[Sticky] Introduction to Tarot Section of the Forum

@jovesta.  I started reading cards 50 years ago, and like most readers I got my initial interpretations from the booklets that came with the decks of cards. Over the years, my interpretations have evolved, and at this point nearly every reading I do adds something to the way a card is interpreted. I agree with Snowbird that intuition is a big part of a good reading, and intuition will kick in once you are comfortable with the cards and are relaxed about doing a reading.

@jackie. I think that I am going to try my hand at tarot...  looking into which deck to get...

@jovesta   I recommend starting with the Rider-Waite or Universal Waite deck, mainly due to the simplicity of the illustrations, making them easier to interpret based on standard symbolism and interpretations in Tarot books. My personal favorite decks are the Aquarian and the New Palladini, which are beautiful and also lend to ease of interpretation.

As time goes by and you have a comfort level with the interpretations of each card, then it’s fun to explore some of the other decks. I have noticed that several people on this forum use the Thoth deck, which seems very different from the decks I am familiar with and quite intriguing, but I have not yet explored that deck. 

Have fun with it! 

@jovesta. By the way, I’m curious about the name Jovesta. I have changed my screen name to Vesta, which is the asteroid on my ascendant in my astrological chart and which describes me quite well. Is Jovesta a reference to Vesta in some way?

• @jackie. Decades ago, the name Jovesta came to mind as I was searching for a gamer handle that was not in use.  So, no connection to vesta.  ?  I just liked the combination of sounds!   Thank you for the good advice on the waite deck.  That was where I was leaning, so my instincts are on target, good!

Choosing a deck is such an individual thing. 

Try out a few decks and see which one fits you. The Ryder Waite is easy to read because each card is a little vignette that spells out its meaning.  But the Ryder Waite images for me are too lite, the figures like child drawings. Still like @vesta said, it might work as a beginner deck.

I read the Thoth Deck and sometimes add in cards from the Yosho Zen deck.  The Thoth was painted by a great artist in her own right, Frieda Harris, for Alistair Crowley.  They made a Lennon-McCartney team and the result is a masterpiece. The art is powerful and colorful and artists tend to like this deck. I find the images so powerful and well rendered that sometimes I see the flames and waves of light pulsing right off the card.  It is quite evocative in that way. If you like being highly stimulated, as I do, you might like that deck.

Tarot scholar Mary Greer loves the Leormand deck.  I ordered a copy and could not get into it. 

To each his own! 

@jeanne-mayell. Thank you!  I keep browsing online waiting for a feeling...

The Motherpeace deck is very interesting in terms of art and symbolism, but the cards are round and awkward to handle. However, the book is lovely and has added quite a bit to my evolving interpretations. I attended a workshop many years ago by the author, Vicki Noble, as well as astrologer Demetra George, which was held at Breitenbush Hot Springs here in Oregon. A workshop is an excellent way to add to your body of knowledge, and this particular one was interesting and fun.

My Burke-Caselli deck is a Rider-Waite style deck. I own a half a dozen decks but I keep going back to the Burke-Caselli because of its familiarity. I also like the Everyday Enchantment tarot, which is Rider-Waite imagery in a very contemporary urban style. For example, the Judgment card is illustrated by a police raid on a loud party. It screams "the party is over!" I also love the Modern Witch tarot for its contemporary imagery. It is classic Rider-Waite in flavor and all the images are women. But it's difficult to shuffle because the card stock is so heavy. I'm pretty much a novice and when I'm stuck I go my trusty, dog-eared, highlighted and marked up Beginners Guide to Tarot by Juliet Sharman-Burke. 

@jackie I too was drawn to the book of the mother peace deck back when I first began reading cards in the 1980's, though not the deck. I read a few of the chapters on the Major Arcana and it helped me get started with reading Tarot.  I loved the way the writer thought about the meanings of the cards in a more accepting, wider interpretation.  More deep feminine, less black and white and punitive, less religious orthodoxy, more pagan.  The Death card was about letting go, not something so scary as actual physical death.  

I have a bit of a random question, wasn't quite sure where to put it, but this seems like a good spot. 

Using the Thoth deck, I randomly decided to work out my tarot year cards for the rest of the 2020 decade. My question is, do year cards start January 1st or on your birthday of that year. It's a bit confusing to me because my birthday is 12/25, so basically the end of the year. 

My 2020 card is/was 14 & 5 (Heirophant & Art)

My 2021 card is 15 & 6 (Lovers & Devil)

So am I technically still in my 2020 year cards or 2021? 

Tarot question. How do any of you go about multiple-card readings? Do you shuffle first all at once then lay down your cards all at once? Or do you shuffle in between laying down each card? And where do you pick your cards from? In the middle of the deck or from the top of the deck?

Also, if anyone has good book suggestions for learning about the Thoth deck, that would be appreciated. I tossed that dinky little guidebook that comes with the deck because I didn't find it to be helpful. Maybe I should just go ahead and read Aleister Crowley's book?

@coyote I do all three ways of shuffling. I'm focusing inwardly as I pick cards for a spread. I'm focusing on the question that the card represents, on the target I'm reading, and taking a breath, and sometimes I keep shuffling for each card, then other times I just pull them out after an initial shuffle. But even after shuffling, I always pull randomly from inside the deck. I don't take them from the top. But I don't think it matters what you do, as long as you stay mindfully focused when you read each card.  If you breath as you look at each card and let it come to life in front of you, let it animate, then you have put light on that card and you will read it really well. ❤️ 

@coyote 

Before I complete a reading, I already have my spread in mind. Most often I just throw 4 or 5 cards in a row and interpret them as they lay. Sometimes I do a spread in which each card has both an individual meaning and a collective meaning.

Either way, before beginning I speak to my guides/Higher Self/etc. to ensure we are all on the same page as to how many cards will be pulled and for what purpose.

So then I shuffle shuffle shuffle, focusing on my question/subject, until I feel I'm done. Usually that's when a card flies out of the deck. I don't use that card b/c I'm generally a shitty shuffler and cards often fly out, but I do take a flyer as a sign to stop shuffling.

When selecting cards, I choose each one individually - I do not just draw from the top. I use a variety of methods for this, but the one I most use is to hold the deck in my left hand and tilt it slightly until it "breaks" - the card that is revealed (or the one that I am most drawn to) is the one I select. I do this for each card until the spread is filled. As I select each card I am keeping its designated purpose (if using a specific spread) in my mind to direct my intention.

Rarely do I shuffle between cards - only if I feel the need to refocus my energy.

This is the method that resonates best with me and that I find gives me the best readings.

As for the Thoth, I find Don Milo DuQuette's book on the Thoth (UNDERSTANDING ALEISTER CROWLEY'S THOTH TAROT) to be required reading. Another good guide is THE CROWLEY TAROT, by Akron and Banzhaf.

Hope this helps!

@coyote I am very much new at this (learned in Jeanne's class last year), but I tend to do like @jeanne-mayella and @sistermoon do and shuffle until I feel I am done, breathing and focusing the whole time on the question I am trying to clarify ("what do I need to know about..." or similar.) 

I usually put the deck down and just push/spread it out in a straight line (overlapping) and then think again of my question, close my eyes and choose a card. Someone here on the forum once suggested using your non-dominant hand to choose and I liked that idea, so I tend to just hover over my line and pull out a card. I feel my way through my question and may pull one or two more if I think of specific aspects that I want clarified. I then look at the cards and do a first round interpretation. If a card seems unclear, I will pull another for clarity and interpret from there. I do not shuffle between pulls, either. I do use the book that came with the deck just to see what jumps out at me from the text. I also use the text that Jeanne provided in her class to help clarify meanings/see what resonates.

I have not yet experimented much with specific spreads, though, and am not sure how accurate my readings are at this time (I do a lot for myself on family issues and take notes...though sometimes I do it for larger societal topics like COVID.)

Hope this helps!

@jeanne-mayell @sistermoon  @cc21

Thank you!

@coyote,

After I shuffle I cut the cards in 4 piles from left to right, then pull them together again in the opposite direction.  I then fan out the cards on my table.  I close my eyes and as I ask my questions, I use my non-dominant hand to move over the cards, moving almost involuntary, like my arm and hand have a mind of their own.  My hand continues to move, almost like a dowsing rod or pendulum, until my hand stops moving and I get a certain feeling on the left side of my head, left eye, and finally my third eye.  That’s when I choose the card. 

I’ve used the non-dominant hand approach for years – for drawing and writing (if I feel too controlled or blocked), and now with pulling the cards. 

I like the Thoth Tarot so I've been using that, although I still consider myself somewhat of a newbie.  I look to see whatever images, colors, etc. jump out at me, and go from there.  I also draw on the textbook that Jeanne provided to us in class.  I will pull additional cards if I feel they are needed to offer more clarity.

I believe whatever method and particular card deck speaks to you, will work for you.

@coyote I am visualizing my question while I shuffle the deck and I stop when the cards tell me to stop.  As for cutting - I cut how the cards tell me to...  often just a split deck but sometimes more (and occasionally not at all)

Favorite tarot deck is here https://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/legend-arthurian/  

I am a huge Arthurian Legend fan and this deck has been with me almost 20 years.

I don’t know the best place to put this, so I will drop it here with the understanding that it may be moved.

I have been using tarot since I was in high school. Never done more than dabble. Many times I think I throw cards more to clear my mind that anything else. But every once in a while, something stands out.

Yesterday, feeling distress over this weeks events, I decided to take a few minutes and shuffle my deck while asking where we would find ourselves in six months on women’s rights and Roe with a one card draw.

On my third round of split and shuffle, two cards jumped from my deck and landed face up in front of me. One card landed partially on top of the second card. This was not a cross, more like the top card was eclipsing/pushing the bottom card away.

The bottom card was the Emperor in reverse. The top card was the Sun (upright). 

Whether this was a message or not, it did bring me a little hope.  Please share any insight you may have. 

Thanks

@April With the sun card on top and the upside down emperor on the bottom, I'd say the outcome is saying that six months from now, the Roe v Wade decision will have negative implications for the U.S. patriarchy.

As I am sure you know, the emperor represents patriarchy, which is upside down, which means this decision will hasten the collapse of patriarchal rule in the U.S. Hurray for that. The upright Sun on top feels like a victory for the people and a new day for our country on many levels. 

Also, assuming you were using a full deck, it is significant that you pulled two major arcana cards, a sign that the outcome will be epic. 

We moved your reading to the Tarot section because you didn't make a prediction (just told us the cards that popped out, without interpreting) but you did give us the cards that popped out and asked someone to read them. 

You said that this spread stood out above other spreads you've thrown. When something stands out to the card reader, it is a sign that your intuition is telling you this is an important and significant reading. I think you know this, although you didn't come out and say it. And I think you are a good card reader.

If you decide use your cards again in a post, you can use them to make a prediction. It's nice when you tell us what cards you pulled, and then go a step further and tell us your predictions. I think you are better than you think!