How to Be a Tarot Detective

Copyright © 2015 by Rev. Vikki Anderson.

ISBN:    Hardcover      978-1-5035-2913-7

              Softcover       978-1-5035-2912-0

              eBook            978-1-5035-2911-3

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Illustrations from the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck® reproduced by permission of U.S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford, CT 06902 USA. Copyright ©1971 by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Further reproduction prohibited. The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck® is a registered trademark of U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

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Rev. date: 03/12/2015

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Contents

Dedication

Special Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Introduction

Learning The Tarot

Background

General Information

Major Arcana Cards And Roman Numerals

Do Whatever Feels Right

The Major Arcana: Spiritual Secrets

Numerology

Karmic Lessons Through Tarot And Numerology

The Minor Arcana: Mundane Secrets

The Four Suits

Court Cards

Dos And Don’ts

Notes From A Tarot Sage

Crystals

Healing Crystal Meanings

Color Interpretations

Preparing The Cards

Interpreting The Cards

The Four Overviews

Questions To Ask

Symbology

Timing Of Events

Totally Tarot Timing Method

Traditional Timing Methods

Major Arcana Interpretations

Minor Arcana Interpretations

Wands

Pentacles

Swords

Cups

Reading The Cards

Court Cards

Types Of Spreads

Celtic Cross Spread

Celtic Cross Diagram

Astrology Spread

Astrology Spread Diagram

Year-Ahead Spread

Year-Ahead Spread Diagram

Your Own Spread

Simple Cross Spread And Diagram

Name Spread

One Card Spread

Yes/No Ace Spread

Yes/No SpreadWith Aces

Yes/No SpreadReversed - Upright

Yes/NoReverse-Upright Spread

Yes/No SpreadMajor And Minor Arcana

Birthday Spread

Three Card Spread

Past, Present And Future Spread

Daily Cards

Quick Reference SectionThe Major Arcana

The Minor Arcana

Wands – Fire

Pentacles – Earth

Swords - Air

Cups - Water

Astrological House Interpretations

Astrological Sun Signs

Planets

Positive And Negative Signs

Glossary

Last Thoughts

Author’s Biography

References

DEDICATION

T HIS BOOK IS dedicated to my mother, Agnes Rose Delaney Ciervo, whom I never understood as a child, but later emulated as an adult.

She unconditionally loved her husband, Sam; her children, Vikki, Sam and Rose, and her grandchildren Cailin, Keri, Clare and Emily and her grandsons Quinn and Clark. Mom most especially loved her great grandson, Brayden and although she will not be around to watch him grow up or meet her new great granddaughter, McKayla, we know she is looking down on them, protecting and guiding them to a positive, bright future. Just as Mom was always present and supportive through life, she continues to be present since her passing. She will always be a part of us and we will always keep her alive in our hearts.

We love you, Mom. We will all be with you one day, so keep the light on for us and get the macaroni, sauce, and meatballs ready for dinner. I am especially looking forward to having my birthday ice box cake again.

We miss you.

SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I WANT TO EXTEND a very special thank you to my brother, Sam Ciervo, who did the final review of this book. I was able to take advantage of his 32 years’ experience as an English teacher in the NJ private and public school systems to make this book what I always wanted it to be. My brother has always a God-send to me by helping me with many chores and projects around the house as well as with his good advice, but now he is helping me beyond my dreams. Thank you, Sam, for being the best brother in the world! You will always be my favorite brother.

Sam Ciervo is a retired high school English teacher who is the proud father of Clare and Emily Ciervo and the husband of Joanne. He currently resides in Montclair, NJ.

I would like to send a big hug and thank you to my very good friend, Patricia Scillia, who helped with the preliminary editing of this book. We are spiritual sisters; she has helped me finish this book faster than I could have on my own. As she said, A fresh set of eyes is what you need, and indeed I did. You have been such a blessing in my life, Patricia! Thank you so much for your enlightenment, hard work and beautiful spirit. Peace be with you always. Blessed be.

PATRICIA SCILLIA, M.Ed., L.P.C., is a teacher, counselor, a photographer of natural scenic settings and a designer of ‘one-of a-kind jewelry creations. She has received national recognition for her published photograph, The Promise. Her art is exhibited in art shows, psychic and metaphysical fairs, bookstores and local spas and salons. Ms. Scillia also received local recognition for her photograph, In Bloom. She teaches and counsels adults in transition and is a member of Salute to Women in the Arts and a Graduate and Advisory Board Member of Using the Arts in Prevention" Program at Rutgers University.

Cover Artwork by SK Art and Design.

I would like to add a great big thank you to my cousin, Steve Kaminsky, who designed the cover for me and was very patient as I kept rearranging the order of the cards. Steve is an extremely talented graphic designer. He may be contacted at [email protected] if anyone is interested in a great Graphic Design Artist.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T HANK YOU TO Linda Marks, my dearest friend, who has been relentlessly pestering me to finish this book since the original version came out in 2001. You were right; all I had to do was sit down and edit a little each and every day. Thank you so much for your continued nudging and friendship. It still is a bigger job than you could ever imagine. I don’t want to tell you when I am editing my Feng Shui book because all this fuss will start all over again!

I must mention my good friend, Robert Vecchio, former owner of Practical Magick 2, who helped me with the interpretations of candle magick. Blessings to you, Robert, in your new adventures in life. To make an appointment for a reading with Robert, email him at [email protected].

Thank you to www.blessedbegarden.com. They were kind enough to share some of their crystal descriptions with me to add to my own. Blessed Be Garden is a Metaphysical Store established 10/31/13. Formed by two practicing witches, Andrea & Krista welcome the opportunity to earn your trust. It offers the convenience of one stop shopping with a variety of Pagan, Wiccan, and Witchcraft, Occult, Metaphysical and spiritual supplies. Send Andrea and Krista an email for more additional information about their services at [email protected].

And last but not least, a thank you to all of my students, clients, family and friends who have been encouraging me to finish this book. It is not easy to write a teaching text, everything has to be just right, and now I think I finally got it! Thanks for your undying support and love. I hope you enjoy it and learn how to read the tarot easily and accurately.

FOREWORD

T HE FIRST VERSION of this book which is out of print was entitled, Totally Tarot: How to Be a Tarot Detective. It was dedicated to the spreading of love and light to the people who were ready to receive the knowledge contained within. This book was written to give everyone more spiritual and karmic lesson knowledge. With these tools, Readers can do more accurate and detailed readings. This book combines the first book for those who have never read it and another part of this book includes new insights and information that was not included in the original.

Sacred Tarot (not tarot or oracle cards that children play as party games) is not a game. It is a method and modality of finding out about family, friends, career paths, health issues, opportunities, guidance, direction, your life and the future. It is a way to find answers to those questions in life when you are unsure about your path and the choices that have to be made which are important to whoever is involved in making a decision.

Tarot can be taught one way and interpreted another way by each Reader. It is not magic and your understanding of the truth of the cards certainly changes with use. Remember the old saying, Your understanding of the truth changes, but the truth always remains the same. Your interpretations become more in-depth, more accurate and then evolve into other spiritual interpretations or added insight that you get each and every time you use the cards. This is why I had to write a revised version of this book. I have gotten much more insight on the cards and wanted to share the additional information I have received throughout the years. I have always taught the cards with a bent towards astrology and numerology so that you will get multi-dimensional meanings from the reading because three separate modalities are involved. I think this is the only way to use the tarot.

The intricacies are crucial. It is very important to read everything you can get your hands on. It is very important to talk to others who read tarot and see if they will give you some guidance as well. You will eventually be guided by your own guardian angels or spirit guides (or whomever you believe in and contact) to tell the person for whom you are doing the reading (who is referred to as the Querent, Significator or Sitter) everything that they are supposed to know. However, we must filter the information. All of us get the information differently and we need to find our comfort zone in explaining this information to the best of our ability in the most positive way possible. Some students say they do not feel as if they are getting spiritual insight or connections to the spiritual realm (or Astral Plane or Akashic Hall of Records); this is probably true if you are a beginner. Remember, you may not know where the words you are saying come from. You may start out reading the practiced and learned meaning of the card and then go off on a tangent about something completely different. Where did that information come from? Most likely, it is information that was supposed to be shared with your Querent. If you have the intent of sharing this sacred knowledge for the Querent’s best interest, then nothing you tell the Sitter is incorrect and will be for his or her best interest. It will all have a special meaning to them even if, at times, you may not understand it. Just trust that they will understand the knowledge you have imparted to them and let it go at that.

How to Be a Tarot Detective started out as notes that I used in weekly tarot classes at various libraries, adult education courses, private and group lessons and at lectures for groups and organizations. I had always wanted to write a book, and my students would laugh and say, You have enough handouts to make a book! Why not put them together and make one? They were right. So, I organized a book of notes and came up with my first tarot book entitled, Totally Tarot: How to Be a Tarot Detective, which was published in 2001. It was published by a wonderful but small publishing house in Florida and was not marketed well so I did not sell a great deal of them. That first book is out of print and I had recently found two last copies on Amazon.com at a price of $548 each! Now I am sorry that I gave boxes of them away to friends and metaphysical groups years ago. I could have been rich in my retirement years by now!

I always had my book available at lectures and expositions and I also did a few book signings, but at the end of the day, I think my students were the only ones who benefitted from the guided knowledge. With that in mind, I combined the first book with this updated and revised edition because I was not sure if anyone who purchased this book would have enough background on the way I taught tarot to have this new book make sense. This second book is called, How to be a Tarot Detective, Revised Edition. I have revised the meanings of the cards somewhat throughout the years and karmic lessons were part of the whole picture. So in essence, you are reading my first and second books for the price of one. What a bargain!

This is a beginner and intermediate workbook detailing all of the necessary steps to make reading the tarot a reliable and helpful tool in guiding your decisions and life path. But now, many years later, it has morphed into the second part of the journey including new updated information on what the cards mean and how to gain insight into your every day karmic lessons as well as your life-long spiritual karmic lessons by using numerology and figuring out your birth path number. I have added a separate meaning for* teenagers section as well as a brief affirmation or meditation with each card. I’m sure you will find it meaningful in your quest to be a terrific tarot Reader.

I frequently do lectures on Karmic Lessons through Tarot and Numerology; this information is also included in this book. Once someone knows their karmic lessons, everything in their life makes sense. People confess to me, Oh, that’s why I always have problems with money, or I knew there must have been some karmic issue with relationships because they never work for me, but now I know why. There are so many revelations towards handling karmic lessons that people actually make better choices in their future because they know that if they do not handle the issues in this life time, it will be thrust upon them again in the next and the next life, etc., until they successfully handle the issue. Handle your issues now so you will be free of the negative or emotional experiences you constantly attract and have to deal with on a daily basis. Release, relax and send love and light to everyone as well as the universe. Then, let go.

Purchase a Rider-Waite deck so you can follow along with each of the seventy-eight cards and their explanations more easily. It is the original Rider-Waite deck which has card of The Magician on the outer box. There are four Rider-Waite decks and some have different coloring in them which may throw off your reading if you are not familiar with this deck. You may always buy additional decks later on to enhance your readings. I personally use all of the decks now and can still use a great deal of my interpretations in this book to make the cards’ images come alive. But as a beginner or an advanced Reader in the old, traditional way of reading the cards, please take a little time to learn the Totally Tarot Method. It is easier and makes more sense than the older method. It is also the best way to get the most extraordinary reading you will ever give to others or yourself.

INTRODUCTION

I HAVE FOUND TAROT to be a useful tool in aiding people in conflict and in general who are looking for answers to life’s issues and concerns. In the forty-two years that I have been reading and teaching tarot as well as many other metaphysical modalities, I have only had one person who regularly came to me each year around his birthday simply to get an update on his life for the upcoming year. This is quite rare; he just wanted to know what positive opportunities he should expect. Usually people who contact me are attracted to my energy because I am an outstanding listener and very good in handling emotional issues. People who are in crisis are also attracted to my energy as well as those who want me to help them make their decisions. This is something I would never do since decisions lead to your path and your future, so a competent and ethical tarot Reader would give options and choices to any question you may have but then ultimately you must decide on your next course of action.

If people were not in crisis, there would be no need for tarot guidance or direction. Do not get me wrong, there are people who just want to know what is coming up and what decisions have to be made because they want to take control of their lives or handle the responsibilities dropped in their laps. But more than not, there are people who need to know when they are getting married, if they should stay married, if they should have an affair, if they should stay in an affair, have more children, have any children, should they leave their job, or dump the married man they had been dating for five years, behind a husband’s back (Yes, this also happens to women as well). These may seem like ridiculous questions to seek advice about, but to the person (Sitter, Querent, or Significator) seeking the advice and help, these issues are important. They would not be seeking advice if they considered it to be an easy road ahead.

When people are desperate, they seek answers from those who can help them get through the obstacles and challenges or at the very least, provide some insight into the situation which could lead them into making better decisions. They need the hope and positive alternatives Tarot Readers provide. Some need to be referred to a healthcare professional, whether for therapy or medication. Tarot must not be used as a substitute for medical attention. Some clients had started to come to me on a weekly basis, and when I asked why they were coming for advice so frequently, they said, they had left their therapist or psychiatrist. When I questioned them further about why they took such action, they usually said something like, When I go to therapy, my therapist asks me what I think. If I knew what I thought, I wouldn’t need therapy. When I come here, you give me options and choices for my future. I feel more in control and more secure. This is when you would tell them that tarot is not a substitute for therapy, but perhaps an adjunct to their medical care. Then you have others who come for readings so that they do not have to go to a doctor. For instance, one might ask if their health is okay. Or someone might ask if his or her high blood pressure will level out over the next few weeks or months. An ethical and seasoned tarot Reader would also suggest that they consult a healthcare professional, if they thought it is needed, and disclose the additional advice the client may need from the card pulled in the reading.

I do feel that many people just need someone to listen to their problems and be assured that everything will be all right. I also think that because they are emotionally involved or invested in a particular situation, it is hard for them to make a logical decision. As an unbiased Reader, you can give insight and an unemotional or logical approach to resolving their problems or challenges. Remember, every situation has a solution. Perhaps you just haven’t discovered it yet.

Knowing the energy of the cards and the energy of the person is very important. As a tarot Reader or consultant, I help them make many decisions to move their lives forward in a very positive way. It also helps to know astrology since I always ask my client or student for their astrological sign. Once I find out the information I was seeking, I know how to speak to them so that they will easily understand the information I present them. There was only one time that I asked someone for her sun sign and the client would not give it to me. In that instance, I felt she was a negative or feminine sign and treated her as such. (I found out later that she was a Virgo… need I say more?). If you do not know astrology, I would suggest treating a person who would not give you his or her sun sign for whatever reason as a wounded child or someone with a broken heart. Speak clearly, concisely and compassionately to them and your message will be received and quickly understood.

You may check out the Sun Sign Descriptions in the back of the book so you can familiarize yourself with some of the signs and learn how to talk to these clients. Otherwise, Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs is the perfect book on astrological descriptions to help you familiarize yourself with each of the twelve sun signs on the ecliptic.

LEARNING THE TAROT

S TUDYING TAROT HAS always been a fun and relaxing pastime for me. As I read the many books available on the subject throughout the years, it was always a mystery to me that all the tarot books had different meanings for the cards. The student had to compile information from various sources to eventually devise a general meaning of her own choosing for each card. There was just too much information available on the subject and too many conflicting books and nearly over one thousand decks to choose from! Each deck has its own book of meanings, so you really have to pick one or two decks and become an expert on them. As I had previously said, this book will be using the Rider-Waite deck. You certainly may buy any other deck you choose; however, I am not sure all of the meanings for this deck would be practical for any other deck.

Also, some people buy tarot decks because they are drawn to them whether they are spiritual, Native American, medicine, animal, witch, fantasy, fairy, Halloween, or a million other topics for the particular deck. Be careful not to collect too many as they will wind up in a drawer and you will do nothing with them. The information in these decks is very deep and it would overwhelm you if you thought you would learn all of the decks purchased.

With practice and patience, one learns to pick up on the overall vibrations of the cards. Each reading is a totally different experience, even if you place the exact same cards in a year ahead spread for two totally different people! I doubt this would ever happen; however, if it did, you would feel different vibrations. You would also receive different messages. Even if the messages do not make much sense at the time, I usually share the messages I receive. It usually means something quite important to the client. If it does not mean anything to them at the time, tell them to just think about it. More often than not, the client or student would call within a week or so and tell you why that information was important to them. Trust your intuition. If you are unsure about the message, you can always say something like, I am getting (whatever the information is…). Does this mean anything to you? If they say yes, all is good. If they say no, then you can say, Well, let’s go through all the other cards and see if it will make additional sense.

People have asked, Where do the messages come from? What an interesting yet poignant question. In my readings, my messages come from my guardian angel with whom I have been in contact and working with since I was fourteen years old. Others may tune into the Universe or Spirit Guides, God and Goddess, The Source, The One, The All, Spirit, The Angels, The Alpha and Omega, Universal Energy, the Akashic Hall of Records or whatever name(s) you put to the Creator of the Universe. Everyone attracts the information they need to give to the one who is asking for guidance. With time, practice, patience and study, you will not question where your insight is coming from.

I was asked by a student, How do I know I am not getting the information from evil forces? This too is a great question. First of all, I asked her if she considered herself to be evil. She replied, Definitely not. So I responded, Then why would you feel that your information would be coming from an evil source? Why would you be attracting something so negative if you are positive? Opposites repel. It was the Old Catholic guilt showing up again. She said, The Bible says… I stopped her right there.

I consider myself very spiritual and to be a liberated Catholic. I do believe that the Bible is the greatest piece of literature and history in the entire world. By studying the history of religion and the Bible, one realizes that so much was changed, left out, and what we know today in its many versions of the Bible, has changed so much from the original for control of the masses, for political reasons and just because the powers that be at the time deemed it necessary to change. The Bible deleted at least forty-eight gospels and psalms to make all Christians conform to a specific doctrine. It was mind blowing to find out that there were over two thousand different versions of the Christian faith in the first two and a half centuries of Christianity.

Did you know at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD in present day Turkey was made up of bishops who made it their job to decide what was going to be in the canon and what was not going to be put into this newly revised Bible? They deleted many gospels and only left those of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John because it conformed with what they wanted to convey to their flocks. Also left out of the Bible was the Dead Sea Scrolls which are the doctrines of the Gnostics or Essemes, a metaphysical and spiritual group of followers; Jesus Christ was a member of this spiritual community of worshippers. Their gospels were left out of the Bible because their beliefs were that God and Goddess was within and that in reality we did not need priests to absolve us of our sins or bless us. God and Goddess and Jesus dwelled in everyone’s heart. You can see why this information or theology did not go over well with the clergy of the time.

This council also decided what was righteous and what was considered a sin. As previously said, forty-eight gospels were deleted from the Catholic Bible including the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and The Gospel of Thomas. Biblical scholars now believe that Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ wife and not a prostitute as was reported in the early Church; I believe they changed her status in the 1960s to reflect that. Women were not considered important in the days of old and to have Mary Magdalene’s gospels in the Bible was unthinkable. A woman who can think? What would be next, a woman who could be a disciple? Just something to think about, especially when you consider that the Church has had its own agenda and never let their congregations know what was going on behind closed doors. Of course, this still continues today.

I am not here to debate Catholicism, the Christian religion or infer that I do not believe in Christianity; I do consider myself a Liberated Catholic or some people say, a Recovering Catholic. I know the process of being a Catholic, but do not abide by many of the rigid rules concerning our rights regarding conception and limiting gay rights to name a few; however currently, Pope Francis, is making great strides in many positive directions and I am forever hopeful that Christianity will blossom on some level.

I do want people to realize that one of the reasons that the Bible condemns witchcraft (now I’m a witch too according to many because I teach tarot!) is because people from the olden times had little money, if any, and many were going to see astrologers and Tarot Readers instead of the Church for advice and guidance. The Church decided they were not getting their fair share of money from its congregation at weekly mass because it was spent on psychics. When it was discovered where the money was being spent, it was now the work of the devil to go to these types of fortune tellers. Of course, if the Church said that going to see astrologers, psychics or Tarot Readers was the work of the devil, good Christians would return to the Church and never see the fortune tellers again. They would think that it must be true because the Church deemed it so.

I always believed that Jesus had a great idea and then man created religion! I think the Golden Rule applies to many faiths and should be the standard for moral behavior. That is the end of my spiel on religion as tarot is neither a religion nor a philosophy. It is a belief system that helps you make positive choices and lets you understand what is going on in your life and how you may want to change the challenges that you face each and every day. It is a tool to guide and help you choose the proper direction or path for your life. So, when someone asks if tarot is the work of the devil, now you know what to say. (Or you can say, "Yes it is and if you don’t stop bothering me… just kidding).

Since the 1970s, with the new millennium energy fast approaching, I decided that I would not interpret the cards in a negative fashion, but would use the reversed position for timing purposes only. I not only note them, but usually find that the reserved cards show the areas of concern that surround the Querent. The more reversed cards you have in a spread, the more areas of life would be negatively affected. It also shows how many more months it will take to get you through the hard times you are experiencing. For instance, if you have eight reversed cards in a year-ahead spread, those eight cards tell me that it will take at least another eight months to get over your challenges unless you call upon your free will and be proactive in areas of life that need attention. Every time you make a positive choice, are proactive, or decide something, you actually take one month’s negative energy away from you. So, prioritize your issues and create a plan to make a major decision once a week or once a month, etc. When you do, you will be very surprised at how fast things will be resolved and serenity, organization, and stability will be restored to your life.

You must be proactive in determining your future. Once this is done, the timing becomes more reasonable and positive energy will attach to you in no time. If you procrastinate, you will be in the same negative energy field during those eight months which will continue to bring you more responsibility, obligations, concerns, issues, worries and obstacles. If you do nothing, then the positive energy will be bounced off of the negative energy stuck to you and move on to someone else. You want to be a positive energy magnet, so be positive and make good choices for a satisfying future.

In a year-ahead spread, I also use reversed cards to denote that the actual meaning of that particular card would not come to pass until seven to twelve months after the date of the reading. I also use it as the second half of the timeframe. If you are doing a reading for one month and get a reversed card, it indicates that your issue will be resolved in the second half of the time span which would be the third or fourth week. Of course, if you start in the middle of the month, you must figure out the next four weeks from the date of the reading and then the first two weeks are represented by upright cards and the third or fourth week are represented by the reversed cards. If you were asking for a particular day, an upright card would mean from midnight to noon and a reversed card would indicate noon until midnight. If you are asking for a week, an upright card would be the first 3.5 days of the week, and a reversed card would be the remainder of the week. You get the idea, don’t you?

Remember, a year-ahead reading is from the date of the reading to the next year on that particular date and not until the end of the current year. It is also useful to know what obstacles are ahead of you. Then the Querent can create realistic solutions to the issues facing him or her and they can be handled in a very intelligent, analytical and logical manner because you know what the outcome should be.

Every time you do a new reading, you are to let go of the last reading and concentrate on the new reading with a new future date. For instance, if you do a reading today, this reading is good until next year on the same date. I have one client who continually refers back to each and every reading I have ever done for her. She continually refers to her notes, and even though I try to explain that we had done at least six readings after those readings and they are no longer valid, she still brings up past readings. Just stick to your guns. If you tell them that the new reading supersedes that last reading, you have done your job. There is nothing else you can do.

When Readers refer to the past, it is meant from yesterday or the day before the reading back a year, sometimes it can be a longer period, but it refers to at least a year.

For those who would like to learn tarot in a quick and easy manner, here are some suggestions: read the cards through the interpretation of colors, backgrounds, and symbolism. In that way, it is easy to remember any card without memorizing its textbook meaning. In fact, I would suggest that you look at the little insert booklet in the pack of Rider-Waite cards. You may get some insight into the cards from those meanings as well. Remember to use all types of resources to make your readings come alive. Eventually, the meanings will just come to you after practicing with them, but for now, the associations from this book will work out well.

For instance, billowing or fluffy clouds mean that situations are brewing behind you, or unexpected secrets are going on behind your back which you do not currently see. Storm or streaking clouds indicates that you are in the middle of an argument, fight or confrontation right now. Level or smooth ground means you are stable, centered, grounded and balanced while rocky ground means you may trip, fall, stumble, be unbalanced, and have unsure footing. Standing in water means there is too much emotion, compassion, empathy, sympathy, sensitivity, emotions or sentimentality surrounding the Querent or situation. Putting any body part in the water connotes you are adding to your own emotional problems. By learning this symbolism and associations with colors, you can put so many clues together LIKE A DETECTIVE that one would have a detailed and informative meaning for each card without ever having to refer to any other outside source.

(I actually teach a certified tarot course in only twenty hours and it nearly took me ten years of various classes, teachers and lectures to be proficient in reading for others! Everyone was afraid to give away their knowledge back then, but I like to share what I have learned. It has helped me so much and I am sure it will help you too.)

Thank you for purchasing this book; I know you will feel as if you are one of the best detectives in the world once you start finding the clues I have set forth in this book for you to learn, study and practice.

Happy Tarot.

BACKGROUND

A LTHOUGH THERE HAVE been many theories, tarot is an ancient form of divination of unknown origin. The cards’ first appearances have been linked to Atlantis (a highly advanced scientific civilization that was said to have used tarot as well as astronomy and astrology to help define the future as well as many other scientific experiments and accomplishments); Egypt (where the Pharaohs’ priests would go into the pyramids and throw branches toward the walls depicting the twenty-two Minor Arcana cards. Wherever the branches landed represented the advice they would give to the Pharaoh); Europe (where people used the cards as a way of planning their future and finding hope when Christianity became overly oppressive and restrictive) and The British Isles (where it was said a King in the sixteenth century had asked a famed artist of the day to design a playing deck for his amusement). Today, there are well over a thousand decks encompassing all cultures of the world; each culture seems to have had used tarot or oracle cards as a form of guidance in determining their futures. Almost every civilization I have ever studied seemed to have had their own set of tarot cards with the archetypes and symbology that was accepted within their culture at their particular period in history. More tarot decks are being created each day!

I was playing around with a fairy deck and wrote most of the accompanying book, but then noticed there were many similar decks already published on fairies, so did not continue. Then I wanted to do a Star Trek deck, but there were too many obstacles and hoops to jump through and they already had playing cards with Star Trek images on them; however, I have devised a great plan where I divided the four suits into the various Captains and their crew. Kirk (fire), Picard (earth), Cisco (water) and Jayneway (air). One day I hope to find someone to help me with this deck, but for now, I have it safely stored on my computer and in my mind and copyrighted with this book’s publication.

My point is that tarot cards can be created by anyone. This book is written for the Rider-Waite deck and has never been tried out on any other deck other than the Rider-Waite cards. There are four different versions and it works well for all of them except the Universal Rider-Waite where the colors are transposed in many of the cards especially showing green for water, and different colors for the sky.

When a proficient tarot counselor does a reading, events involving important decisions, health, living conditions, loved ones, career changes, promotions, spiritual matters, and emotional growth