Tarot Class 1 Handout - Limitless Living

214 Pages·2011·4.84 MB·English

by  Megan Potter

Tarot Foundations:
Stepping Stones To Becoming a
Tarot Goddess
Tarot Foundations: Stepping Stones to Becoming a Tarot Goddess
From Limitless Living.ca
Tarot Foundations: Stepping Stones to Becoming a Tarot Goddess
From Limitless Living.ca
Lesson 1: The Foundation

D e Tarotfi n i n g
Tarot: a deck of cards most popularly used for divination (although
you can play a game called "Triumphs" or "Tarots" with them). A tarot deck is defined as
having _____ cards split into two parts called the Major and Minor ____________.
"Arcana means secrets - what is arcane, or hidden."
Rachel Polack, Tarot Wisdom
Other divination decks not designed on this system are called ____________________.
The Major Arcana are the _____________ cards in the deck. There are ____ Major
cards; they all have names and always have allegorical images on them. The Major
Arcana are considered to each represent an _________________.
The Minor Arcana is made up of _____ cards; much like our common playing cards it
has numbered cards _________________ and ________ cards, it is also divided into
four suits: _____________, _________________, _________________,
____________________.
Divination means:
Psychic means:
A Synchronicity is:
Symbols are:
An Archetype is:
Tarot Foundations: Stepping Stones to Becoming a Tarot Goddess
From Limitless Living.ca
On Reading Intuitively
“Here’s a few ideas for intuitively reading
the cards.
Simply describe the card, as if you were
describing it to another person. Use lots of
adjectives and descriptive phrases. What
is going on? How do the figures seem to
feel in this situation? What is the
atmosphere of the card?
Ask yourself: What does the card look
like? What does it remind me of? Notice your first
impressions, and your emotional reaction to the card. Love
it? Hate it? Puzzled by it?
Throw out a few one-word descriptions (like “serene”
“innocent” or “peaceful”). Give it a title (“Woman in the
Water”).
Be open to wild ideas or associations that fly into your
head.
Jot down your impressions of the card before you look
up the meaning in the book. Then compare your own
impressions to the description in the book. What insights
do you have that are unique?” Joanna Powell Colbert,
from the Gaian Tarot Companion Book
Tarot Foundations: Stepping Stones to Becoming a Tarot Goddess
From Limitless Living.ca
The Iceberg Model
The Iceberg Model is very similar to a Hindu Island based model, both of which are
fabulous ways to visualize how things like intuition and divination function.
The Visible Iceberg is
The Buried Iceberg is
The Ocean Represents
When we are on top of the Iceberg we are isolated and limited - but below the ocean:
Tarot Foundations: Stepping Stones to Becoming a Tarot Goddess
From Limitless Living.ca
Brainstorming Fire
Do some free association/ brainstorming/ mind mapping on the word Fire to see what
the idea of it as a symbol brings up.
Burns
Clears Away
Tarot Foundations: Stepping Stones to Becoming a Tarot Goddess
From Limitless Living.ca
Your First One Card Reading
This will quickly become the most familiar and
simple exercise in your arsenal because you’ll be
pulling one card a day throughout the entire six
week course.
Here’s the thing, learning to read Tarot - I mean
being a kick-butt Goddess of Tarot reading is not
about memorizing what cards mean, but it is about
engaging with the cards themselves. You need to
get to know them, like you would a new best friend.
And the easiest way to do that is by introducing
yourself to them (or them to you) one card at a
time. No pressure; no complications.
Because you are learning to know the cards
themselves you will not be looking in your books or
other sources for the traditional meanings of any of
the one card readings we do. Otherwise there are no rules. You can use your one card
readings as guides on what to expect in the up coming day, or as a prompt on where
your focus attention should be (what attitude you should have), you can use it to review
your day and be grateful, or as a creativity or journaling prompt. There is no limit to
what your card can be used for so don’t be afraid to have fun!
Now that we got all the preliminaries out of the way, let’s walk through doing your very
first One Card Reading together.
Shuffle and Draw a Card
1. What is Today’s Card called? ________________________________
2. Describe the card. What do you see on it? You can be literal (“A man sits in lotus
pose in a red cave surrounded by light”) or poetic (“The meditator glows as each
chakra point lights up.”) - being literal at this point might be helpful.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Tarot Foundations: Stepping Stones to Becoming a Tarot Goddess
From Limitless Living.ca
3. Draw your card. It can be a simple doodle to represent the image on the card you
pulled, or if you feel so inclined you can create your own art that represents this card
to you.
4. What symbols - images,
colours, number, ideas, or words - catch
your attention on this card? What do
you associate with them? i.e. The card
has lots of dull Red - it makes me think
of throbbing and pulsing - maybe energy
moving?
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Draw your card _______________________________
5. What, if anything, does this card make you think of? Does it bring a particular
situation, song, story, movie, event, or line to mind? Nothing is too small to matter.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
6. How does this card make you feel?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Tarot Foundations: Stepping Stones to Becoming a Tarot Goddess
From Limitless Living.ca
7. Does anything else stand out, or is there anything else it makes you want to talk
about?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
8. Looking over everything you’ve put here write a summary, or interpretation, for this
card.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
9. State an intent, or write an affirmation for today using this card. I.e. I’m going to write
a journal entry about where the energy is moving in my life today. Or I’m going to
take the time to meditate today. Or I’m am at peace because I’m centered.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Review Your Day: On your daily pages you’ll also have a section for reviewing your day
and noting where the card was or wasn’t not informative or relevant to you. This kind of
daily pulling, examining, and reviewing is the fastest way to become adept at using the
cards and makes you the best kind of Tarot reader.
Tarot Foundations: Stepping Stones to Becoming a Tarot Goddess
From Limitless Living.ca
Tarot Buying Tips
Oracle Style Deck

Is it a Tarot Deck? Or is it an oracle deck? Not sure, first check if it's called a
"tarot" deck, second check the number of cards included. Tarot decks all have 78.
Stairs of Gold Tarot - Pip Style Deck
Thoth Deck
Raider-Waite-Smith Deck
Is it a Raider-Waite-Smith style deck? Check the back of the box (or the images
online) for samples of both the Major and Minor Arcana, what kind of images are on the
minor cards? You'll want cards that have a person or a figure on every card, as
opposed to minor cards that have an image with only cups or swords on them.
What is the theme? Do you like it or is it just
the only one available? There are enough
themes out there for you to be sure you love
the one you have. Are you a feminist, a cat
collector, or in love with fairies, search for
those themes because they are out there.

Do you love the art? If you don't, put
the deck down. Take some time to really
explore the art (if you look online you'll always
find a handful of images) and make sure you
love it. Remember, it's the art that's going to
communicate with you above all else!
The Fairy Tale Tarot
The Fenestra Tarot
Tarot Foundations: Stepping Stones to Becoming a Tarot Goddess
From Limitless Living.ca