The Personalities of the Tarot

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Getting to Know the Tarot Court
For many Tarot readers, the court cards often prove the most challenging. This issue of Tarot Update provides two exercises to help you develop a better acquaintance with these cards and a technique to add a new twist to your readings.

Sixteen Opinions
This exercise is an adaptation of one developed by author Mark McElroy for use with the Major Aracana (click here to read the full article). Here, though, instead of seeking advice, you’re getting to know the court cards.

Think of the court cards as sixteen people at a dinner party. Ask them all the same question, the sort of question you might do a Tarot reading about or even something lighthearted, like, “What movie should I rent this weekend?” Let each of them answer as befits their personality. By the time you’re done, you should have sixteen different opinions on the subject.

Party with the Court
Tarot experts Mary K. Greer and Tom Little have written Understanding the Tarot Court. In this handy book, they provide lots of information and exercises to help you become more comfortable with the complex personalities of the Tarot Court.

For example, they suggest an unusual and fun guided visualization to help break the ice with each of the sixteen court cards. Imagine yourself at a beach party. Imagine a summer evening, pleasantly hot sand beneath your feet and a cooling breeze that makes you feel relaxed and comfortable. Hear a party in the distance.

As you approach the party, the first person you meet makes you feel warm and welcome. Which card is this?

As you chat with this person, you notice someone who immediately makes you uncomfortable, someone you will avoid if possible. Which card is this?

As you move through the group, avoiding this person, you notice someone you are physically attracted to. Which card is this?

At the same time, you see someone who is clearly the life of the party, making everyone laugh. Which card is this?

Before you can make your way to the fun, you notice someone you respect for their wisdom and don’t want to miss the opportunity to chat with. Which card is this? Take a moment and see what this person has to say.

After a while, it’s time to leave the party. Take some time to note why you picked the cards you did and what the wise person had to say.

Add Depth to Your Readings
In spreads that require a significator card (a card that represents the person the reading is for), most people use a court card. Next time you need a significator, let the deck pick for you. Shuffle all the cards as you normally would, then use the top card for the significator. Read that card as an additional message about how the person feels about himself or herself regarding the situation in question.

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Learn other practices for interpreting court cards from the Llewellyn Journal:
Hidden and Secret Meanings: The Court Cards — Part II By David Allen Hulse

Upcoming Tarot events

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For more Llewellyn Tarot- and book-related events,
check our event schedule

What Tarot Can Do For You author:
Barbara Moore
Workshop: "Introduction to the Tarot"
April 15, 2004, 7 p.m.
Burnsville Barnes & Noble, Burnsville, MN
For more information call: 952-892-9280

Readers Studio
Tarot conference
April 23 - 25, 2004
New York City, NY
For more information visit: www.tarotschool.com/Studio

Tarot Spells, Tarot for a New Generation, and Tarot: Your Everyday Guide author:
Janina Renee
Discussion and book signing
April 24, 2004, 2 p.m.
Borders Books, Traverse City, MI
For more information call: 231-933-0412

Everyday Tarot Magic author:
Dorothy Morrison
Discussion and book signing
May 1, 2004, 12 noon
Three Sisters Books, Sanford, ME
For more information call: 207-324-1100

An excerpt from "The Forest of Souls"

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BY RACHEL POLLACK

Where does it come from? No matter how we treat the subject--whether we dive deep into the symbolic mysteries, or recite formulas for fortunetelling, or play with the pictures--we cannot escape the question. There are certainly enough answers.

Enter the world of Tarot and stories of its origin move around you like excited birds. Here is a sample. The Tarot depicts the sacred myths of the Romany (or Gypsies), disguised in cards for the centuries of exile from the Rom homeland in India -- or Egypt -- or outer space. The Tarot is a Renaissance card game inspired by annual carnival processions called triumphs. The Tarot is a card game derived from annual processions called thriambs, in honor of the God Dionysus, the creator of wine. The Tarot conceals/reveals the secret number teachings of Pythagoras, a Greek mystic who lived at the time of Moses, and who influenced Plato. The Tarot depicts the secret oral teachings of Moses, who received them directly from God. The Tarot contains the lost knowledge of Atlantis, a drowned continent first described by Plato. The Tarot is a card game imported from Palestine and Egypt during the Crusades. The Tarot is a vast memory system for the Tree of Life, a diagram of the laws of creation. The Tarot hides in plain sight the wisdom of the Egyptian God Thoth, master of all knowledge. The Tarot shows Egyptian temple initiations. The Tarot shows Tantric temple initiations. The Tarot preserves the wisdom of Goddess-initiated witches during the long, dark centuries of patriarchal religion. The Tarot maps the patterns of the Moon in Chaldean astrology. The Tarot was created by papermaker guilds who were the last remnants of the Cathars, Christian heretics brutally suppressed by the Church of Rome.

All of the above, and more, Tarot writers have proclaimed as the one, true, authentic origin of the Tarot.

READ MORE ...

Great Tarot decks on sale!

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ON SALE THROUGH APRIL 9 ONLY - BUY NOW!
To receive your 20% off Tarot Update discount, you must click on the links below to order these products. If you access Llewellyn's website through other links, your discount will not register.


Victoria Regina Tarot ISBN: 1-56718-531-2 Sale price: $27.96 (save 20%)	Witching Stones ISBN 0-7387-0194-7 Sale price: $23.96 (save 20%)	Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot ISBN: 0-7387-0097-5 Sale price: $27.96 (save 20%)

Cool links

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FREE online web Tarot readings

http://www.geocities.com/~ninalee/
(Journeys to Self Discovery by Nina Lee Braden)

Related Tarot articles from New Worlds magazine

http://www.tarotmoon.com/
(Tarot Moon by Thrysse)

Definitions of Tarot terms from the Llewellyn Encyclopedia

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