Featured in "Voice of the Angels.com" Multi Dimensional Living Magazines' December 2008 Issue
What Is The Big Fascination With Tarot Card Readings? October 2008
By Anne Toinnette
More people are seeking out Tarot card readings than ever before. Why are people so fascinated by what Tarot has to tell us? Tarot has been a way of divination for hundreds of years but remains a new area of exploration for many people. If you are not familiar with Tarot or have not discovered the fascination yet, you may soon find yourself becoming part of a very large
group.
So what is the big fascination with a deck of cards consisting of pictures and numbers? In the middle ages, Tarot was known as a collection of secrets and mysteries. Those secrets and mysteries still fascinate us today. Reading the Tarot is a form of connection with the Universe. The Universe is able to communicate messages to the Tarot card reader or channeler by delivering information that is meant to be heard by or delivered at that time to the querent.
Tarot is a wonderful tool allowing us to connect with the spiritual dimension, and can also help develop our psychic abilities. Many Tarot enthusiasts consider it to be a fortune telling tool and hope to gain insight into the future or seek solutions to problems. Although Tarot is not meant specifically for fortune telling, it can tell us of the future. It is important to keep in mind that we do have free will to change the outcome of any predicted circumstance that we are shown by the cards.
Tarot can be used as a means of assistance in our daily lives and as a guiding tool. Tarot cards are used as a means of guiding, advising, and setting us in the right direction. Tarot itself speaks to us on esoteric levels through symbolism by the images depicted on each card. For example, the first card in the Tarot deck, the Fool, reveals a dog, which represents loyalty, companionship, and protection. The white rose in the Fool’s hand symbolizes innocence and purity.
There are thousands of Tarot card decks available. They are all similar in terms of the way they are organized. However, there are important differences in imagery and card meanings depending upon viewpoint and intention of the particular artist that has designed the deck.
In general, Tarot decks each have seventy-eight cards. They each are divided into two groups: Major and Minor Arcana cards. The definition of “Arcana” continues to be a profound secret. The Major Arcana contains 22 cards depicting imagery and numbers that symbolize important challenges we will face in life. The meaning of each Major card is related esoterically to the name of the card. The remainder, known as the “Minor” cards is separated into its own suits, as in regular playing cards. The four suits of the Minor Arcana are: Cups, Pentacles, Wands, and Swords. Each contains ace through ten. These are followed by court cards, Page, Knight, Queen and King. The Minor cards depict the concerns, actions, and vulnerabilities that make up the dramas of our daily lives.
When learning to read the Tarot for oneself, the Rider-Waite deck is an excellent deck for beginners. It includes a detailed book of definitions, directions, and spreads. This deck is preferred by many card readers because of the defining imagery, the symbolism on each card, and the wide spread information on interpretations that can be found on the Internet.
After much studying of Tarot, one becomes familiar with each card and the symbols that lie within them. The images on the cards tell a story and the reader can determine exactly what they refer to and how they apply to their own lives through deep meditation and pure love of reading the Tarot.
Receiving And Preparing For A Tarot Reading
There are many readers who are solely motivated by the recognition they receive for themselves. It is important to keep in mind that the purity of a reading will be colored by the intention of the person reading the cards. A genuine reader is someone who has pure of heart intentions and is performing these readings with all the good intentions of helping others. A genuine reader’s sole intention will be to communicate and deliver messages that someone is truly meant to receive. They are able to receive, gather, and combine the information received from “Source,” along with vibrations they feel from each card. And most importantly interpret that information and put it all together to effectively deliver the messages we are to experience from the cards.
For those interested in learning Tarot, keep in mind it can be difficult at first to read for ourselves because our egos tend to get in the way. You may have a specific message or outcome in your mind that you strongly wish to hear from the cards. This may make it difficult to discriminate between your ego and intuition. This means that you may see only what you desire to see.
Meditating is an effective way to clear your mind to prepare for a Tarot reading whether or not you are receiving the reading from someone else or if you are reading the cards for yourself. It is worth taking the time to do this. As we relax the conscious mind we are more able to receive information through our innate intuition.
As a beginner and for practice in connecting with the Tarot, I suggest doing a one card reading for yourself daily. This will help you get familiar with the card imagery and interpretations, and become better at meditating upon the cards and card meanings.
When beginning a reading it is also important to formulate a specific question. I suggest you begin by asking something simple so your ego will not interfere with intent. You may ask something such as “What will I be doing for fun this weekend?” or “What will I cook for dinner tonight?”
Reading Tarot for yourself or others takes practice and you will receive more and more detailed messages from experience. If you relax the conscious mind through meditation, study the imagery and symbols on the cards, and do a daily reading for yourself the more experienced and comfortable you will become. If you find that you are fascinated with Tarot card readings, you could even be reading for others in no time.
When you are ready to buy your own Tarot deck, you will find many different spreads and layouts included with your cards. You can also find valuable supplemental information on the Internet, including full descriptions of Tarot cards, instructions on how to read them, and how to follow through with your readings.
How Do We Read Tarot Cards For Ourselves?
Let’s begin with the easiest reading, which is a one card reading. First you need to formulate a simple question. Set this question firmly in your mind. For example: “Is there something I am to look out for today?”
1. Prepare yourself by meditating. Some people enjoy meditating and are very proficient at it. But if you are not experienced and do not know how to meditate, all you need is to find a quiet place, close your eyes, and relax your body and mind. Clear all thoughts from your mind so that your energy is completely focused on your reading at hand and your question.
2. Imagine your “Source,” such as the Universe, your angels, or higher self. Once you have reached a meditative state and have found connection with “Source,” thank them for assisting you with this reading and for the guidance you are about to receive. Inform them of your question and ask that they help you in submitting your energy/vibration into the cards.
3. It is now time to shuffle the cards. While shuffling, keep your question in mind. It’s all a matter of energy. We want our vibrations implanted into the cards. Your energy assists in turning up the cards you are meant to receive in your reading. 4. When you feel that you have shuffled enough and are ready, choose one card and turn it over. If you were doing a full Tarot spread, you would lay out the cards in the manner suggested for the chosen spread. By following the spread instructions that come with your deck, you would read each card for each placement keeping in mind your question. In this case we have only one card.
5. Now that you have chosen your card, examine it thoroughly thinking of your question. What do you see? What are your thoughts in regard to your question? What imagery seems or feels familiar? Read the description of the card. Be sure to clear your mind of everything but your question and feel the answers coming to you. What do you feel? Combine all of your information together. Go back to your original question and focus on it. What are you to look out for today?
6. Continue in this manner by writing down all the details that pertain to your question and the step/placement in the spread. When you are finished with all the cards, you can look back and put the pieces together. Keeping a journal for all of your readings is a helpful thing to do. You can always refer to your writing later and see if you received the message as you perceived it originally, or if there was something you missed. It will also help you follow your progress as a reader. If you do a daily card reading, journaling about it is helpful because you may look back later in the day and go over your reading again.
As I mentioned previously, Tarot reading is a fantastic way of developing your psychic abilities. When doing a reading, you are enhancing and opening up your natural psychic abilities through meditation and by connecting with another dimension. Journaling is also helpful for keeping track of your progress in this area too.
While reviewing your journal, ask yourself did your day go the way the cardsuggested? Or did you realize something during your day about your message? Maybe there was a lesson you were to learn. Did the suggestion from the card make you aware of how to handle a situation in a different way that you have never thought of in the past? When looking back at your card or your journal, you may find that you receive more information than you did the first time. Or you may find that during your day something just clicked.
Something interesting that people may not be aware of is that there are times when we want answers to questions that we feel are important to us. If the Universe feels something else should be concentrated upon other than what we've asked, they will deliver to us the messages we are truly meant to hear. I have found this happens many times. To their surprise, people do not expect to hear what comes through. Who better than our Universal guidance to tell us what we truly need to hear? Some find this disappointing, but if we were meant to have the answers to the questions we seek, they will surely be made known to us at the appropriate time. Tarot has a special way of speaking to us in ways that other things do not. And if you submit your vibrations of energy into your readings with genuine intent the outcome is invaluable.
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"May Angels Rain Their Love And Light"
