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Reading Tarot Cards

Reading tarot cards is the more complex of the divination/prophecy arts, however it is one of the most fulfilling, in fact for many people, it is a way of life!

If you have been reading my articles on Psychic Ability, you should (at least) have recognized your sense of intuition, if not the ability to "see". More about the term "see" a little later.

A measure of the flexibility of reading tarot cards is that someone without a highly developed psychic sense can still use the tarot by following the specific meaning of the cards and still obtain a useful and accurate reading.

Indeed, the art of reading tarot cards is often used by psychic teachers as the best method of expanding a persons intuitive and psychic abilities.

I have gone to some lengths to de-mystify reading Tarot cards for the purposes of this site. The amount of mystique you wish to apply to the art of reading Tarot Cards is up to you. For some people the Tarot is literally a magic wand, whilst for others they are simply a tool to prompt the intuition.

There are a huge number of different styles of tarot decks, but all modern tarot decks will conform to the following pattern.

There are a total of 78 cards in the pack.

The pack consists of two sections :
- The Major Arcana comprising 22 trump cards.
- The Minor Arcana comprising 56 cards in 4 suites.
- The suites are :
- Each suite is similar to normal playing cards (ace to ten), with the addition of an extra court (face) card, the Page.
- The playing card equivialents to the Tarot suites are :
  - Wands ..... Clubs
  - Cups ....... Hearts
  - Swords .... Spades
  - Pentacles . Diamonds
The Rider-Waite deck is regarded as the de-facto 'standard' for modern tarot decks. Many tarot readers begin with this pack before progressing to a deck of their own preference. (My preference for reading Tarot Cards in a professional capacity been the 'Aquarian' deck).
Explanation : This page started out as an overview of Tarot to demonstrate your innate abilities, however, somehow it has grown into a complete and comprehensive course on reading Tarot Cards.

To begin reading Tarot Cards.
Note : The Tarot is a portal to the psychic realm. It is not a game. As you embark on a course of tarot reading you are entering the psychic's realm. Expect to attract unusual and odd coincidences and events to yourself.
First obtain your tarot deck**. If you are going to be reading tarot cards professionally it is said that you should be presented with the pack. Personally, I feel that if you feel attracted to a particular pack you should purchase it. In any case, the style of your first pack should be one which appeals to you - after all you and these cards are going to spend a lot of time together.
** Note : I have included the entire Rider-Waite deck in the following pages, which you may substitute for purchasing your own deck. In addition, I have included a handy Tarot Card Meaning locator page.
The first step is to familiarize yourself with the cards. At first there will seem to be so many, however the tarot deck is surprisingly logical and not as daunting as it first appears.
As you examine the cards, you will find that some appear to be quite attractive, and some appear to be Ugh! Good. You are starting to relate to the cards.
Now separate the deck into its major and minor arcana sections.
Arrange the major arcana into order, they are numbered by roman numerals from 0 (The Fool) through to XXI (The World)

Examine each of the major Arcana cards one by one and read the meaning. There is no need to learn the explanations by rote, however you do need to develop a good impression of the meaning of the card and the relevance of each of its items.
Familiarity with each card is the best I can explain it. Somewhere between the explanation of each card and your own impressions you will reach your own understanding of each card.
If you can create a story-line for each card by using your imagination it will help to explain the application of each card. After all, when you are actually doing a reading, it is your imagination which is the channel for your psychic impressions.

Note :- your understanding is what is important here. What the card means to you over-rides all else.
During my explanations, my preferred term for the person who the reading is for is the subject. However, in some instances I have used the term the person. Both are interchangeable. The traditional term "Que rent" (one who queries), is normally used to represent the person receiving the reading. However my preferences are for "Subject" or "Person".

Major Arcana Meanings

Now repeat this familiarization for each of the the Minor Arcana suites after reading the Minor Arcana overview which will put each of the suites into perspective.

Minor Arcana Overview

Suite or Cups

Suite of Swords

Suite of Wands

Suite of Pentacles

Card Meaning Locator

Use this handy Tarot Card meaning locator to select and find your Tarot card meanings.

You have now examined each card and read its two meanings, normal and reversed, positive and negative.
The reversed meaning is for when the card is presented to you upside down with respect to all the others.
At last you are ready to begin to read!
Now re-examine each of the major arcana cards one at a time.
Take notice of the most obvious feature of the card, then find the least obvious ** feature of the card. The impressions you receive is what reading tarot cards is all about.
** After years of reading from the same deck I still find new features popping up.
As before, repeat the process with each card of the minor arcana.
When you progress to reading for someone else, you will find that the least obvious feature will change for each reading and often the most obvious feature will change, (or mean something else).
You may now have two separate meanings for each card - yours and the books. Yours is the one which matters. The standard explanation is for "when all else fails" situations - for when nothing comes, ie. psychics block. (It happens to the best of us)
You should 'live' with your tarot deck for a week or two to get to know it intimately. Draw cards for each day, draw cards for each of the people in your life, draw cards for anything you wish to know.
Just as you had to live with your pendulum for a time to get it all working for you, you need time to become at one with your tarot deck. Try doing simple readings for anyone you can get to sit for you ..... practice, practice, practice.
When reading for yourself, the biggest hurdle is your own expectations.
When reading for someone else the problem is not to project your own expectations and experiences into someone else's life.
What is important is your impression of what each card means because it is you who will be reading the tarot cards. Allowing your intuition to interpret the impressions you receive is what makes reading tarot cards so powerful. As you get into a reading, your intuition takes over and you find yourself 'seeing'.
If you are using the tarot deck to divine for yourself the impressions you receive are yours. If you are reading for someone else, the impressions you receive are not yours, you are simply the mouthpiece. Information and impressions you receive for some-one else are for them, so give them away and don't own them.

Tarot Card Reading Instructions

Further Resources :

Reading Tarot Cards becomes even more expressive and accurate when combined with other psychic oracles, visit Venefica's website , and learn how you can combine crystals, astrology, colorology and numerology in your Tarot readings!

If you would like to contact other psychics and readers, visit the website of Psychic Junkie to contact practicing clairvoyants and readers.

Psychic Readings Ireland
Sean Sugrue is a Psychic Medium. Sean has been communicating with the Spirit world for as long as he can remember. In addition to his psychic abilities Sean is also a Reiki master.

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