Tarot Techniques
Catherine Chapman, of Tarot Elements, and Storm Cestavani, of Psychic Friends Live, both asked for techniques and unusual tarot exercises. Most of this month’s blogging has dealt with more philosophical questions regarding tarot reading. So let’s take a day and play with some more practical ideas.
Here’s an oldie but a goody:
The card at the bottom of the deck.
This is a technique I learned early on in my practice…and I cannot remember where I first heard it. After shuffling and laying out the spread, use the card on the bottom to illuminate the underlying issue or something that remains hidden regarding the question.
I have heard that some readers consider the card on the bottom as information that they are meant to know and the querent is not meant to know—something that will help the reader interpret the spread, but I don’t fully understand this and haven’t tried it.
The Missing Card(s)
Many times what isn’t in a reading says as much as what is in a reading. If there are no Cups in a reading about romance, that tells us something about the situation. If someone wants to know if their efforts will bear monetary rewards and there are no Pentacles, that tells us something. These are common and obvious examples. But it can work more subtly, too, keyed into your personal reading style and associations.
The Magically Appearing Card
This is the flipside of the Missing Card, and probably isn’t so much magical as it is synchronistic (or perhaps magic and synchronicity are the same). This is where I pick a card in my head before doing the reading and intending it to mean some sort of answer.
For example, once I read for a woman who wanted to know whether she should pursue her dream of being a dancer. In my mind I thought, well, if the World card (featuring the World Dancer) shows up, then I know it’s absolutely yes. And wouldn’t you know? Guess what card showed up?
A Bonus Tip
I recently wrote an article for the Llewellyn Journal with some tips and techniques. You can find it here. Also, if you click on my name on that page and then scroll down, there will be other Llewellyn Journal articles that could be of interest.
What are some of your favorite tarot reading techniques?
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Ok,
Here’s one I used to use alot when I first started out, but have since moved away from, not because it did not work, but because my style has become more visual.
Lets say you make a 3 card pull.
Ace of Wands, Queen of Wands, Temperance Rx,
and you can’t really get a good read on the cards. Ok we sum them up. Ace=1 Queen =13 Temperance=14 = 28
28 reduces to 10 to 1. Ok so we have two canidates for what the underlying vibration of the Spread in question is … Magus and Wheel. The Queen Speaks to the Magus, and command of her moment, but the Ace new beginnings, and Temperance Rx, old balances thrown off by new elements, makes me suspect in this moment; we are dealing with the Wheel.
so now we return to the original spread.
Ace of Wands, Queen of Wands, Temperance Rx,
and one suspect the Queen has recently set out on a new venture, it has been going well, but she has over reached here means, (all that wands energy) and for the moment is she is going to find herself grounded by a new and unexpected event, and I would advise the Q. accordingly, telling her to make sure she has a little capital put aside to cover new and unexpected demands, now is not the moment to “go all in.” just now.
Your Thoughts, Blessings, BB.
I use Kabbalistic inferences and the Tree of Life as a technique when viewing which cards are present and which cards are absent. For instance, if I am doing a reading on the querent’s business, and a lot of “8” cards come up, 8 refers to the Sefirah of Hod. That is the analytical, logical, scientific sefirah (a simplification for here, yes, but…). The fact that there are no “7” cards, though, states that the 8 of Hod is not complementing the 7 of Netzach. In other words, the querent is using his logic and business acumen just fine, but he’s not his emotions, his feelings, his gut. One needs to complement the other. Another example, if someone wants to undertake a new big project, and I see “2” cards, “3” cards, and “4” cards, I see that they have envisioned how to proceed to success. I look at the Tree of Life and see that there is a downward flow of energy. But if there is no “Ace” card (no Keter), I am clued that the querent may have planned the progression of his project well, but has not laid a foundation and he still needs to plant the seeds for the rest of his plan to take root.
Very often when reading on the internet, I will after considering the clients question, shuffle the deck and fan out the cards. Then I run my left hand over them while asking, what is the underlying factor to this question. Whichever card I feel a burning sensation from, I choose and this tells me what the question is really about. This method hasn’t failed me yet.