What do the various tarot card types represent?
All tarot decks share a few characteristics, despite their vastly different designs. Each one has 78 playing cards, divided into the main and minor arcana. The major arcana, which are the deck’s 22 trump cards, generally allude to bigger influences and disclosures when they are revealed during a reading. These cards stand alone without a suit and represent key occasions or people in a person’s life.
In contrast, the minor arcana refer to influences and issues that are more commonplace. Wands, swords, pentacles, and cups make up the four suits that these 56 cards are divided into. (Occasionally, tarot decks will use different terminology, such as “Pentacles for coins, but they are exact equivalents to the four original divisions.) A different aspect of life is symbolized by each costume. Wands typically represent imagination and passion, swords intelligence, pentacles work and wealth, and cups emotion. Additionally, each suit is associated with a certain set of astrological signs, such as wands being associated with fire, swords with air, pentacles with earth, and cups with water.
Since we’re beginners, the meanings you’ll most frequently refer to are the functional definitions, albeit these meanings can be used when cards symbolize people and their zodiac signs. For example, a three-card spread with three pentacle cards strongly denotes a financial concern. (More on the various spreads will follow.)
There are a few conventions that apply to most tarot readings, though most of this depends on the deck’s owner and what seems appropriate to them. If you’re reading cards for someone else, you should ask them to provide you with a question or suggest something they’re interested in, and keep that question in mind while you shuffle the deckalso referred to as “removing the effects of earlier research and readings. (An illustration would be, “When will I discover love?” Am I pursuing the correct career? “How can I get through my block?
Then you could query the person you are reading for (also known as “again concentrating on their inquiry, the querent) to trim the deck. Although some readers will cut the deck for the querent, we prefer this option since it gives the querent a chance to feel linked to the deck personally. In any case, you will draw the necessary number of cards for your spread and, if you’re reading for yourself, place them between you and the querentor directly in front of you.
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In a tarot reading, how many cards should be used?
Although a little more challenging, the Celtic Cross is also a wonderful place to start.”
The Celtic Cross spread is a traditional spread in which each card has a predetermined location and meaning. It’s a pretty clear spread with a lot of information because there are 10 cards in it. To use the format, I personally use a modified version of the Celtic Cross, although I want to be flexible with the card places since I want the cards to be in any configuration they choose. I begin with the Celtic Cross configuration and then move the cards around to emphasize that they are conversing with one another as we converse. Sometimes it appears completely different towards the conclusion of the reading.
Her second piece of advice is to forget about the overall layout. “The connections between the cards are truly what matter. The significance of a card will change depending on the other cards it is surrounded by. She explains that they are all having an impact on one another and that this influence can sometimes be exacerbated.
“She says, “You’re opening up, therefore I think it’s vital to think about the energy of the area.” ” If you want to be an open person, you must also want a healthy atmosphere around you that will allow you to be open. I love that I can manage the environment when I conduct readings in my flat. Having an intention, such as “This is a space where I can be open so it’s a loving environment and I don’t accept non-loving energies,” or even just burning sage, palo santo, or lighting candles, can assist.
But before a reading, more than just the physical environment needs to be in order.”
According to Howe, even your mindset matters. “Before doing a reading, I like to meditate to clear my thoughts of any worries or problems of my own, allowing me to be receptive to whatever comes to mind for them rather than for myself.
In how many decks does a tarot reading take place?
These were the earliest type of tarot cards ever created; they were created in northern Italy in the 15th century. There are still three decks in this category that are used to play some games:
- The 78 cards of the Tarocco Piemontese are divided into the four suits of swords, batons, cups, and coins, each of which is headed by a king, queen, cavalier, and jack. In most games, Trump 20 outranks Trump 21, and the Fool, although not being a trump, is numbered 0.
- The Pope, Popess, and Angel are all replaced with Jupiter, Juno, and the Judgement, respectively, in the Swiss 1JJ Tarot. The Tower is referred to as the House of God, and the trumps are ranked numerically. Unlike the Tarocco Piemontese, the cards are not reversible.
- The Tarocco Bolognese contains somewhat different trumps, none of which are numbered and four of which are equal in rank. It also omits the numeral cards two through five in plain suits, leaving it with 62 cards. Since it wasn’t based on the Tarot of Marseilles, it has a different graphic style than the two cards mentioned above.
How should my tarot deck be cleaned?
There are occasions when you might want to perform something more particular and ritualized rather than simply shuffling the tarot deck to purify and clear the energy of the cards. Cleaning your deck could seem like a nice place to start if you’re just starting to understand tarot.
You might want to clean your tarot deck for a variety of reasons, including:
- beginning with a fresh deck
- readings for other people
- You think you need to recharge.
- Your card readings seem a touch “odd” or “disconnected”
- Your deck hasn’t been used recently.
- Your deck has been handled by others
- You think you’ve been utilizing your deck a lot. A LOT, especially for books with strong emotional content
Why should you cleanse or clear your tarot deck?
Tarot deck cleansing helps keep the energy flowing between you and your deck. To keep the link strong and clear, think of it as a little spiritual hygiene. It’s not necessary, but if you have any of the aforementioned symptoms, try a few of the energetic cleansing techniques listed below and note which ones seem to work the best for you.
How often should you cleanse your tarot deck?
This is another way of stating USE YOUR INTUITION: there are no hard and fast laws. Don’t worry about it if you don’t think your deck need it. Alternately, if you like to cleanse them once per week or once per month, that’s great. If it feels appropriate to you, you can even place your favorite crystal on the balcony each night.
If you frequently place crystals on your deck and store it on an altar while not in use, you might not feel the need to cleanse it frequently because this quick ritual will likely be sufficient to keep your deck feeling nice.
There are numerous ways to cleanse your cards, just as there are numerous reasons why you might desire to do so.
Different ways to cleanse your tarot deck
Use holy smoke. Light a dried rosemary, lavender, cedar, sage, or palo santo cleansing wand until it begins to smoke. Hold the smoke a safe distance below the deck while holding the burning herbs in one hand and the deck in the other so that the smoke drifts upward onto the cards. Turn the deck so that the smoke covers it from all angles. Next, safely put your deck to the ground and put out the fire.
On the deck, set a selenite stone (or a black tourmaline or a transparent quartz). Although an hour would suffice, I prefer to let it rest like this for the entire night.
Set them on display during a new moon. The New Moon is energy of a blank slate; you can purify the deck by setting it on a window sill on a new moon night. At this moment, you can also make a brand-new intention for your deck.
Place the cards in a salty dish. A strong and stabilizing cleaner is salt. My preferred choice for a thorough cleansing is this. Allow it to sit anywhere from one to eight hours in a dry area.
Shuffle in chaos. Spread the cards out on the ground, then shuffle them around like a child playing in dirt. This method’s freedom and randomization serve as an excellent reset.
the shuffle and sort. Set up the deck in rows of seven cards across, commencing with the Major Arcana numbers 0 to 22. (see photo above). Next, arrange the cards, Ace through King, one for each suit, as follows: Swords, Pentacles, Cups, and Wands. View the deck in this configuration, then mix everything up (like the chaotic!) and shuffle it thoroughly.
What number of Oracle cards should I draw?
- Bring a clean, open mind when you play the cards. Make sure you read for yourself in a calm environment where you can tune into your own energy.
- Consider where you may need some advice right now as you hold the cards in your hands. You’ll always receive the information you require at that precise time from your intuition. That implies that you can be surprised by the subject that comes to mind first. (If you’re reading for someone else, just focus on them while you shuffle the cards.)
- A deck can be shuffled in a few different ways. Personally, I enjoy shuffling cards until one stands out visibly or even flies out. Others may shuffle the cards until they feel inspired to stop and choose the top card in the deck.
- How many cards from a deck should you draw? Ask your instincts. Draw as few or as many cards as your available space will allow. Lay your card(s) face down on the surface in front of you after you’ve drawn them.
- One by one, turn them over. What do you initially deduce a card’s meaning to be for you or the person you are reading for? Our first intuitive insights are typically the most profound. Expect some of them to come as unexpected shocks, guidance, or newfound understanding.
- When looking at a card, if you don’t see a few hits right away, sit quietly for a few minutes and see what comes to the top.
How can I interpret Tarot cards on my own?
I discovered early on in my tarot excursions that knowing the meanings of each card isn’t necessary, even if there is much value and wisdom to be gained from them. Instead, using your intuition is the key to learning how to interpret tarot cards. And this makes sense given that they are instruments for receiving and deciphering messages from the universe or our inner selves. Get the best advice from readers below to learn how to read tarot cards for yourself instinctively and without memorization.
How can I quickly learn tarot?
Tarot training? Here’s How to Simplify That
- You’re about to feel a lot less overwhelmed about those 78 cards!
- Draw a card every day, and review it later.
- Read to your friends, especially your tarot buddies.
- Try using a deck with “traditional” iconography.
- Write down your thoughts in a journal.
Tarot cards may I mix them?
For its intuitive strategy, this is one of Matassa’s favorites; you might want to try shuffled your cards in a pile. She instructs, “Drop them on the floor and scatter them all over like fingerpaint.” For a freshly shuffled deck, combine them and then put them back together.
Can you read tarot cards using a deck of cards?
You may have used an oracle deck or heard of tarot cards, but did you realize you could perform a reading with a standard deck of playing cards for a friend or yourself? Anyone is welcome to try this method of divination, known as cartomancy.