How to learn divinatory tarot

There are therefore no courses, and even less any training, to learn how to read the cards and know how to predict the future for a person concerned. It is thus, at the outset, a personal endeavour, blending passion and curiosity, that leads the apprentice tarot reader to certain knowledge of the deeply mysterious world of tarot card decks.

But first and foremost, the person concerned must be endowed with a broad open-mindedness, able to accept that parallel worlds evolve around the one in which we live and that we call reality. They must also know how to demonstrate instinctive reflection, sound deduction and a certain clairvoyance, which some compare to a natural gift of extrasensory perception.

So much for the qualities that anyone wishing to invest themselves in the practice of divinatory tarot should possess. Let us now see how to proceed concretely to train in tarot reading, the practice of divinatory tarot, the art of being able to predict the future for a querent by interpreting the meanings of the cards drawn.

Of course, you will have to begin by getting familiar with the various cards of a tarot deck. And what could be more logical than to start with a deck of cards from the famous Tarot of Marseille, the most widely used in the world since its creation in the 15^th century.

Once you have this deck firmly in hand, and have made it your own by viewing it in its entirety over long periods, you will have to begin to learn the meanings of each of these cards. For they are all filled with deep symbols that will guide the future interpretations.

For this, you will need to turn to a specialised book on the famous Tarot of Marseille, or failing that, look into the many websites devoted to this divinatory tarot. It is therefore here that a personal development of the future tarot reader will take place with each of these so eloquent cards.

In the case of the Tarot of Marseille, these cards that are called the arcana number 78. And these 78 arcana are divided into 2 distinct parts: the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana.

As their name indicates, the Major Arcana are the cards that carry the most weight during a divinatory reading. They number 22, all bearing a proper name and numbers that designate them. All except the last, named The Fool, which will represent the querent during the initiatory journey that will unfold during the reading. For you should know that these 22 Major Arcana will influence the interpretations they will reveal regarding the querent’s future. This thanks to their powerful imagery, which places us before a singular figure or a symbolism filled with esotericism, astrology and numerology.

Moreover, the names borne by these Major Arcana speak for themselves: the Tower, the Hanged Man, Strength, Justice, the Lovers, or Death, to name but a few.

As for the 56 Minor Arcana, we can say that their importance is lesser, although their meanings are provided in detail on the personality of the querent, and on strong points of their past that they would have tended to bury in the depths of their memory. The fact remains that these 56 Minor Arcana are divided into 4 suits :

• the Coins, which relate to everything connected with the material and financial aspect,
• the Wands, which represent the character and personality of all,
• the Cups, which express all emotional and affective energy,
• and the Swords, which relate to action in any event.

Within each of these 4 suits are 14 cards, numbered from the Ace to the 10, then named Page, Knight, Queen and King.

There are numerous spreads that can be performed with each of the existing tarots or Oracles. And each spread will have a particular subject of prediction or a specificity of its own.

With the Tarot of Marseille, there are many spreading methods, but one of the most used is the cross spread, which allows us to answer a very specific question asked by the querent.

First of all, and this for all spreads, you must:

• Thoroughly shuffle the cards so that they are mixed together as well as possible.
• Next, you will have to cut the deck into 2 roughly distinct parts face down,
• Draw 5 cards in the case of a cross spread, which you will lay out in front of you, on a flat surface. The placement will be done in the order in which they are drawn, and their position will be most essential for the interpretation.

Thus, the 1^st will go all the way to the left, the second all the way to the right, the 3^rd as high as possible and in the middle, the 4^th as low as possible and in the middle, and the 5^th in the middle of the 1^st and the 2^nd. So that our cards form a cross.

During the interpretation that will follow,

• card no.1 will reveal the present situation,
• card no.2 will indicate any blockages,
• card no.3 will unveil events to come,
• card no.4 will offer the answer to the question asked,
• while card no.5 will provide a synthesis of the answer given.

To better grasp the imagery of each of the cards, and thus learn the different spreads that can be performed with them, it will be relevant to obtain a book entirely devoted to divinatory tarot.

There are many of them, written by authors who practise tarot reading as professionals, and who therefore know their subject inside out.

One of the best examples among so many others would be the book « Tarots: Pratiques et interprétations » by the author Marcel Picard, which can be found in specialised shops or directly on Amazon.

Whether you wish to obtain a deck of Tarot of Marseille cards, of the Belline Oracle, of the Rider-Waite Smith tarot, or of Mlle Lenormand’s, you simply need to turn to shops or websites specialised in tarot reading.

It is generally advised to choose to make your purchase in a shop, because you can touch the cards with your fingertips, but this kind of specialised shop is only found in large cities. So, for those who have no other choice, you have to order your tarot deck on one of the many websites dedicated to divinatory tarots, or once again, quite simply on Amazon.