Talking to the Tarot -- A Conversational Method
You have your new deck; you've played with the cards and done some practice readings. Yet, somehow, something is missing. The meanings in the little instruction booklet that came with your package don't seem to mesh with you or your friends' personal experiences. Your readings are not yet coming to life. What can you do?
While there is no harm in studying the endless books on Tarot, you might want to try a method I espouse called "Conversational Tarot". I do, in fact, recommend continued study of the history and symbolism of the Tarot. However, the Tarot is a tool for your intuition. The truth is, mere knowledge is not enough to formulate a good reading. Learning how to "talk to your cards" will do more than facilitate your reading skills. It will also enrich your life with many insights about yourself and your relationships, your growth and your directions, and maybe even your worldview.
How do you get started?
1.) Make friends with your cards.
You already know that you need to "bond" yourself with your deck by ritual and by doing readings. If possible, read at least one card a day. Do familiarize yourself with the intended meanings of the Tarot cards in your deck. However, you need not have all the meanings memorized to become "friends" with your cards. Kelesyn Winter, tarot expert and author, writes in his excellent article "Conversational Tarot: A Way to Deeper Understanding, or The Cards Talk Back" of anointing his deck with oil. Other rituals may include sleeping with the cards, consecrating the cards in a blessing ritual (more about consecration in future articles), or wrapping or storing the cards in a special way.
2.) Talk to your cards.
Now that you have established a "rapport" with your cards, you can begin the conversation. To talk to the cards, all you need do is spread them out face down and pull cards. You can also do this by shuffling and pulling single Ask the cards questions, then pull a card as an answer. When you look for the answer in the cards, look at the pictures and symbols you see in the cards. For this exercise, set aside all your books, particularly the little booklet that comes with your deck, and just LOOK.
As you look at the card, what symbols do you see? Do any speak directly to you? Do you see a story in the card? Tell yourself the story. The cards will sometimes show a sense of humor. For instance, one time when I kept asking repeatedly about a potential relationship, the cards eventually kept coming up as reversals of the 8 of Wands. The meaning I generally ascribed to the 8 of Wands is that of communication. Eventually, I understood the cards to be refusing to discuss the question any more! I had pestered them too much. Like a friend, they were setting a boundary with me! Stop talking about that relationship for just a while, please! When I continued questioning about other issues, they politely conversed with me about them, but I left the relationship question alone for a while after that!
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