Introduction

What is Tarot?  Is it not a divinely inspired tool to be used by people to better their lives?  The tarot can be used to help understand the processes taking place within an individual.  Tarot can open up insights into personal needs, drives and motivation.  It can be used for finding and following one’s Life Path.  This book will benefit the individual as well as the professional, the beginner as well as advanced student.  The information included here should certainly make a healthy contribution to a person’s growth along the Tarot path whether for personal use, as confidant, or advisor/counselor. 

What is a Tarot Reader?  Is he/she not a messenger of sorts?  As the reader reads the tarot a message comes forth.  It is in a language and a dialect that only the reader and whoever sent the message fully understands.  The reader receives the message and then must convey it in his/her own words, and his/her own way.  The understanding of tarot symbols comes from deep within each reader, whether it is a communication from their higher self or spiritual guidance from somewhere else.  

In this sense of communication Tarot is a language.  It is a language that will vary from reader to reader.  Each reader will need to have a clear understanding of the Tarot symbols as they mean something to him/her.  In a sense it is like learning a second language.  To the best of readers their Tarot language has become second nature.  It is based not on what other readers have said to them or what they have read about in books.  It is based on what the reader personally ‘feels’ and ‘picks up’ on each symbol.  If the message is not clear in the reader’s mind how will he be able to deliver it clearly? 

What is a Tarot Reading?  Is it not the message itself being delivered? The message for an inquirer should be able to touch on all four planes of the self: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.  Every question large or small should be answered in the context of a master plan for the inquirer’s life.  Life paths, choices and probabilities should be explained in the readings being done.  Free will should be emphasized in making choices concerning fulfilling one’s purpose and in finding personal satisfaction.  Only  the inquirer can determine the value of such a reading.  Sometimes the value isn’t realized until enough time has passed for the information received to be consciously (and subconsciously) evaluated and examined in the context of the inquirer’s own experience and awareness. 

Readings used for counseling are more involved and take much longer to do. The spreads used for counseling will seem larger and more complex then most readers usually use.  Such readings should never be hurried. The larger spreads are necessary to see the ‘whole’ picture.  The layout, position of cards, and the symbolism illustrated on the cards as well as the questions themselves all play a part in telling the story.   Another important factor will be the feedback from the inquirer during the reading via words, or facial expressions, or any other means if the readings are not being conducted face to face. 

 Each counseling spread should include a progression from past to future with the emphasis being on the timeframe of the question being asked.  One of the most valuable pieces of information covered in this course will be the procedure for seeing time factors accurately in a reading.  Many readers have difficulty determining the timing of events revealed by Tarot.  Readers will also be taught how to select a time frame before beginning the reading.  Applying this technique to a reading makes it much more specific and potentially more meaningful to the inquirer. 

One of the most important points that will be emphasized is that it is perfectly valid for different readers to offer different meanings for the very same card or position in a spread.  The Tarot is a language of symbols subject to individual interpretation and shades of meaning.  In a sense each reader develops his own dialect based on his own individual experience and awareness.  This happens to a degree when a reader develops his expertise past the recourse of consulting charts and books.  It also applies to those rare individuals who develop a language all their own but also demonstrate their abilities at giving very accurate readings.