Post by Matt on Jul 22, 2014 18:17:31 GMT -7
(This is a very basic guide and by no means covers everything on the topic)
A traditional deck consists of 78 cards. There are Major arcana and Minor arcana. Major consists of 21 "trump" cards and the Fool, minor holds four suits of ace to 10 and four face (or court) cards each. You can substitute regular playing cards for tarot cards to be used in divination, if you know the Minor arcana well enough, by dropping the use of the Major aracana and a court card.
The cards can have dual meanings based on their placement after being selected. The focus of the deck can vary based upon its creator's design, but the general concepts behind them usually remain the same. The symbolism will be different from deck to deck, but they generally will evoke similar subconscious responses.
In alphabetical order, the Major arcana consists of (the): Chariot, Death, Devil, Emperor, Empress, Fool, Hanged Man, Hermit, Hierophant, High Priestess, Judgement, Justice, Lovers, Magician, Moon, Star, Strength, Sun, Temperance, Tower, Wheel of Fortune, and World.
The minor consists of four suits, often associated with the major elements and/or cardinal directions. The suits are: Wands (Fire: South), Cups (Water: West), Swords (Air: East), and Pentacles (Earth: North) and represent everything from Aces (1) to 10 to Court cards. The numbered cards are represented by the depiction of that number of the suit's associated symbol. The court cards are: Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings. Some decks may have Wands as Air and Swords as Fire. Though most decks come with some background to the meanings behind the cards and deck specific instructions.
This is a good site for information on the meanings of the cards: www.aeclectic.net/tarot/
How to use: If you are the one selecting a card, focus on the end goal, your intentions, or an event, person, time frame, or thing you wish to gain more insight into. You can either select the cards yourself, or when you ask them to stop. The reader may even let the cards fall out at random and those will be the cards you're dealt. If they are your cards, shuffle the deck well after each use with a clear mind. The reader may either have you shuffle the deck yourself, or will shuffle it themselves while having you focus on the cards after each use and simply have the one with the question(s) select a set number of cards (this can be just about any number of cards, depending on the spread and set up the reader prefers to use).
A traditional deck consists of 78 cards. There are Major arcana and Minor arcana. Major consists of 21 "trump" cards and the Fool, minor holds four suits of ace to 10 and four face (or court) cards each. You can substitute regular playing cards for tarot cards to be used in divination, if you know the Minor arcana well enough, by dropping the use of the Major aracana and a court card.
The cards can have dual meanings based on their placement after being selected. The focus of the deck can vary based upon its creator's design, but the general concepts behind them usually remain the same. The symbolism will be different from deck to deck, but they generally will evoke similar subconscious responses.
In alphabetical order, the Major arcana consists of (the): Chariot, Death, Devil, Emperor, Empress, Fool, Hanged Man, Hermit, Hierophant, High Priestess, Judgement, Justice, Lovers, Magician, Moon, Star, Strength, Sun, Temperance, Tower, Wheel of Fortune, and World.
The minor consists of four suits, often associated with the major elements and/or cardinal directions. The suits are: Wands (Fire: South), Cups (Water: West), Swords (Air: East), and Pentacles (Earth: North) and represent everything from Aces (1) to 10 to Court cards. The numbered cards are represented by the depiction of that number of the suit's associated symbol. The court cards are: Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings. Some decks may have Wands as Air and Swords as Fire. Though most decks come with some background to the meanings behind the cards and deck specific instructions.
This is a good site for information on the meanings of the cards: www.aeclectic.net/tarot/
How to use: If you are the one selecting a card, focus on the end goal, your intentions, or an event, person, time frame, or thing you wish to gain more insight into. You can either select the cards yourself, or when you ask them to stop. The reader may even let the cards fall out at random and those will be the cards you're dealt. If they are your cards, shuffle the deck well after each use with a clear mind. The reader may either have you shuffle the deck yourself, or will shuffle it themselves while having you focus on the cards after each use and simply have the one with the question(s) select a set number of cards (this can be just about any number of cards, depending on the spread and set up the reader prefers to use).
time to get to work.