INTRODUCTION
There are 78 cards in a traditional Tarot deck consisting of 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards.
The Major Arcana cards are also known as the Trump or Fate cards. They represent the greater secrets in life, the important or major life issues and things of spiritual importance or mysterious knowledge. These cards tell of the Fool on his journey through life. The Fool, being you and me, starts out at a young and tender age learning all his life’s lessons ending up older, wiser and knowledgeable.
There are 56 Minor Arcana cards which include 40 Pip cards and 16 Court cards. Both the pip and court cards are divided into 4 different suits and four different elements. The four suits are swords, wands, cups and pentacles. The four elements are air, fire, water and earth.
Swords are an air sign and relate to thinking and our reason. Wands are a fire sign and relate to our energy and enthusiasm. Cups are the water sign and relate to feelings and our emotions. Pentacles are the earth sign and relate to sensations and physical reality.
| Suit | Element | Represents |
| Swords | Air | Tension. Intellect. Rationality. Logic. |
| Wands | Fire | Energy. Passion. Will. Enthusiasm. |
| Cups | Water | Love. Emotion. Intuition. |
| Pentacles | Earth | Material world. Money. Practical. Physical. |
The Pip cards are numbered from Ace to ten and represent the every day situations, attitudes and emotions.
The Court cards each have a Page, Knight, Queen and King in each suit. They represent the people in our lives, characters, relationships, talents or faults. When you see the Court cards, ask yourself who these people are, and why are they popping up in your reading.
Pages are seen as children of both sexes. Pages are childlike in their behaviour, and are not afraid to venture forth on missions of discovery.
Knights are seen as young adults of both sexes. Knights carry a youthful energy, and have the reputation of not thinking at times, before they act.
Queens are seen as mature and/or married women. Queens are receptive in nature, nurturing and supportive.
Kings are seen as mature and/or married men. They are seen as active decision makers.
There are 4 ways in which the Court cards function within a reading:
1. As an environmental influence.
2. As representing a person in the clients life.
3. As representing the clients inner potential and talents, capacities and psychological state.
4. As relating to spirituality.
Remember that each reading is an unfolding story about some aspect in the client’s life. What is your first impression of the card? Ask the client what their impression of the card is, and where it might fit into their life. Does the card remind them of someone in their life? Do they see this person as supportive, or as being an obstacle? This would be the outer level of the Court card.
On the inner level, does the client see the Court card as an aspect of themselves? Is this energy within them, a skill or a talent that they can use as a personal resource? Is this something that they need to develop? Is the Court card in question representing a fear that is holding them back?
Look at the number of Court cards appearing in any one reading. What positions do they fall in? Are they more involved with the past, the present or the future? Which cards may be facing each other, and what does that energy look like?
When you first begin to read the cards, go through a reading intuitively, speaking what comes through to you from the images in the cards. Then if you wish, go back and check the “traditional” meaning of the cards. Know that as you do more and more readings, you will develop your own sense of what a card means, and where it is taking you. Keeping a journal of your readings will allow you to see your progress on a very real level, as well as allowing you to see how specific issues develop in your life.
Today so many people are learning to tap into their intuition. The best way to interpret is NOT to question your intuition rather go with the flow of your thoughts. As you read through the cards, look at all the images on the cards, everything has a piece to the story.
There are many different decks of Tarot cards to choose from and some decks are difficult to learn. You cannot open a deck of cards in a shop; therefore you cannot view the images or text. There is a way of going with the feeling of the cards. Hold the deck with both holds and see what your feelings are telling you. It’s the same when you give a reading, you go with what feels right. Otherwise you can get some knowledge before going out to buy your deck. It’s best to get to know one deck completely while you are learning.
Tarot was designed with specific symbols, colours and images for a very good reason. The traditional Tarot cards represent the psychological, spiritual and mundane archetypes. Created in such a way they represent every part of a person’s journey. What ever you are experiencing when you do a reading, you will find a card that reflects the situation. The Rider-Waite Tarot deck has been used for this book.
Tarot is one of the oldest divination oracles still in use today. Divination is a way of finding answers to questions. It comes from the word divine which means ‘Higher Power’ that guides you all the time, make out by inspiration, magic, intuition or guessing, foresees or predicts.
We use these tools to help us see the answers to the questions that we ask. The future is never set in stone. We can examine situations as they are and can see the direction in which the future is going in the cards. The cards illustrate the situation, including the aspects of which we are unaware of. Your own impressions and feelings are what count.
There is magick in the Tarot, but the key to unlocking that magick lies within the reader. You need to stay open to allow information to come to you. Tarot is not ‘instant’ and it is not a determined outcome. It can be very overwhelming and intimidating the first time you start learning the cards.
Make it a magick and fun journey. If you start getting impatience, walk away and come back when you feel refreshed. You need patience, time and positive energy. There are 78 different cards to learn, and if you want to master the Tarot cards, you are going to need plenty of time and effort. What you put in, is what you will get out. The more energy you put into your deck the more accurate your readings will be.
I leant one card at a time. Learn the basic meaning of one card. Pick one randomly or start with the first card, the Fool. You can gather all the information you have on the card, memorise it and write down the symbols, number, star sign and colour meaning, select one or two keywords that will trigger your memory and see your confidence grow. An example is the Fool card. You have already learnt that the first card means new beginnings and fresh starts. It is the first card, that been Zero and also means innocence, letting go of expectations and stupidity.
It is important to learn the meanings of the cards thoroughly so you can tap into the mystery of the cards to give an accurate reading. I know some people that have never learnt the card meaning and still give an accurate reading. I was not one of those lucky ones. Been the Taurus that I am I leant every single card one at a time. Remember it all comes from within.
There are no fast and hard rules. What matters are your own perceptions and insights when you look at the Tarot cards in a reading? Everything here is for you to ensure that your insights are valid, and that you have the confidence to take Tarot further than you could ever have imagined.
This is a personal choice. Some people read only the upright meaning of the cards and do not read the reverse meanings at all. When you first start learning it is best not to read the reversed meaning as there is just so much to learn. Once you are confidence with all the meanings then you can learn the reverse meanings.
Reversed cards have the reversed meaning in most cases. Another way to read a reversed card, if you don’t feel the reversed meaning is correct for the reading is by interpreting the cards message as more important than it would normally be.
A clarification card can be drawn from the deck while you are giving a reading, if you are unsure of a meaning or interpretation of a particular card in a spread. It can be chosen randomly or from the top, bottom or middle of the deck, whatever feels comfortable for you. You or the client can choose the card. Once chosen place the clarification card over the card you are unsure of for more understanding of the cards meaning.
If a card ‘jumps’ out of the deck while you are shuffling, it is called the jumper or dropper card. Jumper or dropper cards can be used as a significator card. You can use them as a clue to see where the reading will go. If you don’t feel a connection with the card, just put it back in and carry on shuffling.
Not all spreads have a position for a significator card. This is a personal option. This card is not to be interpreted as part of the reading. There are two ways of choosing a significator card if the spread you are using does not have a position for it.
One option is after shuffling the cards you choose one card from the top, bottom or middle as the significator card. Another option is to let the client go through the deck, not seeing the images, and pick a card at random that will represent them. This card will show how the person sees themselves in the situation.
You need to know what the general issue is about before laying your spread out. Being able to ask the right question is more important than knowing exactly what each card means. Sometimes the cards will not answer what you ask but will instead tell you what you need to know. You will get a better response if you ask "What", rather than "Why". "What is the lesson that I need to learn?" Will be far better than "Why did this happen?"
You can take a few moments before you lay out your spread, and write down all the questions that you might have. An example is if all of the questions are formed around career, a good question to ask might be: "What do I need to know about my work environment, and what actions will allow me to feel more in control of the situation.”
The numbers are not always consistent. A common change is the switching of the Justice and Strength cards. Names are changed in the Major and Minor Arcana. Some decks have extra cards. Always make sure you read the booklet that is supplied with the deck to see what their meanings are.
The Major Arcana cards are sometimes renamed with the Death card becoming the Transition card.
The Magician becoming the Juggler.
The Hierophant becoming the Teacher, the High Priest, or the Pope.
The High Priestess becoming the Female Pope or the Papess.
Judgement becoming the Angel.
Court cards have different names such as the Page been called Princess or Daughter.
Knights may be called Prince or Son.
Queens may be called Mother.
Kings may be called Father.
Another difference is
Swords may be called Spades.
Wands may be called Clubs, Batons, Rods, Staffs or Staves.
Cups may be called Cauldrons, Chalice or Hearts.
Pentacles may be Coins, Diamonds, Discs or Stones.