Tarot Talk & Technique

Hi everyone, I posted something similar a few years ago, and at the time, I remember many people disagreed. We even discussed all the hypotheses raised: error in the question, error in the method, error in interpretation... (very common, actually). But, in a very humble way, I want to share that – having played tarot for a long time, both personally and professionally – I think that sometimes tarot simply doesn't work. It doesn't get it right. Why? I don't know. I have some ideas. They all have to do with: tarot is not an exact art. Objective. Cartesian. It's not something that can be replicated thousands of times in an attempt to obtain standardized and 100% accurat…

Thought it would be interesting to see how many members do read with reversals and how many don't 🙂 Comments welcome on this below and why / how you voted

I went out to dinner last night and our server had tattoos from her shoulders down her arms, including images of birds, flowers, lion, clockface, etc. Without thinking I started "reading" meanings in her tattoos (thankfully silently). I caught myself midstream and started thinking about how the iconography of tattoos and tarot are probably linked in many ways. This ever happen to any of y'all, where you see a tatted stranger and catch yourself "reading" their tattoos? A first for me.

So beautiful pictures on Aces, but unfortunately not from any deck. Is there anyone how knows what the fifth element is in the picture?

As I learn tarot, I am using "The Big Book of Tarot" by Joan Bunning. I came across her website and bought the book. It has everything I could possibly need, including in-depth descriptions and associations for each and every card. I am primarily using this book as a means to familiarize myself with each card. However, the little booklet with the card descriptions that came with my tarot deck differs a little bit from what's in Joan Bunning's book. For the most part, they are primarily similar but some seem to differ a little more significantly. As I learn, I'm just curious: is it better to go with the more general/accepted descriptions for the cards, or go mo…

I hope this is the right place to post this. I want to avoid using Amazon but I need some recommendations for good alternatives for Tarot, preferrably in the EU (because of customs). Where do you get your mass market decks? I want to buy a couple of new ones but I'm having a hard time finding them elsewhere.

Hiya, I know the title is weird but its a couple questions combined into one im afraid. Ive been working with this deck since I began, its my first ever deck actually, and I've had a decent amount of success contacting spirits with it but this has been limited to family members and friends/family of friends. I ask if its a good idea because I have heard conflicting opinions on whether it is a good idea to bring a deck to this place, as it is notoriously haunted prison that is very old. The real kicker is that a family member claims to have contacted an ancestor here, wich is possible given our family history but I am very sceptical. I didn't think it would be an issu…

The Lovers has been showing up frequently for me recently. I’d like to foster a deeper understanding of The Lovers. Concerning choices, the message I see is that there needs to be a balance between logic and intuition. How do you perceive The Lovers card in general? What messages does it reveal to you?

It was funny coz a long time ago when I had my first reading with some people , one person got offended because ironically I read the cards accurately to the point that even her vices got read and other bad hobbies. She took badly and got " offended" by her own reading.

Like, if you were lusting after a very rare OOP deck for quite some time and what is currently available through Amazon/eBay/etc are horrendously, brazenly priced, and suddenly you spot a copy that's clearly counterfeit but does not really differ from the original quality-wise, would you give it a go? Or you found a bunch of knock-offs of popular decks that are compellingly, temptingly-priced, would you give in? In what cases might you be persuaded to buy an imitation Tarot deck? Altho the decks that I like are very rarely available locally (I think I had to import around 70% of my collection), I have never bought a bogus deck. Maybe that's because they are quite scarc…

There might be a bout of laziness in my question: I admit that in Book T I went straight to what looked like meanings, so usually the list of words after the flourished description. I found those "lists" interesting though sometimes antithetic terms lost me. The rest was too much for me (qabbalah and astrology). My question is: do you combine those with the PKT or do you keep them strictly apart? For example for the 8 of Pentacles, said to be Lord of Prudence (not negative in my view) Book T seems quite negative about it ("penny wise, pound foolish"). The PKT talks about craftsmanship though possibly in its early stages. @Katrinka here said "Prudence. Measure…

How do you know what is the connection of symbolism of each card or do you just use intuitive interpretation of the cards?

I'd like to start jotting down my thoughts on tarot, but I'm not sure which medium to use. Any thoughts on the differences between a TT&M private blog, public blog, and library journal thread?

I had a reading done just wondering if it's normal that it changes in just a matter of weeks?. No interpretation needed just needed advice thanks. Also reading was not from here

Is there a connection between zodiac signs and the tarot card readings yes or no

That moment in which you are doing a prediction reading for a friend and you see yourself in the damn cards, doing stuff in the future...stuff that you WERE thinking of doing, but still not sure about it. Creepy as hell, i had to decide between: 1) Being honest and passing as egocentric, and obviously announcing the intentions I had, which I wasn't even sure about 🥲. 2) Being vague and abstract on purpose, so they wouldn't associate the prediction with me, at least at that moment. I chosed the second (i know i know, is not the most ethic thing), but the funny part is that 6-7 weeks later i ended up fulfilling the prediction, after much th…

How do I know if my reading is correct if the person I'm reading myself cannot even tell of my reading is correct? Or are they just number and cannot process or connect to the readings?

I used to use a fancy cloth that I got from eBay to do my readings on. But my primary way of mixing the cards is riffle shuffling the cards, however I noticed that the cloth would move around on the tabletop when I did that. So, I switched to a jewelers' display pad, but I found the pad wasn't thick enough or big enough to do the layout on. Then I found the perfect solution - The Magicians close-up pad. It makes riffle shuffling easier and they come in different sizes. I have two of them, a red one 11 X 16 which is perfect for my monthly coffee shop gig in which I do three card spreads. And my big pad which I do my regular layout of the…

Hello there! After one year, i decided to start studying the minor arcanas, but i'm so confused on how and where. Any advices?

This video made me sad. I really don't like this current trend in the tarot community where creators are having a harder and harder time to support themselves, partly because of AI and also because of the way big companies such as Amazon run their business. If you are able to, show creators some extra love and buy directly from them. Watch the video below if you want to know how to help Ethony out. I don't think it is the least bit strange that she needs to start charging for her moon guides. I have been sharing her moon spreads a lot in the lunar reading circles over the years, so I went ahead and bought a copy. If you want to do the same, you …

@BradGad posted in a different thread his suit order and it got me curious…. I’ve been ordering mine Wands - insight from Spirit Cups - emotion to act on the insight Swords - communication of the insight Pentacles - manifestation of the insight How do you order the minor suits and why?

I bought this beautiful Tarot cards from Matt Hughes - Ethereal Visions Illuminated Tarot deck last week, and I just noticed that it has 80 cards, instead of the conventional 78 cards. I am reluctant to use it... Anyone is using it? How do you find the extra cards in helping your reading?

I was pondering yes/no questions, and getting answers to them with the cards thanks to a recent process suggested by @Grizabella with Majors and Minors. As I pondered that, the old expression "the heart says yes but the head says no" came to mind. Grizabella uses Majors and Minors. I suggest using Cups as the Heart (yes), and Swords as the Head (no), and a 3 card pull. Ideally this would be tested by simple questions "will the bus be late?" "will I get mail today?" etc. to verify the accuracy. These are actual things in motion - but it doesn't answer "should I?", "do they," or "will we/they" etc questions. There's questions about conscience and e…

I've been studying Tarot for about a year now and I've just now started to use reversals more often in my readings. I definitely see how they add more depth to a reading. I'm using Benebell Wen's WIND mneumonic (weakened energy, inverted meaning, negative effect, delay), which I find works pretty well. Just curious as to when more experienced readers felt comfortable using reversals consistently. Did you use them right from the beginning?

When you first begin your tarot journey, do you memorize card meanings? If you do memorize card meanings, what are some tips you can give me as to how to memorize the meanings of the more difficult cards. The Court Cards. The Aces, etc.