A Crash Course in Tarot for Newbies #3Written by Sam Stevens
Most Tarot decks consist of 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana, and 56 Minor Arcana cards. The Minor Arcana consist of four "suits”, just like a deck of regular playing cards. The four suits are, Pentacles or Coins, which deal with work/money/success issues, Wands, or Staffs, which deal with more spiritual issues, Cups, which deal with emotional issues, and Swords, which some see as representing negative experiences and loss. If you want more of an explanation of these cards, then check out a Crash Course in Tarot #1. When starting out, I highly recommend making your life easy, and getting person to ask you a question out loud. Both parties should focus on question while you shuffle cards. As you get more experienced or confident with cards, you won't care if they ask a question, but repeating questioner's question out loud yourself does seem to assist divination process. Shuffle cards until person you are reading for feels it is "right" to stop or until you feel it is right to "stop". After you are done cutting, you need to cut deck. Most readers divide deck into three piles. At this point you can either have person you are reading for pick which pile to pick up as top of deck, or you can pick them up in an order that feels right to you. Another option is to fan cards out face down, and have person you are reading for pick out cards they want you to read. Then lay them out in order they are suppose to appear for spread. The One Card Spread The One Card spread is most concise of all spreads, intended to provide a quick take on a situation, or to reduce it to a single issue that you can meditate on. . Simply ask a question and then draw a card to divine answer to your question. It is surprising to what extent these types of one-card readings can be exact, or even solve your problem for you. The Three-Card Spread This spread is good for yes or no questions. After you are done cutting deck lay cards out from left to right. 1 2 3 The first card to left represents past/issues affecting problem. The second card in center represents present/problem. The third card to right represents future/outcome. A variation of this is to read three cards as Mind, Body and Spirit. This is more like a "personality read" and can give you a good indication of where "someone is at." The Celtic Cross Spread Lay out cards on table in following order 10 4 9 5 1 /2 6 8 3 7 The first card is placed face up it represents person asking question and foundation of matter.
| | A Rose is not Just a RoseWritten by Sam Stevens
The rose is perhaps one of most powerful symbols in metaphysical world. It is also one of most accessible tools that can be used for everyday magic. The gift of a rose is also one of simplest ways to say, "I love you" without too much hocus-pocus. The thorns on its stems represent "prick" of love and overcoming of obstacles to achieve your desires. It is pinnacle of metaphorical purity and symbolizes completion and perfection. The element associated with rose is Water, so it is particularly friendly to astrological signs of Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio. Both Mercury and Venus rule this flower. A bath in rose petals or rose water (which is distilled from buds) is said to attract love to bathing beauty. An ancient custom is to sprinkle bed of newly weds with rose petals to sweeten initial carnal relations. In ancient alchemical formulas red rose is used as a masculine principle and rose represents feminine or receptive principle. The combination of two (perhaps growing two bushes intertwined in garden) represents harmony and unity. Rose oil, which is extracted through a rather expensive process from petals of flower, is also prominent in both love and healing rituals. When applied temples oil is said to cure a headache. When applied to thighs or breasts it is supposed to attract a suitor. As an essential oil, rose's essence is thought to relieve depression, PMS and postnatal depression. It is also said to cure frigidity and impotence. Bach's Herbal Remedies makes a distillation of Wild Rose. Taking drops of this under your tongue is thought to help patient free themselves from a rut or feelings of hopelessness and being trapped by fate. Rose water is used in cooking spells and added to curries and cake mixes to infuse dish with good spirits and love attracting qualities. The water is also splashed on skin (but not around eyes) to give you a complexion as dewy as flower.
|
