How To Read Tarot Playing Cards

How should I shuffle the tarot cards?

To read playing cards, properly mix them, divide the deck in half with your non-dominant hand, and then flip the two sides over. You can interpret as many cards as you turn over.

What do playing cards in tarot represent?

The four suits are Future difficult tasks or events are represented by spades. Hearts are all about emotions, relationships, family, and home. Clubs stand for promising things that would soon happen. Money and finances are the main themes in diamonds.

Can I learn how to read Tarot cards on my own?

It’s normal to be a little clumsy when you first start practicing the tarot. Tarot study is similar to learning a new languageit takes time to become proficient. But what happens if you no longer require the booklet and have intimate familiarity with the deck? Are you able to read yourself? No, except for a few rare instances. Simply put, it’s a horrible idea.

You see, the majority of us turn to astrology or tarot when we’re looking for clarity amid a period of ambiguity. In contrast to astrology, which is quite technical, our consciousness restricts our capacity to read tarot cards. Working with your personal interpretation of the cards, you are not constrained by short- and long-term cycles like the planets’ orbits. It might be tricky to go beyond your current circumstances while utilizing the tarot to better understand a trying scenario. Even if all the cards are spread out in front of you, putting them together requires such a broad perspective that it is all but impossible to fully understand the meaning of each card. Basically, any biases you already have will always be reflected in your tarot reading!

How should I maintain my Tarot deck?

While rearranging the cards in the tarot deck is a good approach to purify and clear their energy, there are some circumstances in which you might wish to perform a more specialized ritual. If you’re just getting started with tarot, cleaning your deck can be an excellent place to start.

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. Consider it as a little spiritual hygiene to maintain a strong and clear connection. 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 stress if you don’t believe it is necessary for your deck. 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). It works well to leave it like way for an hour, but I prefer to leave it overnight.

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.

Unorderly shuffle. 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.

Are there any meanings on playing cards?

Each of the four major pillars of the Middle Ages’ economy is supposed to be symbolized by one of the card game’s suits: Hearts stood for the Church, Spades for the military, Clubs for agriculture, and Diamonds for the merchant class.

What kind of religion are tarot cards?

Tarot cards also include four suits, but they are different depending on the region: French suits are found in Northern Europe, Latin suits are found in Southern Europe, and German suits are found in Central Europe. Each suit contains 14 cards: four face cards (King, Queen, Knight, and Jack/Knave/Page) and ten pip cards, numbered from one (or Ace) to ten. In addition, the tarot features a unique 21-card trump suit and a solitary card known as the Fool; this 22-card group of cards is referred to as the Major Arcana in the world of divination. The Fool may serve as the top trump or alternatively may be played to avoid doing so, depending on the game. In parts of Europe, these tarot cards are still used to play traditional card games without any occult connotations.

Tarot cards are mostly employed for amusement and divination in English-speaking nations where these activities are less popular, typically with the aid of specially created packs. Although academic research has shown that tarot cards were partially invented in northern Italy in the 15th century (16 of the modern 22 Major Arcana cards) and combined with a deck of four suits, “the Mamluk deck,” some people who use tarot for cartomancy believe the cards have esoteric links to ancient Egypt, Iran, the Kabbalah, Indian Tantra, or the I Ching. The Mamluk deck of cards was created in or before the 14th century and arrived in Western Europe after paper was produced in Asia (see Playing Card – Egypt and following sections). By the end of the thirteenth century, Europeans were making the Mamluk deck with customized “court cards” and suit symbols.

Although some people think that tarot cards were not used for divination until the late 18th century, there is evidence of an early tarot deck that was “used in divination to determine the querent’s prospects in love” (Fernando de la Torre’s “Juego de Naypes” deck of Spain, 1450), each card having an image and verse.

What is the order of the tarot cards?

The primary arcana cards feature images that stand in for a variety of energies, people, virtues, and vices. The fool card is unnumbered, and the other 21 cards are numbered I through XXI. The major arcana tarot cards are listed below in alphabetical order: I the juggler, or magician; II the papess, or female pope; III the empress; IV the emperor; V the pope; VI the lovers; VII the chariot; VIII the justice; IX the hermit; X the wheel of fortune; X the strength, or fortitude; XI the hanged man; XIII the death; XIV the temperance; XV the devil; XVI the lightning-s

After a breakup

Draw one card for each of the following inquiries if you’ve recently broken up with someone and want to know more about the reason or determine whether you’ll get back together:

• How energetic is the partnership right now?
• What caused the divide in the first place?
• What do they really think of me right now?
• What do they intend for me right now?
• What kind of relationship will this be in the future?
• Which action is ideal for me to take right now?

When job searching

You can use this spread to explore what kind of career guidance the tarot can offer if you’re feeling uncertain about your career path or thinking about a new employment. Draw one card once more for each query.

• How active am I in my career right now?
• What challenge must I overcome?
• What is my calling in life?
• How can I follow this calling more closely?
• What should I do to prepare for the upcoming month?

When deciding between two options

This spread can highlight the benefits and drawbacks of each option, guiding you toward the best decision if you’re using tarot to pick between two possibilities (two job offers, two apartments, perhaps a love triangle???). Getting the deal Per card, ask one question.

• What is the fundamental cause of this fork in the road?
• What is the likely result of choosing option A?
• What is the most likely result for option B?
• What more should I take into account that was overlooked?
• What’s the best thing I can do right now?

When something is off with a friend

If you’re concerned about the state of a friendship or feel like something is wrong but are unable to pinpoint the cause, you might be interested in seeing what conclusions and solutions this spread offers. Ask one question per card, once more, I repeat.

• What makes this friendship so crucial?
• What led to this sudden change in tone, and why?
• What has changed, in my friend’s opinion?
• What can I do to make this matter more urgent?
• What is the future of this friendship?
• What should I do at this moment?

How do you perform a three-card tarot reading?

• Choose a Tarot deck in step one.
• Find a Quiet, Remote Area in Step 2.
• Focus on a Question or Intention in Step 3.
• Step 4: Reshuffle the cards.
• Divide your deck into three equal stacks in step five.
• Step 6: Turn your cards over.
• Examine your cards in Step 7.
• Get a sense of your cards in Step 8.

Other variants for five players:

• There are 8 cards in the chien and 14 cards are dealt to each player, however the taker is the only one playing. Rarely is this variant played.
• Instead of participating in the hand, the dealer deals to the other four players, who play similarly to the four-handed game. The same dealer deals again if everyone passes until someone places a bid.

Some players in the five-player game with a called king play that you cannot lead the king’s suit in the first trick, with the exception that the king itself may be led if the king’s holder is on lead.

Variations in the bidding

Some players still permit the pousse bid, which was once made between petite and garde; the terms are the same but the score is different. On the other side, some people play sans petite, resulting in garde as the lowest offer.

Petit imprenable

Some games allow a player who is dealt the petit (1 of trumps) alonethat is, without any additional trumps or an excuseto proclaim the petit imprenable rather than cancel the hand (untouchable one). The player then uses the petit as if it were yet another defense; although the trick is lost, the player still retains possession of the card. The declaration of “petit imprenable” varies depending on whether the player plays to the first trick right away after the deal, or waits until the petit itself is played.

Some games allow the player who receives the excuse but no more trumps to cancel the hand as well.

Scoring

There are numerous alternate scoring systems in use in addition to the tournament scoring provided in the official account. For instance:

Scores are as follows: 80 for Garde, 160 for Garde Sans, 320 for Garde Contre, 500 for a petit chelem, and 1000 for a grand chelem. Card points that are above or below the minimum required for the contract are rounded to the nearest 10; there are no multiplying factors; all other scores are as stated above.

Another variation is: petit x1, garde x2, garde sans x4, garde contre x5, grand chelem wins 400 if made and announced, loses 200 if made and announced but wins 200 if made without announcement, and petit chelem (all but one trick) scores zero if made and announced but scores 300 if made and announced but loses 150 if made and announced and lost.

The multipliers available when using the pousse bid are: petite x1, pousse x2, garde x4, garde sans x8, and garde contre x12.

Pools were used to play French Tarot in the past (mouches). For club and tournament play, this method has been abandoned due to its inconvenience, but it is still occasionally used in casual games. Everyone pays the same amount (let’s say $10) to establish a mouche at the start of the game and thereafter anytime there are no mouches, plus the dealer adds an additional $5. A declarer who loses pays into a new mouche that is the same size as the largest mouche; a player who wins a contract takes the largest mouche. The dealer adds 5 to (one of the) largest mouche at the start of each deal (s). When using mouches, there may be no base payment for the gamejust payouts for card points won beyond the required minimum.

Tarot for Two Players

The rules of the game are essentially the same for four players as they are for two players, except that each player has 21 cards in their hand and 18 more on the table in six heaps of three, with the top card of each pile facing up.

The deal is as follows: Deal three cards, one at a time, face down, side by side, to your opponent; follow that with three cards to yourself; next, deal three more cards to your opponent beside the previous three; and last, deal yourself three more cards.

Currently, each player is facing a row of six cards that are all face down. Repeat the process so that each player has six face-down stacks of two cards by dealing new cards on top of existing ones. Then repeat the process while dealing face-up cards on top of the piles, creating six piles of three cards for each player with a face-up card on top. The remaining cards are dealt to the two players three at a time, giving them each a hand of 21 cards.

There is not an auction. The play proceeds according to the standard rules, which are that you must follow suit, trump if it is invalid, and when a trump is led, it must be beaten if at all feasible. You can play tricks with the face-up cards on your piles just like you would with cards in your hand. If you have played from a pile, turn the following card from that pile face up at the conclusion of each trick. The winner is decided using the standard targets at the conclusion of play, when both players have used all of the cards in their hands and piles. For instance, if you have two bouts and your opponent has one, you win if you have 41 or more points, while your opponent needs 51 or more to win. If you choose to keep score, the winner receives 25 points in addition to 1 point for each card point they have over their goal. If the petit is played down to the last trick, the trick winner receives an additional 10 points for the petit au bout. For poignee, there is no score.