Welcome to the Tarot

Lesson 1.

 

Understanding Tarot cards -
how to use them.

Tarot cards are a wonderful tool for divination (to give you divine inspiration). To be able to read Tarot cards well, takes time and practice. A famous baseball coach once said, that everyone wants to be the superstar, but no one ever wants to come to practice.

Practice is what make the difference. So with these lessons, it's important that you're fully comfortable with each lesson before progressing onto the next lesson.

What you'll need for this course:-

1. A pack of Tarot Cards.
2. A journal (notebook).
3. Patience.
4. Commitment to completing the course.

Which is the best deck of cards to learn with?

I'd recommend Rider Waite. These cards are often recommended as a good beginner's pack. The pictures are easy to interpret and you can find hundreds of books written by people on this particular deck of cards. This will allow you to be able to expand your understanding of these cards much more easily as you progress.

However; if you don't feel drawn to these cards, try to find a deck that you feel drawn to. If possible, go to a store where they have sample cards so that you can look closely at the pictures. Feel the cards in your hands and experience how these cards relate to you. Amongst the really nice cards you'll find novelty cards like gnomes, faeries and horror cards; which are fun to use, but probably won't give you the in-depth messages required for a true purposeful reading. Also, if your eventual aim is to become a professional Tarot reader, these cards won't do your 'street cred' much good.

When you've found a store with samples, shuffle the cards in your hands and ask yourself how you feel about these cards. Are they nice to touch? Do they feel comfortable and natural to hold? Are you drawn to them?

It's possible that the deck of cards you originally had in mind, aren't the ones for you. Go for the one's you feel drawn to after sampling. I have many friends who have said they felt the cards called to them, or for some reason, they felt compelled to buy them.

It will be quite normal as you advance in your readings, over time, to change decks. At one time I had as many as ten decks. Even now, after many years, I still use six different decks.

One deck I use for my own personal guidance, is the deck of Sacred Geometry Cards by Francine Hart. I presently never use these with anyone else. The reason being is that these are the most advanced cards available and are extremely time consuming to learn. Archangel Metatron introduced them to me. He is guiding me to learn them. According to Archangel Metatron, these are the only cards I will need, since the universal life-force enenergies are geometric and these cards will allow me to tap directly into it. This is a deck to look to using after a few years of practice with other Tarot cards.

Then in my professional capacity, I use the Rider-Waite deck, The Shapeshifter deck, Angel cards, Unicorn cards and finally Faerie Guidance cards. I like my clients to feel drawn to the packs they wish me to use for their readings.

I'd recommend that if you're going to be reading for others and yourself, have two separate decks. The reason for this is that when someone else shuffles your personal cards, they leave an imprint of their energies on them; and this will affect the energies of the cards.

Whilst learning Tarot; for ease and simplicity, buy two packs of the same cards, but keep them in separate bags or boxes so that you know the difference.

How Tarot cards actually work.

Tarot cards work by helping us to access our inner guide, which is hidden deep down in our sub-conscious minds. It is our sub-conscious mind that holds our deepest hopes and fears, along with the blue prints of our basic human nature and emotions.

By interpreting the pictures on a Tarot deck, you are in fact, summoning your own inner guide to help you make sense of the world around you and the situation you're seeking guidance on. It's important that you remember that Tarot cards, by themselves, have no special magic or evilness connected to them. Despite many films showing hidden forces and negative occurances through using the cards, this simply isn't true.

The Tarot cards offer 'you', the card reader, the opportunity to tap into your own intuitiveness, to find the answers that are right for you.

What to do once you have got your deck of cards.

Once you've got your deck of cards, take time to hold the cards and feel them. Usually most decks of Tarot cards consist of 78 cards, which are split into two sections. The first section is called 'The Major Arcana' and the second section is called 'The Minor Arcana'.

The word 'Arcana' is derived from Arcanum which means 'information (secret) only available to a special group'.

The Major Arcana

The Major Arcana represents our journey through life, from birth to finally realising spiritual enlightenment. There are usually 22 cards in the Major Arcana. To me, the Major Arcana represent major learning lessons on our pathway of life, which are needed to be overcome. So in them you will find archetypes who you can and can't relate to.

Most of these cards are simple to understand, for as well as representing different cycles of life, they usually contain their meaning with the words being portrayed somewhere on the card; usually the bottom. So as an example, if you look at your cards, you will come across words such as Justice, Strength, Death and Judgement.

As you develop your skills, you can also incorporate numerology to help you obtain a more deeper meaning for these cards. You can also look upon the Major Arcana as pointers in your life and how you're progressing through the journey of life. You will find many levels and experiences as you begin to read these cards.

The Minor Arcana

The Minor Arcana you will find can be seperated into four suits, just as in a pack of playing cards. These usually being:-

Wands - representing movement, opportunities, creativity and adventure. The wands are also said to correspond to:-

* The element of Fire.
* 'Yang', which is the masculine side of our character.
* Direction of the South.
* Diamonds in a normal deck of cards.
* Colour Red.
* Jungian function of intuition.
* Kabbalah Divine World.
* Season of Summer.
* Astrological signs: Leo, Sagittarius, Aries.

With these cards comes adventure, passion, boldness, the ability to take risks, positivity and the ability to see the bigger position.

Cups - representing love, spiritual experience and emotions. The Cups are said to correspond to:-

* 'Yin' the chinese feminine principal.
* The element of Water.
* Season of Autumn.
* Kabbalah Creative World (Binah).
* Moon and tidal cycles.
* Jungian function of Feelings.
* The West
* Hearts in a normal deck of cards.
* Astrological signs of Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.
* Sometimes assigned with the Holy Grail Chalice.

The suit of cups is a wonderful insight into the inner world of the person you're reading for, with this particular suit you'll be able to see the emotional bonds and attachments that have been formed; and how they have created the circumstances around the person you're reading for.

Swords - representing, ethics, justice, truth, intellect, reason and thought. From a positive view, these cards can represent, bravery, expertise, authority and strength. From a negative viewpoint, these cards can represent irrationality, disharmony, conflict, aggression, unhappiness, pain and anger. This suit of cards is said to correspond to:-

* The element Air.
* Kaballah world of Yetsirah (The formative world).
* Yang (Masculine energy)
* Astrological signs of Aquarius, Libra and Gemini.
* The East
* Jungian function of thinking.
* Mental aspects of communication
* Spring season
* Spades in a normal deck of cards.

When I see these cards in a reading; to me it represents a deep desire and search for total truth and clarity, to enable the seeker to make better informed life decisions.

Pentacles - This suit of cards is also referred to as 'The Coins or Discs'. They are normally concerned with security, the material world of possessions, practicality, analytical and critical thoughts. This particular suit is said to correspond to:-

* The element of Earth.
* Winter season.
* Kaballah world of Malkuth.
* Yin - female energy.
* Astrological signs of Capricorn, Virgo and Taurus.

From a positive perspective these cards represent our sense of self-worth, our status in life, our acheivements and talents. From a negative viewpoint these cards can represent a critical person, material loss, worry, lack of confidence, pessimism, stubbornness and worrisome.

Now that you've an overview of the general nature of these cards, it's important that you remember, the symbolic nature of these cards is a very personal thing. Although through these lessons you'll be given meanings of the cards to assist you. If at the beginning of reading these cards, you find that each card relates something entirely different to you, don't worry. This is not wrong; it's OK. You have your own personal life experiences, so your approach in reading the cards will be unique.

Don't exchange your own first personal impressions of the cards to those written here in this book. If you find the card represents something different to what is given, make a note and use what is given here in the book as additional ammunition to help you.

Getting used to the cards.

So now that you're got your pack of Tarot cards, how do we begin? Just for now, practice shuffling the cards, and just looking at the pictures and see what your first basic impression is of the cards. Don't worry if you get nothing. Just replace it in the pack and choose another one. Ask yourself the following:-

1) Does this card feel positive or negative to me?
2) What do I feel this card is saying to me?

Only when you're familiar with the pictures, and you feel comfortable shuffling and holding your cards, should you move onto the next lesson.

Click here to access Lesson 2