Demystifying Tarot Cards

In my profession, I’m often asked what tarot cards are and how people “read” them. Simply put: tarot cards are a tool -- nothing more, nothing less. They happen to be a really good tool if you consistently use them the same way. These days you have “tarot” cards that are not “tarot” at all. In fact, even the classic tarot decks include added cards and pictures that came after card-reading ever began. So if you’re relying on magical cards to tell you the truth, forget it. Paper, print and pictures came long after divination was born.

The way to approach tarot reading is to open up to your own intuition. When you ask the cards to answer you, you are intending – linking your thought process to interactive, flowing information -- and the lay of the cards can help you receive the answer.

Focus is important. Not so much the focus on what the answer may be, but the focus on the continuation of the energetic alignment you engage. It’s like connecting yourself to a thread which holds a plethora of information that you discover within.

A very simple classic card spread is the 3 card: one for the present, one on the left for the past and one on the right for the future. To anchor the querent’s request, a card representing the querent is first placed under the middle (present) card. Then the reading begins. I always find truth in what the cards reveal. Of course, there’s the skeptic that says, “Well, everyone has questions on love, money and health.” True -- most of the time. But what about the story that the querent knows nothing of and that the cards seem to tell so accurately? I say it’s all because of the connecting flow of information that just cannot help but be there.

As the reader, allow yourself to spurt out whatever comes to you. Your first thoughts are those you analyze and control the least, moments of truth that can’t help but be there because of the initial energetic contact.

I start with shuffling the cards. This helps me clear the energies of the cards and get myself out of the picture, focused and balanced, before stepping into the alignment requested. I then have the querent hold the deck whilst asking a precise and silent question. Through the handling of the cards, the energies connect and the cards “feel” and respond accordingly. Surprising things happen this way. Sometimes, feeling skeptical or wanting greater clarity and validity, I’ve reshuffled several times and asked the person to hold the cards, only to put down the same exact cards all over again – and trust me, I know how to shuffle!

Reading the cards demands trust in your own voice: not to translate, not to judge, not to try and understand or make sense. The goal is simply to deliver the message. The querent is the one who should make sense out of it. Your role, as the reader, is simply to tell.

I also often ask the cards to bring “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God;” and to do this in love, for the good of all, in the clearest manner possible. Whilst reading, I allow for stories to be told, for the scenery to suggest and for the face to express thoughts. I use numerology and astrology, and I never ask questions. Questions, or leading suggestions, immediately bring a third party – you – to the flow of information. You want the connection to be as clear and open as possible, with no influence. You are an observer and an observer you should stay. There’s much more to be said on this topic, but let me leave you with this: yes, your message will always be true, if so are you.