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Tarot Blog Hop: New Tarot Deck

07 Thursday Jan 2016

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This blog post is a part of a monthly Tarot Professionals Blog Hop. Please click the links above and the links below the post to see how other Tarot Readers interact with a new Tarot deck.

So…you’ve received a new deck in one way or another. Maybe, it was a gift or you acquired it from a proprietor of some sort, it doesn’t matter, you still want to use it. The deck itself may seem like a lifeless paper product with a weird factory smell when you first get it, and that may put you off to using it for readings. This can be disheartening if you are like me and must use everything you own. Otherwise it was a waste of money, and a waste of an artist’s hard work and dedication. With a lot of great decks being a good chunk of change, you may expect your new magickal item to be instantly, well, magickal. The pictures may ‘call’ to you (aka you love the artwork), but when you open the box, you become a nervous wretch and forget everything you know about Tarot.

I have been getting new decks lately, even though I don’t really necessarily want them. Mostly, these have been given to me as gifts or as rewards for my participation in fundraisers. I have most of the ones that I want, and I am very particular about the type of artwork I prefer. However, I feel like I should work with these decks, because it seems that I should be able to read most any deck. Plus, it keeps your skills fresh, and it’s kind of fun to play with a deck that you have no connection to at all. Here are my techniques of transforming a deck of cards into powerful allies in your magickal arsenal.

Get Acquainted

The first thing I do after freeing my new friend from the confining restraints of its

The Court cards for the cups in the Tarot Illuminati (top), Thoth Tarot (middle), and the Michelangelo Tarot (bottom)

The Court cards for the cups in the Tarot Illuminati (top), Thoth Tarot (middle), and the Michelangelo Tarot (bottom)

packaging is take it out and feel it in my hands. I like to get a sense of how the card stock is in my hands when I shuffle or just take a card out of the deck. I take note of how slippery the deck is, because this will produce a ton of ‘jumpers’ while I shuffle.

I like to look at each individual card and familiarize myself with the order of the Majors, as well as the names of these Trump cards. In some decks,the Devil may be named Oppression. In Waite-Smith based decks, Strength is numbered as VIII and Justice is XII. In other decks, the Strength and Justice cards are named something else completely and their order is flipped. Sometimes, the Court cards may be in a different language than one you are familiar with or they aren’t what you are used to. For

example, you might have only used decks whose Court cards are Page/Knight/Queen/King, and now you have a deck that has them as Princess/Prince/Queen/Knight. This is when that little booklet included with all new decks becomes your best asset in becoming acquainted with your new deck.

Shuffle…A LOT!

One of the best things to do is shuffle your new deck. First, these cards are in order, and will clump together if not shuffled enough. It’s kind of like making cookies, but only stirring the ingredients 3 times with a small spoon then trying to bake them. Secondly, this simple action stirs life into your new found friends. You start to incorporate your essence into them, and this starts to charge your cards. I will usually play with a new deck for a good hour before using it for readings that I would put any stock in. While I am stirring the cards, I will think about a million things, and I may even be anxious or excited. I will also periodically lay out the cards as I think of questions. I keep the spreads very simple, and I do not ask super serious life changing questions. I will ask questions that I know, or I will even ask the cards about their personal tastes. Asking playful, yet respectful, questions calms my own anxiety, and allows me to fully connect with my new deck. I will use the booklet if need be.

Everywhere I Go…

One of the most important things I do is take my new deck everywhere with me if it’s portable. It goes to work with me, and it goes to the grocery store. It is not uncommon for me to have at least 4 different divination tools on my person. This may be a little harder for menfolk as they may not have a knapsack that they carry with them. Another way is to sleep with the cards nearby you. This continues to aide you in not only strengthening your intimate connection, and continues to charge your cards. This will also remind you to keep working with the cards. I feel that by doing this, you really establish the cards as a magickal tool that you can trust and work with on a daily basis.

While with ritual tools you want to consecrate these items for specific purposes, because you do not use them on a daily basis. I do not do this with my cards or other divination devices. I establish them as a tool for this purpose by passively attuning them to my energy. They then become a part of me, and my cards are a trusted member of my life.

I hope this was helpful! See the other blogs to get different ideas, and try them out to see what works best for you!

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Exciting Kickstarter Tarot Project!

04 Wednesday Feb 2015

Posted by in Tarot

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Tarot Fundamentals Kickstarter Campaign

Lo Scarebeo Tarot and other names in the Tarot world are currently working tirelessly to create a complete work centered around the subject. There is a Kickstarter campaign going on right now! If you are interested in the project, please visit the campaign for more details!

Tips: Tarot Reading for Yourself

22 Sunday Jun 2014

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tarotWhen I first started to learn how to intuitively interpret Tarot cards, I did a ton of readings for myself. I was going through a very hard time, and I would do a “million” readings every day. However, the massive amounts of readings I was doing were only useful in helping me quell my anxiety. The readings themselves were of no use due to the bad questions and sheer number of readings. While this helped me learn Tarot, it did not produce valuable readings. There is definitely an art to reading the cards for yourself, but it’s not impossible.

The key to doing a reading for yourself is to put your feelings aside for the “outcome” of the question. Fear or excitement towards what the reading is going to “say” is why people have a hard time reading cards for themselves in the first place. An Intuitive or Psychic can read all day long for other people because they have nothing invested in the outcome of the reading. However, some may find it difficult to do a reading for themselves until they learn to trust exactly what they are seeing within the reading, and not focus on what they want the reading to tell them about the situation. That sort of manipulation of the outcome is what makes the reading you gave yourself incorrect, and this can be discouraging to someone who is just starting to learn Tarot.

Any and all of the tips below can be used to help keep yourself neutral during a reading, and they will also help with many other intuitive readings as well.

  • Meditate: It is helpful to meditate thoroughly before doing a reading for yourself. This helps you get rid of any anxiety that may contribute to manipulation of the meanings. When you do a reading you should feel neutral and keep your emotional feelings or fears of the outcome out of the reading. Remember that the future can be changed if you do not like something. The cards are a great way to guide you to the help you need if your reading is less than desirable.
  • Blind Reading: You can perform “blind” readings by writing down questions, and placing them in an envelope. All you need is several questions, and similar envelopes to place the questions in. Mix the envelopes up, and mark the envelopes with numbers. This way when you are writing your reading into your journal, you can determine which answer belongs to the envelope. You can mix them up again after you put the numbers on them or flip them over. Pull one envelope out at a time. (Make sure that you are only putting one question in each envelope, so that you are not getting confused as to which question goes to which answer. It works best if you wait a few days so that you have forgotten what you asked.)
  • JournalingJournal: It is always a good thing to write down all your readings that you do for yourself. This way you can look back at them at a later date and analyze the outcome. This will give you confidence, and your accuracy will improve. Also, sometimes we interpret a card a tad bit differently than what it meant to say. You will be able to see the exact outcome of the reading that you had given yourself, and make changes to what a Tarot card means to you.

In conclusion, if you do readings for others there is no reason you cannot do them for yourself. If you are just starting out, doing readings for yourself is a great way to learn Tarot or any other form of divination. It is easier for you to check your progress, and gain the necessary confidence to begin reading for other people without the aid of a book. Feel free to use a book for your own readings while you are learning. Eventually you won’t need it!

Most importantly, relax and have fun!

A Tarot Odyssey

01 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Tarot

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We all have our “on” moments. I am really happy with what I did here, and would like to share it with all of you. I haven’t read my cards in almost a year, and I usually do not read for myself anyway. You tend to be too close to the outcome when you read cards for yourself. You are too attached your emotions of what you want to happen, and you need to be like Switzerland when doing any type of intuitive reading for yourself or others. Basically, I came up with my own spread, and went with it. I was on a roll today.

The thing I love about tarot is the fact that you can be creative if you wish, and it is a wonderful tool to see where you have been, where you are now, and where you may end up if certain things come into play. You can change the course of your future by changing the course of the present. Anyway, on to the reading itself because that is way more fun than preachy sounding words on a screen.

I tried to be in depth with what I am presenting here, but I am not going to tell you what the question I asked was, just the resulting answer. I used the Thoth deck for this reading and the moon is 95% waning in Virgo.

I laid out nine cards after shuffling and concentrating on my question. I put them into 3 rows. The top row being the present factors, the middle row being the transitional influences, and the bottom row being the future factors.

With this part I laid out my notes for what I came up with for each card.

1.Knight of Swords: Swiftness to get things done, but too swift. Maybe fighting a losing battle. Grasping at thin air.

2. 6 of Cups: Trying to build a pleasurable experience for my life.

3. 8 of Wands: Not being able to decide which direction to go in.

4. The Sun: Attaining a true sense of happiness. Learning to see the bright side of the world around you.

5. 3 of Cups: Emotionally feeling grateful of the things that surround you. Being able to spread out in a positive manner.

6. Prince of Swords: The ability to focus on a few goals.

7. Ace of Disks: Starting of material stability. The starting of something more concrete.

8. Queen of Cups: Reflecting upon what may be the hidden factors concerning the matter. Also, may be hiding some aspects of myself that do not need to be hidden anymore.

9. Knight of Disks: Concentrating too much on what is yet to be achieved instead of moving toward the goal itself. I see it as the vehicle to get there is stalled, so to speak.

Now, I put it all together in a comprehensive overview.

At the present moment, my goals of a better world for myself are stuck in between too many choices to make and fighting a battle I am not prepared for on many levels.

In the future, I will find my place and then I can continue the fight while making sure that it is a battle that is meant to be fought.

What the transitional influences are trying to tell me is that self reflection and patience are key at this time. Although, I can’t seem to get this ship in motion, it will eventually start going somewhere on the physical plane. Also, the Knight of cups is a warning not to become overwhelmed with the barrage of decisions coming at me.

Notice that the second vertical row is all cups. These cards represent the emotions. It seems that emotional issues need to be dealt with. The search for the perfect life (6 of Cups) needs to be reflected on in a logical manner (Queen of Cups), then emotional expression can be achieved (3 of Cups). The numerological aspect is that 6’s are the decisions that we must make and 3’s represent creative expression. Being able to express oneself is essential to anyone who is not a robot.

The first vertical row tells me that though I may have the idea that I am grasping at straws at the moment and I am fighting a losing battle, there is a more concrete result underlying my failure due to lack of knowledge. Everything that isn’t working in my favor right now will begin to start showing results on the material plane. It seems to indicate a positive result even though waiting and patience are involved.The 1 and the 19 (1+9= 10, 1+0= 1) both indicate individuality. Staying true to myself is imperative for future growth.

The third vertical row starts off with being spread too thin and the need to take a step back and reflect more upon the goal. Then, I will be able to charge full speed ahead toward the goal itself.

Now, I add up the numbers of the cards to get the quintessence or theme of the reading itself.

Fortune and The Magus: You must dedicate yourself to the matter in question. You now have the strength and skills to master the tasks at hand.

Okay, so that was my reading in a nutshell. I didn’t use the book, so any meanings of cards that did not correspond should not get any purist panties in a knot. I like to read tarot intuitively, and books are not intuitive as they are not living a living thing in my opinion. Only the atoms that make the objects are alive to some degree.

Thank you for reading and have a great night!