Yesterday, I posted about how the RWS deck was noteworthy in part because it added scenes to the Minor cards. Instead of a few Suit emblems bobbing in a sea of featureless white background, we finally had people and other beings actually doing things in these cards. Granted, the Aces each feature only a celestial […]
Tarot Tip: Scenic Minors
One of the greatest innovations of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck was the creation of scenic Minors. Instead of, say, four Cups or six Wands emblazoned on a plain white background (as in early Tarot “pip” cards), you now had Minors that were every bit as populated and detailed as the Majors, with actual characters and fleshed-out scenarios. So the tip […]
Tarot Tip: Reading Space
Obviously, it’s not always possible to trick out a given area before you get busy with your cards. For example, if you’re reading for someone in a coffee shop, you can’t really violate local fire codes by setting up handfuls of candles and incense, and you can’t demand that the local populace shut its collective […]
Tarot Tip: Point of View Characters
Tarot Tip: Point of View Characters. You’re not under any obligation to read a card in the same fashion every time it comes up in a reading. One characteristic that can vary each time out of the gate is point of view. That is, which character in the card (if any) represents the subject of […]
Tarot: Yes/No Questions
Along with questions about the timing of events, Tarot practitioners often consider binary yes/no questions to be some of the inquiries that Tarot is most ill-equipped to handle. After all, using Tarot to answer questions isn’t really the same thing as flipping a coin. Or at the very least, it’s like flipping a 78-sided coin — […]
Tarot Tip: What *Isn’t* There…?
When you practice Tarot, you spend a tremendous amount of energy on examining what’s there in a reading: “What cards show up, and which of their meanings can apply in the context of this reading…?” Take a look at this example reading… Let’s say it’s looking into a potential new romance. Of the cards revealed […]
Tarot Tip: On Adding Other Metaphysical Systems…
♈️ Once you start studying Tarot, you’ll quickly realize that it’s become common practice to use other metaphysical systems in conjunction with it. Some of the cards in the RWS even tell you this outright if you know what to look for, and where to find it. ♉️ ♊️ For one example, concepts drawn from Astrology […]
Tarot Tip: Fluidity
When I first started learning Tarot, I was taught that the 3 of Wands symbolizes a need for patience. That’s it, and that’s all. As I was told at the time, the man in the card is waiting for the distant ships to come in, and nothing he does now can hasten their arrival. And […]
Tarot Tip: Timing!
One area in which people sometimes have difficulty with Tarot is in determining the timing of the events being examined in a reading. There is a method, though, that uses the natures of the four Suits in order to extract some information about timing… Basically, the Suits are ranked into a hierarchy based on their […]
Tarot: the Major Arcana as an Ouroboros…
Have you ever heard of an Ouroboros? It’s the name given to a serpent that comes back around to bite or swallow its own tail, forming a sort of infinite loop. It’s often used as a symbol of cycles and rebirth. It’s relevant in Tarot, because the part of the deck called the Major Arcana […]