Party Spread

A question on the Tarot Talk Google+ community inspired this post. One of the members wanted to know if he could read more than one person at a time, like at a party, using the same spread. I think this is a great idea given the right party and people. I think it should be kept rather lighthearted and focused on the group dynamics and individual personalities, rather than trying to be predictive.

Let’s say there are nine people at the party. You choose one card to represent each person and then look at the layout to see how everyone interacts based on the visual cues. Here’s a real reading using imaginary people. I only used the court cards but you could use the whole deck or maybe just the Majors.

Over the Moon Tarot deck
Images courtesy of OldBookArt.com

The party goers:

Jerry (Page of Wands)

Steve (Queen of Pentacles)

Katrina (Queen of Swords)

Daphne (Page of Cups)

Debbie (King of Wands)

Mark (Knight of Wands)

Patti (Queen of Cups)

Stacey (Page of Swords)

Bill (Queen of Wands)

What do you observe about them and their interactions? Who came to the party together? Who has mentally checked out of the party? Where are the conflicts? Who is the life of the party? These are some possibilities….

There is a couple at the center of this group — Debbie and Bill — The King and Queen of Wands respectively. Debbie keeps the group in harmony (this King plays music). Debbie wears the pants in the relationship — Bill simply dances to whatever music Debbie plays. They came to the party with Jerry and Mark (the other Wands).

There are three people who are not really engaged in the festivities. They are all facing outside the spread. Patti, who is constantly looking at herself in the mirror, brought sidekick Daphne, who doesn’t want to be there and definitely isn’t having any fun. Mark, a natural salesman, is actually outside, selling bootleg CDs from his car trunk.

Jerry who always looks busy running around and often misplaces things (Page of Wands is missing a shoe), has to run interference between Steve and Katrina. Notice how the Queen of Pentacles and Queen of Swords are having a face off. Everyone at the party knows Steve and Katrina don’t get along…perhaps it’s just some misplaced sexual tension.

Stacey doesn’t notice anything that’s going on with the people at the party. An animal lover, she spends her time trying to get the pet parakeet to repeat her name.

What do you see?

What’s Your Sign?

Trying to figure out who that Queen of Swords is in your reading? Or that Knight of Cups? Get out your playing cards! You can assign a zodiac sign to each face card in a regular playing card deck since there are 12 face cards and 12 zodiac signs. Shuffle just the face cards and choose one at random to reveal the zodiac sign of the person in question. Of course, this works equally well for playing card divination too! Here are my correspondences:

Jack of Clubs/Sagittarius

Jack of Hearts/Pisces

Jack of Diamonds/Virgo

Jack of Spades/Gemini

Queen of Clubs/Aries

Queen of Hearts/Cancer

Queen of Diamonds/Capricorn

Queen of Spades/Libra

King of Clubs/Leo

King of Hearts/Scorpio

King of Diamonds/Taurus

King of Spades/Aquarius

Timing Technique: Major Arcana

Here’s another idea for timing techniques. Use the tarot Major Arcana to represent months. If you want to know when something will happen, randomly select a card from the Majors. Time periods are based on the card’s number. For example, The Wheel = 10 months. The Fool (0) shows something happening immediately. If you’d rather change the time period to days or weeks, that’s okay too.

Timing Technique: Aces

Questioners often want to know WHEN something will happen. This is one technique to try.

Assign each ace to its appropriate season. Here are my correspondences.

Ace of Clubs or Ace of Wands = Spring

Ace of Hearts or Ace of Cups = Summer

Ace of Diamonds or Ace of Pentacles = Fall

Ace of Spades or Ace of Swords = Winter

With your timing question in mind, shuffle and go through the deck card by card until you come to your first Ace. The Ace that appears reflects the season during which the event may happen.

The Suits in Action

One way to understand the suits in a deck of playing cards or tarot cards is to think of each suit as a set of actions. Here’s a brief list….I’m sure you can come up with more!

Clubs/Wands = act, create, move, progress, travel, defend, start, push, wait, expand, rest, motivate, complete

Hearts/Cups = love, feel, connect, embrace, share, commit, give, offer, forgive, dream, pray, wish, desire

Diamonds/Pentacles = earn, have, own, build, secure, purchase, acquire, exchange, increase, spend, receive, plan, prepare, attain

Spades/Swords = block, inhibit, limit, freeze, lose, remove, interfere, destruct, fear, regret, lie, deny, grieve, run away, attack, punish

My Tarot Card for 2013

Did you know you have a tarot year card? This year, my tarot card is The World…yay!!!

The Fellowship of the Fool Tarot image courtesy of The Fools Dog

21- The World: well-being, the end of an era or cycle, reaching your goal, wholeness, oneness, triumph, freedom, liberation, the joy of life, the end of the rainbow, “all is right with your world”. via Tarot Journeys by Terri

You can figure out your tarot card for the year with this method:

Take your birth month + birth day + current year = tarot year card

Example: November 17 =  November (11) + 17 + 2013 = 1+1+1+7+2+0+1+3 = 16 = The Tower

So what does this mean? Your tarot card year reveals the overarching theme for the year. Read Your Tarot Card for 2013 by Tarot Journeys by Terri to find a summary for each card.

5 Questions to Create the Perfect Question

On tarot discussion groups new readers are often asking for help interpreting their Celtic Cross readings. They have this great big spread with all the cards laid out and they have no idea where to begin. There’s usually one thing missing — a question. What most new readers get wrong is pulling cards without intention. In your excitement to see what the cards have to say, you don’t formulate a question for the reading. Your reading’s clarity and accuracy is determined by the strength of your question. It’s also a good idea to write the question down so you will remember exactly how it was asked. Here are 5 questions that will help you craft the perfect question for your readings.

(1) What type of answer are you seeking? The question and answer are inseparable.  If you wish to know what actions will be beneficial, a HOW question might be appropriate — How can I achieve greater success in my online business? When you are confused and seeking advice or options you might ask SHOULD I… Should I invest in company A or B? If you want to get to the root of a problem, usually you’re asking a WHY question — Why won’t he call me? WILL something happen means you’re seeking a predictive outcome — Will I pass my chemistry exam? WHAT questions typically show a desire for more information — What’s going on in my relationship with Steven? WHEN… is a timing question and WHERE… is a location question. Also remember, your answer will be given the same way the question was asked. For example, if you ask an advice question, you should NOT read your outcome as a prediction…it should be interpreted as advice!

(2) Is your question specific? If it’s not, you will not get a specific answer. This comes up especially for timing concerns. If you wish to know will something happen during a certain time period, include the time period in the question: Will my boyfriend come back to me in the next 30 days? Asking, what do I need to know? is not going to produce the clarity you’ll get if you ask, What do I need to know about my relationship with Bob in the next 3 months?

(3) Is your question open or closed? An open question will have many potential answers…a closed one has only a few. Open question: What  steps can I take to get the promotion? Closed question: Will I get the promotion?

(4) Are you asking more than one question? Will my boyfriend come back to me and will he be more involved in our child’s life? This is two questions. Ask only one question per reading. If you ask more than one question, your reading will answer more than one question, leaving you confused.

(5) Are you emotionally invested in only one answer? If you will not be able to accept that your boyfriend is NOT coming back or that you WON’T get the promotion at this time, don’t ask the question or alter the question to something that isn’t quite as emotionally charged. If you are too emotionally invested in a particular response, try the reading another day when your emotions have cooled and you can be more rational and objective.

30 Day Tarot Challenge (Questions 26 – 30 + BONUS)

(26) Have you ever regretted a particular reading, either for yourself or another? Yes, I did a reading for my sister-in-law many years ago. I was visiting and ran across a little shop that carried the Medicine Woman Tarot deck. I was so excited to use it I asked if she wanted to pick a card. She was concerned because her boss had scheduled a meeting with her the next day and she wasn’t sure what kind of news to expect. I shuffled the cards but must have used a washing shuffle so the cards got really mixed. I had not planned to read with reversals but the reversed 10 of Wands (I think?) came up. It shows someone being honored for their work. I told her she might be congratulated & possibly promoted. She was happy to hear that and went in to work with high expectations. I really should have paid more attention to the reversal because just the opposite turned out to be true. She was getting reprimanded NOT congratulated. Boy did I have egg on my face. That taught me a valuable lesson on setting intentions about how you will read the cards BEFORE you shuffle.

(27) Do you have a special time and/or place that you use your Tarot? If so, do you reserve the deck specifically for that purpose? No special time and/or place. I do a brief ritual now — the Wayne Cook Posture Donna Eden describes in her book, Energy Medicine.

Here’s a video on the Wayne Cook Posture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIORgKOHMes

(28) Does anyone you know not agree with your Tarot practices? LOL, at least half of the people I know do not agree with this practice so I don’t share it with them. I’m waiting for the day when I can come out of the broom closet.

(29) Do you have a Tarot mentor? I consider every Tarot reader my mentor….you can always learn from others’ practices and methods. I find it fascinating reading other sample readings to find out what decks they choose, how they interpret the cards and their conclusions about the reading.

(30) Do you practice any other forms of divination? Do I? I have a compulsion to turn everything into divination and self-discovery (did I mention I was doing handwriting analysis and dream analysis at age 12?

If so, what is it, and do you use them alongside the Tarot as to gain more insight or as something separate entirely? I think each tool has a specific purpose. I don’t use Tarot and playing cards the same way, for example. If someone really wants a direct, bottom line answer to a question I use playing cards. For a more subjective, self-discovery reading I use something with evocative images. I also have systems for reading dice, crystals/gemstones, and dabbled a little w/tea leaves and runes in the past. My fav is still cards, though, so now I’m creating a variety of oracle decks: The Cinderella Deck for love/relationship readings, Over the Moon Tarot deck, Soul Awakening Archetypes Cards, and The Flower Children Cards for spiritual/healing purposes.

BONUS: If you could create one card to add to your deck, what would it be called and what would the card’s meaning be? I wouldn’t be able to create just ONE card…I would probably create an entirely new deck!!

30 Day Tarot Challenge (Questions 21 – 25)

(21) How do you feel when you do readings? I guess it depends on who I’m doing the reading for. When I do readings for myself I really enjoy the process of discovery and interpretation. I still get a little nervous doing readings for others because what I’ve learned over the years is that no one is a better reader for you than you. I know there are lots of superstitions about NOT reading your own cards but I believe that the truest message can only come from the seeker. When I read cards for you, I’m only a translator and there’s always the potential that something may get lost in translation.

(22) Do you charge money (or other ways of compensation) for your readings/services? Most of the time these days, my readings are experimental so I like doing readings for others to help me figure out a new deck or concept. In these cases, I give complimentary readings in exchange for feedback. And not just basic feedback (that was good) but specific feedback on the process, etc.

(23) What question do you most often ask the deck (or, ask on behalf of another)? I am always seeking the underlying issues, the root of the problem or conflict, and the solution or next steps to take. So, most spreads I create have these components.

(24) How accurate do you believe your readings are(or, do they accurately convey messages from spirits/deity)?
Very accurate but only as accurate as your question is specific.

(25) What was the most dramatic/meaningful reading you ever did? (Not necessarily the most accurate). Two readings come to mind:

(a) When I first started working with the Wheel of Change deck by Alexandra Genetti, many years ago, there were so many symbols in each card that I quickly became overwhelmed trying to do a Celtic Cross or other spread. So, I started answering all of the questions using just one card. That revolutionized the way I read visual decks and led to a method I call SoulStory readings. You can do your own SoulStory reading for FREE: One Card Celtic Cross Readings.

(b) I was reading playing cards when I discovered I can accurately predict what someone looks like (hair, eyes, complexion, physical build), instead of just using the standard terminology of “a dark man” or “a fair-skinned woman” which is common in tarot readings. You can see an example of this in the post, SAMPLE READING: Will I Find Love Again?

See all Questions: 30 Day Tarot Challenge

30 Day Tarot Challenge (Questions 16 – 20)

(16) Do you ever use the Major Arcana without the Minor Arcana or vice versa? About 15 years ago, I just got tired of looking at the Major Arcana. I started to see the tarot deck as two very different decks — The archetypal majors and the descriptive minors. I found that I could give very specific readings with the Minor Arcana alone so I started just using it to read. This is what brought me to reading playing cards — it’s basically the minor arcana.

(17) Do you do readings using reversals? Why or why not? I don’t read reversals anymore (read this post to find out why: Interpreting Energy Blocks in Card Pairs) but the best book on reversals I’ve read was Exploring The Tarot.

(18) Do you feel a “connection” to your cards? Yes!

(19) Do you feel/think the cards “think” or have their own consciousness? What do you believe makes the cards “tick?” I don’t believe there is any magic in the cards themselves but there is a magical connection between your psyche and the cards. What I mean by this is that I can assign meanings to my cards and that method will produce true and accurate readings. However, the card deck will also have inherent meanings….I mean that on some deeper level my Higher Self has already decided what some of the cards mean unbeknownst to my conscious mind that is assigning meanings. So, when I get a new deck, I go through the cards and give my own meanings, write them down in my journal, then I start performing readings for myself and others to see what the deck chooses as meanings for the cards. Again, even though I’m referring to the deck choosing meanings I really mean my Higher Self using the deck to bring more symbols into play.

(20) Do you read for yourself and/or for others? Why or why not? I read mostly for myself, for insight and problem-solving and when I read for others that’s always the goal–problem solving and insight. I found it really balancing and centering to journal all of my personal readings so I’m trying to get back to that practice. The process really helps you evolve and stretches your spiritual mind by leaps and bounds.

See all Questions: 30 Day Tarot Challenge