Celestial Element

Tarot cards have been used for centuries for divination, assisting in decision making, and for personal and spiritual development. Tarot cards use universal symbology that can be understood and interpreted by almost any person from any culture around the world. You don't have to be psychic to use tarot cards, but the more you use them, the more you will begin to notice and listen to your intuition.

Tarot cards have been described as a book with the pages in a different order (telling a different story) every time you open it. The tarot cards tell the story of the Fool's or Hero's journey, which each of us follow in our own life.

Tarot cards are like "...a secret map we can consult along our journey, so that we can recognize the opportunities and pitfalls that may arise on our path."

There are endless tarot decks available today so you can find the deck that you feel a connection with. It is best to start with a deck that is similar to the Rider-Waite deck to learn to read the tarot before moving on to more complicated decks.

The symbols on the cards are universal and have traditional meanings. However, individuals will recognize different meanings based on their own personal life experience. The Universe always speaks to you in a way you can understand. The pictures on the cards depict problems, dreams, failures and achievements common to human life. The act of shuffling the cards allows your subconcious to put them into the appropriate order for a reading that will assist you at that particular time with your particular question. The more you work with your tarot cards, the more intuitive you will become...or rather the more you will acknowledge your intuition that has been there all along.

(Sacred Rose Tarot shown)

A deck of tarot cards consists of 78 cards, which include 22 major arcana cards and 56 minor arcana cards. The 22 major arcana describe the major events of the Fool's/Hero's journey and the 56 minor arcana provide the details of daily life.

The 56 minor arcana cards are similar to a standard deck of cards, but there are four court cards (page, knight, queen and king) and the suites are different from a standard deck. The suits of a tarot deck are commonly called: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles.

Wands represent the career and work aspects of our daily life, physical growth and personal enterprise.

Cups represent emotional matters, feelings and relationships.

Swords represent intellectual matters, thoughts, communication and conflicts.

Pentacles represent material things, security and finances.

Court cards often represent people and are related to issues shown in the other cards surrounding them in the spread.

I have designed a "Key Word Cheat Sheet" that is helpful when beginning to work with Tarot. My preference is to reduce the print size to the size of a tarot card and laminate it so you can keep it with your cards. Email me to request a free PDF copy of the Key Word Cheat Sheet at Shay@CelestialElement.com. 

 An excellent learning resource for tarot is Hermits Vision. There is a wealth of knowledge to be found and friendly people willing to help. Just click the link below to start learning tarot.

Care of Your Tarot Deck

Tarot cards should always be treated with respect and care. Many people have different rituals that set a tone for working with their cards, which allows them deeper access to their intuition.

There are many opinions of how to care for your deck. Some prefer to wrap their deck in silk or keep it in a silk bag to protect the deck from vibrations of other people. Others believe that any natural fabric will prevent vibrations of others from imprinting on your deck. Still others believe that what you store your deck in should be hand made by yourself. And yet others prefer to store their deck in a wooden box. People often store their deck with a crystal inside the bag or box.

Readings are typically done on a spread cloth to protect the cards. A solid color makes a nice background to see the cards clearly.

Many believe that you should keep your new deck with you all day every day for a period of 7 days or 30 days. Others suggest that you sleep with it under your pillow for a periord of 7 days or 30 days. I have found that when I sleep with my deck I have vivid and exciting dreams.

It is recommended that you keep a Tarot Journal that you write down any dreams you have related to your tarot deck, and that you keep track of readings you perform for yourself and others. This is also a good place to keep notes of what meanings specific cards may have for you that are not standard cards. This allows you to look back and see how your readings relate to what happens in life.

The important thing is to do what you feel is right. It is your journey and only you know what is right for you.

Shay offers Tarot Readings . Readings can be performed in person, over the phone, or via email. For more information contact Shay at Shay@CelestialElement.com.