Meaning may emerge even from purely random patterns,as chance selections force you to consider concepts that you'd normally ignore, and the density of meaning is great enough that meanings can emerge from almost any selection of cards. This man in Rhumsiki, Cameroon, tells the future by interpreting the changes in position of various objects as caused by a fresh-water crab.
That point of view is rare among those who use Tarot for divination. Tarot card readers generally believe that Tarot cards simply allow them to exercise an innate psychic ability to see the future. It is popularly believed that the cards take on the "aura" or "vibrations" of someone who touches them. The cards are therefore "insulated" by wrapping them in silk or enclosing them in a box, and only touched by the reader and by the person for whom the reading is done (the "querent").
How Is A Reading Done?
There are many variations, but in a typical reading the querent shuffles the cards, then the reader lays out the cards in a pattern called a "layout" or "spread". A well-known spread is the Celtic Cross. The cards are then analysed according to their positions, their relationships and whether the cards are upside-down ("reversed"). If the reader uses the interpretation technique of reversals, a reversed card has its own set of modified meanings and/or modified energies; a reversed card's meaning may sometimes be the opposite of the upright card meaning, sometimes weakened, sometimes twisted.
The conventional 78-card tarot deck is structured into two distinct parts.
The first, called the Major Arcana, consists of 21 cards without suits typically referred to as "trumps", plus a 22nd card, The Fool. The second, called the Minor Arcana, consists of 56 cards divided into four suits of 14 cards each.
The traditional Italian suits are Swords, Batons, Coins and Cups. In modern tarot decks, the Batons suit is commonly called Wands, Rods or Staves, while the Coins suit is often called Pentacles or Disks. (Arcana is the plural form of the Latin word arcanum, meaning "hidden truth" or "secret knowledge".)
The Major Arcana (Trumps Major, Major Trumps) of the Tarot deck consists of 22 cards. The Minor Arcana of the Tarot deck consist of 56 cards, which are closely related to the deck of 52 playing cards and like playing cards, have four 'suits'. These are wands, coins (or pentacles), swords and cups.
The 14 cards in each suit consist of an Ace, nine cards numbered 2 through 10, and four court cards (not dissimilar from the structure of 52-card bridge/poker playing card decks, except that bridge/poker playing card decks have three court cards rather than four).
The four court cards (or face cards) of the tarot deck traditionally consist of the King, the Queen, the Knight and the Page (or Knave).
Layouts
In Tarot divination, results can be achieved with analysis of just one card, but, for more thoroughness, combinations of several cards in set patterns are usually used. These patterns are called spreads or layouts. There are many different spreads, although the Celtic Cross is one of the best known, and is often taught to beginners as their first spread, despite the complexity of that spread and the availability of simpler, more easily manageable spreads. More experienced practitioners will sometimes use their own spreads, assigning their own meanings to the relevant positions represented.
The Great Cross ("Celtic Cross") Layout
This layout generally consists of 10 cards, or 10 cards plus an
optional, 11th card [as a significator card]. The significator card
represents the person or the situation.
The Celtic Cross was used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn for outer-order members of the Order and was later made popular because of its description by A. E. Waite in his book, A Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Note that, for tarot layouts for its inner-order members, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn used The Opening of the Key. Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, in Egyptian costume, performs a ritual of Isis (not a Rite of the Golden Dawn). Arthur Edward Waite (October 2, 1857 _ May 19, 1942) was an occultist and co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck.
The Romany Draw Layout (or Past/Present/Future Layout)
The card-reader shuffles the deck, then spreads out all of the cards, asking the querent [the person for whom the cards are being read] to pick three cards, one at a time. The card-reader then flips the cards over, the one on the left telling of the past, the middle one telling current events, and the one on the right telling the future.
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Signs of the Future - Tarot
It can be argued that we sometimes perceive the signs of future events subconsciously only.
For instance, you might be subconsciously aware that a relationship or job is in trouble, before you admit it to yourself.
In that sense, it might be said that the Tarot can give you insights into the future without having any supernatural or occult aspect at all.
The Romany Draw Layout (or Past/Present/Future Layout)
The card-reader shuffles the deck, then spreads out all of the cards, asking the querent [the person for whom the cards are being read] to pick three cards, one at a time.
The card-reader then flips the cards over, the one on the left telling of the past, the middle one telling current events, and the one on the right telling the future.
Crowley's Thoth layout
The Thoth Tarot deck was created by Aleister Crowley. The deck is shuffled by the querent. The querent concentrates on the question and then returns the deck to the reader. The reader lays out the cards in five categories. The center category (three cards) represents the motivations of the querent. The top right hand category (three cards) represents things that will happen in the near or most likely future. The top left hand category (three cards) represent what will happen in the distant or less likely future. The bottom left hand category (three cards) represents forces that help the querent. The bottom right hand category (three cards) represents forces beyond the querent's control. Many readers avoid the Thoth deck because of Crowley's alleged affinity for black magic The Thoth Tarot (tote tar-oh) is a Tarot deck painted by Lady Frieda Harris according to instructions from Aleister Crowley. ... Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley was born 12 October 1875 and died on 1 December 1947. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality.
Beginners Guide To Tarot Cards
We have tried to provide as much information as we can for anyone interested in learning about tarot.
About Tarot Cards
Divination, or fortune-telling, is by far the most popular and well-known use of the Tarot in the English-speaking world.
This is sometimes seen as an extension of the psychological use mentioned above.
The first 6 of the 10 cards
are laid out in the shape of a cross.
(If there is a significator card,
the first card of the 10 is placed atop the significator card.)
The final 4 of the 10 cards are placed in a column to the right. [3]
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