Tarot Reading Course
Introduction to the Tarot
Years ago, when I told my brother I was studying the Tarot, his first comment was, "How can a deck of cards possibly tell you anything about anything?" I laughed because I thought his reply summed up pretty well the common-sense view of the cards. I, too, had my doubts about the Tarot, but I found out that the cards can make a real difference in the way you perceive and deal with the challenges in your life. In this introduction, I'll try to explain why.The origin of the Tarot is a mystery. We do know for sure that the cards were used in Italy in the fifteenth century as a popular card game. Wealthy patrons commissioned beautiful decks, some of which have survived. The Visconti-Sforza, created in 1450 or shortly thereafter, is one of the earliest and most complete.Later, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the cards were discovered by a number of influential scholars of the occult. These gentlemen were fascinated by the Tarot and recognized that the images on the cards were more powerful than a simple game would suggest. They revealed (or created!) the "true" history of the Tarot by connecting the cards to Egyptian mysteries, Hermetic philosophy, the Kabbalah, alchemy, and other mystical systems. These pursuits continued into the early part of the twentieth century when the Tarot was incorporated into the practices of several secret societies, including the Order of the Golden Dawn.Although the roots of the Tarot lie in the occult tradition, interest in the cards has expanded over the last few decades to include many different perspectives. New decks have been created to reflect these diverse interests, including Native American, herbal, dragon, and Japanese-themed decks, among others.The Tarot is most commonly viewed as a tool for divination. A traditional Tarot reading involves a seeker—someone looking for answers to personal questions—and a reader someone trained to interpret the cards. After the seeker shuffles and cuts the deck, the reader lays out the chosen cards in a specific pattern called a spread. Each position in the spread holds a particular meaning, and each card carries its own symbolic significance. The reader combines these meanings to offer insight and guidance related to the seeker’s questionA simple process, yet rarely presented in a simple way. In films, the Tarot is often portrayed in dimly lit parlors or shadowy back rooms. An elderly woman, cloaked in mystery, reads the cards for a nervous young girl. With a wrinkled finger, the crone points ominously to the Death card. The girl recoils, terrified by this symbol of her supposed doom.This aura of darkness still clings to the Tarot today. Some religions shun the cards, viewing them as dangerous or unholy. The scientific establishment often dismisses them as irrational relics of a superstitious past. But let us set aside these shadowy portrayals for a moment and consider the Tarot simply for what it is: a deck of illustrated picture cards. The real question becomes what can we do with them?The answer lies within the unconscious that vast realm of memory and awareness residing deep within each of us, yet often outside our conscious perception. Though we may ignore its activity in daily life, the unconscious profoundly influences our thoughts, behaviors, and decisions.Sigmund Freud emphasized the irrational and primitive side of the unconscious. He believed it was the seat of unacceptable urges and repressed desires. Carl Jung, his contemporary, focused on its constructive side. He introduced the idea of a collective unconscious, a shared foundation of universal symbols and archetypes connecting all human beings.Though we may never fully grasp the depth of the unconscious, we have developed tools to explore it psychotherapy, dream interpretation, visualization, meditation. The Tarot is one such tool.Take, for example, a typical Tarot card: the Five of Swords. It depicts a man holding three swords, looking over his shoulder at two figures in the distance. Two more swords lie abandoned on the ground. As I look at the card, I begin to build a story. I see a man who seems smug and satisfied, perhaps victorious after a conflict. The others appear defeated, walking away in silence.What I’ve done is take an open-ended image and projected a personal narrative onto it. To me, my interpretation feels obvious—even inevitable. Yet another person might see something entirely different. Perhaps the man is trying to gather the swords and is calling for help, but the others refuse. Or maybe he helped mediate a conflict, convincing the other two to lay down their weapons.
This is the Tarot’s true magic: it doesn’t dictate answers it invites interpretation. Each card is a mirror reflecting our inner landscape, helping us access thoughts and feelings that might otherwise stay buried. By engaging with these images, we begin a dialogue with ourselves one that can offer guidance, clarity, and self-discovery.The point is that, of all possible stories, I chose a certain one. Why? Because it is human nature to project unconscious material onto objects in the environment. We always see reality through a lens made up of our own inner state. Therapists have long noted this tendency and have created tools to assist in the process. The famous Rorschach inkblot test is based on such projection.Projection is one reason why the tarot cards are valuable. Their intriguing pictures and patterns are effective in tapping the unconscious. This is the personal aspect of the tarot, but the cards also have a collective component. As humans, we all have certain common needs and experiences. The images on the tarot cards capture these universal moments and draw them out consistently. People tend to react to the cards in similar ways because they represent archetypes. Over many centuries, the tarot has evolved into a collection of the most basic patterns of human thought and emotion.Consider the Empress. She stands for the Mother Principle life in all its abundance. Notice how her image conjures up feelings of luxuriance. She is seated on soft, lush pillows, and her robe flows in folds around her. In the Empress, we sense the bounty and sensual richness of Nature.The power of the tarot comes from this combination of the personal and the universal. You can see each card in your own way, but, at the same time, you are supported by understandings that others have found meaningful. The tarot is a mirror that reflects back to you the hidden aspects of your own unique awareness.When we do a tarot reading, we select certain cards by shuffling, cutting, and dealing the deck. Although this process seems random, we still assume the cards we pick are special. This is the point of a tarot reading after all to choose the cards we are meant to see. Now, common sense tells us that cards chosen by chance can't hold any special meaning, or can they?
To answer this question, let's look at randomness more closely. Usually, we say that an event is random when it appears to be the result of the chance interaction of mechanical forces. From a set of possible outcomes, all equally likely, one occurs but for no particular reason.This definition includes two key assumptions about random events: they are the result of mechanical forces, and they have no meaning. First, no tarot reading is solely the product of mechanical forces. It is the result of a long series of conscious actions. We decide to study the tarot. We buy a deck and learn how to use it. We shuffle and cut the cards in a certain way at a certain point. Finally, we use our perceptions to interpret the cards.At every step, we are actively involved. Why, then, are we tempted to say a reading is "the chance interaction of mechanical forces?" Because we can't explain just how our consciousness is involved. We know our card choices aren't deliberate, so we call them random. In fact, could there be a deeper mechanism at work, one connected to the power of our unconscious? Could our inner states be tied to outer events in a way that we don't yet fully understand? I hold this possibility out to you.The other feature of a random event is that it has no inherent meaning. I roll a die and get a six, but there is no purpose to this result. I could just as easily roll a one, and the meaning would be the same or would it? Do we really know these two outcomes are equal? Perhaps there is meaning and purpose in every event, great or small, but we don't always recognize it.At a party many years ago, I had the sudden urge to pick up a die sitting on the floor. I knew with great conviction that I would use this die to roll each number individually. As I began, the laughter and noise of the party faded away. I felt a growing excitement as a different number appeared with each roll. It was only with the last successful roll that my everyday awareness returned, and I sat back, wondering what had happened. At one level, these six rolls were unrelated, random events, but at another level, they were very meaningful. My inner experience told me this was so, even though an outside observer might not agree. What was the meaning?At the time, it was a lesson in the strange interaction between mind and matter. Today, I know it had another purpose - to be available to me now, some 25 years later, as an illustration of this very lesson! Meaning is a truly mysterious quality that arises at the juncture of inner and outer realities. There is a message in everything. trees, songs, even trash- but only when we are open to perceiving it. The tarot cards convey many messages because of the richness of their images and connections. More importantly, tarot readings communicate meaning because we bring to them our sincere desire to discover deeper truths about our lives. By seeking meaning in this way, we honor its reality and give it a chance to be revealed. If there is meaning in a reading, where does it come from? I believe it comes from that part of ourselves that is aware of the divine source of meaning. Some people call this advisor the soul, the superconscious, or the higher self. I call it the Inner Guide because that is the role it plays in connection with the tarot.
