How to Ask a Question with Tarot Cards
You may be surprised to hear this, but no mysterious powers are necessary for tarot reading. Just like anyone has a right to pray - each and every one of us can read the tarot cards. The ability to accurately read tarot cards comes from acquired knowledge, experience and practice, and not from enlightment. Actually, the power of the tarot lies not in the reader of the tarot cards, but in the person who asks the questions during the reading - called the querent or asker.
How Does the Tarot Work?
The strength of tarot cards has been recognized for hundreds of years. The cards are used for future predictions, consultations, spiritual growth, meditation, and even spells. There are many different beliefs about the source of the tarot power. One of the most widespread ideas describes a guardian angel who accompanies each of us from birth to death, who advises the tarot reader. The guardian angel has visibility into the future, and knows what’s right for the asker in each and every situation. According to this idea, the reader is a kind of mediator between the guardian angel and the asker.
There are some actions you can take even before the reading in order to improve its results:
- Light a candle to attract positive energy.
- Prepare a list of tarot questions you’d like to ask.
- Try to refrain from eating 2-3 hours before the reading.
- Take a shower to purify yourself.
- Clean the surface where the cards will be placed.
- Greet the asker cordially and offer him/her a drink.
- Sit with your back to the North and place the asker on the other side of the table, facing you.
During the reading, it’s important to ask the right questions in an effective way, in order to heighten the clarity of the answers. Here are some tips for asking effective questions:
- Ask a focused question relating to the current situation, rather than an abstract, ambiguous question.
- Try to veer toward positive, rather than negative questions and energy.
- Don’t ask the same question repetitively after receiving an answer for that question, and don’t consult the card too often. Reach out to the cards when you are at a crossroads, when the issue at stake is of great importance, or when you are at an impasse.
- Using tarot cards to answer relationship questions is OK - you can ask tarot about someone else, but try to focus the question on your relationship with this person or on an issue that concerns both of you.
- Do not use tarot cards when the asker has a malicious intent.
- Do not read the tarot cards when you’re depressed or in a state of alternating moods, because the cards will reflect your mood. When reading, you should be in a calm state of mind, as you are a kind of translator. Don’t let your mental state, beliefs and prejudices affect the reading or disrupt the guardian angel’s messages.
What Are Good Questions to Ask During a Tarot Reading?
Example tarot questions could involve many different areas - love, career, family, personal growth, a crisis and more. Questions to ask tarot cards about love could include: “How can I improve my relationship with my husband?”, “What could bring me closer to John?”, “Should I stay in this relationship?” Tarot questions about career issues could be: “How can I get a raise?”, “What can I do to get a better job?”, “What should I do to get more recognition at the office?”
Now that you’ve prepared, how do you use the cards to get answers to your questions?
Handling the tarot cards is an art that requires particular practices:
- Handle the cards with your left hand.
- Mix the cards to remove previous influences.
- Tell the asker to state the question and to think about it while you mix the cards.
- Mix the cards while also thinking about the question.
- Give the cards to the asker and have him/her mix them while pondering the question. After that, the asker should put them back in your hands (not on the table).
- Take the cards in your left hand and place them on the table facing down.
- Break the deck into three small packs and place them on the table in a row.
- Switch between the two packs on the sides, leaving the middle one in place.
- Unite the cards back into a single deck.
The analysis of the cards is performed by attributing a specific meaning to the position of each card in the spread. The meaning of each position should be decided in advance, before the spread is set.
There are endless spreads for tarot cards. For an easy start, you don’t have to use a preset spread - you can make up your own. The important thing is that the spread should fit your needs. For instance, you could place 3 cards in a row to ask about a particular situation: You can decide that the first card will describe the present situation, the second will indicate what to do about it, and the third will indicate what it will lead to. In another spread, you might decide that the right card signifies the past, the middle card signifies the present and the left card signifies the future. It’s up to you!
The Rescue Card
Sometimes in a spread, most of cards are coherent, but one just seems unrelated and non-communicative. In this case, you can draw a “rescue card”. Leave the spread as is, look at the card, mix the cards and ask for clarification. Spread the deck like a fan, and pull out one card. This new card can help you discover the secret. The meaning of this card should be added to the original meaning of the former card.
A tarot reading generally has 78 cards - 56 cards belong to the Minor Arcana, which is associated with lower energy, and 22 belonging to the Major Arcana, which is associated with higher energy.
The Major Arcana
The major arcana cards are considered to have deep, strong energy. They describe universal themes which are phases of spiritual growth:
0 The Fool - All options are open, fresh start, innocence, optimism
I The Magician - Power, implementation, confidence
II The High Priestess - Mystery, subconscious, intuition
III The Empress - Abundance, happiness, fertility
IV The Emperor - Structure, authority, order
V The Hierophant - Tradition, institutions, rules
VI The Lovers - Deliberation between 2 options - heart vs. mind
VII The Chariot - Convenient, stable, secure situations, but without true control
VIII Strength - Boldness and strength will yield success
IX The Hermit - Meditation, isolation, enlightenment
X Wheel of Fortune - Change of fortune, destiny
XI Justice - Law, fairness
XII The Hanged Man - Sacrifice, choice, relinquishing old ways, surrender
XIII Death - Transition, renewal, progress
XIV Temperance - Balance, reconstruction, moderation
XV The Devil - Destructive patterns, corruption, indulgence, ignorance
XVI The Tower - Release, destruction of existing structures, cleansing
XVII The Star - Hope, comfort, faith, innocence, optimism
XVIII The Moon - Mystery, fears, subconscious
XIX The Sun - Success resulting from external forces, clarity, celebration
XX Judgment - Awakening, rebirth, growth, restoration
XXI The World - The material world, routine, completion, attainment
The Minor Arcana
The Minor Arcana comprises 56 cards, divided into 4 series:
- Wands series - associated with the fire element, signifies entrepreneurship, investment, tactics and progress.
- Cups series - associated with the water element, signifies emotion, spiritual experience, wavering, love, life, satisfaction, desperation, nostalgia.
- Swords series - associated with the air element, signifies a destructive force, intellect and reason and justice.
- Pentacles series - associated with the earth element, signifies material issues, practicality and security.
Each series contains 14 cards - numeric cards, Aces and court cards. The numeric cards represent various emotions or events, such as love, sadness, happiness disaster, celebration, etc., while most of the court cards are related to the astrological signs and are more abstract.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed? That’s understandable. This article is just the tip of the iceberg. Tarot cards hold a whole wide world of ancient truths, and there’s so much to learn. As mentioned, the ability to really extract the truth from the cards comes from expertise and experience. Therefore, the best way to learn about tarot cards is to experience a reading from a true professional. This could be of great help to you when you try to read the tarot cards on your own. At Kasamba.com, you can choose from a variety of professional experts who have been uncovering truths using tarot cards for many years. So what are you waiting for?
