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STEP-BY-STEP
TAROT
A COMPLETE COURSE IN
TAROT READERSHIP
Terry Donaldson
CONTENTS
Introduction and Historical Origins
2. A Deck You Will Be Comfortable With
4. Story-Telling with the Tarot
11. Practical Tarot Guidelines
12. Now About Those Cards You Can’t Remember
13. Doing the Same with Playing Cards
14. Brainstorming the Four Elements
17. About The ‘Negative’ Cards
INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL ORIGINS
WHAT YOU WILL ACCOMPLISH
There have been many books on the Tarot, but never one like this.
This book has come into existence as a result of my training other people in the field of Tarot readership, of having trained personally over 1,000 people in the subject to a high standard, in many countries and in many languages, and on a one-to-one basis over a 20-year period.
The techniques which I am giving you in this manual are techniques which I know work, and, if you follow them through, will enable you to experience the wonder which the Tarot holds in store for you.
The experience of Tarot readership is not a trivial one. To desire to work with the Tarot, whether to be able to do readings and to help other people or even for one’s own insight into the meaning of life is a really enjoyable thing to be able to do!
HOW THE TAROT CAN HELP
The Tarot has always held a great deal of mystery down through the ages, especially for those who have desired to become more familiar with its message.
It is a message - or a map - of how we may achieve greater fulfilment in our lives, through a balancing of the emotional aspects with the material. Not through a denial of either. Many people can’t see a way out of their problems because they do not have an alternative point of reference from which they can begin to see what choices they do have. The Tarot reading can be that starting-point for many.
It is important that the Tarot reading is well delivered. It is not enough just to say things off the top of one’s head in the hope that maybe some of it will stick or somehow make sense to the Querent. (A ‘Querent’ is someone who has come to ask a question from the Tarot.) It is also important that the reader is able to work directly from the imagery of the cards, without having to disturb the continuity of the reading by breaking off to get out a book to check on the meanings of cards.
There is an intellectual discipline involved in learning how to read the Tarot, just as there was a discipline involved in first learning how to read the words which you are looking at now. But it is not a difficult one. There is a sensitivity involved in the art of reading the Tarot. It is not a mechanical process either. You could say that it is a bit similar to learning a craft.
MISGUIDED NOTIONS
There are people out there who still cling to the outdated notion that to be able to read the Tarot you have to be born with a hereditary gift to do so; that the art of Tarot reading is something akin to having dimples or buck teeth: it would have to come down the family line.
The truth is that the door of the Tarot opens itself to all those who genuinely desire to understand its mysteries, and who would make positive use of the knowledge and guidance which they would receive.
The exercises which I am giving you have enabled many people from many different backgrounds, religions, walks of life and educational levels to make sense of the imagery of the Tarot, and to become skilled and effective readers for social, personal and professional purposes.
I have had many professional readers come by to train with me and without exception they have all gained greatly from the experience. I have their feedback letters on my noticeboard for anyone who is interested to come by and look at.
For a long time I was very resistant to the idea of writing up the set of training exercises and