Getting to Know your Tarot
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I want to understand my Tarot
In Cleansing your Tarot I started to talk about getting to know your Tarot and I want to expand on that in this lens.
There are many ways to start getting to know your Tarot cards, these are some suggestions which may help you.
The Tarot is an ancient system, predating the use in card form - but that's where I get controversial and that isn't for here - so you shouldn't expect to understand it straight out of the box.
You need to learn each card just as you learned each letter of the alphabet, each word and what it meant when you were a toddler.
The image used here is The Fool from the Crowley Thoth Tarot.
All images in this lens are from the Thoth Tarot.
Getting to Know your Tarot by Katherine Carington Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 UK: Scotland License.
Based on a work at www.squidoo.com.
Where do I begin?
The very first thing to do with any deck, whether new or second hand, is to cleanse them. This should not take more than a few minutes with the vast majority of Tarot decks.Having done that, take the Major Arcana from your Tarot and let's start there.
If you bought your Tarot new, still in the wrapper, you will have a small booklet which gives you brief summaries of the meanings of each card, these are useful but will not go into the full meaning of each individual card in any depth. If there is a paperback book about the Tarot you have purchased, see if you can buy this, order it, or borrow it through your library, it will tell you far more than the small booklet which came with the deck.
The next purchase you should make is a Tarot Journal.
What the heck is that, you ask? Well, it's simply the notebook in which you will write your observations about each card as you study them, so it's any notebook really.
You can spend a few pence on this notebook or you can buy yourself a real fancy hardback version, it makes no difference, it's still your Tarot Journal. You might also want to buy a pen specifically for this notebook and attach it (string, wool, ribbon, anything you have to hand) to the notebook so you don't have to hunt for a pen or pencil when you need to write something down.
The image is one of the three Magicians for the Crowley Thoth Tarot.
Major Arcana, Minor Arcana
The Major Arcana is the logical place to begin. I suggest that you study no more than one card per day. I realise that this will mean it takes two and a half months to familiarise yourself with the Tarot, you can't have expected to be able to read the cards from the moment you received them ... did you?
Here in the World of Tarot, you are a toddler again, you need to be able to walk before you can run and you will find it simpler to take everything one step at a time.
So, beginning with The Fool on day one, you should spend the first three weeks with your new Tarot in your new daily routine.
You can decide for yourself whether you want to begin your 24 hours with each card in the evening or the morning. It's a personal preference, my choice would be evening as that's when I do most of my readings.
At the time you have set aside to study your cards (and perform your readings later) take the card for the day and read not only the brief meaning but the full description and meaning of the card.
Setting aside a specific time to do this is exactly the same as setting aside a period of the day for meditation, there is no difference, and in the 24 hours which follow you will be meditating on the meanings of that card.
Note down your thoughts in your Tarot Journal where you should also note any dreams you have during that night. You may not see any pattern in those dreams for a while but it's well worth doing as you might be surprised by what is revealed in them later.
The image is one of the three Magicians for the Crowley Thoth Tarot.
Getting to know you
Each Tarot card has many different levels of operation and it is important to understand these. That is why it will take you those two and a half months to get to know your deck.Personally, I would recommend that you obtain Crowley's work, The Book of Thoth, although this was specifically written for the Thoth Tarot deck, the information and descriptions given are applicable to all standard Tarot decks and the most in depth I have seen. This will enable you to grasp the depths of meaning which the majority of publications gloss over or ignore completely.
When you have finished your weeks with the Major Arcana, you should carry out the same procedure with the Minor Arcana cards, one at a time, getting to know them, writing down your impressions, dreams, thoughts and meditations.
If you are able and you are not in a rush, you might want to spend more than 24 hours on each card, try to be sure you have assimilated the meanings fully.
The image is one of the three Magicians for the Crowley Thoth Tarot.
Study, study, study
Once you have become intimately familiar with each card, you should be able to begin to see how each influences and modifies those around it in a spread.You can practice this by studying pairs of cards together. Card A followed by card B in a spread will be subtly different from card B being followed by card A. In each case one card is modified by the next but although they are the same two cards, the interpretations will not be identical.
Again, use your Tarot Journal to record your thoughts on these combinations. Major and Minor Arcana should be mixed in these pair meditations.
You can think of what you are doing in this way: you have learned the words (the meaning of each card), now you are learning to put those words together into sentences (interpretation of a spread).
There is a way to practice your readings, but remember that this is practice, its purpose is not to obtain any sensible reading applicable to any individual, therefore do not take this practice in any way seriously in terms of prediction.
The image is the Princess of Disks from the Crowley Thoth Tarot.
Practice, practice, practice
Described in some detail by Papus in 'The Tarot of the Bohemians' (Senate Books - translation by A.P.Morton), the cards were shuffled and up to seven each dealt to the players, who then proceeded in turn to interpret their hand, in the order in which they were dealt. Fines and rewards were involved in this game.Many would think this a frivolous use to which to put your tarot deck but it is an excellent way to practice for reading and interpreting the cards in a group. You don't need a group of people, you can deal, say, three stacks of seven cards and read each stack as if it were a spread for no-one in particular, this is merely a way to practice using your 'words' in 'sentences'.
The image is The Hermit from the Crowley Thoth Tarot.
Interpretation of the cards
Following this advice is only a beginning to getting to know your cards but it will go a long way towards extending your knowledge and understanding.Continue to familiarise yourself with the cards in this way, increasing the number of cards in the groups you set out (starting with 2) for practice readings. You should also continue to write down in your Tarot Journal all that you are learning.
You will undoubtedly surprise yourself with your knowledge when you look back through your journal later.
If you want to perform readings for other people then you should begin by 'reading' for friends or family. These 'readings' are not supposed to be serious readings but more of the practice readings which you have been carrying out in your private study time.
Friends and relatives will probably giggle their way through your interpretation at first, bear with it and explain to them that you need to practice what you will say, your tone of voice etc before you can begin to read the cards for others properly.
The image is the Six of Disks, Success, from the Crowley Thoth Tarot.
Sleeping on it
In Cleansing your Tarot, I mentioned the practice of sleeping with your Tarot deck under your pillow. As you learn each card in turn, you might want to try sleeping with only the single card you are studying underneath your pillow (a simple piece of cardboard should be used to prevent it from becoming bent while you sleep on it).Again, noting your dreams in your Tarot Journal can be most revealing.
Exactly how you get to know your Tarot will, to some extent, depend on whether you are going to use it for readings for other, readings for yourself, or as a personal journey of self-discovery. Follow your instincts and you should not go far wrong at all.
The image is Adjustment (Justice) from the Crowley Thoth Tarot.
This lens belongs to ...
Does this lens help you? Please let me know.
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The_Party_Animal
Sep 13, 2008 @ 9:04 am | delete
- So good as always - Can you read my cards? I could use a reading. You get 5 stars for another job well done - I like it.
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happy-jack Sep 13, 2008 @ 7:22 am | delete
- Thank you this is very kind.
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Margo_Arrowsmith
Sep 13, 2008 @ 7:16 am | delete
- Nice lens! Great visuals and a lot of information. 5*
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