power, or gold for
Solar power. Place the wrapped cards in a box or other special place
where you may safely keep them when not in use.
(Part
1 from this author in relation to reading Tarot cards)
(Part 2 from this author in relation to reading Tarot cards)
Authors
Details: From
the book "Tarot for the Green Witch"
by: Ann Moura |
|
