Tarot Tips and Tricks for New Readers

Oh gentle readers, I have missed you! Did you miss me? *crickets* As you know, it is Summer and I have been very busy with the usual summery stuff- aka drinking on my deck along with some casual wedding planning; which has caused a major lapse in my posts, but alas here I am even if this is a short, thrown together post that will likely need some heavy editing later...
Everything around us is bursting with life or bursting with bellies full of beer/ delicious cocktails depending on who you talk to! The majority of my flowers are alive and well, with the exception of the Cherry Blossom shrub/tree/not sure what it is; the poor little fella just did not make it out of our wild winter. On the positive non-plant dying side of things, I am very excited for my gladiolas to start blooming next month. I planted some dark purple ones along the front of the house and I think they are going to be an excellent compliment to my stone gargoyles. I wanted to do an all black garden this year out front to go with the already spooky Addams Family vibe I have going
on, but its very difficult to find black flowers in my area. Therefore dark purples will have to suffice. When all else fails to create the magickal vibe, I do have my Pentacle wind chime hanging on the front door. This is an excellent Jehovah's Witness deterrent and I also believe some door to door sales people as well. Its a win/win baby!
Enough about my summer thus far and lets get into what this post is really about, tips and tricks for someone new to Tarot reading. If you are wondering where the post on the Strength card is, fear not! There are some ideas bubbling in my blonde head as I write this, but due to recent discussions I have had with people learning, I think this is important to be addressed.

Tip #1- Throw away your Tarot books! Okay don't actually throw them away, please do not hurt the books! Me loves the books! However, try to put them down. The books are great for when you are first learning, they are wonderful tools filled with all sorts of enlightening ideas and concepts about the cards; however they can also be a curse. Do not get stuck in the mindset that the "book is right and your intuition is wrong". A lot of us hang on to our books like a life raft. We think, what do I do if I don't remember a meaning or how am I supposed to remember all 78 cards? I think the misconception is that you have to remember all 78 meanings of the cards. Tarot is not a game of memory, thank the Gods because I can barely remember yesterday! It is about using the images to invoke something in yourself that inspires you and makes you come up with your own meanings. I am not saying that there aren't set meanings, for example we all mostly know the 3 of Swords could be divorce, heartache or even surgery however we do not need to know the whole textbook example. The card depicts a heart with three swords piercing it with rain falling all around it. When you picture this, what comes to mind immediately? Heartache I bet. This is the trick friends and dear readers. TRUST YOURSELF. When you see an image trust your initial thoughts. It will do you a lot more good than any book could! Remember that these books are the interpretations of the author. Their interpretations are right for them but may not be right for you. Even this blog, when I talk about the cards, I am talking about what they mean to me, what I am saying may not be anywhere close to what you may think of the same card and that is 100% OKAY!

Treasure your books!

Tip #2- Your client likely does not know anything about Tarot! Here is something to think about: If I were to go to someone who read runes, I would not have the slightest clue if they were right or wrong in regards to what they were telling me because I don't know anything about this form of divination. When I go to see someone who reads something different than what I do, I spend my time thinking about what they are telling me and applying it to my life so it makes sense to me. When you are reading Tarot cards for someone, remember that they probably do not know much if anything about Tarot and they most certainly would not have as much knowledge as you would. Therefore if you do get a card that is a little bit of a roadblock, just go with your gut. Always trust how the card makes you feel and go with that. What ends up coming out of your mouth would be far more truthful than anything you memorized from a book.
Tip #3- Do not take yourself too seriously! This is something that I think we should apply to our own lives outside of Tarot as well. If you get stuck on something it is okay to have a little laugh or make a joke. Most people will laugh right along with you. You want your clients to have fun and there is nothing wrong with having a little fun right along with them, even if it involves laughing at yourself. As long as its a brain fart and not an actual fart, I think you are in the clear!

This is going to end my little tips section because I want to move on to more cards as well as making a special post for the Blue Moon tonight! Happy reading!!! )O(