Before you go on to read the Tarot meanings, there are a few things I would like to mention about the cards, so hopefully you will have a better understanding of what I have tried to create here on my site.
I wanted to explain something about the meanings of the cards I have here on my site. The card meanings that you will find under the Major and Minor Arcana's have come from my 6 years of study into the Tarot. These meanings that I have created over the years have come from many different authors whom books I have read on the Tarot (you can find these authors under my Credit Due page). Along with these authors I have also added in my own interpretations of each cards as well. I have jumbled all the meanings together to create a mini story about each card and what they mean to me.
Everyone's interpretation of a card varies widely. These meanings are meant to be used as guidelines to help you get going or perhaps shed a different perspective on a particular card.
One thing I have found in the past 6 years is this; most cards have a basic or similar meaning, and you will find by reading Tarot books that the basic meanings are the same from author to author, but they also add their own touch to the cards making it more unique to them. Once you become familiar with your Tarot deck you will find that you too will create new meanings that will stand out for you. Every time I do a reading I find a new meaning or picture to help me interpret the cards. Most Tarot readers will tell you that even after many years of using the Tarot, they will continue to find new meanings and images in the cards.
I hope that you will enjoy your time here at Tarot 'R' Us, and if you wish to add anything please feel free to visit my Message Board and leave your post or you can Email me.
Next you will find a little more information about Tarot cards before you continue to go onto the meanings.
Many Happy Readings!
geminis
You may find that many authors will suggest using only the upright meaning of cards and will turn cards over if they appear reversed in a spread. The practice of using only upright cards limits the number of distinct delineations to seventy-eight, whereas the use of reversed cards doubles the number of possible card interpretations. But this is my take on reversed cards.
Reversed meanings can mean that the lessons of a particular card may be more challenging for the "Querent", or that he/she is fighting themselves on the issue. All cards - both Major & Minor Arcana - have both upright and reversed meanings, and this sometimes scares people. Reversed cards do not "look right" to us, they do not sit right with our brain which tries to turn everything around so what we perceive will make sense to us. So anything reversed can seem scary as if it's energies are negative instead of positive.
But once you realize that the reversed cards allow you to know where you might have delays, false starts, indecision, or frustration, you will begin to see that they are helpful rather than dangerous. They call our attention to themselves and require extra effort to view in a spread. At the same time, they can let the reader know when a Querent is having difficulty handling a particular situation. So although reversed cards might appear to be negative, in fact they're just another way the cards tell us what's happening or could happen if we continue down a particular course suggested by the Tarot.
If the upright card carries a positive connotation, the same card reversed may indicate that the usually positive qualities are being taken to excess. If the upright card carries a negative connotation, the reversed position may mean the ending of a difficult situation.
To grasp the nuances of meaning in reversed cards, the reader should reflect on the possible significance of a picture turned upside down. A reversed card may express the opposite meaning of its upright position in that a card that is overturned may reverse the meaning of the upright card.
In my opinion there is no such thing as bad cards, at least not to the degree that if you see the 10 of Swords for example in a reading, that you will die a horrible death with 10 Swords in your back. Some of the graphics on the picture of the Tarot can be disturbing like the 10 of Swords, Devil or Death for example, but the Tarot is meant to be a graphic tool. It uses pictures to relay messages, and some of the pictures can be ugly.
When a card looks difficult, they can indeed be reflecting the shadow side of a situation - but they are also sending information that it is important to pay attention to what the card is trying to tell you. If a card like the Devil or Tower appears in a reading, you should think of it as a wake-up call, not an all points bulletin. Ask yourself "What is the card trying to tell me? Is there someone in my life that is no good for me? Or a situation that I should think twice about?"
It's always better to be forewarned and prepared, so that we might be able to change our course of action. No matter what cards come up for you, all Tarot cards in the deck should be welcomed as having some information that can help you avoid unnecessary difficulties.
You have to think of the Tarot as guidance cards rather than telling your future the way it will be, and that it is written in stone, because this is not the case. If you view the Tarot as help for guidance and read the cards that come up for you in a spread, you should look at them as lessons you need to learn, as well as what you should or shouldn't do to avoid that "bad looking" card. They are used to help you along your life's path and help give you some direction or guidance, and should not necessarily be viewed as a fortune telling tool where your fate is written in stone, because only YOU are in control of YOUR own fate!
In my meanings under the Major & Minor Arcana, some cards will have a Negative (-) or Positive (+) aspect to them. Because most of my meanings I have come to use have come from reading "Tarot Plain and Simple" by Anthony Louis, I have incorporated these into my meanings. I find that they have helped me see more clearly certain situations by using the corresponding situation.
Which meaning you use depends on the rest of the spread. If the tone of the spread is generally negative, example if there are a strong predominance of Swords and reversed cards - then the negative meanings is more likely to apply.
A not so negative spread would imply the positive aspects. I have found that I mainly use the positive meanings more so, because most of my readings tend to be pretty positive. But in a stressful situation I will often refer to the negative aspects to help clarify the reading for me, and areas that need a little more attention.
I first read this in Louis Anthony's book, and found it an easy way to learn all those Minor Arcana cards. It is a simple numerology trick corresponding to the order of the cards by numbers.
Ones or Aces: I am. One is a number of the start of a cycle. Each of the four Aces initiates forces of their corresponding elements. The beginning.
Twos: We are. Two is a number of balance, harmony, friendships, and partnerships. Twos give direction to the seeds planted by the Aces.
Threes: We create. Out of partnership of the number two come offspring, births, children etc. Threes extend the direction set by the Twos and give a broader perspective.
Fours: Four is the number of foundations. Fours translate the plans of the Threes into reality.
Fives: Fives challenge and disrupts the well-established solidity of the four. Five is a number of crisis and of adjustment due to feedback.
Sixes: Six is the number of harmony restored after the disruption of the number five. Six is the calm after the storm.
Sevens: Seven is a spiritual number. Sevens refer to respite, introspection, contemplation, evaluation and soul developing. Like the fives, the sevens tend to disrupt the harmony of the sixes and bring greater variety, activity, expansion, experimentation, and imagination into the life.
Eights: Like the fours, eight is a number of order, achievement, recognition and power. The need for getting things done in the material world.
Nines: As the final single digit number, nine represents the end of a cycle or phase of life and the preparation for entering a new phase of existence. Nine signifies the final integration of the previous eight stages of the cycle.
Tens: Ten is a transition point from one cycle to another. Ten is a number of completion and final ending. As one more than nine, ten often signifies "one too many." In numerology 10 reduces to 1+0=1, the start of a new cycle, the time for another spin of the "Wheel of Fortune."
If you take out your Minor Arcana cards and look at them in this aspect you will find how closely related this theory of numerology is to the cards. Look up your meanings of each card and see just how closely they are related, and hopefully it will help you to remember the order and what happens in each suit's number. For example you know that when you look at all the fives, you will see a setback of some kind. The twos show partnerships and unions etc.
Some cards will have negative meanings or will not seem to tie into this theory, but if you actually sit and ponder on the card for a while, you will eventually see how it will tie in, perhaps the card will lack the meaning, and therefore will need the power of the number to get through it. For example; the 8 of Swords does not fit the description of having power because it represents restrictions. Well if you instead look at this card as needing to have the power to overcome the restrictions imposed by the 8 of Swords you will be able to break free of these restrictions.
If you try this let me know what you think and have come up with!
I have decided to place a whole section on the Court Cards and their personalities because I felt they could use a little more explaining. You can find the link on the Home page.
Thank you
geminis
