What is Tarot?
Here is a quick primer on Tarot created by Halcyone Wise to help you get started and to keep in mind as you are starting your Journey with Tarot!
Tarot is a practice of divination and gaining wisdom through the use of Tarot Cards, a system that has existed in some form or another since at least the 15th century. A Tarot deck consists of 78 cards broken into two categories, the 22 Major Arcana, and the 56 Minor Arcana. All of these cards contain imagery and symbolism to describe various concepts and experiences within life. By shuffling and pulling cards with an intention or question in mind, you are granted a window to view the situation in a new way, guided by the tarot.
Major and Minor Arcana
Major Arcana
The Major Arcana are 22 cards that describe your karmic or overarching life path. They tell the story of the Fool (Major Arcana card number 0) as they make their way through their journey, before starting over again. When these cards appear in a reading, they are affiliated with larger themes of life, the goals and experiences of your higher self, and your life’s purpose.
Minor Arcana
These are the 56 cards that describe more of the day-to-day experiences of life. They more closely represent the card decks most people are used to, containing ten pip cards (Ace through 10) and four court cards (Page, Knight, King and Queen) in four suits. The suits of these cards are associated with aspects of the human condition, whereas the numbers tell about the journey through those aspects. The court cards discuss the application and mastery of their suit.
Suits
The four suits are most frequently called Wands, Cups, Swords, or Pentacles/Coins). They each have specific symbolism and affiliations.
Wands: Creativity and willpower. Associated with fire.
Cups: Emotion and intuition. Associated with water.
Swords: Intellect and inspiration. Associated with air.
Pentacles: Resources and tangible creations. Associated with earth.
Court Cards
There are four court cards to every suit. They represent different levels of mastery, as well as the way in which that suit’s energy is applied. If that sounds tricky, you aren’t alone… many people find the court cards the most difficult to understand. Here’s a quick guide to the energy of the court cards
Pages
The youngest of the court cards, they represent newness or discovery of their suit. They are excited to learn and explore the world with their suit’s energy. That said, while they are excited, they are also immature, and may fumble in the learning. Some people get big student energy out of the pages, some get playful experimentation. Pages conceive.
Knights
A little older than the pages, a little more knowledge of their suit, but this age has not at all dampened their energy! These are the go-getters and do-ers of the court cards. They are confident in the use of the suit… dare I say, overconfident? They do not have the full wealth of experience yet. Still, they are enthusiastic and energetic in applying the energy of their card, and willing to apply it to every situation. Knights act.
Queens
Older still than the knights, are queens are one of the two court cards that have complete knowledge and understanding of their suit. Queens represent the internal mastery of the suit. They have a deep, intuitive understanding of their suit and its energy and apply it from inside themselves to affect the world around them. It is total control of the stage, before problems even arise. Queens grow.
Kings
Like queens, kings exhibit mastery of their suit. The power that kings have is the external application of their suits’ energy. They know the rules, the strengths, the weakness of their suit, they have studied, applied, made mistakes and learned how to use this energy. Solid and stable, they affect the world around them reactively and totally. Kings develop.
Reversed Cards
Depending on how you shuffle your cards, you may pull a card upside-down. Oh no! How alarming! What does it mean?? There are a couple ways you can interpret reversed cards:
Opposite energy: Some people take the exact reverse of the energy of the card. If a card seems to represent joining with your community, in this form of reading, it would mean feeling isolated.
Blocked energy: Some folks think of reversals as a space where energy is blocked, that this is an indication that something is in the way of harnessing this energy. Using the same example, if a card that seems to represent joining a community is in reverse, this method would indicate that something is keeping you back or hindering you from doing so that needs to be resolved.
Lessened energy: Some read reversals of the energy of the card, but less intense. Keep on keeping on with the same example, if this joining with your community card came up reversed, this method would indicate that it’s a mild, surface-level connection, rather than a deep one.
Decline to participate in these shenanigans: Others (including me!) decide not to read reversals! In these cases, when a card comes up reversed, they simply flip it right-side up and continue on with the reading.
Tarot Card Spreads
The spreads define the framework of the question we ask. In Tarot Salon we most commonly pull two- or three-card cards, with a specific question or aspect assigned to each card position. However, you can pull as many or as few cards as you like– there is no limit other than the amount of cards in the deck. Some people pull 10 or more cards to get a depth look at a situation and investigate the myriad of inputs, and some people do a daily one-card pull to summarize the energy of their day. Make up your own spread and pull cards for it and try it out!
Intuitive Reading
We practice intuitive reading at Tarot Salon, which is a process of divining wisdom from the imagery on the cards, rather than memorizing traits and keywords from Tarot Card guidebooks. Often this comes from your own wisdom and accumulated knowledge, so as you practice and work with others, learn more about the associations of the cards, and even have more experiences in the world, you will draw upon a larger and larger body of knowledge. As this form of tarot practice is based on the images in the cards, what your eye is drawn to during a reading, and how tarot cards relate to each other in the spreads, interpretations of the cards may differ from question to question and person to person, allowing our intuition to guide us to find deeper meanings.
FAQ
How do I shuffle the cards?
However you like! The point of shuffling the cards is to charge them with your energy and the question or situation you’d like clarity on. Does it feel right to shuffle them hand-over-hand? Bridge them? Smoosh them on the floor and swipe them about? That’s all correct!
Do I have to be given a deck?
You do not! Not only is this a myth, it can be a harmful one… some people are the only ones in their community who are interested in tarot, and if they believe this myth, they may never meet someone who gifts them a deck. Additionally, it’s important to have a deck that resonates with you. That means you may research until you have a specific one that you want, or you may have to buy a few to find one that works for you. (Or several! No one says you can’t have a collection!)
That said, it can also be a very thoughtful and meaningful gift to pass tarot cards on to others. So absolutely gift, and receive gifts as you desire! But don’t feel like you can’t buy tarot cards for yourself too.
I’m totally new! What sort of deck should I get?
There are three tarot traditions, The Smith Rider Waite, The Thoth, and The Tarot of Marseilles. All of these types of decks have the same cards, but the Thoth and the Tarot of Marseille style decks do not have imagery on their Minor Arcana cards (they look similar to a deck of cards, so this makes them more difficult to read. There are also a breadth of new, themed, tarot decks, which may use more abstract or interpreted descriptions of the tarot.
If you are brand new to Tarot, I would definitely recommend the Smith Rider Waite deck (or a deck inspired by the Smith Rider Waite tradition!) as the imagery of this deck was specifically designed for to be easily read by anyone.
Tarot Tradition Comparisons, 4 of Wands
Smith Rider Waite Thoth Marseille Themed (Botanica Tarot)
Are Tarot Cards and Oracle Cards the same thing?
They are not. Oracle cards are a different form of cartomancy. While Tarot has a specific structure, Oracle cards do not have these rules. The artists who make them can have any number of cards they want, containing any message, or theme they want, as defined by what is meaningful to the artist. So while two different Tarot decks will have the same format and intentions of each card, no two Oracle decks will.
Can someone else touch my cards?
That’s up to what feels right to you! Some people love getting as much human energy as possible on their cards, and some people feel really uncomfortable with that. No matter how you feel about your own cards, it is always good etiquette to ask someone how they feel about it before you touch theirs.
Common ways of cleansing cards?
There may be times when you want to cleanse your tarot cards. There can be any number of reasons for this– maybe someone else touched your cards when you were uncomfortable with it, perhaps you had an intense reading and want to clear the energy from them, or sometimes you’re passing your cards on to someone else and want to give them a fresh start. Whatever the reason, here are a few ways that people commonly cleanse their deck. Use any of them, or a combo, depending on what feels right to you.
Crystal cleansing: Many people store their deck with a quartz crystal placed on top. The quartz draws the negative energies out of the cards. Be sure to occasionally cleanse the crystal you use as well (you can use any of these other methods to cleanse your crystals.
Moon cleansing: On a full moon, place your deck on a windowsill, or any place where it can rest in the light of the moon. This charges the deck with lunar energy.
Visualization: Meditate with your cards in your hands, and visualize the energy you wish to dispel being drawn from your cards, and flowing down a cord into the center of the Earth where it can return to the planet’s source.
Salt: Place your cards in a ziplock bag or other airtight container to keep them from damage. Place the cards in a bowl of salt, pressing them into the bowl. Sprinkle some grains on top, or bury the cards entirely. Leave at least overnight. Remove the cards and dispose of the salt. (Or use it in other rituals!)
Smoke: Using incense, dried rosemary, or ethically sourced dried sage, light the material and pass your cards through the smoke.
Sound: Ring a bell, clap your hands, or even knock your knuckles on your cards to shake up and dislodge the energetic vibrations of the cards.
Reordering: Slowly and with intention, reorder your deck to its original state: 0 to 21 Major Arcana, and then Ace through King for Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. Shuffle thoroughly before you use it again.
Resources
Books
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Tarot Journey to Self-Awareness - Rachel Pollack https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/344574.Seventy_Eight_Degrees_of_Wisdom
Guided Tarot: A Beginner's Guide to Card Meanings, Spreads, and Intuitive Exercises for Seamless Readings - Stefanie Caponi
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/54977143
Modern Tarot: Connecting with Your Higher Self through the Wisdom of the Cards - Michelle Tea
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32940578-modern-tarot
Kitchen Table Tarot: Pull Up a Chair, Shuffle the Cards, and Let's Talk Tarot - Melissa Cynova
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30268362-kitchen-table-tarot
Podcasts
The Tarot Diagnosis: https://www.thetarotdiagnosis.com/
Instagram Accounts
Indie Deck Review https://www.instagram.com/indiedeckreview/
Biddy Tarot https://www.instagram.com/biddytarot/
The Tarot Diagnosis https://www.instagram.com/thetarotdiagnosis/