the public. I used to have a very set idea that the Tarot could really only be taught in a one-to-one student/teacher ratio. The Tarot today is being promoted through workshops, weekend courses, correspondence courses, even holidays abroad, as well as in its historical tradition of one-to-one.
THE NEED TODAY
Now more than ever there is a real need for people to think in terms of getting themselves trained as readers, so that they can be effective in giving guidance to the many out there in our society who need it, who are seeking. So that they can be instrumental in guiding themselves as well!
The wonderful thing is that in the Tarot, there’s something for everyone! The basic message of the Tarot is that there is hope and that such hope may be realized through creative change.
In the pictures of the Tarot we have a set of windows through which we may look at life. We have a description of how the mighty creative forces of the universe ebb and flow, of how Yin and Yang manifest their energies in a physical world.
Compressed in the cards, we have many legends and stories from mythologies, astrological and archetypal significance, and esoteric secrets from a wide range of backgrounds.
FINGERS POINTING TO THE MOON
But they are all different fingers pointing to the same moon: hints as to the kind of perceptions we first need to make in order to be able to change our lives. In other words, we all see the same truths from a different viewpoint.
Thus the meanings of the Tarot cards will actually change for you over time. As you grow and develop as a being, so your own needs will evolve and so, therefore, what you see taking place in the Tarot imagery will go through transformation.
HISTORICAL ORIGINS
As to the historical origins of the Tarot, there are many different explanations. The actual Tarot as we know it today dates back to fourteenth-century Italy where we find a nobleman commissioning a hand-painted deck to commemorate the marriage of his daughter. But there are historical records to indicate the use of cards for divinatory purposes earlier than that.
We have always used symbols, in one form or another. Indeed, it is where we get the letters of the alphabet from, each of which at one time held a particular meaning. The Runestones, the Ogham, etc, all date back a lot further than the Tarot as such, although in one sense we might regard them as the earliest forms of Tarot, with their straight lines being marked on pieces of wood or stone to represent storm, harvest, war, protection, etc.
It is from the casting down onto the ground of these stones in ancient times that we have the phrase ‘magic spell’, because from the single letters which would be carved on each individual stone, the local ‘wise person’ would be able to spell (i.e. make out) the words or utterances of the gods which they believed protected them.
The word ‘magic’ is from the same root as the words ‘image’, ‘imagination’, ‘magi’. It is therefore pointing us in the direction of achieving wisdom, through the development of our ability to creatively visualize, to imagine. To put aside your preconceived notions, to let your intuition function with less restraint from your conscious mind, to become aware of your own limitations and to move increasingly beyond them.
This is the very essence of how to approach the Tarot.
LOOK NO FURTHER
One thing I would ask of you before we begin this course: put aside any other books which you have on the subject, books you have already tried to work with. If you go to one doctor for a course of treatment, it would be inappropriate to continue taking medicine from other prescribers.
You will find all you need to learn the art of Tarot readership here in THIS course. I mean it. After you have completed it, you can then go back to all of those other books and you will then get 10 times more from them than you would ever have done before.
You will master the Tarot not by struggling with ‘the meanings’ or by battling with the cards in any sense whatsoever.
Sometimes it may be that you hit an impasse in your studies.
Don’t panic. Nothing is accomplished without sacrifice, perseverance and patience.
And the sacred mysteries don’t always reveal themselves to the casual enquirer.
You will make progress in your studies if you can allow yourself to enjoy what you are doing.
And by exercising the principle of effortless effort.
This is not the principle of laziness, though, but of gently, effortlessly, stretching into the work which lies before you!
2 A DECK YOU WILL BE COMFORTABLE WITH
One of the most important matters in the first stages of your Tarot quest is the selection of the deck which you are going to work with.
A few words of warning on this.
It could be that someone has walked into a bookshop and bought you a deck of cards already; or passed on to you the cards which were used by their great aunt back in the nineteenth century.
There are many different kinds of Tarot decks out there. Some are oriented towards specific sets of legends, e.g. Greek, Egyptian, Arthurian. And unless you are familiar with those sets of legends already, you are going to have to handle two sets of learning: the principles of Tarot readership on the one hand and the belief system or symbolic system contained within the deck’s imagery.
There are many decks in which the Minor Arcana are shown not by any picture, but by what we call ‘pip’ symbols, e.g. sets of swords crossed over each other, or rows of cups lined up against each other. But to learn from these decks is going to involve a great deal of memory work as well.
Another category to avoid would be decks which are heavily laden with huge quantities of symbolism, magic, astrology, alchemy, etc. The reason again is obvious: far too much to take in all at once.
Once you have a solid basis to work from, you will find that bit by bit all these other weird and wonderful decks start opening themselves up to you. But until you have a really solid foundation, leave them well alone.
It is important that you select your own deck, so this will entail going alone to a bookshop that specializes in Tarot decks and looking at the portfolio which they will invariably have. Here, you can look through a vast selection of different decks, with all the cards held behind a sheet of transparent film.
Ask for some guidance from the assistant if you are unsure and don’t be afraid to say that you are just starting out on the road of readership. You will find that they may well have a recommendation to make.
Probably the best decks to work from as you learn the Tarot are the Ryder-Waite and Morgan-Greer decks. But in the end it will have to be your own choice.
As you progress in your studies, it is very likely that you will build up your own collection of different decks and will have them out on the table when people come for readings, so that as you begin the session, you will be able to ask which deck they would like you to read from.
If you have already selected a deck for yourself or feel drawn to work with the deck you have, then fine. This is going to be the one for you!
All you have to do now is to follow the training steps and we’ll be turning you into a reader!