Tarot Talk & Technique

Good Evening Family, I just finished trying out doing a reading on myself for the second time. The first was--laughable. I realized half-way through "reading" the cards I had accidentally shuffled the wrong way so half the cards were reversed... but I gave it a shot any way! Tonight, though--wow! I came home after a meeting that could bring major changes in my life. I was feeling conflicting emotions than I had after previous meetings and the need to just go home and do a reading kept pressing me. So, I did. I think that humility in need for Guidance as felt. What I read made SO much sense, and not in a "say-what-you-want-to-hear" sense. And after all …

One difficulty for me in reading the tarot is the court cards. Any insights about how you go on reading them?

I was in Costco (warehouse store) today and saw Marseilles tarot images on Cabernet Sauvignon wine bottles! Each bottle had a different Majors card image on it. Tarot and Wine - two of my favorite things together! Prophecy is the vintner behind this wine. A quick Google search brought up this article https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-labels-design-tarot/ with some images. None of them are Marseilles though. Here's what I saw: I didn't buy any cause I have way too much wine right now. But if it's still available in a few months, I'll definitely buy one to try it out.

Hi all. X/ I wonder how you flip the cards when you read? Of course - if you don't use reversals it doesn't matter - but if you do, I think it's very important how you flip the cards. I've seen people flip them so that the bottom of the card becomes the top. It's not how they were placed in the deck before flipping, but the very opposite. I think this is dangerous and wrong - especially if you read for others. When I read using reversals, I make sure the cards ends up the same way as they were in the deck before flipping. It means I flip them sideways. In my opinion this is very important.

Do you sometimes feel like everything we do, every thought we make, and every act we take is ultimately geared towards a fixed future that we inexorably, inevitably are moving to fulfill? Like we already have a fixed end and that all the semblance of control and will that we seem to have are nothing but mere illusions serving a strict, immovable deity - personified best by the primordial goddess Ananke. We might make all these readings and predictions and we act according to the cards we pull, but if these draws and our subsequent actions have been determined from the very start, then we're still just acting out the part that's been designed for us. Our Books of Life h…

Hello lovelies, May I get your take on this spread? I did a 3 card spread for a certain someone I fancy, and the really interesting thing about this spread is that the question was strictly about him, not at all about me. I don't know his story but have a feeling he's separated or divorced. I was concerned on whether he might have met someone in recent months/years and would be seeing this person now. And generally what the situation looks like. Here's what I got... All cards reversed: (past) 10 of cups (present) 3 of cups (future) 5 of wands Again these are all reversed. I feel this reading truly confirmed my in…

I noticed that aside from the folks here and in AT whom I've exchanged readings with, I've never really had my cards read by anyone else. So yeah I'm just curious about your experiences. What is the most memorable reading you've ever received from anyone? It may be because it had a very positive impact upon your life, it may have been truly eye-opening and inspiring, or it might be memorable because it's one of the messiest, most unfortunate ordeals you've ever went through. This is no holds barred btw, so don't be afraid to spill plenty of beans. ;D

For those who perform self-readings, do you blame yourself if something happens which catches you utterly by surprise, and which you feel like you should have foreseen in one of your previous readings and maybe even prevented? Do you try to escape that mindset? If so, what are the most effective techniques that you'd recommend? Or do you hold your regrets and disappointments close to your heart, to remind yourself that you should always strive to be better, or as an impetus to never be careless again?

For those of you who have a blog about tarot, what is it that you include in your blog? How often do you post? How did you start? I've been debating about blogging about my journey with tarot.

I subscribe to Lisa Boswells newsletter as I am a fan of her site Divination & Fortunetelling. She has lots of free resources on tarot, lenormand and other divinatory systems. She has also held free internet workshops in the past, which I have always tried to attend. Now she is launching something completely new (as of today the 27th). She calls it the "Divination Maximiser" and its a course that is aimed at improving psychic abilities and divinatory skills. So it is not only useful for tarot readers but for any type of divinatory practices (and it will probably be beneficial to mediums as well). I don't know anything about prices just yet (she is launching th…

With the conversation about birth cards, I was thinking about the fact that your natal chart matches up directly with RWS and Thoth tarot cards. One way to see it is to use the free Hellenistic astrology software Morinus. Tell it to show the decans, and you can quickly see which tarot cards match which planets in your chart. (see the attached image) You can also do it with any modern online chart. You'd just use the degrees to calculate the decans. Anything in 0 - 10 degrees is the first decan (lowest numbered minor in that sign), 10 - 20 degrees is the middle decan, and 20 - 30 is the last. The attached image shows the natal chart (left) and associated tarot m…

Ever wondered how a deck of Tarot cards would look like if they transformed into a high fashion dress? Welp, take a look at how Maria Grazia Chiuri through atelier Maison Vermont used Il Meneghello's Visconti di Modrone as her inspiration. https://www.dior.com/diormag/en_gb/search?search=Modrone (same as the first one)

I just ordered the Epic Tarot, released by Lo Scarabeo in 2017/2016, written by Riccardo Minetti and art by Paolo Martinello. I love the art, the themes and connections within the deck, and the fact that the wands are books. But I am shocked at the cardstock. It isn't so much that it is thin but that it is so unfinished that there are already noticeable nicks and chips. It is a brand new deck. I could tell as soon as I opened it that this would be a problem. I am not sure what to do. I ordered some sleeves but I don't know how those will work. Should I lightly laminate? I actually have a deck with thinner cards - the Nature-Speak Oracle - but the cards are finished so it …

Hi all. How much time do you think should be allowed to pass before reading again on the same topic? One where the querent’s position (or yours) may not have changed, but other factors might? Relationships for instance? A week? 6 weeks? And at what point would you recommend a new reading, to make sure you understand *current* circumstances, and are not considering outdated info?

I’m sure you all have at least one copy around- I found the little version that came with my RW deck frustrating and I stumbled across a 1970 version reprint ( I think this book was actually late 80s)

I'm not talking about throwing down three cards for a quick past-present-future or anything like that, I'm talking about larger spreads we pre-defined positions. Right now I've got three that I'm comfortable with: the celtic cross, which I use if the question is focused on insight or understanding, Rachel Pollack's Work Cycle, which I use if the question is about "how do I get ..." or something like that, and a relationship spread I picked up in this forum. ;D I am working on my improvising around the spread. For example, I did a celtic cross for a friend last night and ended up, after we worked through it, pulling it down except for the outcome and possible outco…

So this is the box where I keep my tarot. It's an old cutlery canteen on legs that I ripped the insides out of and relined with new velvet. Unfortunately the new velvet isn't that pleasant violet colour but a more standard royal blue that didn't photograph well (budget and all that) but it still looks smick regardless. The shape's a little odd but there's enough room for my notebooks and all my decks. I'm pretty happy with it. It stands at the bottom of my bed.

So I came home with a new deck today (Tarot Familiars, artwork by Lisa Parker) and while I was in the shop I got chatting with the shop assistant about decks with fully illustrated pip cards (like the standard RWS) and decks without illustrated pips (just a picture showing the number of the suite - e.g. 5 cups shown for the 5 of Cups). The Tarot Familiars is a deck with unillustrated pips, hence the discussion. She doesn't like them because she just can't read them because the picture doesn't give her any clue what its about, but I'm fairly happy with them (partly because I've briefly ventured into playing card cartomancy in the past) even if I occassionally forget ho…

Hi there, Im working with my favourite deck to attempt to reconnect back with my cards. Its been a while and im looking deeper into significant symbols that occur on my cards to gain their meanings to the card in hand. I've chosen to focus on the Swords suit recently, and im working with the Silver Witch Tarot. Its usual depiction of a woman, blindfolded, with two balanced swords are there, however it appears to have roses on her right (cards left) and lilies on her left (cards right). Both are slightly frozen. Could this signify the sitters vunerability with this card in play? Thoughts welcomed :D

I have tried a few decks along with their little white books. The RWS is nice, but maybe not my thing. I like the clear images on the Swiss deck, but the readings have been .....strange. I have also tried the Scarabeo "Ancient Italian" deck, which I understand is similar to the Soprafino. I liked the deck when I first opened it, but was a bit underwhelmed by all the typos in the English translation in the book at first (e.g. "the fool" as trump 1 is actually the Magician, thankfully I know a thing or two about the other languages in the book too). I also noticed that the book gives reverse interpretations of only the Major Arcana, which I guess is OK in a pip deck. …

I'm off of work next week and I'm thinking about getting a reading from a professional reader, which I've never done before. I've been having issues with being angry and I'd love to get some insight into what's going on and what I can do about it. First off, if anyone can recommend someone in the San Francisco Bay Area - preferably the north bay - let me know. I'd also be down with doing a day trip to San Francisco. Any ideas on how to find someone and what the cost might be? I've been looking online and, despite typing in tarot, I keep getting astrology which isn't my thing. I imagine there's cross over, but if I'm going to do this, I specifically want a tarot re…

I come across tarot readers that offer readings for a mere US$1. How could they justify the time and energy they put behind the readings? What do you think of such readers?

A friend told me he had a tarot card reading years ago at some county fair (early 1990’s) The reader told him(so he claims) that he will die at age 57. Now, in my experience (which isn’t a lot) I didn’t think readings actually tell one that specific of details...am I right? I want him to have another reading...& yet do I? (It’s been years since I’ve had a reading, so personally I’m way over due) any insight would be greatly appreciated thank you

I love my Grand Etteilla! The art, the whole tall dark stranger vibe, the extra cards... Can you tell me if Grand jeu de l Oracle des Dames is just another name for basically the same deck? I'm doing something really difficult and want to reward myself...

Hi all, I'm trying to track down a deck of Tarot cards for my wife I'm hoping you guys can help me.. Ok quick backstory, whilst staying with friends in France on vacation, our friend had a pack of Tarot cards on his shelf. My wife says oh I can read Tarot, (news to me!) allow me to show you the basics.. So she did an example reading for him. He drew some cards and she read them leaving him and his partner (and myself) gobsmacked. It was very accurate and left everyone a tad awkward. I later asked my wife about this, she said her great grandmother taught her and she used to read everyones cards in the village as a teenager. She also said our friends cards didn't…