minor arcana
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.
Yoga And The Tarot Archetypes
When I’m not doing psychic readings, I enjoy engaging in activities that support a healthy lifestyle, such as Yoga and Herbalism. Although I spent many years training with Yoga masters from around the world and I am a certified Yoga instructor, I continue to learn more each time I get onto the mat.
While practicing the other day, I found myself thinking about the Tarot cards while in a particular yoga posture. It was the asana known as the Hero’s pose, or Virasana. The pose involves kneeling or sitting in between your bent legs.
As I was sitting in this stretch, I was wondering how the posture got its name, which comes from the Sanskrit word vira meaning ‘hero.’ It occurred to me that a hero was someone who had to think of someone else or others in that moment more than themselves. When we are pushed to our edge, in that moment of vulnerability, it makes us stronger. The same humility can be found in certain Yoga postures.
Then the Emperor card from the Tarot deck came to mind. The Emperor in a reading can show a ruler or leader who is strong, confident, and who guides others. Might there be an ancient connection with Yoga and the Tarot?
I then began to think of other Yoga postures and how they might correlate with the other Major Arcana cards in the Tarot.
The first that came up for me was The Hanged Man. This iconic card features a figure hanging upside down from a tree. Hanging from a tree in this way would certainly make one see the world from a different perspective. Interestingly, the headstand pose in Yoga, Sirsanasa, aims to create mental balance and physical poise. Continue reading
Making The Tarot Work For You
The Tarot can be used to gain greater understanding, improve our intuition, and predict what may happen in our lives. But what many fans of the Tarot often do not appreciate, is that the Tarot can also be used productively in everyday life.
The Tarot is a mystical tool that will work differently for everyone. In fact, the meaning and message of the cards will be unique to every situation. For example, if you’re the type of person who typically notices patterns in nature, from images in clouds to numerical patterns, such as license plates, then Tarot will be a natural connection for you.
Language Of The Tarot
When reading Tarot, it is always important to consider each card in the context of the spread. Each card has differing meanings, based on the context of the whole.
For example, the Three of Swords represents heartache, sadness, loss, grief. However, let’s say it comes up along with the Chariot, which represents moving forward with success. Together, the context of these two cards might shift to something like moving beyond sadness. However, this meaning might shift even further, based on the rest of the cards in the spread.
Reading single cards only, would be like trying to convey a message with just one word. Instead one should think of a Tarot spread as representing a full sentence, while each card represents a word in that sentence. Continue reading
Tarot For Everyone
Even if you’re not already practicing divination, chances are you know something about the Tarot. This is one of the oldest divination tools known to man and, with its countless individual variations, presents an opportunity for anyone wanting to know more about them self to find out.
Before you start a Tarot reading always clear your thoughts and focus on your questions when shuffling your cards. If you’re wanting to read cards, or have them read for you, you’ll want to invest in a good deck. It’s important to choose one which reflects your taste and personality. If you’re just starting out, the classic Rider-Waite deck is a always a good choice.
Every Tarot deck contains 78 cards of Major Arcana consisting of 22 cards and Minor Arcana consisting of 56 cards. Study one card at a time to learn its meaning. A good book on the subject can also help. Continue reading