A Beginner's Guide to Tarot: Card Spreads

Samantha Stevens offers another perspective on the history of Tarot and the origins of the Tarot cards. She is the author of numerous books on metaphysics, and a columnist for New Age Notebook.


Installment three of the Beginner's Guide to Tarot, by Samantha Stevens, discusses Tarot card spreads.

Most Tarot decks consist of 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana, and 56 Minor Arcana cards. The Minor Arcana consist of four "suits”, just like a deck of regular playing cards.

The four suits are, Pentacles or Coins, which deal with work/money/success issues, the Wands, or Staffs, which deal with more spiritual issues, the Cups, which deal with emotional issues, and the Swords, which some see as representing negative experiences and loss. If you want more of an explanation of these cards, then check out a Crash Course in Tarot #1.

When starting out, I highly recommend making your life easy, and getting the person to ask you a question out loud. Both parties should focus on the question while you shuffle the cards. As you get more experienced or confident with the cards, you won't care if they ask a question, but repeating the questioner's question out loud yourself does seem to assist the divination process.

Shuffle the cards until the person you are reading for feels it is "right" to stop or until you feel it is right to "stop". After you are done cutting, you need to cut the deck. Most readers divide the deck into three piles. At this point you can either have the person you are reading for pick which pile to pick up as the top of the deck, or you can pick them up in an order that feels right to you. Another option is to fan the cards out face down, and have the person you are reading for pick out the cards they want you to read. Then lay them out in the order they are suppose to appear for the spread.

The One Card Spread: The One Card spread is the most concise of all spreads, intended to provide a quick take on a situation, or to reduce it to a single issue that you can meditate on. . Simply ask a question and then draw a card to divine the answer to your question. It is surprising to what extent these types of one-card readings can be exact, or even solve your problem for you.

The Three-Card Spread: This spread is good for yes or no questions. After you are done cutting the deck lay the cards out from left to right.

1 2 3

The first card to the left represents the past/issues affecting the problem.

The second card in the center represents the present/problem.

The third card to the right represents the future/outcome.

A variation of this is to read the three cards as the Mind, the Body and Spirit. This is more like a "personality read" and can give you a good indication of where "someone is at."

The Celtic Cross Spread: Lay out the cards on the table in the following order

10

4 9

5 1 /2 6 8

3 7

The first card is placed face up it represents the person asking the question and the foundation of the matter.

The second card is placed across sideways the first card and represents obstacles or issues dealt with the person in the present.

The third card, placed beneath the first two represents what is on the subconscious mind of the questioner and everything he or she has been through with regards to the matter.

The fourth card, placed above of the first two represents the potential and the best that can be accomplished given the choices the questioner has made so far in his life regarding that matter.

The fifth card, placed to the left of the center card represents what has transpired in the past.

The sixth card, placed to the right of the first two, represents what will take place in the immediate future.

The next four cards are laid out from bottom to top to the right of these cards.

The seventh card represents the fears of the person. Generally, this card will show you what is inside of them that is blocking him or her from reaching the desired outcome. It can also represent the atmosphere or influences that strongly affect the questioner.

The eighth card represents how others see the person or the situation.

The ninth card represents the hopes and fears that the questioner might have for the future.

The tenth card represents the predicted outcome of the situation or the actual answer to the question.

Some individuals like to keep pulling an addition six to ten cards after this cross is laid down to determine what will happen in the future.

The Relationship Spread: The Relationship spread provides insight into the interaction between two people or entities. It is the spread of choice for questions about partnerships, be they in romance or business.

1 2

3 7 4

5 6

The first card (top left) represents how you see yourself and your role in the situation.

The second card (top right) represents how you see your partner.

The third card (center left) represents how you feel about your partner.

The fourth card (center right) represents what or who stands between you and your partner or the obstacles in your way.

Position five represents how your partner sees you.

Position six (in the lower right) represents what your partner feels about you.

Position seven in the center represents the present status or challenge faced by the two of you in the relationship.

It is important to remember, that no matter what maps or directions you are given, Tarot reading is an intuitive art and after you do it enough you will begin to develop an intuitive sense of what the cards mean when they are placed in relationship to each other.

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A Beginner's Guide to Tarot:: Choosing A Deck

Samantha Stevens offers another perspective on the history of Tarot and the origins of the Tarot cards. She is the author of numerous books on metaphysics, and a columnist for New Age Notebook.


Installment two of the Beginner's Guide to Tarot, by Samantha Stevens, discusses Tarot card decks.

If you would like to learn to read tarot cards, your first challenge is to choose a deck from the 8,000 or so published brands of fortune telling cards on the market. What works for one person often doesn't for another. Some people are comfortable reading several decks and others just identify with one deck.

In my experience you will find that over time, you will grow in and out of several decks. You may also find that the deck that you prefer to use to read yourself is not the deck that you prefer to use read others.

For instance, when I first began reading I started out with a deck that was too heavy for me - The Crowley Deck. The ultimate result of that was that I ended up selling them because I was spooked out by the images of the deck. I was simply too young to handle the imagery on this dark deck and was giving myself nightmares.

I then switched to the Rider Waite Deck for a few years, which is the ultimate easy, all-purpose deck. I then fell in love with the Renaissance Deck which is much more elaborate in terms of it's imagery and a bit more pointed in its meanings when it came to describing relationships.

Then I entered a period when I was yearning for more simplicity, I switched to the Palladini deck, which is very pure and has a "lighter feeling." (Kind of like the Pollyanna of Tarot Decks.) Now that I am older, I am back to the Crowley Deck and the Order of the Golden Stair decks, which are a little heavier in feel.

There are also lots of specialty or eclectic decks on the market that might appeal to you more than the Rider Waite, but learning the Rider Waite is like going to high school. Psychic Realm reader Bacchus for instance, uses the Haindl deck for his readings, which has a Nordic feel and is a permutation of the classic Rider-Waite deck, but as wonderful as it is, I don't think it is a beginner deck.

Here are some good decks I can recommend for beginners that are based on the Rider Waite System of meanings.

The Rider Waite Deck

The Aquatic Tarot - the same as the Rider Waite but realized in watercolors

The Pamela Colman Tarot - the same imagery as the Rider Waite but done in brighter more psychedelic colors

The Golden Tarot - the same as Rider Waite but the imagery is more medieval

The Palladini Tarot - the same as Rider Waite but with very simple, cheerful drawings

The Renaissance Tarot - the same as Rider Waited but enhanced with images from the Renaissance age.

You can find a selection of Tarot Decks in the Psychic Realm store off the main page or browse the web and buy one that catches your eye online. I recommend doing a little online research first and finding places you can view different decks online because most storeowners won't let you open and handle their deck because it means removing the plastic from their packaging. However, the best way to be sure is to go to a store, pick up the deck and see if you like the feel of the cards once you have done some research on the imagery in them.

The feel, weight or look of the cards often "speaks" to you. If you a feel a connection with the images on the cards or even how they feel in your hands, then that is probably the deck that you will relate to best. I also recommend a deck that comes with a small book inside the package or box so you will have something to quickly reference if you should get lost while reading.

A tip for beginners! When I first began reading the Tarot, I typed myself up a one sheet that a resembled a chart so that all the meanings of each card right side up and upside down were apparent to me at a glance. Typing out the meanings like this really does help you learn the cards quickly.

Your next step would be to get acquainted with your cards. The best way to learn is to study the image on each card, one at a time, while memorizing the meaning. Be patient. There are usually 78 meanings to learn so this is not always a fast process.

Some tarot teachers recommend that you put the deck of cards under your pillow at night so you can get better acquainted with them. The idea is that your subconscious will absorb the information the same way that a sponge soaks up water. You can also meditate or dream upon the individual cards in the same way by placing them under your pillow.

Some people like to charge their cards after they first get them, either by praying or meditating over them, placing a crystal on them or passing them through the smoke of incense or placing them in the light of the full or new moon for a night.

Finicky readers believe the power of the cards is enhanced if they are placed inside a special box or wrapped in a silk pouch. I personally don't think this makes much of a difference because I know I am accurate and my cards have so much gunk and wear and tear on them it is laughable. Still they do say that pomp and circumstance is supposed to add to the power of all ritual and magic, so if storing your cards in a special way or in a special place helps you read them better than by all means do so.

Also many readers protect their cards by not letting anyone touch them. There is a belief that others can "infect" the cards with their beliefs, fears or anxieties. The cards do act as a portal through to the other side, so keeping them away from other people may be a good way of preventing people from accidentally "touching" you through the cards and passing along possibly toxic energy.

Once you get your cards own, spend some time just looking at them, playing with them and getting to know them. It is essential that you feel good about your cards because in the future, they will be your best allies when it comes to telling the future.

The next installment will focus on card spreads, and the basics of a tarot reading.

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A Beginner's Guide to Tarot: It's All About the Cards

Samantha Stevens offers another perspective on the history of Tarot and the origins of the Tarot cards. She is the author of numerous books on metaphysics, and a columnist for New Age Notebook.

The Tarot is not just a divinatory tool, but it can also be utilized in the appropriately trained hands as a tool for providing counsel and advice with which we can navigate life. It is an antique form of divination that predates popular psychology, but has been shown to have archetypal energies that work well from a Jungian perspective. Tarot becomes a book of wisdom offering you a living parable or myth that reflects your life journey in the hands of the right Diviner. It describes a journey that mirrors your path in life.

Usually the story is a direct description of what is going to happen in a particular window of time although talented readers can tell you much more than that from looking at the symbols in the cards! One of the main purposes of the use of the cards is to construct a future narrative so that you can make decisions to change your fate.

The reader shuffles cards and lays them out in a specific pattern usually called a "spread." This can be compared to a snapshot or map of your life. Each card position in the layout of the spread represents a characteristic of the situation in question --what forces are beyond your control, what your particular strengths are in the current or future situation, and what the likely outcome is if you continue as you have been doing.

As the cards fall into their positions, meaning is created by the unique placement of the symbolic meanings of each card. Together they weave a synchronistic tapestry that may seem random at first, but in reality is a very careful map which you may follow or not as you wish to bring about or avert the outcome of your reading. Synchronicity is a principle that is not only referred to constantly in psychology, but also in quantum physics. The entire system of Tarot cards can be described as a pictorial or numerological expression of the human condition.

The Tarot cards can be compared to a wise friend who we can turn to when we wish to make a wise decision regarding a relationship or a career. The wisdom found inside the Tarot, is actually the same wisdom that is found inside each and every one of us. The whole purpose of a reading is to tell you what you don't know so that you can use your free will to take appropriate actions that are good for your soul. Now, this does not necessarily mean telling you what you want to hear – but instead what you NEED to hear.

It's hard to believe, but Tarot cards were not originally designed to tell the future! They were first used in the 16th century Paris to play a card game similar to Bridge. As there were no soap operas in those days, the cards were also put to another entertaining use. The face cards, such as the Queen of Cups, King of Swords and so forth were modeled on the personas of popular celebrities of the day. These cards were shuffled and then arranged into scandalous story lines. This parlor game was a source of great amusement for both royalty and peasants alike.

In addition, 16th century poets used the cards to compose poems called tarocchi apporporati. The poems would be constructed about the characters in the trump cards in the deck, such as the Queens, Kings, Knights and Pages to tell a tragic or romantic story.

Tarot cards were not associated with divination until the 1800s, when a secret order of magicians in Venice, Italy found significance in their numbers and symbols. Before that these decorative cards were not used for fortune telling. As these magicians were the Illuminati of their day, their reading methods were kept very secret. The first known records of the divinatory meanings assigned to Tarot cards did not appear until the 1700s in Bologna.

Ordinary playing cards have been connected with divination as early as 1487. The gypsies were adept at reading plain playing cards for centuries before the Venetian magicians got their hands on a French Tarot Deck. It is safe to assume that the Tarot card meanings and spreads that are used today are based on a hybrid of techniques derived from the Tzigani system of reading playing cards, French parlor games and Venetian interpretations of occult symbols!

To understand the Tarot you need to familiarize yourself with the meanings of the four suits and the meanings of their symbols. The cups, coins, disks and wands of the Tarot deck derive their meaning from cartomancy. Cartomancy is the art of reading playing cards.

There are 78 cards in a traditional Tarot Deck. These 78 cards are divided into the Major and Minor Arcanas. The Minor Arcana relates to the ordinary playing deck. Most of the cards in the Minor Arcana represent events or qualities.

The additional 22 Major Arcana cards included in the traditional Tarot deck represent the stages of a person's individual passage through life, from non-existence, birth, love, marriage, death spiritual ascension and back to non-existence again. The Fool Card, numbered 0, is indicative of this eternal cycle.

The 22 Major Arcana cards are an addition to what otherwise could be described as an ordinary playing deck that consists of four suits.

The meanings of the 22 Major Arcana cards are based on an old French parlor game that was used to predict the lives of the celebrities of the day. Since then, they have mutated to symbolize major life events and personal attributes.

When you are first learning to read the Tarot cards, sometimes it is valuable to have a list of the card's abbreviated meanings to refer to while you are throwing the cards. Though not all diviner's use the same correspondent meanings.

Here is a list of the classic meanings of each of the 22 cards of the Major Arcana.

0 The Fool - choices offered, folly, going in circles

1 The Magician - creative energy, psychic power

2 The High Priestess - mystery, hidden influences, female supremacy

3 The Empress - abundance, fertility, motherhood

4 The Emperor - leadership, control, fatherhood

5 The Hierophant - convention, society, restrictions

6 The Lovers - love, relationships, intimacy

7 The Chariot - mind over matter, conflicts, war

8 Strength - courage, power, stamina

9 The Hermit - wisdom, spirituality, connection with Higher Self

10 Wheel of Fortune - unpredictability, changes of luck for good or bad,

11 Justice - legal issues, balance, karmic return

12 Hanged Man - withdrawal, study, rest, waiting

13 Death - change, physical death, an ending

14 Temperance - moderation, adaptation, patience

15 The Devil - temptation, the material world, evil

16 The Tower - conflict, problems, devastation

17 The Star - hope, inspiration, happiness

18 The Moon - unseen troubles, black magic, female sexuality

19 The Sun - marriage, success, male sexuality

20 Judgment - awakening, renewal, the result of good or bad actions

21 The World - success, opportunity, a clean slate

If you subtract the extra 22 cards that comprise the Major Arcana from a Tarot deck, the Minor Arcana is what is left over. The Minor Arcana of every Tarot deck contains 56 cards divided into four suits with each suit maintaining its own sphere of influence. The four suits are the Cups, Pentacles (also referred to Disks or Coins in some decks), Wands (sometimes referred to as Batons) and the Swords. In a deck of conventional playing cards the Cups related to the suit of Hearts, the Diamonds to Pentacles, the Wands to Clubs and the Swords to Spades.

Each of these four suits reigns over their own special spheres of influence.

The Cups suit deals with emotional matters, love, sex marriage, fertility and creativity. The Pentacles suit pertains to matters such as wealth finance commerce prosperity, career and economic security. The Swords suit refers to legal matters, the wheels of progress, heartbreak, betrayal, opposition, breakthroughs and the need to impose order on chaos. Wands represent the mind, inspiration, guidance, the world of ideas, deep thought, intellect, purpose and potential. Here is a handy list of the condensed and abbreviated meanings of the 56 cards in the Minor Arcana.

Wands

Ace beginning of fortune, passion, inspiration

2 business success, partnership

3 help offered, charity

4 rest after labor, a compromise

5 struggle, competition

6 startling news, invention, applied science

7 courage in the face of difficulty, futility

8 swift action, a message, good news

9 overcoming obstacles, povert

10 unwise use of power, too much force

Page a messenger

Knight starting or finishing of an issue, a proposal

Queen mother, artist, creative woman

King man of authority, an entrepreneur

Cups

Ace new love, union of souls, birth

2 new friends, new love, soul mate

3 abundance, health, prosperity

4 discontent, dissatisfaction

5 regret, disappointment

6 happiness from the past

7 unrealistic dreams, delusions

8 things thrown aside, waste, addiction

9 material abundance, financial progress

10 family life, excess, indulgence

Page the arrival of good news

Knight proposals, invitations

Queen romantic woman, vain woman

King romantic man, sensitive man

Swords

Ace victory, swift justice

2 indecision, uneasy compromise

3 separation, love triangle

4 changes, improvement

5 success without happiness

6 difficulties resolve themselves, medical attentiont

7 a failed plan, unmet goals, disappointment

8 restriction, rigid thinking, evil

9 sorrow, agony of mind

10 ruin, despair, betrayal

Page upsetting message, a meddler

Knight end of a problem, a swift resolution

Queen strong willed woman

King man of military authority

Coins

Ace beginning of wealth, a great idea

2 two situations at once, commerce

3 skills in the arts, steady work

4 material possessions, gifts

5 loneliness, abandonment

6 charity, desperation

7 a pause amid growth

8 employment

9 enjoyment of wealth

10 family money, promotion

Page good financial news

Knight patience with business and financial matters

Queen a rich woman, an independent woman, a matriarch

King man of business, a wealthy man

The face cards of the Minor Arcana used to represent the Who's Who of Tarot. Originally these personalities were based on the antics of celebrities in 16th century France. The face cards are the 'people" cards in the deck that often symbolize the arrival or influence of a male or female in your life. They are represented by the four face cards in each suit - Cups, Wands, Coins and Swords. These are the persons represented by the Kings, Queens, Knights (sometimes Princes) and Page (or Princesses) in the Minor Arcana of the deck. The four offices of King, Queen, Knight and Page vary in name somewhat from deck to deck – but all are correct for the deck and correspondences you are working with in that deck.

For those of you who have always wondered just exactly “whom” these people are coming up in your reading, here is a short guide as to what they are supposed to look like and be like:

Queen of Cups A fair-haired young woman. Often good looking, vain, thoughtless. Princess of Cups Beautiful, naive sexy usually fair-haired woman. Immature.

Queen of Disks A slightly older woman. Well to do. Practical. Nobody's fool. Princess of Disks A nurturing, often codependent woman. Wounded Healer.

Queen of Wands Darker haired, artistic, entrepreneur, independent, feminist, intelligent. Princess of Wands Brown or blonde do-gooder. Practical. Takes matters into own hands.

Queen of Swords Dark haired, widow, sad woman. Abandoned woman. Wily Princess of Swords Dark haired, scheming woman. Depressed. Promiscuous. Needy

King of Cups Fair-haired alpha male. Warm, generous, loving, Controlling. Knight of Cups Knight in shining armor card. A suitor. Warm generous loving.

King of Disks Paternal Fatherly type. Medium to Dark Haired. Businessman Knight of Disks An active, athletic stubborn type. Controlling. Can be Violent.

King of Wands Dangerous, womanizing man. Egotistical. Dramatic. Sexy Knight of Wands Medium to dark haired younger man. A Player. Vain. Selfish

King of Swords Cruel, powerful, bitter man. Sometimes emotionless. Swift. Knight of Swords Sullen, dark haired, sexy but depressed younger man. Poetic

The next article will be about basic spreads and layouts for divination.

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Tarot Basics

For those who have a limited knowledge of the Tarot, I'm going to begin by posting some basic information and background articles. This article comes from Lisa Lamont, whose All About Tarot website contains some interesting background on this ancient method of divination.

A Tarot card deck typically consists of 78 colorful cards imprinted with what many deem fascinating and curious images. The cards, each filled with a particular meaning and portent, most often come somewhat larger than ordinary playing cards and make an impressive display when ritually laid out. This deck of special cards can be used by a trained “reader” for glimpsing into his or her own future or that of another person for whom the cards are read. The Tarot deck, divided into Major Arcana and Minor Arcana, contains 22 symbolic cards and 56 suit cards – wands, swords, cups, and pentacles – interestingly also called “pip” cards.

Many types and styles of Tarot cards exist, and a breakdown of even the more common Tarot card deck reads like a mysterious journey into the occult – and perhaps it is! The Major Arcana includes the magician, high priestess, empress, emperor, hierophant (a sage or wise man), lovers, chariot, strength, hermit, wheel, justice, hanged man, death, temperance, devil, tower, star, moon, sun, judgment, world. The Minor Arcana (the suits) consists of the aces, twos, threes, fours, fives, sixes, sevens, eights, nines, tens, court cards, pages, knights, queens, and kings – all in the above-mentioned suits.

The key to successfully reading the Tarot deck, however, does not lie only in what the cards mean, but in how to interpret them. A gifted Tarot reader can sometimes create a huge following by accurately predicting the futures of friends, family – even strangers who call on him or her for a reading.

“Tarot” comes from the Italian word "Tarocchi,” a French card game originally termed “carte da trionfi” – “cards with trumps.” It has been theorized that the name was shortened from “Tarocchi” to “Taro” and thus evolved over time into “Tarot” by the French. The definition of Tarot goes hand in hand with the origin of the name because Tarot is considered to be a tool of divination by believers, and the roots of the name explain, in part, how this came to be so, though we may never know the complete story, since its complete origins have been lost in the passage of time.

The origins of Tarot vary almost as widely as there are people exploiting the powers of these fascinating cards. Some maintain the cards have roots beginning in the ancient mysteries of Egypt, the mythical city of doomed Atlantis, or from the magic-filled background of the European gypsies. But etymologically speaking, that is, considering Tarot from the history of the word itself, this mysterious deck of future-foretelling cards probably came into being in the northern Italian courts of nobility during the mid-15th century.

Whatever and whenever the source of Tarot, this remarkable deck of cards remains an entertaining and intriguing journey into the unknown, the inexplicable, and the sometimes mystifying realms of life. Perhaps the roots of Tarot lie shrouded in doubt for a reason. Perhaps Tarot is meant to mystify as well as to reveal.

Perhaps…only the Tarot cards know for sure!

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Tarot Readings for the World

This blog is an experiment.

It will contain daily Tarot readings focused on current world situations and global affairs. The idea, which may evolve diffferently over time, is to try to get a handle on what the future holds for all of us.

Readings will be influenced by what is happening at the moment -- wars, rumors of wars, political and social events and other situations that affect us all. I will be as impartial as possible, trying always to let the cards lead me rather than leading the cards.

The readings will be done using a standard Rider-Waite Tarot deck that I have used for over thirty years now. The specific layouts that I use will vary depending on the current world situation and my intuition. I will use both traditional layouts (such as the Celtic Cross) and also layouts that I have developed specifically for these kinds of readings.

Before beginning the actual daily readings, I am going to include some preliminary information here providing a background in Tarot, Tarot cards and decks, Tarot layouts, and Tarot symbolism and interpretation as a reference for those who might be unfamiliar with this ancient metaphysical practice.

Check back and see what the cards have to say about the present and the future of our world. I'm glad to have you here.

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