Wednesday, September 16, 2009

How to Read your Own Tarot

If you have personally seen a tarot deck, then odds are you must be thinking how mystical and interesting looking it is. Being able to see the various images of the cards, you'd be intrigued and even anxious. At least, I know I get the goosebumps...still. And yet, there's something about them in that you'd just feel that you have to respect them, they mean something special and dare I say it, almost sacred. Well, I don't know about that but one thing's for sure, the tarot means serious business. It's not one of those cheap tricks that you see off the street sideways. It's the real deal. It is a medium for getting answers about yourself on most if not all aspects of your person or character. It aims to bring out certain feelings and emotions as well as ideas inside yourself that you have either inadvertently locked within or previously failed to grasp. You might even go as far as to say it's a mystical shrink assisting us in decoding those feelings in order to become information that we can use for our betterment. According to some experts, tarot is about interpreting archetypes. It is interpreted in the same way that dreams are interpreted and is an ancient language of symbols same as Astrology and Numerology. Getting to the basics in tarot reading would require a few crash courses in related fields. One such field as previously mentioned is Astrology which is a parallel school of thought to the tarot and even go hand in hand. There are some sites that offer basic tutorials in astrology free of charge and you can use this to gain a better understanding of tarot along the way.

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First of all, there are 78 cards in the tarot deck. Its 2 components are the Major and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana is then sub-composed of the Trump cards and the Fool while the Minor Arcana is sub-composed of the ten pip cards and four court cards in 4 suites. There are only 22 cards in the major arcana which are the unique cards in the deck so it really isn't too hard to familiarize yourselves with them. Additionally, these cards mostly depict a scene, mostly featuring a person or several people, with many symbolic elements. The pip and court cards in the minor arcana resemble the standard 52-card gaming deck with 4 suites that is widely used today. The only difference is an additional court card for every suit making it 56 cards. Here is a brief and basic breakdown of the tarot deck composition, the major and minor arcana and their respective meanings:

The Major Arcana

major_arc

0 The Fool - Innocence and Beginning
1 The Magician / The Juggler - Power and Action
2 The High Priestess / The Popess - Knowing and Psychic
3 The Empress - Femininity and Abundance
4 The Emperor - Rulership and Authority
5 The Hierophant / The Pope - Law and Respect
6 The Lovers - Love and Passion 7 The Chariot - Skill and Control
8 Justice - Truth and Equality
9 The Hermit - Wisdom and Solitude
10 Wheel of Fortune - Luck and Destiny
11 Strength / Fortitude - Courage and Patience
12 The Hanged Man / The Traitor - Surrender and Sacrifice
13 Death - Transition and Termination
14 Temperance - Balance and Connection
15 The Devil - Loss and Addiction
16 The Tower / Fire - Exposure and Eruption
17 The Star - Hope and Promise
18 The Moon - Confusion and Influence
19 The Sun - Life and Energy
20 Judgment / The Angel - Faith and Honesty
21 The World - Success and Satisfaction


The Major Arcana deal with the human condition. Each card represents the joys and sorrows every person would experience in a lifetime. Now if you might notice the keywords associated with the trump cards in the major arcana, they are very generic or general in point of view and does not really appear to help us out in terms of what we're looking for. This is precisely the point! They are there as guide posts in essentially making a parallel symbolic interpretation of our queries. But they can also be quite tricky if not interpreted correctly. Some of them can even be misinterpreted to mean one thing while giving a different meaning altogether. For example, when the 'Hanged Man' card is dealt, it may initially strike you as a very bad sign. On the contrary however, it can mean 'suspension' where we are asked to suspend ourselves both emotionally and in physical action in order to get a better understanding of a situation. This in turn allows us to make better decisions concerning a given circumstance. Additionally, sacrifice as associated to the 'hanged man' would usually entail one having to sacrifice a routine or possession that they value in order to get better results on what they want to happen. Another very simple misunderstanding that people often make concerns the 'Death' card. It doesn't really mean actual death but rather, ending a particular chapter in our lives or experiencing a big change in our lives, could be for better or worse. Lastly and as an interesting side note, the Fool is usually interpreted as the protagonist of a story, and the Major Arcana is the path the Fool takes through the great mysteries of life and the main human archetypes. This path is known traditionally in Tarot as the Fool´s Journey.

the_fool_tarot
The Fool is the most popular card in the tarot deck


The Minor Arcana

Wands (Staves / Batons) - Fire/Spirit - Creativity and Will
wands
Coins (Pentacles) - Earth/Physical - Material body or possessions
pentacles
Cups (Chalices) - Water/Emotion - Emotions and Love
cups
Swords - Air/Thought - Reason
swords

Where the Major Arcana cards are thought of as the "power" cards or big players in a reading, the Minor Arcana serve in supportive roles and augment the reading with further insight and detail of circumstances. The Minor Arcana brings us clarity and definition. These cards are the supportive role-players to the prime archetypes of the Major Arcana. Each suit has 14 cards, being Ace (One), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Page, Knight, Queen, King. The numbers associated with every suit in the minor arcana are also very important in that they provide the needed specificity in card readings. The number meaning of Tarot cards can provide additional light to a tricky spread. A quick breakdown of the number cards would tell us: The Aces, represents their respective suit and announces their respective themes. The Middle Cards explore various flavors of areas in one's life with each successive number and assist in specifying the answers to queries about these i.e. power (card 2), leadership (card 3), excitement (card 4) and competition (card 5) and so on. The Tens would be the ones to conclude on the themes presented in the Aces. As for the court cards, they are people with personality archetypes again representing various personality types of people out there. Generally, the King demonstrates authority and control, the Queen represents relationships and self-expression while the Knight and Page resemble excess or extremes and pleasure or abandon respectively.

Now this is the basic structure of the tarot deck explained for dummies as only a dummy like myself could. So there you have it. That is a simple breakdown of the contents of the standard tarot deck. There are of course sites out there that give more specific details about these cards for a better understanding of them. Some sites offer lessons or tutorials in astrology free. Happy reading folks!

To gain, deeper knowledge of the tarot deck and become and expert reader, go to this site: http://www.youranswershere.com/tarot-free

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

What Questions to Ask the Tarot

People normally have various questions urging them to get a tarot reading. This is of course mired by a cloud of emotions. That is really the prime catalyst for doing it in the first place. One might ask, "What should I do if I don't like the answer?" or "How can I make it stop?" for whatever result they got the they didn't like or even felt threatened by. We are filled with all sorts of questions popping up from nowhere. And people in love just want to find out more about their future with their partners through love horoscope. This can be problematic as it has the potential to inject doubts in your head resulting to confusion in terms of life plans. And while the initial reason for doing this is usually to try to get even a semblance of clarity in a given dilemma one is in, it could turn into a disaster instead.


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Remember that the tarot does not usually give a direct answer to a question but rather utilizes a feel for the natural pathways that certain given circumstances could take. It is always suggestive and never decisive in its answers and advice. Since the tarot really bases its output on the subject and the air and vibe around them, it's results usually have an impact on that subject, whether direct or indirect. For this reason, it's really important that you think about the kinds of questions to ask the tarot. Common questions that usually get asked during a tarot reading usually include the following:


Getting advice on how to utilize your strengths as well as weaknesses to your advantage - This is one of the safer questions which does not really have a detrimental effect on you in that it is constructive. This is definitely one of the questions which should always be asked as it is geared toward a goal of self-improvement and is always positive on my book.

Asking how a certain situation in development ultimately ends - Considering the subject may well have a specific answer he/she is looking for, it can become a direct question begging for a direct answer. Again, tarot does not deal with specifics but if it does give a semblance of specificity in its answer, then you'd better be careful in dealing with that answer. Always treat it as a guide or warning, not as an inevitable outcome to countdown to.

Queries about Love - This is really tricky as things can get as blurry, muddy and cloudy as you can think of regarding this subject. Like I stated earlier, questions about love are filled with follow-ups that just go on and on if not managed properly. A few sleepless nights might be involved after you learn more about what the tarot has to say. Asking about love could be a nasty business. Precautions should be taken so as not to get carried away by the tarot's answer whether favorable or not-so-favorable. That being said, the other side of it is very fulfilling and exciting in that you actually get to hear about your future together with your lover! Now if that ain't worth it, I don't know what is!

Asking what will happen to your Loved Ones - Everyone of us would also probably be asking questions about our loved ones, the people we care about. Asking about Mom and Dad, or our brothers and sisters as well as friends. Whether they're going to be successful in what they do or what obstacles face them in their quest for success, those are all things you'd be anxious to hear. Hearing the answers to your questions about these people who you love and care about could really be interesting to say the least!


These 4 are among the top categories of questions that can arise from a subject's inquisitive mind and are certainly among the worthwhile questions. However, one thing is certain: You must not wholly rely on the tarot reading to decide your fate even for whatever outcome or results the readings will yield. But if you are in love and want to get to know your partner more through your love horoscope, then I strongly urge you to take a chance and explore other aspects of your love that are not apparent yet. They're certainly fun and can be extremely romantic when you realize that the universe has conspired to bring the two of you together.

Learn more about love horoscope and you may just take your relationship to the next level...


Click here to Learn more About your Love Horoscopes and uncover your Destiny with your partner

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Tarot - Free or Paid?

Ever wondered about how good the tarot free offers are? Are they accurate? How good can tarot software be?

We'll begin by reviewing free tarot readings. Is it true that you get what you give?

Sorry to say that yes you do. You do get a free tarot reading but it is either produced by software, will be tightly focused in scope or limited in the time spent on it. Usually you can only ask a single question and if you decide you want more and need more information then you will need to pay.Most of the FREE tarot readings will be done with the Celtic Cross spread. This is a spread offering only ten cards.

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Tarot readings that are done free of charge are often conducted by a reader with little experience.

And what about the accuracy of tarot software?The accuracy isn't to be trusted. You can prove this by asking a similiar question over again to test it and you'll find that you are presented with different cards each time which negates the result.

The main difficulty though is that you are typically given only one interpretation for the cards, when the reality is that there are a wide variety of meanings for the cards depending on the position they take and the question posed.

But the main problem is that software lacks a reader's intuition and no amount of programming can overcome that.

And what about paying for a tarot reading - is it worth doing?

To determine this, you need to consider what you will do with the feedback you get from your reading. Can you move forward in your life's journey once you know the answer? Will it stop the endless worrying about a particular issue?

Maybe you will get clarity about an area that is bothering you and allow you to sleep soundly knowing how it will be settled. Or perhaps you can make some difficult decisions once you know they are in your long-term interests.

What you get out of a reading vary considerably from one person to another. Having said that, because you are questioning whether you need a reading or not, means that you will gain from it and it is worth spending some money to let you more ahead .

What do you need to think about before you go ahead and organize a reading?

Consider carefully the main questions you would like clarity on. The most important thing is to make your question as specific as possible as then the answer is likely to be more specific too.
Pose your question carefully...

It may also be necessary to provide first names, time frames and zodiac signs depending on the question you're asking.

What can you expect if you are receiving a phone reading?

Usually you can expect a phone reading to last around 40 minutes or so but you can have a shorter or longer reading if you need it. The tarot reader will start pulling cards once you are chatting, however, some may turn some cards beforehand to get a heads up about what they are dealing with.

Learn what I do in my tarot free review to make sure I have an excellent tarot reading each time...

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