Tarot cards are a popular form of mantic (divination) art. At first glance, it may seem that you can only learn to understand them after a few years of practice, or that this is available only to a select few. Of course, the longer the practice, the more experience and the better the skill, but at an acceptable level, you can learn to understand Tarot quite quickly.
It is necessary
- - a deck of tarot cards;
- - a good self-instruction manual for her
Instructions
Step 1
There are several tarot systems. We can say that each deck is a separate complete system. However, decks in general can be divided into traditional and non-standard (they are often called author's). There are more than one thousand decks in the world. Beginners are usually advised to start by learning a classic deck, the most popular being Waite's Tarot and Aleister Crowley's Tarot. So, the first thing to do is get a deck. Choose the one that is intuitive and visually appealing to you. It is also advisable to read about it before buying. Small instruction books are included with the decks, but they only interfere with the beginner. So get a good self-help book for your deck.
Step 2
For the first time picking up a deck in hand, get to know it - look at each card so that it remains at least a little bit in your memory. The standard tarot deck consists of 78 cards, of 22 Major and 56 Minor arcana. Major arcana are considered the main ones, and some tarologists even get by with these 22 cards, not using the Minor ones at all. Start exploring the deck with the Major Arcana in order. Read the meanings for them, which are given in the self-study guide. Look at each card at the same time and think about what other thoughts and associations it evokes in you. You can continue to work only with the Major Arcana or connect the Minor ones.
Step 3
Minor arcana includes number cards and four suits - cups, wands, pentacles and swords. Learn the basic symbols and elements of these colors. Cups are feelings, pentacles are earth (everything material). Wands (fire, actions) and swords (air, thoughts) in different decks can refer to different elements. So, for example, the predominance of cups in the layout will mean that for a person the issue in question is very important from an emotional point of view, and the predominance of pentacles will indicate a focus on material values.
Step 4
A good way to familiarize yourself with the deck is with the card of the day. Draw out one card every day in the morning asking what awaits you today. In the evening, analyze the events that happened and compare them with the value of the card. So you will sooner learn to understand Tarot cards, since these will no longer be just abstract pictures for you.
Step 5
Make small layouts of three cards, for example "it was - is - will be", for situations that are well known to you. Gradually try to connect the values of all cards in the layout with each other, because they can strengthen or weaken each other's values. Each card has a basic meaning (message), which is often written on the card itself, as well as many other meanings that should be considered depending on the issue at hand.
Step 6
When interpreting, take into account not only the classical meaning, but also the features of the deck: facial expressions and movements of the characters depicted, the prevailing colors. The meanings of the same arcana of two different decks can differ, sometimes significantly. Tarot numbers are also important. In interpreting the Tarot, rely not only on the meanings in the book, but also on your intuition. A negative card in one scenario can be quite positive in another. The presence of the Major Arcana in the layout speaks of the importance of the problem for the questioner.
