Month: April 2014

A Question for Professional Tarot Readers: Do You Talk About the Cards?

On By benebellIn professional tarot, tarot, tarot symbolism9 Comments
Key III: The Empress. From the Hermetic Tarot.
Key III: The Empress. From the Hermetic Tarot.

I’ve been observing dozens of professional tarot readers conduct their readings. The observations prompted me to think about the practice of describing the tarot cards to the querent (or seeker).

For example, if a seeker asks whether she will find love in the coming year and you the tarot reader draw Key III: The Empress, which of the below better reflects your response?

MajorArcana_Key_3_The_Empress

[ A ] . “I drew The Empress, the card of fruition. Venus rules over this card. The Empress is a sign of love, fertility, and family. See the laurel wreath on her crown? That symbolizes your victory. The Empress is also of the Earth. Seems like not only will you find love, it could be one that finally grounds you and brings a sense of stability in your life. The number 3 here suggests to me that all good things will be amplified this year. 3 is the number of creativity. The stars on her crown symbolize hope, and there are 12 of them, which suggests creativity and artistic expression. The 12 stars also symbolize the 12 constellations of the zodiac. There might be something karmically fated about the love you will meet this year.”

or…

[ B ] . “Yes, it seems you will be having quite a fruitful year in love. You may even meet someone you end up marrying. It’s going to be a plentiful year of romance for you, and, by the way, a year filled with creativity.”

Method A takes longer because you are identifying and describing the card first before interpreting it for the seeker. It also got me wondering: how many seekers really care about the cards? Are they requesting a reading to learn the names of the tarot cards? Does knowing that you pulled a Seven of Swords or Nine of Pentacles really mean anything to them? Or do they just want the answers to their questions?

If, however, you subscribe to the notion that the signs and symbols of the cards are the language of the unconscious and as a tarot reader, you are just an interpreter, then by providing the signs and symbols to the seeker, that person might be able to get more from the meaning than you were able to see. So why wouldn’t you provide the signs and symbols on the chance they might see something you didn’t? Any bilingual person understands this concept on an intimate level.

As for Method B, it is more direct. It answers the seeker’s question right away, which I have to assume is what most seekers want from you–a straight answer. I wonder if they really care about the elemental dignities of The Empress, the planetary influence, or what the empress depicted on the card is wearing.

Continue reading “A Question for Professional Tarot Readers: Do You Talk About the Cards?” →

Your Tarot Spreads Repertoire

On By benebellIn cartomancy, professional tarot, tarot3 Comments
A deformed Celtic Cross due to space constraints. The Mary-el Tarot.
A deformed Celtic Cross due to space constraints. The Mary-el Tarot.

At the intermediate level, every tarot practitioner should have a repertoire of at least 7 spreads. Now note that as an advanced reader, you will have fully developed your personal practice approach and may have only one spread that you always use, no matter the inquiry or situation, or a repertoire of spreads that are very different from the ones mentioned here, or an altogether different intuitive approach to readings. All that is developed with time, however, so at the intermediate level, expose yourself to as much as possible and master a minimum of 7 spreads to empower yourself as the most adaptable and efficient reader you can be.

In my own practice I customize and design new spreads on a case by case basis. I also employ a variety of techniques to answer questions–operations from various Golden Dawn methodology (or my adaptation of it), card counting, etc. However, I do insist tarot students who have gained a proficient understanding of the card meanings and who know the basics of tarot interpretation to begin building their repertoire. There are 7 spreads you should know by heart at any given time:

  1. A 3 card reading spread
  2. A 4 card reading spread (or a 5 card reading spread)
  3. The Celtic Cross
  4. A yes/no spread
  5. A spread for a 2-party reading
  6. Specialty multi-card spread #1
  7. Specialty multi-card spread #2

Continue reading “Your Tarot Spreads Repertoire” →