12 Common Mistakes New Tarot Students Make

Added by Pam Richards at 07:48 on 28 October 2022

Starting to understand and learn Tarot can be a daunting task and can be filled with many potholes for those totally new to the system, as well as those who have been struggling for many years. My book Understanding Tarot covers a lot of the issues within this blog in more detail. 1: Fancy Tarot C...

Adding an Advice Card to Your Tarot Readings

Added by Pam Richards at 20:00 on 22 October 2022

Do you add an Advice Card to your tarot spreads? I have always added a card for advice to my Tarot readings, be it for my clients or for myself. An Advice Card adds clarity to the issue, a sense of direction, and what is required to help navigate the problem at hand. We can get caught up in the issu...

Tarot & Negative Energies

Added by Pam Richards at 15:15 on 20 October 2022

I often see posts and questions about if Tarot can leave you open to negative spirits, or the energy of another, and this is an issue if believed and perceived as a fact that can hold a student back from developing a relationship with the Tarot. Tarot is a system, a subject which is deep and complex...

Five of Swords - Which One Are You?

Added by Pam Richards at 12:38 on 27 August 2022

When we look at the Rider Waite Smiths, or any deck with similar imagery, we can see one man, a bully, someone who has the upper hand, owning all of the five swords, with two others in the distance, upset. It can be common to naturally think that we will be one of the victims in the background, but ...

Eight of Cups: One Way Ticket?

Added by Pam Richards at 15:40 on 09 August 2022

We are often shown someone leaving a neatly stacked pile of cups, which can make us often wonder if this is someone leaving a situation for good. While this can be true, it is not always the case. This card can be seen as the pursuit of the Nine of Cups, the wish card, and you can see from the neatn...

The Importance of Tarot Card Positions

Added by Pam Richards at 20:05 on 06 August 2022

A lot of new readers don’t use positions when laying their Tarot cards down, and often, as a result, do not understand the cards laid. While this can also be down to not yet having gained enough knowledge of the individual cards, it is not helped by not seeing what angle they should be viewed ...

The Magicians Table

Added by Pam Richards at 11:50 on 09 July 2022

The Magician is a card which focuses on creation, on action and becoming. Looking at his desk alone, we can see all the symbols of the Minor Arcana. The Wand for Fire, the Pentacle for Earth, the Cup for Water, and the Sword for Air. Placed on his table they not only show us his command of the eleme...

Those Pesky Court Cards

Added by Pam Richards at 15:57 on 17 February 2022

Confused by Court Cards? Court cards can be the nemesis of many a new Tarot student. They were for me! There are 16 per deck, so 16 personalities to gain insight into. If you’re interested in Astrology, you can look at them from an Astrological personality perspective, yet if you’re lik...

To Reverse or Not Reverse – That is the Question?!

Added by Pam Richards at 15:52 on 17 February 2022

What should you do with reversed cards if you just don't understand them? The issue of reversing Tarot cards can greatly confuse those new to Tarot, as well as those more experienced. It is worth noting that when Tarot started, these simply were not an issue, and using reversed cards is not nece...

Calling a Truce and the Four of Swords

Added by Pam Richards at 12:28 on 30 January 2022

I was looking through this deck at the Four of Swords, and as I used my Golden Dawn deck, the element of this card’s need for a truce came to mind. In a lot of the Rider Waite Smith decks and clones, this card shows a man appearing dead, sleeping on top of a tomb. While that is filled with mil...

Tarot Birth Card

Added by Pam Richards at 18:37 on 22 January 2022

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The Spilt Liquid in the Five of Cups

Added by Pam Richards at 11:52 on 07 December 2021

If you have studied the Five of Cups imagery within the Rider Waite Smith deck, you may have noticed that from the three overturned cups there is red and green liquid on the ground. The three cups knocked over show us that their contents have been spilt, which is why it can be common to see "cr...

The Fool, His Wand and His Bag

Added by Pam Richards at 14:55 on 29 November 2021

While The Fool has many items to list in its symbolism, as he stands poised on his journey over the cliff edge that he is not even looking at, instead he gazes at the sunny sky, he holds a black wand and a bag over his right shoulder. In some versions of the Rider Waite Smith deck, the wand has the ...

The Hanged Man and his Tau Cross

Added by Pam Richards at 13:06 on 27 September 2021

The Hanged Man is one of the iconic figures of the Major Arcana, strangely hanging upside down in an odd position. He hangs from a tree, which forms a Tau Cross. A Tau Cross is a symbol, at heart, of faith. It symbolises many things: Christ's crucifixion as a symbol for sacrifice, in the Old Tes...

Significators

Added by Pam Richards at 13:31 on 09 September 2021

You may have heard the term Significator when using and studying Tarot. So, what is a Significator? Traditionally, they are a court card taken from the deck which matches the questioner's astrological sign, their colouring, age or marital status. They were, and are, by a lot of readers, used wi...