cartomancy
The Timeless Appeal Of Tarot Divination
I have yet to meet a spiritually-minded person who does not like the Tarot, or at least is not a little intrigued by this famous deck of cards.
The Tarot is arguably the world’s most popular and widely used divination tool, renowned for its rich symbolism and the depth of insight it offers. As an esoteric tradition dating back centuries, the Tarot has evolved into a diverse, sophisticated system of divination used by people from all walks of life to explore the mysteries of the mind, spirit, and the future.
Unlike some other forms of divination that require specialized knowledge or tools, the Tarot is accessible to both beginners and seasoned practitioners, offering a unique blend of art, intuition, mysticism, and storytelling. Its versatility allows it to address a wide range of questions, from personal and spiritual dilemmas to broader societal issues, making it a go-to resource for those seeking guidance, clarity, and self-discovery in an ever-changing world.
Each of the 78 cards in a Tarot deck is loaded with symbolic imagery and archetypal meanings that can be interpreted on multiple levels, from the deeply psychological to the spiritual and mystical. This layered symbolism allows diviners to explore personal dilemmas, spiritual growth, and the mysteries of life.
Unlike other divination tools that may rely on more rigid systems, Tarot offers a fluid framework that adapts to the reader’s intuition, personal beliefs, and level of psychic ability, making it accessible to people of diverse backgrounds and spiritual practices.
Lenormand Cards Illuminate The Everyday
A few years ago, I met a fellow psychic online who recommended that I add Lenormand cards to my divination repertoire. It is a decision I will always cherish, as learning these cards has certainly benefited both my spiritual and professional journey.
Like Tarot, it is a card-based divination system rich in symbolism, but it is simpler than Tarot, with fewer cards in the deck, and easier to learn. Lenormand has only thirty-six cards instead of the bulkier 78-card Tarot deck.
This system of cartomancy is named after Marie Anne Lenormand (1772-1843), a famous French fortune teller of the Napoleonic era who was known for her work with influential figures of her time, although she did not create the cards herself. Lenormand cards became popular in the 19th century and have seen a resurgence of interest in recent years.
I use two types of Lenormand decks in my readings. One is the Petite deck and the other is the Dondorf Lenormand.
The design of the Petite Lenormand deck is simpler and more direct than that of the Dondorf Lenormand, focusing on clear, easily recognizable symbols without extensive ornamentation. This simplicity is intended to facilitate the interpretation of the cards, as the symbols and their combinations are the primary means of divination. The cards are also smaller than typical tarot cards and are modeled directly after the types of decks that Ms. Lenormand herself might have used or recognized.
The People In Your Tarot Court Cards
In a psychic tarot reading, several court cards, also known as ‘people cards’, may come up in a spread. This can be challenging and even confusing, because the reader must now interpret not only the situational influences and circumstances revealed by the spread, but also the other people who are playing a role, or may still be involved in the matter.
There are many different approaches to interpreting tarot court cards, but my personal preference is to associate each card with an astrological sign of the zodiac.
There are 78 cards in a traditional Tarot deck. The first 22 cards are the Major Arcana and the remaining 56 are the Minor Arcana. The Minor Arcana are divided into four suits that correspond to the four classical elements of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.
The element of Air is typically represented in the deck design as swords, feathers, birds, or clouds. The element of Fire is usually represented as wands, batons, or staffs. The element of Water is represented by cups, chalices, bowls, or mermaids. And the element of Earth is represented as pentacles, coins, or stones.
Sixteen of the 56 minor arcana are the court cards. The court cards of each suit represent people who embody the personality, traits, or influence of the associated element. Occasionally, a court card may also represent someone who fits the physical appearance of a particular person card as depicted in the card’s design.
How To Get A Clear Tarot Reading
I recently had someone mention that they always receive ambiguous information when they get a Tarot card reading. I found this to be quite a quandary, because I have never felt that this was the issue. Not only do I find great value in the use of Tarot cards in my personal work, I also know several very accurate readers that use Tarot cards as a divination tool.
With further discussion I found out that the average time this person spent in a reading was only five minutes. After hearing this information I was not really surprised at all that the information that they were getting seemed quite ambiguous? This being said, I have had some wonderful and insightful experiences while doing short readings. However, going through a Tarot spread and gaining absolute insight in five minutes would certainly create a challenge for even the most seasoned psychic readers.
There are many types of psychic abilities, and the manifestations of these gifts can also vary depending on the psychic or medium. I would like to explain my own personal experience, and I know that it aligns itself with several other readers.
Psychic information develops over time. Many times information comes to a psychic in the form of mental images rather that words, and it is the psychic’s job to translate the message. Psychic information is channeled much in the same way that someone remembers a dream. Information can sometimes start out relatively obscure, and then as details are added clarity comes naturally. Sometimes the flow of information happens quite rapidly, and other times it needs to be ‘teased out.’
The Mystical Tale Of The Lovers Card
I have made an illuminating discovery regarding the Lovers card in the Tarot. In all the years I have been practicing cartomancy, I never realized certain aspects of this card’s mytsical symbolism and its portrayal of the healing power of divine love.
In the classic Rider-Waite rendition, it is commonly accepted the card merely depicts an archetypal Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, with a scheming serpent lurking behind Eve and the majestic figure of an angel looming overhead. Recently, I learned from a psychic colleague’s podcast that the angelic figure portrayed in the in card in fact represents the Archangel Raphael. I’ve always been fascinated by Raphael, the angelic healer of minds, bodies and souls.
Raphael is first mentioned the ancient Hebrew apocalyptic book of Enoch, as well as the deuterocanonical book of Tobit. Also known as the apocrypha, the deuterocanonical books are not traditionally included in Protestant and Jewish canonical texts, but it is recognized in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions.
The book of Tobit relays the story of a blind man named Tobit and his son Tobias, whom he sends to retrieve an investment of silver he had deposited in a town in Media in north-western Iran. With the protection and guidance of the angel Raphael, Tobias arrives along his journey in Ecbatana, the capitol of Media, where he meets a young woman named Sarah.
Sarah is in utter despair and praying for death, as she has already lost seven husbands. Each of her lovers had been murdered on their wedding night by the demon Asmodeus, who is obsessively in love with her. Angel Raphael encourages Tobias to marry Sarah and then helps him to defeat the homicidal demon.
The Empowering Symbolism Of The World Card
The World card in the Tarot remains one of my firm favorites. I am all for personal and spiritual growth, the completion of cycles, and new beginnings. The World represents exactly that: the ending of a cycle and pause in life, before the next major cycle begins with the fool.
The journey from the new beginnings of The Fool to the fulfilling endings of The World is a constant evolutionary process in our everyday lives that is represented by the sequence of the 22 Major Arcana cards of the Tarot. The World is the 22nd trump and therefore final card of the Major Arcana.
I have reflected on the imagery of the Rider-Waite version of this Tarot card in great detail. Rider-Waite is probably the most popular and universally recognized Tarot deck. The illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith at first glance appear simple, but the details and backgrounds feature abundant mystical symbolism.
The World pictures an empowered figure within a wreath – traditionally a symbol of victory, success, achievement, and eternal life. The figure holds a wand in each hand, which is reminiscent of the Magician card and the Two of Wands. However, while The Magician holds only one wand, the two wands in the The World card represents fulfillment, wholeness, balance and coming full circle.
The card is framed by four animals on the diagonal. The depiction of these four creatures parallels the four animal symbols used in Christian art to represent the four Evangelists, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The four animals also represent the zodiac signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, the four fixed signs in Western Astrology, which in turn represent the classical four elements of Earth, Fire, Water and Air.
How To Do A Fearless Tarot Reading
Each psychic reader has their favorite tools, and what suits one reader does not necessarily work well for another. In all my years as a professional psychic, angel oracle cards have always been my primary divination tool of choice. Nevertheless, I am also well-versed in reading the Tarot. Surprisingly, I have had a few clients over the years who have asked me not to use the Tarot for their readings, often because they feel uncomfortable with, and even fearful of some the occult symbols and imagery found in traditional Tarot decks.
In fact, just recently I had a very worried lady contact me about a Tarot reading she tried to do for herself. She attempted a four-card spread, and three of the cards she pulled now had her very worried: The Devil, Death and The Hanged Man. She was very anxious what this might mean and begged me to help her make sense of it all.
She confessed that she had considered reshuffling the cards and starting over, but I advised her against this. It is not at all wise to try and make a reading ‘fit’ simply because you don’t like the cards you drew. Instead, one needs to look at what the original cards are conveying.
I also explained to her that it is essential to consider the order in which the cards fall in a spread, as it often reveals a narrative or pattern of events. Furthermore, Tarot cards are directive, not simply predictive. The cards point us in the right direction or reveal the best path to take to arrive at a desired destination, and achieve the best possible outcome.
I then helped her to interpret her four-card reading as follows: