Learn Tarot, Helpful Hints

previously published at Suite101 Tarot
illustrations from Katelan Foisy's deck in progress.

Knight of Coins

Peter James

Hints for More Accurate Readings

Want more accuracy from your tarot readings? With Tarot we become the Magician, people expected to pull rabbits out of our hats. Here are a few shortcuts.

1. Use Court Cards to represent people. Since they don't always come up in spreads, separate them from the rest of the deck. Shuffle them and place them on top of cards you'd like to know more about/those that best represent situations. The cards that come up are the people the situation.

2. When you do a Tarot reading separate the Major from the Minor. Do a spread with each. Take the Major to represent the way things really are, the Minor to represent the way they appear.

3. Lay additional cards on those who's meaning you're unclear on.

4. Do a reading using only the Major , then take the Minor and use them to clarify/elaborate on the cards/situations at hand. You'll get very specific details about each influence/situation in the Major.

5. Here are a few combinations/meanings that without fail seem to apply in my tarot readings (sorry but they're almost all Major since that's what I primarily use:

Hermit, Fool beside one another indicate pregnancy/birth. The Hermit almost always represents a period of nine days, weeks or months, depending on how soon the takes action.

Wheel of Fortune is a period of 11 days, weeks or months filled with unexpected extremes/events.

Magician, Sun beside one another - job situation

Justice, Judgment beside one another - when the two are together there are definitely legal issues

Death, Hermit beside one another - someone has recently died, without question if Judgment is there too

4 Swords, Strength - you REALLY need to rest

Chariot, Tower - a car wreck, with Temperance almost certainly danger of drunk driving/drugs & driving

Devil - something or someone has unfair control over you. Also indicates S&M, abuse (of drugs or people), homosexuality. Beside Death it can indicate a VERY bad person.

6. If pairs come up (King and Queen of the same suit, Emperor and Empress, High Priestess and Priest ) they usually represent actual couples.