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I know so little about tarot that I'm not even sure how to make 5 quality posts. A lot of the discussions are way over my head lol. There's also a lot of good information in this part of the forums alone, but there's an overwhelming amount for me. It seems I am well and truly The Fool. I suppose that I'd like to know how other people got started, and what they might recommend? For context, I do have a pip deck. It's an anime themed one. I understand that there is no rush and tarot seems to be something you continue practicing and learning and "mastering" for one's whole life. But I thought it might be helpful (and hopefully okay / not off-topic) to ask some beginner questions here without hijacking someone else's thread... 1. I often struggle to know what to ask or inquire. I personally prefer to avoid questions that would be fortune-telling, and I also avoid yes-or-no questions. So far I don't even ask a question really, I more or less ask for something to "consider" or "reflect on" today. 2. Whenever I've done a single card reading (haven't even attempted multi-card readings), I have to reference the booklet that came with my deck. Is this... okay to do? On the flip side, to what extent is it okay to just look at a card and interpret it in a more personal, private way that is unique to me? And for lack of a better term, where do the "pre-packaged" meanings come from; is it just general, somewhat non-specific consensus from 100+ years of people doing tarot and working with the same decks and imagery? 3. Is this forum a good place for utter beginners like myself, or more for more experienced tarot people? Thanks.

I hope someone read that in Obi-Wan Kenobi's voice. My username actually comes from a time when I was falsely accused of cheating in a video game and got banned for "video game witchcraft." I since decided to reclaim the word, I guess. Just wanted to clarify that rather than accidentally come across as a poseur lol. The reason I joined was to hopefully learn more about tarot... I only have one deck, an anime themed one by Natasha Yglesias. Yeah, I like anime and was introduced to tarot by the Persona games series. Generally speaking, I've always had an openness to "mysticism" or "spirituality" whichever people prefer. Even though I've had this deck for two years, I've been rather hesitant to use it because of a lot of religious baggage. Also, I'm a bit superstitious; I just want to use tarot in a more secular sense, as a tool for reflection. I don't want to invite bad energy or self-fulfilling prophecies or anything like that. So I was hoping that by joining here I could learn from people who have more experience and know a lot more about tarot. Well, I think that I'll leave things there for now. Thank you for reading.

I know too much about how LoS LWBs are created, so have developed a general disdain for them. Regardless of what the imagery looks like, LoS has a slavish devotion to forcing those images to be interpreted through a RWS lens. The LWB for this deck veers toward the useless end of the spectrum. (I have almost 300 LoS decks.) Some sample interpretations: 8 Swords: "Fear and indecision that create isolation and suffering. The weight of undesired responsbility causes a state of oppression." 10 Wands: "Waste of energy, squandered in the search for useless things or because of the pressure of too much responsibility." Justice: "If you have followed the road of honesty you have nothing to fear from the door of Justice. Relate your problems, even vigorously, and sometimes when you least expect it you will find wise people that can give you advice." To my eye only one of those interpretations even comes remotely close to reflecting what's depicted on the cards...

Hi just a quick introduction Happy to be apart of your forum and learn and share with the other posters here.

You asked a yes no question - one card will do it; you don't need to draw more. So there I'd say - no it won't happen again.

thank you @DanielJUK I will look at it all again and see how the meaning works out that way. Next time though I'll definitely state in my question "and The Lady is her" 😂 as you suggest because this has taken a toll on my brain cells! (And now you also know why I don't contribute much at all to other threads, I don't have firm footing yet.)

@Celine I think the reason @joy says the Lady represents you and Bear, her, is because you asked as the question.... "what my (female) boss had taken away from our discussion?" Of course, you can ask about her at work, or other people, or do fictional readings and you would not be the significator. This reading involves you because you are asking, and that is why it is allowed with our third-party rules because you are part of the reading. We wouldn't allow just reading on her at work, for example. This is just other people's opinions on the reading though and of course you can ignore it and disagree. I would see you as the Lady as well though in the reading. You can make intentions before the reading, what represents you and her and see if they come up in the reading. I always ask what card my querents want to represent them and commonly they choose Gentleman / Lord or Lady.

Ok consider me tickled. I'm looking at the spread again. The only other person card is the Bear (no, for some reason not Paths in this case). Both the Bear and the Lady knight to Paths so there will be beef between them. And they're definitely not in something healthy with Mice between them. And looks like Bear has some things to ponder regarding her stability. Oh well.

Nay, rather than being a tough nut to crack, it is risky to comment on. If you put the focus on the question, it becomes clear. Much like if the question is whether someone has a sexual inclination justifying an advance - in those reads, the Lady and Lord will show the person in question most of the time, while the querent is represented in the alternatives, if at all. I have chosen this example for it does also show just why, for the sake of the querent, one should take those questions on rather than dodging them.

Thanks @Mister there's logic in that too. I suppose my example reading was particularly confusing as I may be part of the reading (as the said discussion was with me) so lines were blurred. I need to practice more and a wider variety of topics.

When thinking solely about the Death card on its own, I usually see it as pointing to a shift, a reset, or the end of a phase rather than anything literal. It often shows up when something has reached its natural conclusion and needs to change form. In that sense, it can relate to an event, a situation, or a pattern that isn’t likely to continue in the same way. That’s just how it behaves for me when I’m looking at the card by itself.

@Celine Stick with your guts. The Lord and Lady do not always represent the querent, especially outside of GT's. They are often at the center of an inguiry and tend to show the ones asked about or the ones holding sway over the matter discussed. On this forum, so-called "third-party-readings" ar a no-no, however, once you open up your table, you will encounter plenty. If you apply "always the querent" there, your readings are bound to become nonsensical. The job of a reader is to answer questions, not to criticise people for their worries or their wording.

Hello @joythank you for taking the time. In this logic it means that should I do a Grand Tableau about another woman, the Lady would still be me. Because I'm doing the query. Yet it is a very usual practice exercise to be reading about characters in a tv show, celebrities and what not. Here my confusion arises from the fact that indeed I may be part of the picture as I was a party to the discussion in question, but the reading is not about me. Do I make sense?

Well who else is the querent in this reading if it is not you?

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I like seeing how differently the Empress shows up for each of you. The archetypal mother energy, the idea that she shifts from day to day, and the way she feels in the Anna K deck with that strong, earthy presence are all interesting to read. From everyone’s replies, she seems to change depending on the deck, the situation, and the reader’s relationship with her. That actually helps me understand why she has been showing up in different ways for me lately. If you’re open to sharing more, I’m curious about something. When she appears strongly for you, what usually brings that out? A certain deck? A certain type of question? A certain mood or situation? Thank you again. I’m really enjoying hearing how she behaves in other people’s readings.

Thank you @joy So unless the question is asked by someone else, we are always the querent and therefore Lady/Lord represents us. It bothers me... I truly thought I was asking a technical question, that's why I didn't put it in the personal readings. Apologies @geoxena. I drew nine cards, two of which were the Lady and the Bear. And indeed the reading is very different if the Lady represents me (and it also tends to move away from the question) or her (which places her at the centre as the one who is doing something with the discussion or not) @Mister I think along the same lines. If I drew cards about a woman I didn't know for practice purposes, and the Lady was part of the draw, there's no question in my mind that the Lady would represent that woman. And here indeed my question was genuinely "what will she do with all that" not "crap, what is she considering doing about me". I need to work more and take note of such questions. Thank you!

I'm with DanielUK on the archetypal mother when I see the Empress in the RWS. But in the Anna K Tarot I get a much different feeling, more like Mother Earth and an Uh-Oh-What-has-she-gone-and-done-this-time-? kind of feeling. It doesn't help that the image reminds me of a former friend of mine. She was the kind of friend that would help bury the body if I needed her to. There is still abundance but I'd start looking looking to make sure there's no arsenic in her pantry because she's done or is about to do something that isn't quite right.

I don't recall pulling the Empress very often in my readings, but I generally look at the image and how the card relates to the other cards around it, and then let my intuition tell me what that card stands for or means. Every time will be different because every reading and every day is different.

What exactly do you mean when you say the Lady "fell?" Do you mean that, in addition to the cards you pulled, the Lady and Bear cards fell out of the deck while you were shuffling? Or are you saying that the cards you pulled "fell?" If it's just that they fell out of the deck while shuffling and you already had pulled the cards for the reading, then I would've just put the ones that fell back into the deck and read only the ones you pulled. I see no reason to include cards that fall out as part of any reading. It just means it wasn't a great job of shuffling. But if that's not what you meant by saying they fell, can you please explain with more detail?

In this reading you are the querent and therefore the Lady represents you. If you want more details, we would have to see the whole reading and then it is better to discuss it in Personal readings.

Personally in my readings, I know she is the "Mother archetype" but I have rarely seen her show up literally like that. Like she has maternal qualities in my readings but not exactly like a Mother or fits that role exactly. Queens seem to show up for this role in my readings. However she is often fertile and blossoming and nurturing as themes. She represents a universal Mother for me, an energy, rather than literal.

I've moved this to Individual Card meanings, as it's the best place to discuss a single card 🙂

This is one for @timtoldrum, isn't it? However, it'd be boring to just wait if he picks it up or not. You did the read already and it made sense. You asked about Her, after all, not what the consequences would be for You. For the reason that the cards do indeed conform to their user ('s ideas) to a degree my suggestion is to look at what's around both cards in search of descriptive qualities, chances are there is something to distinguish you both.

I’ve been spending time with the Empress lately, and I’m realizing she behaves very differently depending on the context. Sometimes she feels nurturing. Sometimes she feels like growth or expansion. Sometimes she feels like boundaries. Sometimes she feels like “take care of yourself first.” And sometimes she feels like something else entirely. I’m curious how other readers experience her. When the Empress appears in your readings, what does she usually point to for you? Is she a person? An energy? A situation? A reminder? Something emotional? I’m not looking for textbook meanings, just really interested in how she feels or shows up for you when she appears.

Hello, I cannot untangle this for myself. I did a 3x3 asking what my (female) boss had taken away from our discussion. The cards are astonishingly precise...except I keep being confused by the following: the Lady fell, but also the Bear. And suddenly I simply can't decide, can Lady still be me? I keep thinking no, because I am asking about what she does with our discussion, and so I read her as Lady - on the other hand as it was a discussion with me (and pretty heated too), it may seem natural I would be part of the picture. But I think she is the main actor of that reading, and therefore since Lady fell, it is her. Yes, I'm going circles, and my Lenormand book is packed in a box to be moved soon. Thanks for any insights you may have. ( I find that Lady is "either you or the querent" unhelpful as I am making the query, but she is the main character)