As promised, I’m going to share some ideas about extrapolating the painting over journal pages technique to tarot readings. These are just ideas and I’ve not really worked with them enough to know which ones (if any) will prove useful. But that’s the great thing about a public forum, isn’t? We can share ideas and lots of people can play with them—and hopefully share their results and insights. I’ll keep you posted on my progress and hope you’ll do the same.

For our experiment, let’s say you’ve done a five-card reading and are dissatisfied with the outcome. We’ll assume a belief that the “outcome” cards in a tarot reading are true if all things remain as they are. We’ll further assume that we have a large degree of (but not complete) control over our paths. There are lots of ways that have been shared in books and taught in classes about how to deal with an undesired outcome, mostly about drawing additional cards or doing another spread regarding actions you can take to alter the outcome. What we’re looking for is something that mirrors the idea of using the existing reading as base to transform into something new.

Finding the Path

After interpreting the reading, go through the deck and look for the card you’d like to see as the outcome. Put that card in the outcome position, put the four cards that came before it in the other positions, and interpret the reading. I wonder whether the cards from the original reading should be picked up and shuffled back into the deck or left on the table with the new cards on top. Instinctively, I like the second option as it allows for comparative techniques to be used.

A Different Point of View

Using a different deck, go through and pull the same cards that are in the reading. First, put them directly over the original cards and interpret that spread, and determine if a different point of view changes your opinion of the outcome. Then set the cards next to each other, creating a dialogue between by comparing and contrasting them.

There are my two ideas. Play around with them, as will I. Later we can share examples and results.

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Written by Barbara Moore
The tarot has been a part of Barbara Moore’s personal and professional lives for over a decade. In college, the tarot intrigued her with its marvelous blending of mythology, psychology, art, and history. Later, she served as the tarot specialist for Llewellyn Publications. Over the years, she has ...