Divination and Spirituality for beginners

Tarot reading

Tarot reading is an ancient art of divination with the help of special cards. The original author of the first ever deck of tarot cards was A.E. Waite. The original deck is known as the Rider Waite deck. This is the basic deck that every beginner in tarot should get.

Shown below are images of the Rider Waite tarot deck.

I own this one ↓

This tarot deck was designed by Pamela Colman Smith.

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Fun fact: these cards were all actually A.E Waite's dreams.
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A tarot deck has 78 cards. These are split among two categories called the Major arcana(22 cards) and Minor arcana(56cards).

The major arcana consists of 22 cards that represent karmic influences and life lessons. They are the trump cards of the deck which show the major parts of life. They are numbered from 0-21.

Major arcana

The Minor arcana consists of 56 cards that represent the smaller things in life or the day to day things. They are split into 4 suits- the swords, cups, wands and pentacles. 14 cards in each suit.

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Fun fact: tarot cards were originally used as cards for gambling like the traditional playing cards. In fact, the playing cards too, were originally used for fortune telling and still  being used for the same.
Wands resonate with the element of fire. Representing passion, courage, etc.
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Swords resonate with air and represent intellect and masculinity as well as sorrow.

Cups resonate with water and represent emotions, feelings, love, etc.

Pentacles resonate with earth and represent matters of finance, material things, vocation, etc.

Minor arcana

Rule number one about tarot cards. Your very first deck should either be gifted to your or you should steal it from another practitioner of tarot.

When you get a new deck of cards, it is always a good idea to cleanse them and get to know them. (Sounds weird I know. But read on and you'll understand)

Sit down with your deck of cards and cleanse them using any of the various methods of cleansing(I shall teach you about the various methods of cleansing and it's benefits in the next chapter). Then tap on the deck, with the intention of tuning in with the cards. This helps to get more accurate readings that are more in line with your mind.

It's also always a good idea to ask your angels or spirits for assistance during readings. Just think, "I call my guardian angels and spirit guides to come forth and help me in my tarot reading today." 

They will come to help if they hear your calls. And once done with your reading, always remember to say goodbye to them. Just think, "I thank all my guardian angels and spirit guides who helped me today. You may now leave and return to where ever you came from to assist me."

Now there are many different ways of doing reading. The basic most simple way is to hold the deck in your hand and shuffle your cards, pick out a card and shuffle again, pick another card. Repeat until your satisfied with the number of cards you've picked. Remember to always place your cards faced down. Otherwise, the cards maye bias your results.

Now there are also many popular cars spreads that can help give better insight on your questions. A basic one is a three card spread. The first one for the past. The second for the present and the last for the future.

Another popular spread is the Celtic cross. This one gives a more in depth explanation of the result of each and every aspect of your question.(I'll be honest I don't use this spread, I do it the first way, and I'm not that thorough with the Celtic cross either.)

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Note: if while picking out cards, two cards come out together, take them both, and consider them as one card.
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And the method of spreading the cards on a table can be done if you want your querent(fancy term for the one asking the question) to pick the cards.

Though I personally prefer to do readings the way I explained first. i.e, you shuffle the cards, you pick the cards. This makes the reading more accurate and the answer is more in tune with you.

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Note: When shuffling and picking the cards(wether it's you or the querent) you should always focus on the question.
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Another thing to keep in mind is to try to ask open ended questions to the tarot. Try to avoid questions with yes or no answers or straight and simple answers. (Though a one card draw can be done foro yes or no questions)

Time and date specific questions should also be avoided. Tarot can be used for answering questions that involve answers like sooner or later. But asking it a question like, how old will I be when I get married? or when will he ask me out? Is not right. I mean, do you think a deck of cards can tell you a date and time? No.

But on the other hand asking, will he ask me out this valentine's? Will I get the money by the end of the week? That's acceptable.

Though questions like, what's the problem here and how can I solve it? What is the best thing for me to do in my career and how can I improve? Or something like that, is the best way to ask a question.

(In the next chapter I'll give a short explanation of each card.)