By Suzanne Suchan
It’s wonderful to be a regular contributor here in Tarot Reflections!
I was having a conversation with a new friend via email. Curious about her interests, I asked ‘What do you do to pass the time?’ After receiving the response that I did, I felt so lacking in depth that these words will never pass my lips or fingertips again.
The profound response:
"I have no time to pass since I do not believe in the passing of time....it is always NOW so I am always totally occupied in the moment !"
Wow. What a lovely and brilliant perspective! Thank you for letting me share your words with my readers. Hugs and rays of comforting warmth and love to my new friend Diane, who also loves Tarot. :)
Testing the Waters of Tarot – A Quick Learning Guide
Does Tarot intrigue you? Are you curious to go a little deeper? Or, maybe you are already learning your way around the deck but too nervous to try giving a ‘real’ reading. How many times did you give up?
I’m the type of person who needs to know what I’m talking about before I’ll open my mouth. My greatest fear with Tarot was having my bluff called if I blurted out something that was blatantly wrong.
If you are sincere and pure in your intentions, there can be no bluff in Tarot. How you interpret what you turn over will always be uniquely yours.
It's like a group of people in an art class looking at a bowl of fruit, with the instruction to illustrate what they see, using materials of their choosing. Some will draw realistically, others cartoony, others bold and others light and sketchy. Some will use oil paint, others pastels, others pencils. Some will use canvas, others paper, a wine glass, or even Legos!
Everyone interprets, processes and expresses themselves differently. There are just as many approaches to learning Tarot as there are readers, writers, and websites.
I’d like to share my suggestions with you to overcome your fear about memorizing cards, or just to learn in an easier fashion. Here is my easy way to learn Tarot.
Start with the Rider-Waite deck. It has the most widely published resources out there. It’s a great place to establish a foundation for you to learn who the players are, and how they are associated, which will help to remember their meanings.
Familiarize yourself with the 4 categories, or suits: Pentacles or Coins represent values and material/monetary goods, associated with the element of earth. Cups represent emotions and spirit, with the element of water. Swords represent thoughts and words with the element of air, and Wands, or Staves, represent action of the will and motivations, associated with the element of fire.
Begin with the Major Arcana and of that, start with card zero, The Fool. Each morning starting now with the Fool, read and absorb the story of how The Fool journeys thru the cards of the Major Arcana. Following the sequence of events in a story makes them much easier to remember.
Choose one card each morning and study it; read all about it, research it. Lie the card face up on a surface you will see a few times as you prepare for your day and unwind at the end of the day such as your dresser, bathroom countertop, kitchen table or countertop or car dashboard.
Watch for situations or opportunities that bring that card, its image, imagery and/or meaning.. your interpretation.. to mind.
For example, The Fool is not necessarily a fool at all. This could represent new opportunities, a fresh new direction or venture, independence, initiating change, and free-spiritedness. As you go about your day, think about how you carry traits of the Fool as it applies: making bold choices, not going with the flow, exercising courage or independence, feeling spiritually guided, or being care-free.
At the end of the day, do a Google search of your card and compare notes. Words or images will stick out to you that tie in with the events of your day as it related to your chosen card. Write down a few keywords to remind you of the situations and feelings, and notate the most common key meanings.
Review the story of the journey of The Fool as it applies to the card you chose for that day.
Once you finish the Major Arcana, pick a suit, start with the Ace, (which means new, initiation, beginning) and see how each of the Minor Arcana also goes through a story.
Always trust your intuition. It is your sixth sense. Trust it.
Last week at a Psychic Fair, I flipped an Ace of Pentacles for a client. I asked, “New job?” The response: “Tomorrow!”
Let the cards guide your intuition. It will start to make more and more sense. Just be careful that you allow that intuition to exist freely. Don't try to apply judgment or figure it out, because that will counter your intuition like oil and water.
Try this method and let me know how it goes!
Sharing insights with each other is always stimulating and enjoyable so please, don’t be shy! Email me athello@SuzanneSuchan.com with your feedback, commentary or something you just want to chat about. I always write back!