There are far too many people who own a tarot deck these days who think they can read the future. They all need to be--
trained.
I hope you didn't think I was going to say "shot." The problem is that there are so few decent handbooks on how to master the Tarot. There are several hundred that promise to teach you how to read cards in fiver or ten minutes, or how to amaze your friends and see into the future, but seriously. There is a LOT more to accurately predicting the future, or helping find your neighbor's lost dog, than memorizing the meanings of the cards, studying numerology, or converting to Kabbalism. If you want to make $100-$1,000 an hour (and yes, you can make a LOT more than that) you need to know what I know.
. . . which is why it is good that I am such a blabbermouth. I sincerely want to help you, which is why I give away free audio, video, and written Tarot lessons (FreeTarotLessons.com). There is no catch. Just sign up and get our emails two to three times a month, maybe four if we actually show up for work. You can even get your need for instant gratification filled by watching some free videos here if you like: (http://www.youtube.com/user/dustywhite2).
But let's get you on the path to Tarot fame and fortune right now:
You need a U.S.P. That is a marketing term that means "unique selling proposition," or something special about you that makes you stand out from an overcrowded world of Tarot enthusiasts all wanting to make money reading cards. There are several ways you can make a LOT of money reading the Tarot, but the first thing you really should do is to decide what it is that you really WANT to do. This gets into that "Know Thyself" thing that was on Delphi a million years ago. You have to figure out who you are, and what you like. Your day job is something you do to pay for your lifestyle. My lifestyle is something that pays for my breathing and eating habits, and my desire to sleep on a comfy bed. I would like to see you quit your day job and enter your lifestyle as a career. But we must find out what you like doing and focus on that, and only that area of your life.
Let's forget the psychic hotlines, free Internet readings, video readings over the Internet, and those "$5 specials" we see at retail locations all over the world. We want to enter the secret world of the professional astrologers and Tarot readers who make more money than most people do every year, reading for corporate clients and governmental agencies. To land one of these cush jobs you need "mad skillz" (which I am teaching you every week), and a head for business. The top experts in the world know their "niche." Yeah, I am speaking marketingese again. They have a U.S.P., whether it is financial planning experience enhanced by their ability to get additional information from the divine, or medical astrological knowledge, Tarot dowsing ability that allows them to find anything--or anyone--can you imagine trying to run from a trained Tarot bounty Hunter? Woof!
Dowsing with your deck can allow you to hunt for buried treasure, help police find missing children (and won't their parents be happy). This is not a parlor trick, and it is not some esoteric skill you can only learn by joining an order so secret that you don't know they exist until you are a member. It takes discipline and careful, thoughtful practice. It takes patience to learn and a desire to be better than the stock-in-trade readers who have read a few books and applied for a job online.
What if you could help your clients CHANGE their future? What if you could help them physically manifest what they wanted for their business, even against the odds. Napoleon Hill proved this can be done--and I say that it can be done even better with Tarot cards. Your cards act like a lens, or a focal point, that helps you tighten your focus, and psychic punch, to churn out what the unenlightened call "miracles." You can do this for yourself, and you can do it for your clients.
Blatant ad: Look, if you don't know how to do this, cough up 22 bucks and get a copy of Advanced Tarot Secrets on Amazon or at your favorite local metaphysical store (they won't have it in stock, but if you tell them I told you to buy it from them instead of Amazon they might carry it).
What else can you do with the tarot? Why not focus on relationships, if you have experience and expertise as a counselor on that subject? I do.
My point is this: You can do or be anything you want--including mediocre, just like so many others who fail to open their eyes to the possibilities the Tarot gives to you. You can choose your profession. You can make money every day (that you feel like working) doing exactly what you want with the Tarot, but you have to find your (here it comes again) "U.S.P." Don't worry, I don't like that term much either, but it makes sense. If you are going to be a jack-of-all-trades reader you will probably never earn a decent ($100k+ /year) living from the Tarot. So why do it? It takes no more effort to do what you like, and get paid sick amounts of money for it, as it does to just follow the herd, read the same books that everyone else is, or worse: trying to scrounge free information from the Internet and become a Tarot ninja.
Specialize. Choose your path. Make a list of things you would like to do with the Tarot. Put your brain to work and make it reveal what your life's purpose is. Make your work with the Tarot an extension of that. Too many people fail to take their Tarot studies seriously. I see this every day. When the message gets hollowed out by too many people trying to make easy money, the entire structure fails. Nowhere is this more true than in metaphysics.
STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD.
Stand out by standing for something. (Yourself)
Know you--and know HOW you help your clients. Don't "just read anything for anyone." Find your specialty and raise your rates. ONLY accept clients who need what you can provide. Then use everything I teach you to stun them. You should be seeing 20-50% tips on a regular basis, and even 100% tips occasionally. THAT is how good you need to be to play in the big leagues. Get yourself trained (I will do it--so will qualified teachers all over the globe: pick one). Get your head straight. Get off of the crack pipe of "general readings" and get yourself an area of expertise and study "real life" information about that so you can prepare your intuition to blend more completely with your conscious awareness.
All you have to do is click your heels three times.
Anyway, thanks for being here. Tell me what YOU think.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Advanced Tarot Secrets: Who am I? (new fun tarot game!)
Just in case you didn't know, we have TONS of free video Tarot lessons. Here is one now. It is a new fun Tarot game called "Who Am I?" This comes from the new book, Advanced Tarot Secrets, and it will help you deepen your understanding of the card images in any well-crafted deck. This will, in turn, help you develop a better understanding of how the Tarot reflects the daily realities of life, and that will make you a MUCH better reader.
You can get ALL of our free Tarot lessons here by signing up for our email lesson newsletter. (It takes all of 30 seconds). Please tell your friends (so they can play too!)
You can get ALL of our free Tarot lessons here by signing up for our email lesson newsletter. (It takes all of 30 seconds). Please tell your friends (so they can play too!)
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
How to develop your power of focus by using your tarot cards
The ability to focus is essential in any form of divination or manifestation. To date the Tarot is one of the best tools developed for strengthening your focus (because my deck has not been released to the public yet).
If you want to transcend the mundane run-of-the mill Tarot readings (memorized meanings superstitions, and artificial systems of interpretation) too many readers give you must be able to achieve a level of focus not taught outside of a mystery school or temple. This week we had a lesson in focus. If you missed it but would like to sign up for our free Tarot lessons (written lessons, audio lessons, videos--all free, all taught by experts) please click here.
Right now let's just consider what this skill allows you to do when you have been properly trained. The Tarot is simply a set of cards with images on them. To bring out the amazing results masters and professionals do every day you need to strengthen your focal powers. Your clients are coming to you with problems (or if you are your own client than you come with problems) and their concerns are a weight on your mind as you seek answers. It is a pressure as if you are being sat on. You are being watched and judged while you "perform on stage." You are in the spotlight, doing your thing, while one or more people sit expectantly awaiting you to work your magic. Pressure like this in any field of endeavor is bad enough but when you add the fact that the nature of Tarot is that you have to open yourself up psychically (which is eerily similar to opening yourself up emotionally), and now you are absorbing that pressure into you while you are searching psychically (feeling around like an ant with your invisible antennae) for the threads that connect the question to the answer.
The cards help you focus. When we attempt psychometry (scrying or fire/crystal gazing, holding an object . . .) we have no "easy tool" like a deck of cards to help us. The images on the tarot cards point us at the answers we seek but they do not do the work for us. We need to expand our awareness and simultaneously tune out competing sensory input. I cover this in great detail in the new book (Advanced Tarot Secrets), which just went to the editor last night (9 p.m. Pacific). I want you to focus your attention on the question you are asking and allow your awareness to "breathe in" a bit more information, but keep your eye on the cards, or your shuffling, or the images in front of you. It is a bit of a balancing act, like the 2 of Coins, where you are keeping the question you ask front and center in your mind, followed by the cards, and then your client at a distant third.
This is the process of channeling by the way. It requires moving your conscious awareness around inside your brain. I remember an exercise long ago, from my early days, when I was told to move my consciousness around various parts of my body. It seemed ridiculous at the time but I did it anyway. It was hard! This is much easier, but it still requires effort and discipline--but we are correctly reading the future here not learning how to make a bowl of cereal. The more intelligently applied effort you put into this the more powerful you will be, and the exorbitant rates you will command.
Work on your focus. Study your cards while other people are talking, or the TV is on. Don't "read" and drive, but find ways to challenge yourself to split your attention in two, and then in thirds as you go about your daily duties, and include your cards--and questions--in the mix. You will be stunned at what you can do once you master this one facet of reading.
Thanks for being here. More next week, please let me know what you think.
If you want to transcend the mundane run-of-the mill Tarot readings (memorized meanings superstitions, and artificial systems of interpretation) too many readers give you must be able to achieve a level of focus not taught outside of a mystery school or temple. This week we had a lesson in focus. If you missed it but would like to sign up for our free Tarot lessons (written lessons, audio lessons, videos--all free, all taught by experts) please click here.
Right now let's just consider what this skill allows you to do when you have been properly trained. The Tarot is simply a set of cards with images on them. To bring out the amazing results masters and professionals do every day you need to strengthen your focal powers. Your clients are coming to you with problems (or if you are your own client than you come with problems) and their concerns are a weight on your mind as you seek answers. It is a pressure as if you are being sat on. You are being watched and judged while you "perform on stage." You are in the spotlight, doing your thing, while one or more people sit expectantly awaiting you to work your magic. Pressure like this in any field of endeavor is bad enough but when you add the fact that the nature of Tarot is that you have to open yourself up psychically (which is eerily similar to opening yourself up emotionally), and now you are absorbing that pressure into you while you are searching psychically (feeling around like an ant with your invisible antennae) for the threads that connect the question to the answer.
The cards help you focus. When we attempt psychometry (scrying or fire/crystal gazing, holding an object . . .) we have no "easy tool" like a deck of cards to help us. The images on the tarot cards point us at the answers we seek but they do not do the work for us. We need to expand our awareness and simultaneously tune out competing sensory input. I cover this in great detail in the new book (Advanced Tarot Secrets), which just went to the editor last night (9 p.m. Pacific). I want you to focus your attention on the question you are asking and allow your awareness to "breathe in" a bit more information, but keep your eye on the cards, or your shuffling, or the images in front of you. It is a bit of a balancing act, like the 2 of Coins, where you are keeping the question you ask front and center in your mind, followed by the cards, and then your client at a distant third.
This is the process of channeling by the way. It requires moving your conscious awareness around inside your brain. I remember an exercise long ago, from my early days, when I was told to move my consciousness around various parts of my body. It seemed ridiculous at the time but I did it anyway. It was hard! This is much easier, but it still requires effort and discipline--but we are correctly reading the future here not learning how to make a bowl of cereal. The more intelligently applied effort you put into this the more powerful you will be, and the exorbitant rates you will command.
Work on your focus. Study your cards while other people are talking, or the TV is on. Don't "read" and drive, but find ways to challenge yourself to split your attention in two, and then in thirds as you go about your daily duties, and include your cards--and questions--in the mix. You will be stunned at what you can do once you master this one facet of reading.
Thanks for being here. More next week, please let me know what you think.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Why should we bother learning tarot history anyway?
The tarot evolved from cards brought to Italy in the 1300's.
So... who cares? How does that affect me?
The problem with the tarot is that the centuries of lies, myths, and superstitions have done their best to destroy any factual evidence of the tarot's origins, and it is only recently that scientific analysis and the ease of long-distance communication among many sources throughout the world has shed light on what really happened long ago. We can now easily talk to someone on the other side of the world who has a scrap of information that acts like a missing puzzle piece in our quest to find out "the Truth" (note the capital "t").
This may seem basic, but this instant information age we live in is only a decade or so old. Even now many are only slowly coming to the internet, even as the web is 18 years old. Stepping back to the 1960's when all we had were phone lines and snail mail, or worse, in the 1700's, 1800's and early 1900's when we had things like horses and ships to carry mail, there was little to no chance of assembling all of the parts of history together on ANY arcane subject with any great accuracy. Try as we might, the facts were simply too diverse, too widely scattered for us to understand how things originated without being served large doses of opinion, superstition, and outright misinformation. Simply put: for the longest time (literally "centuries") people believed in all kinds of garbage we laugh at today. Unfortunately their beliefs about the tarot are resurging in popularity as more and more faux authors and faux tarot scholars discover the ease and lack of expense in reprinting public domain texts. These "wannabe authorities" print the lies and mistakes people made throughout history in an attempt to make easy money and get laid at cocktail parties.
All of that nonsense stops here (and I will name names--some of them QUITE FAMOUS if I have to). The reason we learn tarot history, even a little, is to protect us from the mistakes, lies, and superstitions of idiots and those too lazy to do any level of actual research. If you are assaulted by an angry xian who says that the tarot is demonic (because they think so--and thus they know more than "God") you can reply that the Church NEVER had any problem with the tarot, and that there is more Christian iconography in the tarot than there are in any other card decks in the world. In fact, there are several flavors of Christian tarot, from saints, to angels, to Jesus decks. But you have to do a little research to know this.
Similarly, if someone tells you that the tarot came from Babylon, Egypt, or Greece, and you have not done ANY research, you will get sucked into the beliefs that the tarot came from Atlantis, and that hieroglyphs are coded tarot messages. This may not sound like much of a damper to your abilities, but when you start trying to force the tarot images into meanings that have nothing to do with their design, you will join the millions of people who have fought and lost the battle of mastering the tarot. This problem has been going on throughout the centuries as people try to make the tarot "cool" by adding useless information to it. Simply by knowing where the tarot came from (um... Italy, then Switzerland, Spain, and France) you can easily understand why the images are there and what they mean. The images of the tarot are simply a reflection of life during that time period. In order to read the cards accurately we must transpose new understandings ("technology," and social advancements such as Democracy) over the archaic images of feudal lords and peasants with barbaric technology.
I cannot strongly enough recommend Robert Place's book on the subject. It is that good--and it is a quick read. It reveals the scoundrels and some of the thieves in the tarot, the historians who tried, and failed, to find the true history of the cards, and how the cards evolved from dice rolls. I don't run around recommending tarot books, so I do hope you will try this one out. At least read the free parts on Amazon and decide for yourself:
The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination
A simple perusal of the tarot's evolution will show you WHY we have the meanings we do today, and how the order of the cards has changed several times, meanings have been purposely altered on the whim of one man's ego and another man's zealotry. Knowing these things deepens your relationship with the cards. It makes you see them for what they are, and not as some "mysterious oracle" the aliens gave us.
Trust me--I do this for a living. And my only concern is to scrub the crap out your head that people keep piling on.
Okay, thanks for reading. More later
So... who cares? How does that affect me?
The problem with the tarot is that the centuries of lies, myths, and superstitions have done their best to destroy any factual evidence of the tarot's origins, and it is only recently that scientific analysis and the ease of long-distance communication among many sources throughout the world has shed light on what really happened long ago. We can now easily talk to someone on the other side of the world who has a scrap of information that acts like a missing puzzle piece in our quest to find out "the Truth" (note the capital "t").
This may seem basic, but this instant information age we live in is only a decade or so old. Even now many are only slowly coming to the internet, even as the web is 18 years old. Stepping back to the 1960's when all we had were phone lines and snail mail, or worse, in the 1700's, 1800's and early 1900's when we had things like horses and ships to carry mail, there was little to no chance of assembling all of the parts of history together on ANY arcane subject with any great accuracy. Try as we might, the facts were simply too diverse, too widely scattered for us to understand how things originated without being served large doses of opinion, superstition, and outright misinformation. Simply put: for the longest time (literally "centuries") people believed in all kinds of garbage we laugh at today. Unfortunately their beliefs about the tarot are resurging in popularity as more and more faux authors and faux tarot scholars discover the ease and lack of expense in reprinting public domain texts. These "wannabe authorities" print the lies and mistakes people made throughout history in an attempt to make easy money and get laid at cocktail parties.
All of that nonsense stops here (and I will name names--some of them QUITE FAMOUS if I have to). The reason we learn tarot history, even a little, is to protect us from the mistakes, lies, and superstitions of idiots and those too lazy to do any level of actual research. If you are assaulted by an angry xian who says that the tarot is demonic (because they think so--and thus they know more than "God") you can reply that the Church NEVER had any problem with the tarot, and that there is more Christian iconography in the tarot than there are in any other card decks in the world. In fact, there are several flavors of Christian tarot, from saints, to angels, to Jesus decks. But you have to do a little research to know this.
Similarly, if someone tells you that the tarot came from Babylon, Egypt, or Greece, and you have not done ANY research, you will get sucked into the beliefs that the tarot came from Atlantis, and that hieroglyphs are coded tarot messages. This may not sound like much of a damper to your abilities, but when you start trying to force the tarot images into meanings that have nothing to do with their design, you will join the millions of people who have fought and lost the battle of mastering the tarot. This problem has been going on throughout the centuries as people try to make the tarot "cool" by adding useless information to it. Simply by knowing where the tarot came from (um... Italy, then Switzerland, Spain, and France) you can easily understand why the images are there and what they mean. The images of the tarot are simply a reflection of life during that time period. In order to read the cards accurately we must transpose new understandings ("technology," and social advancements such as Democracy) over the archaic images of feudal lords and peasants with barbaric technology.
I cannot strongly enough recommend Robert Place's book on the subject. It is that good--and it is a quick read. It reveals the scoundrels and some of the thieves in the tarot, the historians who tried, and failed, to find the true history of the cards, and how the cards evolved from dice rolls. I don't run around recommending tarot books, so I do hope you will try this one out. At least read the free parts on Amazon and decide for yourself:
The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination
A simple perusal of the tarot's evolution will show you WHY we have the meanings we do today, and how the order of the cards has changed several times, meanings have been purposely altered on the whim of one man's ego and another man's zealotry. Knowing these things deepens your relationship with the cards. It makes you see them for what they are, and not as some "mysterious oracle" the aliens gave us.
Trust me--I do this for a living. And my only concern is to scrub the crap out your head that people keep piling on.
Okay, thanks for reading. More later
Monday, February 20, 2012
Fun new tarot game! (helps you LEARN)
I have been working on several new tarot games that make learning the tarot fun. I want to post an easy one here. I hope you will incorporate this into your practice with the tarot, as it will build your skills very fast on several levels. It is not enough to know the meanings of the cards. It is essential to know how cards interact with each other in spreads and how the circumstance and question involved shape the meanings of each card.
These easy games will help you do exactly that. Let's start out with one that you can practice alone, or play with friends. If I get enough comments I will make it a priority to post the rest of the games here as well. As always, these are based on the information in my book The Easiest Way to Learn the Tarot--EVER!! if you have any questions on that.
This game is called "Friends and Enemies."
This game is super-easy, but it takes a little thinking. The purpose of this game is to remember the images of the cards and to compare and contrast cards. All you have to do is pick a random card from your deck. If you are a new student, or at the beginning of your tarot journey, you may find this game easier if you just work with the "minor" Arcana for now.
The first variation of this game is called "Friends" (or Who likes me?)
Look at the image on the card. Get a feel of what is happening in the picture. Are people fighting? Are they being friendly to each other? Maybe they are alone and lost in thought . . . Just enjoy getting inside the picture as if it is happening right outside your window.
Now try to match it up with any other card in your deck. Find the card that (you think) best matches it in meaning or general similarity (example, the 3 of Swords and the 9 of Swords both indicate despair, or great disappointment/sadness; whereas the 3 of Cups and the 4 of Wands show people having fun, celebrating; also the 7 of Coins and the 9 of Coins show people on a farm or vineyard). That's it! Work through the deck until you run out of matches and start again.
If you this variation gets too easy try "Enemies," where you try to find cards that have either the exact opposite meaning or are completely incompatible (like the 3 of Swords and the 3 of Cups).
It helps to lay out all of the cards in rows on a table, or even the floor, so you can quickly look over all of the cards, rather than thumbing through your deck, one card at a time. Full rules for the game will appear in the forthcoming book Advanced Tarot Secrets, but for now that is enough to get your practicing and having fun.
Here are a few examples:
Card one: The Star (Who likes me?)
Card two: The World (reasoning: Both have naked women--OR--they are both happy fun cards whose meaning is ridiculously positive)
Card one: The Magician (Who likes me?)
Card two: The Chariot (reasoning: Both cards are autonomous. They both hate to be told what to do and like to be in charge of their domain--OR--They are both alpha males)
Card one: 9 of Swords (Who likes me?)
Card two: The 4 of Swords (reasoning: They both have people in bed--kinda)--OR--The 5 of Coins (reasoning: Misery loves company)
See? Easy!
Please let me know what YOU think.
These easy games will help you do exactly that. Let's start out with one that you can practice alone, or play with friends. If I get enough comments I will make it a priority to post the rest of the games here as well. As always, these are based on the information in my book The Easiest Way to Learn the Tarot--EVER!! if you have any questions on that.
This game is called "Friends and Enemies."
This game is super-easy, but it takes a little thinking. The purpose of this game is to remember the images of the cards and to compare and contrast cards. All you have to do is pick a random card from your deck. If you are a new student, or at the beginning of your tarot journey, you may find this game easier if you just work with the "minor" Arcana for now.
The first variation of this game is called "Friends" (or Who likes me?)
Look at the image on the card. Get a feel of what is happening in the picture. Are people fighting? Are they being friendly to each other? Maybe they are alone and lost in thought . . . Just enjoy getting inside the picture as if it is happening right outside your window.
Now try to match it up with any other card in your deck. Find the card that (you think) best matches it in meaning or general similarity (example, the 3 of Swords and the 9 of Swords both indicate despair, or great disappointment/sadness; whereas the 3 of Cups and the 4 of Wands show people having fun, celebrating; also the 7 of Coins and the 9 of Coins show people on a farm or vineyard). That's it! Work through the deck until you run out of matches and start again.
If you this variation gets too easy try "Enemies," where you try to find cards that have either the exact opposite meaning or are completely incompatible (like the 3 of Swords and the 3 of Cups).
It helps to lay out all of the cards in rows on a table, or even the floor, so you can quickly look over all of the cards, rather than thumbing through your deck, one card at a time. Full rules for the game will appear in the forthcoming book Advanced Tarot Secrets, but for now that is enough to get your practicing and having fun.
Here are a few examples:
Card one: The Star (Who likes me?)
Card two: The World (reasoning: Both have naked women--OR--they are both happy fun cards whose meaning is ridiculously positive)
Card one: The Magician (Who likes me?)
Card two: The Chariot (reasoning: Both cards are autonomous. They both hate to be told what to do and like to be in charge of their domain--OR--They are both alpha males)
Card one: 9 of Swords (Who likes me?)
Card two: The 4 of Swords (reasoning: They both have people in bed--kinda)--OR--The 5 of Coins (reasoning: Misery loves company)
See? Easy!
Please let me know what YOU think.
Friday, February 3, 2012
100% free tarot lessons (from the experts)
Hey, just in case you didn't know (because I keep forgetting to put the links up here), we have a free tarot course. This is a unique course where you will learn things you just can't find anywhere else--or else I wouldn't waste my time writing them out or recording them in podcasts. If you want to really learn the tarot, you need to do this--and it is free.
Can you buy the book? Yeah, if you want to, but the course is free if you have an aversion to spending money--and it proves how much I love you (we give you REAL instruction--not sales pitches). So:
Just a quick head's up. The new tarot podcast is already up but I have been waiting on an interview with the video tarot course lady to put out the new set of lessons. I may have to interview someone else if she takes much longer. If you have not signed up for the free tarot podcast, article and blog lessons, and eventual tarot videos (all of this is free) please do so at: www.easytarotlessons.com. This is my preferred format to help all of you learn faster.
If you have signed up, the new newsletter will be arriving shortly. In the meantime here are links top the first four. All of them are packed solid with tarot instruction you simply will not find anywhere on the planet:
http://easytarotlessons.com/easy_tarot_newsletter/easy_tarot_lessons_-01.html
http://easytarotlessons.com/easy_tarot_newsletter/easy_tarot_lessons_-02.html
http://easytarotlessons.com/easy_tarot_newsletter/easy_tarot_lessons_-03.html
http://easytarotlessons.com/easy_tarot_newsletter/easy_tarot_lessons_-04.html
http://easytarotlessons.com/easy_tarot_newsletter/easy_tarot_lessons_-05.html
Again, thanks for being here. If you need ADDITIONAL help I do teach "one-on-one" for $25 a week. Details are here: http://easytarotlessons.com/tarot_training_from_experts.html
It helps me pay the rent, and I really do cram your head full of tarot goodness, but I would not recommend you take a private lesson until you have the book. This way we don't spend your lesson covering things you can learn from the book--we can instead really get you learning the fun stuff.
If you have not seen the testimonials you will be blown away. My ONLY goal is to cram your skull full of high-value tarot information. But never stop learning and practicing. And don't forget that we have new tarot games in the forums--these make learning the tarot fun!
Hey, thanks for reading. I will post a new blog lesson soon. The new deck, and my apprentices, are eating up all of my time right now.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
How to get your cards to talk to you (effectively & in plain words)
Three easy lessons here: three easy exercises. These are each designed to help you develop your dialog with the cards instead of being forced to memorize keywords and phrases, or see them as some spooky coded message. They are, after all, only scraps of paper with printing on them. Get any of that "mysterious tarot" crap out of your head. YOU are the mysterious being scientists are still trying to figure out (they should use astrology — much easier that way). The tarot — or any oracle deck for that matter — is only a VISUAL TOOL to stimulate the psychic processes inside you. Leave all of the superstition to movie directors and people who come to you for a reading. It may feel like I am robbing you of the romance of the tarot, but trust me — when you can see the distant past and future ACCURATELY, there will be enough romance of the tarot to go around. Superstition only clouds your perception and distorts the translation of psychic impulse to cognitive awareness. You will learn this sooner or later; best learn it now (free). So here are three fun exercises I would like you to do over the next few weeks. You can do them anywhere, but having a deck on hand really helps. If you have taped up your deck (like I tell you to in The Easiest Way to Learn the Tarot— EVER!!) this will help with the first two exercises.
Noun: Simply think up a noun (person, place, or thing — event, location . . . ) and pick a card out of your deck to represent that. Give yourself no more than five seconds to do this, fifteen if you get stuck. It is important not to over-analyze this or get too picky about which card is "most exact." When you are reading for people ("in the real world" not in practice or tarot school) you will find that the cards have to have several variations of meaning. They cannot possibly be accurate if they only have 78 meanings (or 156 if you count reversals). Keywords and phrases don't work. They limit your thinking and they are a barbaric way of teaching the tarot. While it is best to study the traditional meanings of the tarot so you know what the artist who designed your deck was intending, and what people have figured out over the years, do not buy into any of the add-ons to the tarot taht just don't resonate with you. The most important meaning any card can have is the one that is right in front of you — right now. You will see this in real life readings. These exercises help you loosen up your attitude on the cards and free them to speak candidly with you, not stilted, and in only formal terms.
Always remember: divining the future is not a "logic-based" activity or we could just have computers predict for us — and don't think corporations don't spend billions of dollars trying. To correctly divine the future we must interpret the visions, symbols, and impulses correctly. We can't do that if we limit the vocabulary that we allow our tools to use when they speak to us.
Here is an example of how to do this exercise. I will give you a noun: "Taxi cab, or taxi driver."
Now I want you to go through the deck and pick out a card that represents that (occupation or physical object). When I pose this to my students, 99% of the time they say, "The Chariot." This is a good card, but I correct them that this is more weighty, more like an airline pilot or a bus driver, as The Chariot implies autonomy, authority, responsibility, and it may mean many other occupations.
But specifically the 6 of Swords (at least in W/S symbolism) shows us a man in a gondola ferrying across his charge. This may be the husband or a professional gondolier. If a taxi driver or chauffer came to you for a reading this would make a good significator card, or if it came up in a job spread it would be a good indicator of being someone who transports people around for money. Given that The Chariot is more bold and authoritative, that card may be more suited for a white collar job or even a military career by comparison.
These are just guidelines, not facts cast in stone.
Another example: Noun . . . Church, or temple. Well, without even having to put any thought into it three cards come to mind: the chapel in the 4 of Swords, the arch in the 3 of Coins (Pentacles), and the stained glass window set into the wall of the 5 of Swords.
Any of these would be a good "instant answer." Each card has its nuances, the 4 of Swords could also serv as a museum card or a funeral home. It is all about picking a simple common noun and assigning a card to it without adding any stress to your life.
This exercises teaches you to see the cards from a slightly different perspective and relax your mind, remove a lot of the superstition that people like to pile on tarot cards. It makes you a better reader fast because it helps the cards speak to you. If you have a tarot buddy you can do this as a simple game: One person says a noun and the other goes through the deck and comes up with a card. If you have the cards spread out the process goes much faster.
Verb: This is the same exercise but with an action. Let's say you open the fridge and discover you are out of milk. So you run to the store to get some. This is a simple daily action; no big deal. So let's pick a rather unobtrusive "minor" Arcana card to represent this action. How about the 8 of Cups? He threw on a cloak (jacket) and is headed off to the corner store. There is no reason he "has to be" abandoning his home and happiness, the crescent moon showing the emptiness he feels and the full moon showing his desire for fulfillment. You have heard me say this before, but I would have drawn the crescent moon, as a reflection of the full moon, in the water. Much more symbologically correct.
So "Verb" can simply be anything you do throughout the day: eating dinner. Why not any of the Cups cards? (2, 3, 4, Page, and so on. . .) Each card might signify drinking versus eating, or being full/not wanting seconds (4), overindulging (3?), maybe a buffet (7), or even the 4 of Wands. If you do not like these cards when you should find a card that say "eating diner" to you. Because if you cannot pull a card that say "eating dinner" you cannot read the tarot. The tarot, as a system, must be able to describe ANY EVENT OR ACTION in life or it is a flawed system. It is not about ambiguities or vague notions. It points you in the direction of an answer as clearly as the 78 illustrations will allow (in singletons or card combinations) and your mind must tie the impulse you receive as a result to the real life situation at hand.
A word here: The cards do not spell out events and situations. This is a common misconception among tarot authors and casual students alike. Tarot cards ONLY "speak" to you. They are a visual alphabet that triggers your mind to realize the link between their image and the issue at hand. ALL of the magic happens inside you. The cards must be properly placed in a spread to give you valid answers: you can't just pick cards at random without tuning in and getting the order delivered to you (shuffle, cast). But the actual reading part is not the cards telling you something. They are only sparking impulses in your mind to create the chain of though that leads you to the answer. Without your skills and talent (learned and natural abilities) they are rather useless.
Also while you are sitting in front of the TV . . .
Simply watch life happen. This is easiest if you are watching the news, because the news (reports of daily events) is so chaotic. you never know what's coming up. When the reporter says something that sparks that interest in your head simply draw a card and glance at it. Do not put any weight or validation to this card. Just see what comes up. Here we are training you to "hear" (physically and psychically) that "ding" inside your head that something was said of importance, or that someone just lied, or there is some reason that bit of information needs to be fleshed out. In comic book terms we are developing your "Spidey sense." This is a very real teaching we use in mystery schools. Do this, as basic as it sounds. Practice it for years and you will develop a BS detector that stuns people when they discover you have this talent. Eventually you will no longer need the cards.
Okay, more? Get over to EasyTarotLessons.com and sign up for our free newsletter. Get the hidden lessons (free — always free) and keep updated on the now information posted. The newsletter comes out roughly 3-4 times a month and you can unsubscribe at any time with no hassle.
Thanks for reading.
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Noun: Simply think up a noun (person, place, or thing — event, location . . . ) and pick a card out of your deck to represent that. Give yourself no more than five seconds to do this, fifteen if you get stuck. It is important not to over-analyze this or get too picky about which card is "most exact." When you are reading for people ("in the real world" not in practice or tarot school) you will find that the cards have to have several variations of meaning. They cannot possibly be accurate if they only have 78 meanings (or 156 if you count reversals). Keywords and phrases don't work. They limit your thinking and they are a barbaric way of teaching the tarot. While it is best to study the traditional meanings of the tarot so you know what the artist who designed your deck was intending, and what people have figured out over the years, do not buy into any of the add-ons to the tarot taht just don't resonate with you. The most important meaning any card can have is the one that is right in front of you — right now. You will see this in real life readings. These exercises help you loosen up your attitude on the cards and free them to speak candidly with you, not stilted, and in only formal terms.
Always remember: divining the future is not a "logic-based" activity or we could just have computers predict for us — and don't think corporations don't spend billions of dollars trying. To correctly divine the future we must interpret the visions, symbols, and impulses correctly. We can't do that if we limit the vocabulary that we allow our tools to use when they speak to us.
Here is an example of how to do this exercise. I will give you a noun: "Taxi cab, or taxi driver."
Now I want you to go through the deck and pick out a card that represents that (occupation or physical object). When I pose this to my students, 99% of the time they say, "The Chariot." This is a good card, but I correct them that this is more weighty, more like an airline pilot or a bus driver, as The Chariot implies autonomy, authority, responsibility, and it may mean many other occupations.
But specifically the 6 of Swords (at least in W/S symbolism) shows us a man in a gondola ferrying across his charge. This may be the husband or a professional gondolier. If a taxi driver or chauffer came to you for a reading this would make a good significator card, or if it came up in a job spread it would be a good indicator of being someone who transports people around for money. Given that The Chariot is more bold and authoritative, that card may be more suited for a white collar job or even a military career by comparison.
These are just guidelines, not facts cast in stone.
Another example: Noun . . . Church, or temple. Well, without even having to put any thought into it three cards come to mind: the chapel in the 4 of Swords, the arch in the 3 of Coins (Pentacles), and the stained glass window set into the wall of the 5 of Swords.
Any of these would be a good "instant answer." Each card has its nuances, the 4 of Swords could also serv as a museum card or a funeral home. It is all about picking a simple common noun and assigning a card to it without adding any stress to your life.
This exercises teaches you to see the cards from a slightly different perspective and relax your mind, remove a lot of the superstition that people like to pile on tarot cards. It makes you a better reader fast because it helps the cards speak to you. If you have a tarot buddy you can do this as a simple game: One person says a noun and the other goes through the deck and comes up with a card. If you have the cards spread out the process goes much faster.
Verb: This is the same exercise but with an action. Let's say you open the fridge and discover you are out of milk. So you run to the store to get some. This is a simple daily action; no big deal. So let's pick a rather unobtrusive "minor" Arcana card to represent this action. How about the 8 of Cups? He threw on a cloak (jacket) and is headed off to the corner store. There is no reason he "has to be" abandoning his home and happiness, the crescent moon showing the emptiness he feels and the full moon showing his desire for fulfillment. You have heard me say this before, but I would have drawn the crescent moon, as a reflection of the full moon, in the water. Much more symbologically correct.
So "Verb" can simply be anything you do throughout the day: eating dinner. Why not any of the Cups cards? (2, 3, 4, Page, and so on. . .) Each card might signify drinking versus eating, or being full/not wanting seconds (4), overindulging (3?), maybe a buffet (7), or even the 4 of Wands. If you do not like these cards when you should find a card that say "eating diner" to you. Because if you cannot pull a card that say "eating dinner" you cannot read the tarot. The tarot, as a system, must be able to describe ANY EVENT OR ACTION in life or it is a flawed system. It is not about ambiguities or vague notions. It points you in the direction of an answer as clearly as the 78 illustrations will allow (in singletons or card combinations) and your mind must tie the impulse you receive as a result to the real life situation at hand.
A word here: The cards do not spell out events and situations. This is a common misconception among tarot authors and casual students alike. Tarot cards ONLY "speak" to you. They are a visual alphabet that triggers your mind to realize the link between their image and the issue at hand. ALL of the magic happens inside you. The cards must be properly placed in a spread to give you valid answers: you can't just pick cards at random without tuning in and getting the order delivered to you (shuffle, cast). But the actual reading part is not the cards telling you something. They are only sparking impulses in your mind to create the chain of though that leads you to the answer. Without your skills and talent (learned and natural abilities) they are rather useless.
Also while you are sitting in front of the TV . . .
Simply watch life happen. This is easiest if you are watching the news, because the news (reports of daily events) is so chaotic. you never know what's coming up. When the reporter says something that sparks that interest in your head simply draw a card and glance at it. Do not put any weight or validation to this card. Just see what comes up. Here we are training you to "hear" (physically and psychically) that "ding" inside your head that something was said of importance, or that someone just lied, or there is some reason that bit of information needs to be fleshed out. In comic book terms we are developing your "Spidey sense." This is a very real teaching we use in mystery schools. Do this, as basic as it sounds. Practice it for years and you will develop a BS detector that stuns people when they discover you have this talent. Eventually you will no longer need the cards.
Okay, more? Get over to EasyTarotLessons.com and sign up for our free newsletter. Get the hidden lessons (free — always free) and keep updated on the now information posted. The newsletter comes out roughly 3-4 times a month and you can unsubscribe at any time with no hassle.
Thanks for reading.
Feed Shark code: Hostgator promos
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