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The Celtic Cross does not answer specific
questions on situations but is a quick and easy
way to get a personality profile on someone.
Unlike the Celtic Cross, which can
only offer a personality profile, the 12 Card
layout is suitable for reading people, situations,
businesses, financial issues, relationships and
other situations involving multiple people. While
the Celtic Cross is a still picture snapshot of a
person, the 12 Card is a moving picture that shows
past, present and future. This allows you to track
cause and effect chains much more effectively. The
12 Card layout is so flexible that you can use
multiple-card signifiers to capture complex
situations, expand certain portions of the reading
to get more detail or move the reading back and
forth in time. In fact, the 12 Card reading is so
flexible that you can actually track your history
back through all your past lives. You can also use
the reading to predict the probable outcome of
situations, from personal life situations to
global ones.
Meanings for Tarot Cards
While there are lots of books out there that give
you the meaning of tarot cards, one of the best
and most personal ways to develop meanings for the
cards is to actually study the cards themselves.
The cards were developed with symbols and pictures
that represent the concept being expressed.
For instance, in the Waite-Rider deck, the Four of
Swords depicts a man lying on a bier, on which is
pictured a horizontal sword. The meaning of the
card is "to bury the hatchet" or let past
conflicts come to resolution or rest. The man is
literally resting on top of the sword (swords are
the fire element, which includes conflicts or
fighting) - he is resting on old issues and
allowing them to come to rest. He has "buried the
hatchet!"
Similarly, in the eight of wands (see below) you
can see flying wands coming down to land. Because
wands are the air element, and stand for ideas,
inspiration, thoughts and communication, the eight
of wands represents new ideas or inspirations.
Once you know the element associated with each
suit and look at the card for the concept being
expressed, you will begin to intuit the meaning
for tarot cards easily. This approach is both more
reliable and more intuitive than relying on
someone elseís interpretation (although you may
want to use someone elseís definition as a
starting point).
Many of our students learn the
meaning for tarot cards by taking one card a day,
intuiting the meaning, then looking for examples
of that meaning or concept in everyday life. For
instance, the in the seven of swords card (see
below), a thief is stealing away with 7 swords.
Swords are fire, which is also power, therefore
the seven of swords is the loss of power. Once you
intuit this meaning, looking for places in your
life or in everyday life where you or someone else
is losing power. When the concept is translated
into everyday life, the meaning becomes real and
you will never forget it.
Major and Minor Arcana
The tarot is comprised of Minor Arcana cards in
four suits and Major Arcana cards, which are not
in suits. The four suits of the Minor Arcana are
Wands, Swords, Cups and Plates, which match the
four elemental tools. Minor Arcana cards are the
numbered cards in each suit (ace through 10) plus
the court cards (page, knight, queen and king).
Major Arcana cards are all the other cards in the
deck and are related to but not tied to a
particular suit. They represent principles,
concepts or ideals while minor arcana cards
represent the many ways that those principles
manifest in the everyday or mundane world. The
ideas expressed in the major arcana cards are not
taught in our culture so we have lost touch with
them and we have no foundation for them.
Therefore, we have to be careful not to apply
present day meanings to these past time symbols.
Part 1 The Tarot
Part 2 Choosing a Beginner Tarot Deck
part 3 Tarot Card spreads
Part 4 Tarot for the beginner
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