How to read the tarot cards
In essence the tarot cards images are only triggers to your own intuition. There is no right or wrong way to read the cards, no wrong interpretation of a card. Some of the best readers I've met don't understand the history and complex mystical traditions and symbolism of tarot cards. They merely respond to the images on the cards according to their own background. They may never fully understand the deep and hidden meanings behind the Tarot card designs - they don’t have to! The way they do it works for them!
HOW DIVINATION WORKS
There are two types of fortune telling: Divination and Oracle: The Oracle is discussed elsewhere. Here we will discuss divination.
All divination is based upon three principles:
Each system must have a number of differing elements. The 78 cards of the tarot, the thousands of little bits of tea in the teacup, the stars and planets, or the 22 symbols on the runes, etc.
There must be a system of randomizing these elements. Tossing the coins or runes, the shuffling of the cards, the movements of the celestial bodies or the sloshing of the tea leaves in the cup.
.The reader then interprets the results. The random elements take on a special meaning when we ask them to be our oracle. Carl Jung, the father of analytical psychology, called this process synchronicity. His theory, in short, proposed that psychological events ran in parallel to material ones. Hence the powerful unconscious psyche attracted unusual coincidences. Another theory is that the symbols or elements trigger the reader’s unconscious mind to release information of a psychic nature.
LET THE TAROT CARDS TEACH YOU
First you've got to decide which Tarot Cards you want to work with. I would strongly suggest the Rider-Waite Tarot pack designed by A E Waite. There are several different sizes and several versions. Pick the one you like. The advantage of the Rider-Waite deck is that it retains much of the traditional symbolism and all of the cards have a picture to guide you. It is through the pictures that the Tarot cards teach you.
The Tarot deck consists of 78 cards—the major arcana and four suites. The four suites are the same as in the playing card deck which developed from the tarot. They are: Cups (Hearts), Swords (Spades), Wands (Clubs), and Pentacles (Diamonds).
Often Cups deal with emotions and emotional events, Swords are often actions, Wands are often people and Pentacles can represent money or ideas. The numbers can also have meanings. You can decide what these meanings are or borrow them from numerology or astrology. Do not let yourself be locked into these interpretations, however.
Before you start practicing get to know the Tarot cards. Look at each one and decide what sort of story or activity is it portraying.
For instance, the IV of Pentacles: A man is hugging pentacles which could be coins or money. Possible interpretation: Someone in hanging onto money or hoarding things. Perhaps he is afraid of loss? You see? The card can be something that has happened, or is currently happening or is about to happen. It can be a description of someone or of a relationship.
If you just can’t get an idea from looking at the card, look up its meaning in a book. I recommend The Complete Guide to the Tarot by Eden Gray. Again don’t get locked into any particular interpretation. Each card can have one interpretation one day and another the next.
Take a chance. Let yourself be guided
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