Welcome to another edition of ‘Ask Charla.′ You know, here at Astrology Answers I get a lot of questions from all corners of the globe; things to do with love and romance, chakras, tarot, astrology, numerology; if it′s metaphysical, then someone at some time has asked it!
This is such a wonderful question, because there are so many different answers! There’s no right or wrong way to learn to read the tarot and oracles, no matter what other people might tell you. Going with your gut is certainly one aspect—and I’ll cover that below in just a moment.
What most people forget when they’re starting to read the tarot is that this is a responsibility. If you’re reading your own cards, you have to make sure you can be objective rather than subjective—and as someone who’s been doing readings for nearly 40 years, let me tell you, that’s easier said than done!
This is why many people choose to get someone else to read for them, and that’s all well and good. The other side of this coin, though, is who knows you better than you know yourself? Let’s take a closer look at some other misconceptions when it comes to reading the tarot and other oracles.
It’s Okay to Buy Your Own Cards
This is one of the very basic principles. You can’t very well read the tarot without cards, can you? There’s a lot of superstition that you’re not supposed to buy your own cards, and I don’t buy into that. What if someone gives you a deck where you don’t like the pictures? Are you doomed to try to fall in love with it because it was a gift? No!
When you purchase tarot cards with money, that money represents energy. Either it was something you worked for and earned, or something that someone gave to you—in a birthday card for example. Either way, you’re exchanging energy for energy, and you’re also choosing something you like.
How can that be wrong? It’s okay to buy your own cards, but if you’re with someone superstitious, give them your money, and let them make the transaction for you then give you the cards. That way, you didn’t technically buy them!
You Don’t Have to Learn from a Master
A lot of people will tell you that Tarot is dangerous or that different oracles can only be taught by particular people. This one-upmanship is ripe in some metaphysical communities, and basically it needs to be ignored. You can learn the tarot through diligent work on your own. You don’t have to be taught by a master—or anyone else, for that matter!
Having said that, there are some guidelines that need to be followed. Your comment about going with your gut is one of them. For example, when I see the Empress, I always see a birth of some sort—either childbirth or the birth of an idea. My friend Paula always sees a hospital situation, and nurturing.
The wonderful thing here is, because the tarot tunes into your unconscious mind when you’re doing readings, different interpretations of the same card are allowed! Reading the tarot is all about what it means to you; when you learn from a book, you’re just studying what it meant to that author. You’re allowed to have different opinions.
It’s Not Necessary to Memorize the Traditional Meanings
Now, before traditional tarot readers get their panties in a wad, I want to stress that I’m not belittling the archetypal meanings. True scholars of the tarot know the more you learn about the cards, the more there is to learn about the cards! Astrology, numerology, and all sorts of other symbolism is packed into the images.
Just as everyone who ever wrote a book on the tarot shared what the cards meant to them, everyone who ever designed a tarot deck did likewise.
The traditional meanings will help you in your understanding of the cards, but there’s no reason to memorize them parrot fashion. I believe it was Einstein who said, “Never memorize something that you can look up.”
There are enough research books on the meanings of the different aspects of the tarot—including online books and even phone apps—that there’s no need to commit a lot of heavy symbolism to memory.
Start with First Impressions
I’ve said it previously and I’ll say it again. To read the tarot or another oracle is to interpret what it means to you. The best way to do this is to start with first impressions. Let’s take the Three of Swords for example.
Is it a happy card? No! The first thing that came to my mind when I was first learning how to read the tarot was the old saying ‘two’s company, three’s a crowd.’ Because I saw a heart, I figured this card meant there had been a heartache, probably caused by someone butting in where they weren’t wanted.
Sure enough, this card often appears in relationship readings when the other party has had an affair!
Use the Instruction Book as a Backup
Most tarot decks come with a little white book, or maybe even a full sized instruction manual. By all means use it, but don’t depend on it. I like to read through these when…
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