So, growing up, I’ve always been privy to tarot readings being a pretty normalized thing. My mom would go to a few different local reader’s, I’ve even gotten A reading a few times from these remarkable ladies. My uncle also educated himself on divinations such as tarot, and palmistry (not sure if that’s technically divination or not, but I digress)
So all through out my life, its always been a pretty standard and normal thing. When my uncle reads tarot, he uses regular playing cards, and I remember he’d let me shuffle the cards, and he’d cut them, and then he’d find my significator card and then the cards following would be the cards for my reading. Its been a very long time since he’s read my cards, but when I started to learn how to read cards, I realized there are so many different ways to go about it.. I realized I was essentially learning how to read cards, backwards than I was accustomed to. How does everyone else read cards? Do you do it like my uncle, or do you do it the standardized way that the books teach?
I’m really curious to hear what everyone says because I am determined to read tarot, but honestly, to be fair, I still suck…
I’m no authority on tarot, at all . I like the 3-card approach that Dan uses. I also like just a single draw. I have occasionally used the significator card reads as you said. I am working on understanding the Celtic Cross better and I love working with the Horseshoe read. I just kind of go with the moment and how it feels. When reading for others, I have them shuffle/mix the cards with their question in mind, then I do the cut and the read. Does that help out a little?
Lady Gene
I´m not really sure what the standardized way in the books is..? Do you mean like tarot-spreads that you can follow, where every position answers an aspect of the question?
I apologize for not being specific earlier. the book I have is called “Tarot decoder” by Kathleen McCormick. And in this book, it instructs the reader to shuffle the cards for the client,then allow the client to cut the deck. I’ve also seen other tarot readers personally do this style or method, but I’m just not really understanding how or why my uncle did his readings by allowing the client to shuffle the cards, and then the reader (my uncle), cuts the deck , and shuffles thought the cards one by one looking foe a significator card then whatever is after that is the reading layout he does. I’m not really sure if I’m making sense, but I was just wondering, does it matter who shuffles the cards and who cuts them? What layouts do they have like finding the significator card and then the cards after are applied into the layout.
The way I do it, I clear my energy, and focus on the person I’m reading for and the question they’re asking, and shuffle as long as a card either physically jumps out of the deck or I get the feeling that this is the one I should draw. I keep drawing as many cards as feels right, usually there’s a feeling that there’s still something missing from the picture until I draw the last one. This has worked well for me, and I’ve got some very precise readings out of it. I remember to thank the deck after. I don’t do reverse cards, though still rarely some appear in my readings, even if they all “should have been” upright.
Another way I sometimes do a reading if I want to be more ceremonial, I let them cut the cards first and then spread them on the table face down. Then I instruct them to pick the cards, running their left hand slowly over the cards, and telling them that whichever card makes their ring finger twitch, that’s the one. I’m not sure if there’s a lot of difference results-wise, but letting them pick their own cards and feel that twitch can make it feel a pretty special experience, and possibly trust the results more.
I’m excited to hear about everyone’s different ways to read!
What’s the significator card, and how does he find it?
I once played a game of poker with someone who also preferred using regular playing cards for divination. She explained to me, that she sees the hand as a reading, and chooses to exchange the cards she wants to change in the reading. A bit of a trickster and a necromancer, that one, made me smile a lot.
Honestly, I think this can be done however it works best for you and whatever you´re vibing with!
I´m doing tarot readings mostly over the internet, where nobody touches my cards at all, and I will still get accurate readings.
This is something I like doing, when wanting to read the energies around a specific topic in someones life.
If someone want´s to know the energies or energetic tendencies regarding their love life for example, I will shuffle and then go through the deck until I find the Lovers card. The card that came before it can show me energetic blocks or obstacles, the card behind it can show me, how to overcome them.
again, in my opinion it doesn´t matter, as long as it doesn´t matter to YOU.
This is something you can totally personalise for your practice. It starts by determining the card which is your significator; The Lovers, Justice, The Hermit, The Empress…depending on what the questions are about. And then you´re creating the frame for the reading: I´m reading the card before as xy and the card after as xy; I´m reading the next three following cards as xyz (past-present-future; mind-body-spirit; the situation-the obstacle-the lesson etc.); I´m centering the significator card and lay x cards around it to see how they relate;
There are endless possibilities! And you are free to be as creative as you´d like and find, what works best for you.
,
. I like the 3-card approach that Dan uses. I also like just a single draw. I have occasionally used the significator card reads as you said. I am working on understanding the Celtic Cross better and I love working with the Horseshoe read. I just kind of go with the moment and how it feels. When reading for others, I have them shuffle/mix the cards with their question in mind, then I do the cut and the read. Does that help out a little?
the book I have is called “Tarot decoder” by Kathleen McCormick. And in this book, it instructs the reader to shuffle the cards for the client,then allow the client to cut the deck. I’ve also seen other tarot readers personally do this style or method, but I’m just not really understanding how or why my uncle did his readings by allowing the client to shuffle the cards, and then the reader (my uncle), cuts the deck , and shuffles thought the cards one by one looking foe a significator card then whatever is after that is the reading layout he does. I’m not really sure if I’m making sense, but I was just wondering, does it matter who shuffles the cards and who cuts them? What layouts do they have like finding the significator card and then the cards after are applied into the layout.
