Understanding Tarot Cards is the necessary prerequisite before you consider reading tarot card deck for your self, or friends. This is because the cards are your tools for connecting to the answers they contain.
Understanding Tarot Cards - The Major Arcana
There are twenty-two Major Arcana cards in each tarot deck. These are the cards, which indicate major life issues, and are the heart of the tarot, and so are the most important.
These cards show your strengths, weaknesses, hopes and fears, the saint and the sinner within.
Understanding Tarot Cards - The Minor ArcanaThere are fifty-six Minor Arcana cards in a tarot deck. These are divided into four
suits of fourteen cards:
- Wands
- Cups
- Swords
- acles
There are four court cards in each suit, plus an ace to ten in numbered cards. The ace represents the beginning of a new cycle, a fresh start, and the beginning of a new season.
Understanding Cards - Wands
Wands indicate thoughts and ideas. If they are predominant in a reading, it shows growth, something developing, and the early stages. Wands are favoured in a reading, as they portray the sense of spiritual power and magic associated with the suit. Positive words include adventurous, brave, charismatic and cheerful. Negative words include aggressive, dare-devilish, foolhardy and hot-tempered.
Understanding Tarot Cards - Cups
This is the suit of emotions, a preoccupation with spiritual experience and relationships. Cups center between action and idea, but more on being than doing. They signify an emotional time in life. Positive words include aesthetic, affectionate, agreeable, and caring. Negative words include broody, delicate, fragile and hypersensitive
Understanding Tarot Cards - Swords
Swords represent communication and mental aspects of our lives. They indicate that we want to know the truth. This can involve conflict, disagreements and action. Positive words include analytical, articulate, clearheaded and dignified. Negative words include aloof, arrogant, blunt and critical.
Understanding Tarot Cards - Pentacles
Pentacles indicate a prosperous time, your ideas and thoughts manifesting, they show the results of your hard work. Positive words include conscientious, dependable, enterprising and magnanimous. Negative words include humourless, inflexible, materialistic and obsessive.
Understanding Tarot Cards - The Court Arcana
The Court Arcana contains sixteen cards, four each of Pages, Knights, Kings and Queens. These cards like the others in the deck have pictorial symbolism, plus a divinatory and reversed meaning.
I will give you an example here using the Page and Knight of Pentacles/Coins.
The divinatory meaning of the Page of Pentacles shows a focus on study, receiving good news, so if you have been studying this could indicate passing an exam.
When in reverse position this card represents concern, rebellion and disappointment.
Special considerations here will be that the querent will be rewarded for his determination for a period of study. This will give him or her reason to be proud and have more confidence.
The divinatory meaning of the Knight of Pentacles shows a hard working, trustworthy and solid character and can mean that a situation, which is stagnant, is about to change.
When in reverse position this card represents, discouragement, inertia, stagnation and idleness.
Special considerations here will be that the querent may gain from the service and work of a trustworthy character, who he should reward accordingly. The querent should be aware that this character is likely to have a hard to control temper.
So before you start reading tarot cards, take some time, do some research, or buy a book, which will help you in Understanding Tarot Cards.