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Oct 4, 2006 23:01:04 GMT
Post by Ellen on Oct 4, 2006 23:01:04 GMT
Welcome to my 'Secrets of Tarot' course. I hope you will find these lessons fun and easy to understand.
The course is designed to introduce you to the wonderful world of Tarot and help you to start reading the cards yourself. As I mentioned in the pre-course email you will need to work with your own deck and have at least one or more books to refer to.
Don't worry if you don't have your cards or books yet, simply save this lesson for when you are ready to start. We will be sending you subsequent lessons each week so feel free to study and practice at your own leisure.
I believe it is a gift to be able to work with the Tarot cards and communicate with people at a metaphysical level, helping to bring clarity and hope into their lives, and of course there is a great meditative quality working with the cards for yourself.
This is why I don't believe learning the Tarot should be treated 'academically'. Of course there is a lot to study and remember, however, your interpretations must be personal to you. In order to do this, you must learn to develop your own relationship with the cards by understanding the feelings, visions and insights you get from them. This introductory course focuses on helping you begin to develop that relationship.
We won't be covering the history of the Tarot in any great detail, as there are many sites that cover that subject very well, (check our links page for useful sites), and of course there's a plethora of books for that purpose.
I would recommend studying a number of Tarot books, as I always find something of value from all the very talented Tarot readers out there! As you get to know the cards by studying other people's interpretations, you will see that the cards have particular positive and negative meanings. What varies is how each of us communicates those interpretations.
Therefore, it is true to say that all of us who work with the Tarot understand that there's a standard, (for want of a better word), interpretation for each card, but we are all free to communicate that meaning in a way that reflects our spirit and personality.
Each lesson will contain some key information for you to learn and remember, a few practical exercises and 5 multiple choice questions for you to test your understanding and comprehension of the lesson.
Have fun and enjoy!!
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Oct 4, 2006 23:06:37 GMT
Post by Ellen on Oct 4, 2006 23:06:37 GMT
Lesson 1 – 78 cards of pure magic, an overview of the Tarot cards
Before we start here are some hints on how to treat and keep your Tarot cards:
Spend as much time as you can practicing or meditating with them, or at least handle them regularly, especially during the course.
To avoid the cards absorbing disturbing vibrations or energies wrap them in a black cloth, silk if you can afford it, and put the wrapped cards in a box.
Treat your cards gently and with respect and it is recommended that you don’t allow others to use your own deck.
You need at least 2-3 hours or more for this first lesson so start it when you know you can be undisturbed for that amount of time.
In order to begin you will need to be relaxed and calm, perhaps have some gentle instrumental music playing or incense burning - whatever helps you to relax.
The very first thing I am going to ask you to do is a practical exercise for which you will need your Tarot deck and a writing pad or paper and a pen. You may wish to invest in an attractive bound notebook as it will become an important reference book for you.
Read the following instructions and then commence the exercise before reading any further.
nstructions for first practical exercise:
Spend at least two or three hours simply looking at each of the 78 cards in your Tarot deck!
Firstly, shuffle the deck for a few minutes with your eyes closed and breathe gently and deeply, and as you do so try to focus on how you are feeling, what thoughts are dominating your mind? How clear is your mind? Not at all probably!!
Meditation greatly enhances your ability to read the cards. It allows you to connect with your ‘intuitive self’, helping you to understand the messages or visions you may get as you work with your cards.
Always take time to clear your mind of those busy, noisy thoughts from your everyday issues and personal concerns, before you start to work with your cards. This is not easy to achieve and will take a lot of practice, so try to make meditation and relaxation a regular part of your day.
OK, when you are happy to stop shuffling your cards, pick one card from the deck and put it in front of you. Look at the card and ask yourself what does it mean? What does the image tell you? What does the name of the card, for example: The Fool or 3 of Cups, mean? What feelings do you get from this card? What images or words come to you?
Write the name of the card on your pad and whatever comes into your head - the words you would associate with it and what you think the card and its image means.
When you have finished with that card, put it to one side and pick another card from your deck and do the same exercise. If you don’t get any thoughts or feelings about a particular card, put it to one side and come back to it later. Do this until you have studied every card in the deck and written your meanings next to each one in your pad or notebook.
If you wish to take longer than two or three hours to do this exercise then do so, there’s no need to rush.
OK, start the exercise and do not read any further until you’ve finished it!
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Oct 4, 2006 23:12:24 GMT
Post by Ellen on Oct 4, 2006 23:12:24 GMT
Lesson 1 - Part II
So, how did you get on? You may be wondering why I asked you to do that exercise before telling you anything!
There is a method to my madness!! I wanted you to start by focusing on what you ‘saw’ or ‘felt’ from each card before giving you any information, so that later on in the course you can check back to this exercise and see how close or indeed how far off your initial, intuitive, gut reactions were to each card.
You would have instinctively used your own words to describe what you saw and felt, and that is very important. Whether you got the meanings ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ is not important at this stage.
I will ask you to come back and check this exercise later in the course, and when you do, you can use a highlighter or underline with a pen the cards and definitions where you were quite accurate in your interpretation.
Ask yourself what card or cards were you really drawn to? What was it about that card or cards that fascinated you? Make a note of this too.
What I will do now is give you some basic facts about the classic Tarot deck, this is by no means ALL the information about it, but enough for you to be getting on with at this moment in time.
The classic 78 card Tarot Deck:
The Major Arcana cards are numbered 0-21, each card telling a story or conveying a message. Major Arcana cards represent more significant events or decisions, practically, emotionally and spiritually in a reading, whilst the Minor Arcana represent the more mundane, everyday aspects or events in a reading.
There is a specific order for the Major Arcana, but some decks deviate from this, for example, the Rider-Waite deck has the Strength card coming before the Justice card, and hence is numbered differently from the list below.
In this list, each card of the Major Arcana is attributed an element, planet or zodiac sign.
0 – the Fool – air, Uranus 1 – The Magician - mercury 2 – The High Priestess – Moon 3 – The Empress - Venus 4 – The Emperor - Aries 5 – The Hierophant - Taurus 6 – The Lovers - Gemini 7 – The Chariot - Cancer 8 – Justice – Libra (in the Rider-Waite deck 8 would be Strength) 9 – The Hermit - Virgo 10 – The Wheel of Fortune - Jupiter 11 – Strength – Leo (in the Rider-Waite deck 11 would be Justice) 12 – The Hanged Man – water, Neptune 13 – Death - Scorpio 14 – Temperance - Sagittarius 15 – The Devil - Capricorn 16 – The Tower - Mars 17 – The Star - Aquarius 18 – The Moon - Pisces 19 – The Sun - Sun 20 – Judgement – fire, Pluto 21 – The World – Saturn
Often called ‘The Fool’s Journey’, the Major Arcana represents our journey from earliest awareness (The Fool numbered 0), to fulfillment (The World numbered 21). The cards represent the qualities and experiences we must incorporate into our lives before we can realize our full potential - emotionally, spiritually and physically.
The Major Arcana naturally fall into two groups, with the Wheel of Fortune significantly at the mid point - this turning point between one half of life and the other is of critical importance.
We will cover each of the cards in the Major Arcana in more detail in lessons 2 and 3.
The Minor Arcana:
The 56 Minor Arcana cards are divided into four suits, much like traditional playing cards. These are Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles.
Some of the suits may have other names:
Wands are also known as Rods or Batons
Pentacles are also known as Coins or Discs
Each suit has numbered cards 1-10, and 4 court cards: Page, Knight, Queen and King
Astrological elements and signs associated with each suit are:
Wands – Fire – Aries, Leo, Sagittarius Cups – Water – Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces Swords – Air – Gemini, Libra, Aquarius Pentacles – Earth – Virgo, Capricorn and Taurus
Wands are associated with career, work, and creativity
Cups are associated with emotions and affairs of the heart
Swords are associated with our thoughts and intellect
Pentacles are associated with money and material matters
We will cover the Minor Arcana cards in lessons 4-9.
Homework:
Spend the next week studying this information on the Major and Minor Arcana using your cards. It will certainly give you a broad base of understanding, as a foundation to build more detailed knowledge of the Tarot deck in the coming weeks.
Which court card is your astrological card?
Queen – adult woman of any age King – men aged 35 or over Knight – men aged under 35 Page – a male or female child or adolescent
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Oct 4, 2006 23:28:15 GMT
Post by Ellen on Oct 4, 2006 23:28:15 GMT
Lesson 2I do hope you took the time to do the exercise in the first lesson, as it is so important for you to be able to communicate the meanings of the cards in your own words, and not to simply repeat my interpretations, or any other tarot reader’s interpretations, word for word.
This second lesson will cover the first 11 cards of the Major Arcana, the remaining 11 will be covered in lesson 3.
As I mentioned earlier, this is an introductory course and by no means gives you all the information available on learning to read the Tarot. It will take time and practice to develop your skills, and at this early stage, keeping things simple should help you to build the confidence to do your own readings. Lesson 2 – The Major Arcana from The Fool (0) to The Wheel of Fortune (10)In lesson one we covered the list of the Major Arcana that describes the element, planet and astrological sign associated with each card.
Major Arcana cards that carry an astrological sign can be used as a guide for timing in a reading, (we’ll cover this later in the lessons about spreads), so it’s very useful to familiarize yourself with these cards.
Essentially the dates of each astrological sign can be associated with the corresponding Major Arcana card in a reading.
For example if The Emperor came up in a spread, it may be signifying a date between 21st March and 20th April. Here’s a table to help you learn the dates.
We also touched on the fact that the Major Arcana represents a journey from earliest awareness (The Fool numbered 0) to fulfillment (The World numbered 21), and that the cards represent the qualities and experiences we must incorporate in our lives before we can realize our full potential, emotionally, spiritually and physically.
Also that the Major Arcana naturally falls into two groups with the Wheel of Fortune significantly at mid point, this turning point between one half of life’s experiences and the other is very important.
Try to keep these factors in mind as you learn the Major Arcana cards, however, we will be referring to this in more detail in the lessons covering spreads.Lesson 2 - Part IIWhat I would like you to do now is extract the cards numbered 0 (The Fool) to 10 (The Wheel of Fortune) and keep the remaining cards of your deck wrapped in your black cloth.
Have these 11 cards in order, with The Fool as the first card and the other 10 cards neatly behind it, so you are just looking at The Fool on its own.
Each card in the Tarot deck, both Major and Minor Arcana, has a positive meaning and a reversed or negative meaning. The following definitions for each of the 11 cards include key words associated with that card and the positive and reversed (negative) meanings.
Read the definition for The Fool and practice trying to remember as much as you can about the card before moving on to the next one. In your notebook take notes of any words, images or descriptions that come to your mind when studying each card.
Remember, you do not have to do this whole lesson in one go. Take your time. You may take a week or more to concentrate on a lesson before starting on the next. Work at your own pace.
Click on each of the cards below when you're ready, then click the back button of your browser, or the 'back to list' button at the bottom of each page, to return to this page after you've finished each card. (You can also use the next and previous buttons at the bottom of each page to go through the cards one by one)
Card 0: The Fool Card 1: The Magician Card 2: The High Priestess Card 3: The Empress Card 4:The Emperor Card 5: The Hierophant Card 6: The Lovers Card 7: The Chariot Card 8: Justice Card 9: The Hermit Card 10: Wheel of Fortune
You may have started to get an idea of how much there is to learn!! Try to relax and don’t allow yourself to get frustrated if you are finding it a little difficult to retain all the information. The more you practice these simple exercises, one card at a time, the more familiar you will become with your Tarot deck.
As I mentioned earlier, take as long as you need before starting the next lesson.
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Oct 5, 2006 0:14:18 GMT
Post by Ellen on Oct 5, 2006 0:14:18 GMT
Lesson 3
you are finding the lessons easy to follow, and your retention of the information I am providing is improving, great!! Well done!!
If not, and you are struggling, don't just rush into the next lesson. Don't worry, you will be sent each lesson every week until you have all 12, but learn at your own pace. If you need to spend a few weeks on each lesson that's fine, there's no rush.
In fact if you just try and 'skim' through the lessons you are taking the wrong approach. Your relationship with your cards needs nurturing and this requires focused attention.
Your inner guide/intuition needs stillness and peace to communicate with you, and you will need to continually practice your skills if you want to recognise the symbols and messages you receive when studying your cards.
Here's lesson 3 - the second part of the Major Arcana. To keep things consistent, I've writen this lesson in the same format as lesson 2.
I hope you are using your note book and doing all the practical exercises!! Ooh, I sound like an old school teacher!!
The energy you get from your cards is very important, so try to develop your awareness of that. Be aware of all your senses.
I often see colours, feel emotions and on odd occassions even experience smells and tastes! On one occasion, for example, when I picked up the cards a client had chosen for her reading, I coughed and tasted tobacco smoke! As her reading progressed it became obvious she was suffering from respitory problems caused by smoking!
I've learned to pay attention to all my senses, they often give me important clues.
OK, on to the lesson!!
Lesson 3 - The Major Arcana from Strength (11) to The World (21)
You will notice that from the mid-point, The Wheel of Fortune (10), the 'journey' reflected in the Major Arcana cards becomes quite different, and reflects the challenges we may experience on our path to fulfillment and understanding.
Some of the cards in this section of the Major Arcana can cause real alarm with people, so there is an art and subtle skill in comunicating their messages gently and with compassion. We'll cover this in the last few lessons of the course.
What I would like you to do now is extract the cards numbered 11 (Strength) to 21 (The World) and keep the remaining cards of your deck wrapped in your black cloth.
Have these 11 cards in order, with Strength as the first card and the other 10 cards neatly behind it, so you are just looking at Strength on its own.
Each card in the Tarot deck, both Major and Minor Arcana, have a positive meaning and a reversed or negative meaning. The following definitions for each of the 11 cards include key words associated with that card, and the positive and reversed (negative) meanings.
Use the links on the next page and read the definition for Strength, and practice trying to remember as much as you can about the card before moving on to the next one. Again in your notebook take notes of any words, images or descriptions that come to your mind when studying each card.
Remember you do not have to do this whole lesson in one go. Take your time. You may take a week or more to concentrate on a lesson before starting on the next.
Lesson 3 - Part II
Click on each of the cards below when you're ready, then click the back button of your browser, or the 'back to list' button at the bottom of each page, to return to this page after you've finished each card. (You can also use the next and previous buttons at the bottom of each page to go through the cards one by one)
Card 11: Strength Card 12: The Hanged Man Card 13: Death Card 14: Temperance Card 15: The Devil Card 16: The Tower Card 17: The Star Card 18: The Moon Card 19: The Sun Card 20: Judgement Card 21: The World
[colo=yellow]The Practical Exercise[/color] for this Time is to take all 22 of the Major Arcana cards and shuffle them, think of a question you would like to ask and then pick 3 cards.
Put the 3 cards in front of you. Write the names of the cards in your notebook.
Card 1: Reflects your current situation, what card is it? what do you think and feel it's telling you? Write your thoughts and feelings in your notebook.
Card 2: Is the advice the cards are giving you, what do you think that is? Again write your thoughts in your notebook.
Card 3: Is the outcome the cards are giving you, what is it? yep that's right, write it in your notebook.
Try it again! And again! And again![/b]
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Dec 10, 2006 1:19:07 GMT
Post by Ellen on Dec 10, 2006 1:19:07 GMT
Lesson 4:
So how do you feel about working with the Major Arcana now? Did you find doing your 3 card reading enlightening or simply baffling!!
Hey, it takes time, keep practising that reading, as working with just the Major Arcana can give very insightful readings.
Part of your study this week is to find a trusting friend (not family because that's too close) and have them ask a question of the cards and see how you get on!! Don't be embarrassed or afraid to use your book(s) when you first start practising reading cards for your friends, they won't mind and it will help build up your confidence.
Time now to move on to the Minor Arcana!!
Lesson 4 - The numbered cards 1-10 of the Suit of Wands
Lesson 4 now takes you on to the Minor Arcana cards which generally refer to practical issues and the more everyday or mundane events in our lives.
The 56 Minor Arcana cards can be used separately for a reading or within the full Tarot deck.
Wands
The first suit of the Minor Arcana is the Wands or Rods or Batons as they are sometimes called.
This suit is associated with the element Fire, a creative force that can illuminate and warm, or if uncontrolled will burn and destroy.
Wands represent the creative urge and imagination, and the will to bring one's dreams into reality. In a reading they refer to career, work, enterprise and ambition.
Positive attitudes associated with this suit are enthusiasm, determination and passion.
Negative attitudes associated with Wands are reckless behaviour and subsequent disappointment.
As you are no doubt starting to realise there is a lot of information to take in about the 78 cards!! So during this introductory course I'm not going to cover the positive and negative aspects of the Minor Arcana in detail, but rather focus on the key words and values associated with each of the numbered cards.
Take out from your deck the numbered cards 1-10 of Wands and keep the remaining cards wrapped in your cloth.
Like you have done in previous lessons focus on the first card, the Ace of Wands, and try and memorise some of the key words associated with the card. Make notes of any words or symbols you get from the card before moving onto the next one. Do this until you have done all 10.
Depending on the deck you are using, you may be able to see the key concepts of the card in the picture. If it isn't obvious, try to find some aspect of the imagery of the card that will remind you of the keywords. The human brain remembers pictures and symbols far better than words and numbers, so this will help you a lot. Try to get the image of the card to 'talk to you', rather than just trying to remember that ace is such and such and 2 is such and such. This will become very important when you are giving full readings using more complex spreads.
Ace of Wands
- Fire - positive: creativity, originality, fertility, new beginnings - negative: frustration, greed, overconfidence
2 of Wands
- Dominion - positive: earned success, partnership - negative: futility, pride without humility, worthless goals
3 of Wands
- Established Strength - positive: new ventures, conviction, partnerships - negative: lack of nerve, frustration, personality clashes
4 of Wands
- Perfected Work - positive: satisfaction, completion, new home - negative: decadence, snobbishness, impatience
5 of Wands
- Strife - positive: conflict, competitiveness, struggle - negative: fraud, defeat through devious means, acrimony
6 of Wands
- Victory - positive: victory, fulfilment, great news - negative: suspicion, delayed news, anxiety
7 of Wands
- Valour - positive: challenges, courage, ultimate success - negative: indecisivenes, lost opportunities, timidity
8 of Wands
- Swiftness - positive: activity, travel, action - negative: delays, impetuous action, poor judgement
9 of wands
- Strength - positive: inner stength, self-assurance - negative: obstinacy, avoidable delays, suspicion
10 of wands
- Oppression - positive: pressure, over commitment - negative: deceit, burdens, abuse of power
Practical Exercise for this Lesson
When you've finished, extract the Major Arcana from your deck and add it to these 10 cards of the Wands suit. Shuffle well and pick 3 cards, and yes you've guessed it, practice the 3 card reading with these extra cards, and again write everything in your notebook. what the suit of Wands represents in a reading, perhaps focusing on a card or cards you are drawn to or have difficulty with.
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Dec 10, 2006 1:36:31 GMT
Post by Ellen on Dec 10, 2006 1:36:31 GMT
Lesson 5:
Welcome to the fifth lesson in my ‘Pleasure of Tarot’ course.
How did you find the 3 card reading with the 1-10 of Wands added to the Major Arcana? Did it feel like it added another dimension?
If you feel comfortable moving on now with the 1-10 of Cups great, but if you want more time to practice the previous lessons then that's fine too.
As I mentioned in the last lesson, have your trusty friends help you with further practice as we add more suits for you to work with. If you start to feel that you are struggling go back to the stage you feel comfortable at and increase your confidence before adding further cards.
Don't forget it is OK to use your book or books to help you!!
This lesson focuses on the numbered cards for the suit of Cups, and as so many of us consult the Tarot cards about our love life and relationships, this is a particurlaly important suit to feel comfortable with.
So lets see what the suit of Cups is all about!!
Lesson 5 - The numbered cards 1-10 of the Suit of Cups
Just to remind you, the Minor Arcana cards generally refer to practical issues and the more everyday or mundane events in our lives.
The 56 Minor Arcana cards can be used separately for a reading or within the full Tarot deck.
Cups
The second suit of the Minor Arcana is the Cups.
This suit is associated with the element Water, the cup represents our ability to contain and manage our emotions and feelings. The cup can be empty or full and its contents can be an elixir or a poison.
Cups represent the emotional elements and spiritual experience in our lives, affairs of the heart, love and relationships.
Positive attitudes associated with this suit are creativity, contentment, love, compassion, understanding and happiness.
Negative attitudes associated with Cups are lust, jealousy, hate and sadness.
For all of the Minor Arcana suits I will simply be focusing on the key words and values associated with each of the numbered cards.
Take out from your deck the numbered cards 1-10 of Cups and keep the remaining cards wrapped in your cloth.
Like you have done in previous lessons, focus on the first card, the Ace of Cups, and try to memorise some of the key words associated with the card. Make notes of any words or symbols you get from the card before moving onto the next one. Do this until you have completed all 10 cards.
Ace of Cups
- Water - positive: contentment, faithfulness, creativity - negative: barreness, lost love, despair
2 of Cups
- Love - positive: partnership, love, understanding - negative: separation, divorce, betrayal
3 of Cups
- Abundance - positive: fertility, happiness, creativity - negative: sex without love, self obsession, exploitation
4 of Cups
- Blended Pleasure - positive: re-evaluation, familiarity - negative: fatigue, overindulgence, depression
5 of Cups
- Loss in pleasure - positive: reassessment - negative: worry, futility, sense of loss, bad luck
6 of Cups
- Pleasure - positive: harmony, happy memories, the past shaping the future - negative: nostalgia and inability to face reality
7 of Cups
- Illusionary success - positive: imagination, choice, aspirations - negative: self-delusion, deception in matters of love
8 of Cups
- Abandoned success - positive: change, breaking of ties, development - negative: restlessness, dissatisfaction, unrealistic goals
9 of Cups
- Material happiness - positive: emotional stability, kindliness, happiness - negative: complacency, vanity, finding fault in others
10 of Cups
- Perpetual success - positive: commitment, peace, love - negative: antisocial behaviour, disruption of routine
Practical Exercise for this Lesson
Now extract the Major Arcana from your deck and then add the 10 cards of the Wands suit and the 10 cards of the Cups suit, shuffle well and pick 3 cards, and yes you've guessed it!! Practice the 3 card reading with these extra cards, and again write your reading in your notebook.
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Dec 10, 2006 1:46:50 GMT
Post by Ellen on Dec 10, 2006 1:46:50 GMT
Lesson 6:
Welcome to the sixth lesson in my ‘Pleasure of Tarot’ course.
So here we are half way through the course already!
Are you starting to get to grips with the minor arcana now? How did you find the 3 card reading, having the 1-10 of both Wands and Cups added to the Major Arcana? Hopefully you can see a fuller, more detailed story starting to emerge from the cards now.
We will move on now with the 1-10 of Swords, but only do this when you feel ready to.
As always keep practising and practising, the more often the better, and be sure to keep taking notes of your own insights as you go along.
This lesson focuses on the numbered cards for the suit of Swords. As they represent the intellect, they often indicate stress and anxiety, and you will need to develop a sensitive and tactful way of communicating the meanings of these cards.
So onto the third suit, the Swords!
Lesson 6 - The numbered cards 1-10 of the Suit of Swords
The third suit of the Minor Arcana is the Swords.
This suit is associated with the element Air, representing light, intellect, and clear, rational thought.
Positive attitudes associated with this suit are justice, truth, ethical priciples and decisiveness.
Negative attitudes associated with Swords are disharmony, conflict, animosity, unhappiness and sometimes illness.
Take out from your deck the numbered cards 1-10 of Swords and keep the remaining cards wrapped in your cloth.
Like you did in previous lessons, focus on the first card, the Ace of Swords, and try to memorise some of the key words associated with the card. Make notes of any words or symbols you get from the card before moving onto the next one. Do this until you have done all 10.
Ace of Swords
- Air - positive: victory, mental clarity, necessary change - negative: injustice, misuse of power, destruction
2 of Swords
- Peace restored - positive: friendship in adversity, peace of mind, equilibrium - negative: tension, deceit, disharmony
3 of Swords
- Sorrow - positive: new beginnings - negative: heartache, discord, acrimony
4 of Swords
- Rest from Strife - positive: healing peace, withdrawal - negative: exile, isolation, depression
5 of Swords
- Defeat - positive: acceptance - negative: treachery, spite, deceit
6 of Swords
- Earned Success - positive: brighter future, respite, a journey - negative: procrastination, failure to face up to problems
7 of Swords
- Unstable effort - positive: diligence - negative: lack of nerve, indecision, confusion
8 of Swords
- Shortened Force - positive: patience - negative: depression, hard work with little reward, restriction
9 of Swords
- Despair & anxiety - positive: none - negative: deception, disappointment, misery, isolation
10 of Swords
- Ruin - positive: none - negative: desolation, ruin, continued suffering
Spend some time with these cards and think about how you would convey negative messages to someone without knocking their confidence. How you can be truthful yet always convey hope and encouragement.
Practical Exercise for this Lesson
Now extract the Major Arcana from your deck and then add the 10 cards of the Wands, Cups and Swords. Shuffle well and pick 3 cards - guess what's next ... Practice the reading with these extra cards, and again write your reading in your notebook.
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Dec 10, 2006 1:52:46 GMT
Post by Ellen on Dec 10, 2006 1:52:46 GMT
Lesson 7:
Welcome to the seventh lesson in my ‘Pleasure of Tarot’ course.
Hopefully you are now getting a real feel for your Tarot cards. You should also be improving your ability to communicate more detail in your 3 card readings.
Now we will cover the numbered cards of the fourth suit, the Pentacles. This suit tells us of our financial situation and future possibilities.
I am sure you've been doing your practicing so lets move swiftly on.
Lesson 7 - The numbered cards 1-10 of the Suit of Pentacles
The fourth suit of the Minor Arcana is the Pentacles.
This suit is associated with the element Earth, representing practicality, security and material wealth.
Positive attitudes associated with this suit are self-worth, success, financial prudence, stability.
Negative attitudes associated with Pentacles are greed, financial loss, material obsession.
Take out from your deck the numbered cards 1-10 of Pentacles and keep the remaining cards wrapped in your cloth.
Just like you did in previous lessons, focus on the first card, the Ace of Pentacles, and try to memorise the key words associated with the card. Make notes of any words or symbols you get from the card before moving onto the next one. Do this until you have completed all 10.
Ace of Pentacles
- Earth - positive: security, wealth, recognition - negative: greed, self-obsession, superficiality
2 of Pentacles
- Harmonious Change - positive: changing fortunes, journeys, foresight - negative: distractions, inconsistency, impending trouble
3 of Pentacles
- Material works - positive: recognition, teamwork, prosperity - negative: delays, critisism, bitterness
4 of Pentacles
- Earthly power - positive: contentment, emotional and material security - negative: greed, indecision, material obsession
5 of Pentacles
- Material trouble - positive: none - negative: financial loss, unemployment, hard times
6 of Pentacles
- Material success - positive: charity, prosperity, balance - negative: loss, careless money management
7 of Pentacles
- Success unfulfilled - positive: perseverance, sustained effort, eventual success - negative: failed opportunities, despondency, self induced money problems
8 of Pentacles
- Prudence - positive: change in fortune, craft skills, satisfaction - negative: lack of direction, squandered opportunities
9 of Pentacles
- Material gain - positive: material success, achievement, solitude - negative: devious means, financial instability
10 of Pentacles
- Wealth - positive: inheritance, wealth, family ties, emotional security - negative: financial problems, family restrictions
Practical Exercise for this Lesson:
You can now practice the 3 card reading with the entire deck, minus the court cards. Remember to keep making notes in your notebook as you practice.
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Dec 10, 2006 2:09:10 GMT
Post by Ellen on Dec 10, 2006 2:09:10 GMT
Lesson 8:
Welcome to the eighth lesson in my ‘Pleasure of Tarot’ course.
I hope you are having fun with the course so far, many of you have been kind enough to give me your feedback and that's great!! Please keep it up!!
The number of cards you should be working with will now be 62!! The Major Arcana (22) and the numbered cards of the 4 suits (40).
This should be developing a much more detailed picture in your 3 card reading and giving you a much better feel for how our thoughts, feelings, passions and aspirations are reflected in the cards.
These cards very much reflect events, feelings or thoughts. The Major Arcana, or Trump cards as they are also known, represent key events or situations of more importance in our lives, the Minor Arcana represent the more day to day or mundane aspects of our lives.
The cards we will move onto now are the court cards and these are a little more challenging to learn!!
The court cards, (the Page, Knight, Queen and King), can represent people, events, or aspects of a person's personality. Confused already!! You will be!!
I, like many other Tarot readers, find interpreting the meanings of court cards in a reading quite challenging, and it takes a lot of practice and experience to build up your confidence with them.
Again, I have focused on simply giving you the key words amd basic meanings for each card, it will be enough for this basic course anyway.
In this lesson, we'll be focusing on the court cards for the suit of Wands and Cups.
Lesson 8 - The court cards of Wands and Cups
Just to remind you, Wands represent work and career and the element Fire, and the Cups represent love and emotion and the element Water.
There are 4 court cards for each suit - Page, Knight, Queen and King. In this lesson we will be focusing on the court cards of the suit of Wands and Cups.
Therefore there are only 8 cards to study in this lesson but because of the multiple meanings a court card can have, it's enough!!
Take out from your deck the court cards for the suit of Wands and Cups and keep the remaining cards wrapped in your cloth.
We will start with the Page of Wands and end with the King of Cups. Just like previous lessons, focus on the first card, the Page of Wands, and try and memorise some of the key words associated with the card. Make notes of any words or symbols you get from the card before moving onto the next one. Do this until you have done all 8.
Page of Wands
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Leo, Aries and Sagittarius - this card can represent a child - male or female - appearance - brown hair, blue or hazel eyes - positive characteristics - loyal, enthusiastic, hard working - negative characteristics - spoilt, impatient, hyperactive
possible event - lots of messages and communications, careful consideration of your next move as you may not have all the facts. A possible reunion with an old friend or lover.
Knight of Wands
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Leo, Aries and Sagittarius - this card can represent a young man less than 35 years of age - appearance - fair hair, grey or blue eyes - positive characteristics - vigorous, athletic, unpredictable - negative characteristics - argumentative, violent, jealous
possible event - dramatic changes in events; a move of home, travel possibly overseas
Queen of Wands
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Leo, Aries and Sagittarius - this card can represent a woman of any age - appearance - red/fair hair, brown or blue eyes - positive characteristics - warm, practical, homely yet independent - negative characteristics - overbearing, matriarchal, vindictive
possible event - being over reliant on others, where being introverted or shy is thwarting your progress
King of Wands
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Leo, Aries and Sagittarius - this card can represent a man aged 35 or over - appearance - red/fair hair, hazel or grey eyes - positive characteristics - traditional, fair and courageous - negative characteristics - autocratic, prejudiced, intolerant
possible event - a need to develop psychological balance and gain wisdom. Ideals and practicalities will merge, enabling you to act with integrity.
Page of Cups
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Scorpio, Cancer and Pisces - this card can represent a child - male or female - appearance - fair/brown hair, brown or blue eyes - positive characteristics - loving, caring, creative - negative characteristics - selfish, scheming, insecure
possible event - easy to fall head over heels in love, but be careful of giving your heart so readily. Take heed of a friends advice as the object of your desire may not be all that they seem. Can also mean a need to study for exams.
Knight of Cups
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Scorpio, Cancer and Pisces - this card can represent a young man less than 35 years of age - appearance - fair/brown hair, grey or blue eyes - positive characteristics - enthusiastic, artistic/creative, passionate - negative characteristics - devious, immoral, faithless
possible event - sudden changes in your emotional state, instant attractions and amorous relationships are indicated. Negative event - your feelings may be abused by a fickle lover.
Queen of Cups
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Scorpio, Cancer and Pisces - this card can represent a woman of any age - appearance - brown/brunette hair, blue or bown eyes - positive characteristics - artistic, affectionate, intuitive - negative characteristics - disloyal, unfaithful, vain
possible event - being over emotional allowing your heart to rule your head, behaving irrationaly. Wanting to make a gesture to show your affection for someone.
King of Cups
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Scorpio, Cancer and Pisces - this card can represent a man aged 35 or over - appearance - fair hair, blue eyes - positive characteristics - charming, life and soul of a party, good mediator - negative characteristics - self centred, treacherous, secretive
possible event - diplomacy may be required as you may have to act as mediator between two factions. Negative event - you won't be able to persuade rivals to come to an understanding.
Practical Exercise for this Lesson Now it's time to practice the 3 card reading. You need only remove the court cards of Swords and Pentacles, as you should now be getting to grips with the rest of the deck.
You can also try a reading with just the Wands and Cups suits. This will be a reading focused on love and relationships, and work and career, but hey isn't that what we are most interested in!! Ok, Ok, some of us are also interested in Money, but we aren't doing the Pentacle Court cards till next lesson.
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Dec 10, 2006 2:22:58 GMT
Post by Ellen on Dec 10, 2006 2:22:58 GMT
Lesson 9:
Welcome to the ninth lesson in my ‘Pleasure of Tarot’ course.
Well here we are, the last 8 cards in the deck. Soon your 78 card Tarot deck will be complete!!
How did you find working with the court cards? OK? Or a bit confusing trying to figure out whether you should be considering them as people or events or aspects of a personality? Reading court cards for yourself is even more challenging, so make sure you practice lots on other people first!
Hopefully throughout the course you've been doing the exercises and practising your 3 card reading with friends. Now that you will have the complete deck to work with, you should start to see the magic of Tarot come alive.
The 3 card reading may be short, but it forms the basis of many other spreads, some of which we'll look at in the final few lessons.
For now though, it's time to focus on the court cards for the suit of Swords and Pentacles.
Lesson 9 - The court cards of Swords and Pentacles
Just to remind you, Swords represent thought and perception and the element Air, and the Pentacles represent money and the material world and the element Earth.
This lesson will be almost identical to the last, just the interpretations for the cards will be different.
Take out from your deck the court cards for the suits of Swords and Pentacles and keep the remaining cards wrapped in your cloth.
We will start with the Page of Swords and end with the King of Pentacles. Just like previous lessons, focus on the first card, the Page of Swords, and try to memorise some of the key words associated with the card. Make notes of any words or symbols you get from the card before moving onto the next one. Do this until you have done all 8.
Page of Swords
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius
- this card can represent a child - male or female - appearance - fair hair, blue eyes - positive characteristics - intelligent, loyal, truthful - negative characteristics - devious, sarcastic, critical
possible event - changes and important decisions will be made by you or others, possible legal disputes, someone may have it in for you and you may be the victim of slander and malice
Knight of Swords
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius
- this card can represent a young man less than 35 years of age - appearance - dark hair, dark eyes - positive characteristics - courageous, intelligent, witty - negative characteristics - reckless, impetuous, headstrong
possible event - conflicts, whirlwind events that leave you confused and feeling everything and everyone seems to be unpredictable
Queen of Swords
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius
- this card can represent a woman of any age - appearance - fair/brown hair, grey/green eyes - positive characteristics - intelligent, independent, perceptive - negative characteristics - critical, devious, insincere
possible event - you will need to concentrate very hard on focusing on yor goals and objectives to overcome obstacles, if negative you'll try and resort to manipulation which will back fire on you
King of Swords
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius
- this card can represent a man aged 35 or over - appearance - black/dark hair, dark eyes - positive characteristics - rational, authoratative, wise - negative characteristics - bullying, calculating, impersonal
possible event - you will find the ability to take charge of your life, if negative you will feel controlled by others
Page of Pentacles
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Virgo, Capricorn and Taurus
- this card can represent a child - male or female - appearance - brown hair, brown/dark eyes - positive characteristics - conscientious, honourable, loyal - negative characteristics - lazy, greedy, impatient
possible event - prudence, and careful money management is required as finances are short. Any news about money though will be good news.
Knight of Pentacles
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Virgo, Capricorn and Taurus
- this card can represent a young man less than 35 years of age - appearance - brown hair, brown/dark eyes - positive characteristics - practical, hardworking, truthful - negative characteristics - smug, complacent, lazy
possible event - improvements in your financial situation but patience is required, if negative you will have some temporary set backs financially
Queen of Pentacles
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Virgo, Capricorn and Taurus
- this card can represent a woman of any age - appearance - black/dark hair, dark eyes - positive characteristics - financially responsible, down to earth,compassionate - negative characteristics - materialistic, suspicious, insecure
possible event - too much worry about financial matters, being overly protective of others.
King of Pentacles
- Astrological signs associated with this card are Virgo, Capricorn and Taurus
- this card can represent a man aged 35 or over - appearance - black/dark hair, dark eyes - positive characteristics - patient, trustworthy, practical - negative characteristics - materialistic, insensitive, jealous
possible event - resolute action will lead to financial gain, good fortune in money matters, if negative you may have strong opponents working against you.
Practical Exercise for this Lesson Now it's time to practice the 3 card reading. You need only remove the court cards of Swords and Pentacles, as you should now be getting to grips with the rest of the deck.
You can also try a reading with just the Wands and Cups suits. This will be a reading focused on love and relationships, and work and career, but hey isn't that what we are most interested in!! Ok, Ok, some of us are also interested in Money, but we aren't doing the Pentacle Court cards till next lesson.
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Dec 10, 2006 2:37:40 GMT
Post by Ellen on Dec 10, 2006 2:37:40 GMT
Lesson 10 :
Welcome to lesson ten of my ‘Pleasure of Tarot’ course.
Now that you've studied the whole deck of 78 cards and practised with the basic 3 card spread, we'll move on to a couple of other spreads for you to work with.
You may have found that some cards have stuck in your mind and have a special significance for you, others may still be hard to remember, so if you still need to use yout Tarot books that's fine.
So take out your deck and let's begin. You'll soon be having fun reading more detailed spreads for yourself and others.
Lesson 10 - Spreads Part 1
It isn't always necessary to use all 78 cards when you do a Tarot reading. There are many ways to use the cards.
for example you could use ...
- the Major Arcana - the Minor Arcana - Aces and Major Arcana - Aces and Minor Arcana - court cards and Minor Arcana - court cards and Major Arcana
If you do a little research by studying different Tarot books and other web sites, you'll discover hundreds, if not thousands of different spreads and card combinations - you can even create your own mix and your own spreads!!
In lesson 12 I'll be covering guidelines for Tarot reading in a little more detail, but for now I'll simply outline a couple of basic pointers to help you get started.
1. Some people read the cards differently, depending on whether they are reversed (upside down) or upright. This is a personal preference and one you need to decide for yourself. Personally, I choose to get a feel from the spread as a whole, to guide me as to whether a card is indicating its negative or positive interpretation, and I ignore whether a card is reversed or not.
You can do the same, but if you find that difficult, you can read upright cards as positive in meaning and upside down (reversed) cards, as negative in meaning.
Intepreting the relationship between cards in their various positions is a little more difficult. Many books do give some guidance on this, and I recommend Jonathan Dee's excellent 'Tarot an illustrated guide' for this reason.
For now, simply understanding what each card indicates in a particular position in a spread will enable you to give a reasonable reading. 2. When you read for someone, this person can be referred to as 'The Querant' or 'The Enquirer' and they should shuffle the cards.
When they have finished shuffling you can spread the whole deck and ask them to pick the appropriate number of cards, or you could split the deck into 3 smaller packs and get them to pick a pack they are most drawn to. I choose to do the latter, but you can feel free to find your own way for the querant to pick their cards.
Many people feel quite nervous when they come for a reading, especially for the first time, or if they are feeling distressed about something. Find your own way to make them feel at ease.
I do this by explaining the process and what I believe the tarot is all about. I explain each of the spreads I use and often explain the meanings of the cards. However, many Tarot readers feel it is better not to do this, and only convey the message they see in the cards - it's up to you to find your own way of working with the tarot and with the people you read for.
So, let's move on to a spread.
You've been working with a classic 3 card spread, so let's use this same reading to create a new one ... by using it twice!
Spread 1. The Choice Reading - 6 cards
This is ideal when a querant has to choose between 2 options, for example - should I stay married or should I leave my spouse? Should I go out with Steve or Michael?!! Should I become a lawyer or a hair stylist? You get the idea!!!
Simply ask the querant to shuffle the cards and pick 6, and then spread the cards as below:
You then read each row as you would the 3 card reading you've been practising:
1st card is - influences from the past 2nd card is - advice 3rd card is - outcome.
The idea of the spread is to help guide the querant to the most positive or favorable choice. Of course both options could lead to seemingly equally negative or positive outcomes, in which case you can do an additional spread for clarification.
This could be ...
Spread 2. Guidance Reading - 4 cards
In this situation, you could use the guidance reading to ask for more information on each option.
Lets say that Option 1 was - 'should I go out with Steve?'
Lay the cards out as follows:
1st card is - the current situation 2nd card is - what is going for you 3rd card is - what is going against you 4th card is - the outcome
After finishing this reading, shuffle the cards again and do the same for Option 2 - 'should I go out with Michael?'
If they still both have a similar outcome, then you have more work to do, or perhaps your querant will decide to go out with both of them!
The 4 card Guidance reading can be used to ask any question, it doesn't need to relate to a choice. You could use it to get a feel for what's going on around the querant generally, or to ask a specific questions such as:-
'will I have love in my life soon' 'will my finances improve' 'will I sell my house'
and so on and so on.
OK, so now you have 3 spreads to work with:-
Classic 3 card spread 6 card 'choice'spread 4 card 'guidance' spread
Practical Exercise for this week
Your homework is to practice these on yourself and your friends and begin to develop your own way of working with the cards and your querant.
We will move on to a couple of bigger spreads next lesson.
There's no multiple choice test for this lesson, but make sure you do plenty of practice readings before next lesson.
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Dec 10, 2006 2:48:10 GMT
Post by Ellen on Dec 10, 2006 2:48:10 GMT
Lesson 11:
Welcome to lesson eleven of my ‘Pleasure of Tarot’ course.
So how did you get on with your new 4 and 6 card spreads?
Hopefully you will have started to take 'ownership' of your Tarot cards and you are becoming more confident about translating their messages.
Just like learning anything new, it is pratice that will develop your skills and your confidence. As I have said before, there may be specific meanings to each card, but we are all free to be creative with how we convey those messages to people. Make your Tarot reading style uniquely your own.
So take out your deck and let's continue with a classic spread - The Celtic Cross.
Lesson 11 - Spreads Part 2
This lesson will focus on 2 spreads - The Celtic Cross and The 4 Aces.
The final lesson will cover some basic rules and guidelines about giving readings. You will also find that most Tarot books will have sections on Cartomancy (the art of reading the cards) to help guide you.
Spread 1. The Celtic Cross - 10 cards
This is one of the oldest and most popular traditional Tarot spreads - it's certainly the most popular of our membership readings!
It is ideal as a first spread in a reading, as it gives a general overview of the major influences and events in the querant's life, as well as the more mundane, day to day issues.
You can gather from the cards the major influence in the querant's reading; e.g. a predominace of Wands and Pentacles would show they are mainly concerned with work and finance, or if you find many Swords, especially in the positions that relate to the querant's frame of mind, you will see that they could be quite stressed and worried.
You can use just the Major Arcana or the whole deck. When I was learning, I focused on using just the Major Arcana, and as my confidence grew I started to work with the whole deck. Feel free to choose your own approach.
Your research will show there are variances in the titles of the card positions, but below is the Celtic Cross format I like to work with.
The cards should be laid out as illustrated below:
Card 2 should cross Card 1 (to make a cross like this + ) but this is very difficult to illustrate on a simple html webpage, so we've left it out!
The card positions relate to the following:-
Card 1 - your current circumstances
Card 2 - what is blocking you or holding you back
Card 3 - your conscious thoughts
Card 4 - your subconscious thoughts
Card 5 - influences from your immediate past
Card 6 - your immediate future (closely linked with the outcome card)
Card 7 - how you see yourself
Card 8 - how others see you
Card 9 - your hopes and fears
Card - 10 outcome (closely linked with the immediate future card)
Take your cards and shuffle them well, pick out 10 cards in the way you have chosen to select cards. Then place them in the Celtic Cross spread and have a go at reading it and see how you get on.
Spread 2. The 4 Aces - 12 cards
This is a great spread. I really enjoy using it, as it helps me understand what is most important to the person I am reading for.
Extract the 4 aces and the Major Arcana from your deck. Ask the querant to shuffle the 4 aces and give them back to you, then they shuffle the Major Arcana and pick 8 cards and give these to you.
You then lay the out the card as illustrated below:-
Place the 4 aces in order first - placing the major arcana cards either side as shown
This is a reading based on another traditonal 3 card reading:- past, present and future.
Ace of Wands represents work, career, effort Ace of Cups represents emotions, love life Ace of Swords represents troubles and concerns Ace of Pentacles represents money, material issues
This tells you what issues are most important to the querant, for example if Ace 1 was the Ace of Cups followed by the Ace of Swords, Ace of Pentacles and Ace of Wands, you would see they are more concerned about their emotional state, love life, and troubles than about money and work.
OK, so now you have another couple of spreads to work with, but feel free to do your own research and find the spreads you feel most comfortable with and most want to use.
Practice using all the spreads - ask your friends to support you. You will start to see how their readings compare, how different they are. By doing 3-4 spreads with a person you will notice that some cards and themes repeat throughout the session, and this will give you and idea of the particular issues which are most important or relevant.
Practical Exercise for this Lesson Again there's no multiple choice test for this lesson, but make sure you do plenty of practice before next lesson.
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Dec 10, 2006 2:52:33 GMT
Post by Ellen on Dec 10, 2006 2:52:33 GMT
Lesson 12:
Welcome to the final lesson of my ‘Pleasure of Tarot’ course.
Well here we are at the end of the 'Pleasure of Tarot' course, I hope you have found this simple introduction to reading Tarot cards helpful and fun.
Embracing the art and joy of Tarot will enable you to reflect on your own life events, as well as using the cards to help others. I believe that once you begin working with the cards you will never want to let go of them!
Whether you are just looking to read the cards for your own pleasure and with friends, or you wish to develop an income from your readings, this lesson will give you some basic guidelines for performing readings.
Lesson 12 - Some Basic Guidelines for Giving Tarot Readings
Cartomancy - the art of reading the cards
In the previous two lessons you learned a few different spreads - you can continue to study and add further spreads if you wish, making your reading technique unique to you.
We also touched on the way you can choose to work with the querant (the person you are reading for) - there are no hard and fast rules here. You can find your own way of asking the querant to shuffle and pick their cards.
Here are a few examples which you are free to use 'as is' or modify to your own preferences:-
A) Give the cards to the querant and ask them to shuffle them (remember you may use parts of the deck or the whole deck, as we covered in the lessons about spreads).
Let them shuffle the cards for as long as they wish, and then ask them to cut the deck into 3 sections, placing them on the table in front of you.
Ask them to pick one of the 3 sections, remove the 2 they don't want and fan the cards from the querants chosen pack on the table in front of you.
Finally, ask them to pick the number of cards you require for their first spread.
You can repeat this process for each spread you wish to use for the session.
B) Use the same technique as A) but this time just fan the entire deck when they have finished shuffling.
C) Again use the same technique as A) and when the querant has chosen on of the 3 packs, just start pulling the cards from the top of that pack, rather than fanning them and asking the querant to pick the cards.
D) Just make up your own way of selecting the cards - whatever you think is most appropriate. There is no right or wrong way to do this.
Of course before you even get to this stage, you need to find a way to relax your querant and prepare them for the reading ahead.
As I mentioned in the lesson 10, I tend to give them a 3-4 minute summary of my own Tarot philosophy. I also ask them not to tell me anything, as I don't want to be influenced when I do their first spread.
If you take this approach you can use the Celtic Cross, a great general spread, to get a feeling for their current circumstances, concerns and focus. I then perform 2-3 additional spreads to further develop the picture of events, before I ask if they would like to ask the cards any specific questions.
For specific questions, I tend to use the 3 card spread - influences from the past, advice, outcome - to help find a solution to their problem or an answer.
My readings generally last about one hour, although I can do one-spread readings or shorter readings of half an hour, however, my clients seem to get more value from spending the full hour with me for a face to face reading.
Obviously, you need to decide what duration of time you feel comfortable with - some people prefer to deliver their readings very quickly - say within 20 minutes - whilst others are happy to spend several hours with a client. Everyone is different.
Again, give yourself enough practice with your friends and you will soon develop your own 'way' or 'style'.
If you are planning to become a professional tarot reader, and earn an income from the cards, here are a few extra guidelines which may help you:
Undoubtedly the best way to begin to develop a client base when you are starting out is by word of mouth - ask your friends and family to help by referring people to you. Perhaps you can offer to do the first reading for free, so that they can see whether they can relate to you, or maybe you could give your friend a free reading if she recommends someone else who will pay!
As your confidence grows, you may consider advertising locally. Begin by researching who is already offering Tarot readings in your area, how are they advertising and what are they charging? This will give you an idea of your 'competition' and give you a sense of where you would like to pitch yourself.
Public events such as psychic fairs can be another good way to increase your public exposure, and if you or a friend have the internet skills you could always begin your own website - although this is by no means as easy as it may at first seem!!!
If you are female and wish to do readings for men who have responded to advertising, please always make sure you have someone with you and never visit them at their home. I am not trying to make some kind of feminist statement here, or be alarmist, but I do feel it is necessary to err on the side of caution and not take unnecessary risks.
How much should you charge? Well that is totally up to you. How much do you feel your service is worth? People are unlikely to want to pay more than you personally feel your readings are worth! You may begin your 'tarot career' charging very little or nothing for your readings, and gradually increase your price as your skill, confidence and the demand for your services increase.
As a final note, be careful that reading the cards does not become a chore or an unwelcome commitment that you don't enjoy. I believe a good tarot reader should always work from the heart and from integrity - there is a responsibility that comes with reading the cards for others, embrace it willingly and with love.
Welcome the gift of Tarot and make it a special addition to your life in whatever way feels natural and right for you.
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Dec 10, 2006 3:07:26 GMT
Post by Ellen on Dec 10, 2006 3:07:26 GMT
Cards and thier Meaningstarot card number : 0
element: air
planet: Uranus
positive associations with this tarot card: new beginnings, optimism, spontaneity, fearlessness, excitement, visionary, joy, inventiveness
negative associations with this tarot card: naïveté, thoughtlessness, immaturity, lack of responsibility, impulsiveness, lawlessness
expect the unexpected when The Fool turns up in a reading, influences that could have a dramatic affect on the decisions and choices you make
when The Fool appears it is a time for new beginnings, a journey perhaps into the unknown that will be exciting and fun. Any trials along the way will make you a more experienced and perhaps wiser person
if The Fool falls in the first position of a reading exercise caution - it could indicate fool hardiness or perhaps the question you are asking is the wrong one or you are asking it for the wrong reasons
The Fool can also represent a person in a reading, if so be prepared to meet a real maverick, an eccentric with lust for life
The Fool represents the untapped potential in all of us
'fools rush in where angels fear to tread' however sometimes it can be wise 'to look before you leap'
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