Tarot For Beginners

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I want to appeal to those of you who have experience using Tarot cards or would like to learn how.

For quite some time I've wanted to get into Tarot reading. This has fascinated me ever since I had a reading done when I was about 18. Recently I have started looking into it more, researching it's background and figuring out what it's all about.

How many of you here read Tarot cards? Are you readings usually accurate? How did you get started, and can you learn by reading books, or is it more of an intuitive thing? What would you say to someone who is interested in learning, and do you have any tips?

If you have had your Tarot read, how do you feel about it? Do you believe in it and have you readings been accurate for you?
 
There are a lot of people who feel that way. There are also a lot of people who don't.
 
From my impressions of others reference to the Tarot;

The Tarot was a psychological system for the intellectuality initiated of medieval times.

Alchemy is similar.

The philosophers stone is a reference of self perfection.

Unworthy individuals were given false understanding of the system.

The Age of Enlightenment was when this knowledge was spread to the common people under different terms and definitions.

Currently initiates have found greater forms of perfection.

The elite will always be on the top end of the bell-curve by definition of elite.
 
Yes I have watched some documentaries and done some reading about Alchemy. It's so much more than transforming one thing into another. It's more about the transformation of the self. It's very interesting to read about each stage of Alchemy and what they pertain to.
 
Tarot is a divination tool. Divination tools are external set of equipment used to channel information that invariably comes from one's raw intuitive ability. Those whose intuition comes naturally without the aid of divination tools such as dowsing, tarot, i ching or any type of esoteric tools are considered to be "psychic". However, many good intuitives who are not very psychic use tarot to see the bigger archetypal picture and to see the current issue or situation as whole moving picture.

You can learn to read the tarot two ways. By studying books on meanings, memorizing and practicing diligently; however learning the tarot will also force you to develop your intuition and to trust the "instinctual hits" or messages that come through. The second way to learn is the sink or swim type where you just start to weave a story or the issue with the help of your intuition as you pull the cards in three to five card spreads in relating it to the issue.This does not involve memorization; just raw intuitive hits. The more you practice, the better you will start to distinguish between true intuitive information and conscious thoughts.

Obviously the best way is also to practice on yourself and others. You will need to learn to be objective if you read for others. Having a mentor probably will accelerate your understanding much more than reading books. its an art and it takes a lot of actual practice instead of reading it in books. But i have found that a good tarot reader is always a very intuitive person as well.
 
Very excellent information :) Thank you so much. I think that I'll probably try from both approaches. I am a very intuitive individual and think that I would probably be quite good at readings. I guess I'll have to get a deck and give it a go and follow what my intuition tells me.
 
I read tarot. I got my first deck when I was 15 or so.
When I say this people look at me funny because I wear the label of atheist proudly and that implies the disbelief in anything supernatural. With that said, I must explain my connection to my cards, what I use them for, and I what they are capable of. In my opinion Tarot does not tell the future. The definition of each card in written to intentionally stir up emotions. The intention is for you to relate to it. I have never believed that my cards were powered by anything super natural. All it really takes is intuition. Now, this is simply my opinion on the matter. I use mine because he vague definitions of the cards make me think about all of the possibilities and it helps the "brainstorming" process, I suppose.

My current views are not what I was raised to believe, however. My mother is a very spiritual person who feels she has a deep connection to the powers of nature. She uses her cards in a very similar way to me (as in she does not see them as a tool to read the future). However, she does not define in the logical manner that I do.

A few things I learned from her:

Never purchase your own deck. I am not sure why, but she seems to believe the energy of the cards differ depending on who purchases them and it is preferred that someone else purchase your deck. I have never purchased my own deck so I can't exactly say the difference. Though, I don't really subscribe to this theory, I participated to please my mother.

Do not allow others to touch your deck. Depending on the spread you are doing all that should be required of them is to cut the deck. Shuffling or extensive contact can disrupt the energy. I personally don't like it when people touch my cards, but that is mostly because they put them in order which means I have to go back and reshuffle them. It's a pain.

If you feel that the energy of your cards has been disrupted, sleep with them. My mother and I both have very nice satin bags that our main decks reside in, which makes this easier. Slip it into your pillow case. This may help if you feel a disconnect.

Also, if you are looking at this from a spiritual perspective, meditation with your deck is also encouraged.

I really can't give you any more spiritual tips, as that is not my area of expertise. However, it is very helpful to find someone who is already experienced in this that can kind of guide you toward where you are supposed to go.

Also, the website I sent you in secret santa has a tarot section that allows you to do readings and changes the decks around. I suggest playing around with that when choosing a deck. You want to find one you really connect with. Though, I highly suggest starting with a Rider-Waite deck. It is a pretty standard deck, with wonderful art. It'll give you a good base with the meanings and names of the cards. My first deck was a rider-waite. Though, I eventually graduated to a dream deck, which has darker more modern art. It's a little more "me". if you know what I mean.

If you have any questions you think I might be able to answer feel free to ask. I really do feel like everyone's experience with Tarot is different and personal (especially when seen from a spiritual perspective). So, your's may be different from mine, but I'd be glad to help in any way I can.
 
Yeah I am not so sure about how I feel about predicting the future with Tarot cards. On my own I get very, very strong feelings about what is likely to happen in the future for certain individuals, but I wouldn't say I am predicting the future. Some things just seem obvious to me.

I am interested in gaining perspective and perhaps even looking at different possibilities and seeing things I may not have considered. I'd like to broaden my knowledge of myself and help others do that for themselves as well. This seems like a good tool.

I've never heard that you shouldn't purchase your own deck before. I'll have to look into that more and see if it resonates with me. They must have a reason for that. I'll have to figure it out.

I will do some more poking around on the website you sent me. I looked around on it and got distracted by researching different decks and never got to using the site! lol.

Thank you for the pointers :) It looks like I've got lots to learn.
 
I have heard of the difference between purchasing a new deck from a store versus having an "old" deck. I think it all comes down to the reader. Essentially the deck is going to hold your energy. For the sake of beginners; many recommend getting the basic deck like the Rider Waite and clearing its previous energy. You can do this by leaving the deck in sea salt overnight or any other form of meditation or clearing ritual. All seems to work fine.

But I do agree that if you are shopping around for a deck; it is best to get it in person so you can feel your initial reaction to the deck. How you respond to the artwork, size, feel, etc. That would be the bonding energy as I have decks that I just love versus one's i just kinda feel ok about.

Great resource for all things tarot:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/
 
Oh my. I don't treat my deck all that reverently at all. I let my friends/subjects shuffle it, play with it, lay down their own cards, etc. I also bought it for myself and never once kept it under my pillow. I just base my readings on snatches of what I've researched about symbols and then let the other person fill in their own blanks.

I guess to me, it's not a spiritual medium as much as it is a psychological experiment. The energy isn't in the cards as much as it is in the archetypes it presents and what it conjures in the subject's minds. It makes plain what they already know by confirming it to themselves in the open-ended interpretation. It's actually quite fascinating what you can learn about a person when you're guiding them through their own reading. What they're wanting, what they're expecting, what they fear and regret and what they want to change.

It's also why I rarely ever read for a 'future outcome' unless I'm sure my subject understands that this is purely for fun. I don't think I'm at all that intuitively plugged in to do so otherwise.

Still, the subject of tarot and its interpretations is of interest to me. Its archetypes and symbols figure quite strongly in my stories; there's a lot that you can learn and explore with it, especially where generating interesting characters and plot-twists come in. :)

I'm curious to know how the rest of you interpret your cards. Do you read/memorize from a source or do you go with the flow?
 
I have been around tarot since I was 3 years old or so when my mom learned to read. She has become really good at it, and does multiple different types of readings, with multiple different types of decks, tools, etc. (she has many different devices). I am very familiar with how it works, and I can "read" the cards, but I don't do it in such a formal way that my mother does. I simply haven't taken the time to learn many of the spreads like she has. I have my own methods on how to read. I don't do it very often, but when a friend asks me I will use them if I feel it is right for me to do so.

I am a spiritual person, but I am not a "devout" believer in the supernatural like some are who believe in tarot. The way I see tarot is as a "spiritual telescope". It is a tool in which you are able to focus a "lens" of sorts over a very large image, and allow the reader to see and get a more focused and detailed picture. It's a very intuitive thing to read tarot, and it takes a lot of faith in yourself in order to read. If you don't believe in what you are saying, it's likely false. Another note on the way tarot works in my eyes, is it presents you with the highest satistical probabillity of what is being read. Not exactly what should be. In particular if you are doing future forcasting. The more events that need to take place (known or unknown) to get to this result, the "weaker" the read will be. It's like taking a photograph of the future, without knowing the path. The path can alter the future.
 
o_q said:
BURN THE WITCHES!
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Ooh! Great song!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA92WepJdPQ"]Queens of the Stone Age - Burn the Witch[/ame]
 
How many of you here read Tarot cards?
I do sometimes and I've had readings done.

Are you readings usually accurate?
Most of the time Id say, and it seems to depends on weather I force it or not. If I get an instinct to go do a reading then it can be startlingly accurate. If not or if I do it to often then the accuracy goes down.

How did you get started, and can you learn by reading books, or is it more of an intuitive thing?
Someone got me a deck. Then I knew some people who are into it and they taught me more about it. And its kind of a combination of intuition and reading books. I'd say a lot more intuition based though, but your not going to be able to do it without reading about the various methods/interpretations you could use.

What would you say to someone who is interested in learning, and do you have any tips?

There are a lot of different interpretations for each card. I like to look at a bunch of different definitions before I find one that feels right. You are supposed to charge the cards before you read them I just imagine my energy going into them, really you should find your own way of doing it. Also don't be greedy don't use the cards to often only you do when you get a calling too. I suppose the exception to that rule is if your just learning but never do a serious reading unless your heart calls you to it. And sometimes it can take months or years for the meaning of an interpretation to become clear or the events in an interpretation to actually happen. So it is a good to keep a record of your reading if you want to test the accuracy.

If you have had your Tarot read, how do you feel about it? Do you believe in it and have you readings been accurate for you?
It depends, a lot of the time it confirms what I already thought. Sometimes it takes my life in a whole new directions those ones are scary. I'd say most of them are accurate it can just take awhile for the meaning to become clear.
 
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TheDaringHatTrick said:
Oh my. I don't treat my deck all that reverently at all. I let my friends/subjects shuffle it, play with it, lay down their own cards, etc. I also bought it for myself and never once kept it under my pillow. I just base my readings on snatches of what I've researched about symbols and then let the other person fill in their own blanks.

I guess to me, it's not a spiritual medium as much as it is a psychological experiment. The energy isn't in the cards as much as it is in the archetypes it presents and what it conjures in the subject's minds. It makes plain what they already know by confirming it to themselves in the open-ended interpretation. It's actually quite fascinating what you can learn about a person when you're guiding them through their own reading. What they're wanting, what they're expecting, what they fear and regret and what they want to change.

It's also why I rarely ever read for a 'future outcome' unless I'm sure my subject understands that this is purely for fun. I don't think I'm at all that intuitively plugged in to do so otherwise.

Still, the subject of tarot and its interpretations is of interest to me. Its archetypes and symbols figure quite strongly in my stories; there's a lot that you can learn and explore with it, especially where generating interesting characters and plot-twists come in. :)

I'm curious to know how the rest of you interpret your cards. Do you read/memorize from a source or do you go with the flow?
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I suppose you could say that I treat my cards with reverence. I had never really thought of it that way. Maybe even respect. I may not view them as a spiritual tool, but I just realized that I treat them as if they are. That probably has to do with the way I was taught. I haven't slept with mine in ages, but I use to at least once a week. I have only let a few people use my cards and only with permission. I won't even let my mother touch them. Hmmm...maybe I am more attached to them than I thought.
 
DevilDoll said:
I suppose you could say that I treat my cards with reverence. I had never really thought of it that way. Maybe even respect. I may not view them as a spiritual tool, but I just realized that I treat them as if they are. That probably has to do with the way I was taught. I haven't slept with mine in ages, but I use to at least once a week. I have only let a few people use my cards and only with permission. I won't even let my mother touch them. Hmmm...maybe I am more attached to them than I thought.
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I actually think it's really admirable that you do feel a connection with your cards, regardless of what you consciously think of it as. I don't have any spiritual ties to anything, even to the objects that are classically seen as doorways to mysticism. I wish I could wholly believe in it; I think even a part of me wants to believe in it. But because I over-think everything, I might have potentially robbed myself of valuable perspectives.

How often do you do readings, [MENTION=2096]DevilDoll[/MENTION]?
 
TheDaringHatTrick said:
I actually think it's really admirable that you do feel a connection with your cards, regardless of what you consciously think of it as. I don't have any spiritual ties to anything, even to the objects that are classically seen as doorways to mysticism. I wish I could wholly believe in it; I think even a part of me wants to believe in it. But because I over-think everything, I might have potentially robbed myself of valuable perspectives.

How often do you do readings, [MENTION=2096]DevilDoll[/MENTION]?
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For myself? Not as often as I use to. I haven't read for anyone else in over a year. I'd say once every couple of weeks. It use to be a daily thing. I suppose it helped clear my mind at the time.
 
Hi Sandra

I'm learning as well

A person I know described the tarot as being like a good friend that you can ask for advice.

It is a tool for understanding QABALAH; the cards all translate to paths and spheres on the tree of life. They are an aid on the path to enlightenment.

TreeOfLIfetarot.jpg
 
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