Join us Wednesday, December 18, 2019,
at Rockford Unitarian Universalist
for a family-friendly ritual to celebrate the arrival of the shortest day and longest night!
This Yule Ritual will be led by Allen and begins at 6 PM. Snacks and desserts served after the ritual.
Q: What is the difference between the tarot cards with numbers, and the cards named for people?
A: There are generally 78 cards in a tarot deck; and I say generally because some decks are only the Major Arcana or sometimes liberal with a few additional cards. The tarot deck is broken down into Major and Minor Arcana. There are 22 Major Arcana cards (usually numbered 0-21) and 56 Minor Arcana cards which are spread over 4 different suits Ace through 10, and Page, Knight, Queen, and King. The most common used are Staves (or Wands), Cups, Swords, Coins (or Pentacles).
Think of the Major Arcana as major happenings, milestones, events, and energy that one can use or call upon. The Minor Arcana can be viewed as smaller (daily) happenings, details, or events. The Minor lends insight into the steps needed to reach goals or changes that need to be made.
You can do a tarot reading with just the Major Arcana, but most will not do one with only the Minor Arcana. The Major helps to clue you into the large events that may be supported by the Minor.
This Two Minute Tarot was originally presented by April Kane for White Oak Grove CUUPS August 4, 2019. ©2019 April Kane
“Magic is a method of talking to the universe in words that it cannot ignore.”
~ NEIL GAIMAN, The Books of Magic: The Invisible Labyrinth
Q: Now that I have a Tarot Deck, what should I do with it?
A: Once you have your deck, now you need to get familiar with it. Remember that it is helpful to learn about your deck and look at the cards before you jump in and start reading for your friends. Do your homework!!!
My favorite way to do homework is this:
Take your new tarot deck, the book that came with it, a writing utensil, and paper…
You are going to start with the Major Arcana. If you are not familiar with what that is- your book will have it labeled. They are the cards that are not part of the 4 suits that your deck utilizes.
Locate the first card in the book and locate that card in your deck.
Write down your conclusions on paper. Now move onto the next card.
Work through at least the Major Arcana. Even if you have read tarot for decades, this process is helpful especially for decks that don’t follow the typical symbols or imagery you may be familiar with. It is also a great tool at handling your deck and getting it familiar to you.
Beyond this task, a daily card pull and study can be helpful as well. You can ask, What do I need to know today? or What do I need to focus on today? Pull your card and reason out what the card is telling you and why. It is helpful to write this down you may need that information later in your day and not necessarily when you pull your card.
This Two Minute Tarot was originally presented by April Kane for White Oak Grove CUUPS August 4, 2019. ©2019 April Kane
Sandra’s seen a leprechaun,
Eddie touched a troll,
Laurie danced with witches once,
Charlie found some goblins gold.
Donald heard a mermaid sing,
Susy spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known
I’ve had to make myself.
~ SHEL SILVERSTEIN, “Magic”
Q: There are so many Tarot Decks, how do I choose?
A: Honestly, you can select whatever deck calls out to you. Some people think that you cannot purchase your own decks, they must be gifted to you… Personally, pish posh to that! If you wait for someone to gift you with one or wait for the perfect deck to hop in your hands you may end up waiting your whole life.
The most infamous tarot deck – Rider-Waite – tends to be the one people gravitate to first especially if you pick up an extended How To book along with the deck as most books work off of that deck.
Divination is a form of knowledge, so lift yourself up by your bootstraps and go get one. Even if the first deck you get doesn’t end up being “perfect” for you, get out there and get learning. It is through trial and error that we find out what does work best for us.
This Two Minute Tarot was originally presented by April Kane for White Oak Grove CUUPS August 4, 2019. ©2019 April Kane
When you’re touched by magic, nothing’s ever quite the same again. What really makes me sad is all those people who never have the chance to know that touch. They’re too busy, or they just don’t hold with make-believe, so they shut the door without really knowing it was there to be opened in the first place.
~ CHARLES DE LINT, What the Mouse Found and Other Stories
Q: Where did Tarot come from?
A: There is no agreed upon date when tarot cards as we know them came into existence. There is a theory that the origins came into being in the late 14th century with cards used in a game where they person would need to make a poetic story from the cards dealt. It is also around the same time and elsewhere in the world that playing cards depicting royalty were made using the four suits of staves, coins, cups, and swords instead of what would become hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades.
We jump a few centuries to the late 18th and the cards have become more widespread and there is a written work created by Antoine Court de Gébelin. He wrote on an analysis of tarot (and many other things throughout the wold in his nine volumes) and attributed their being stemming from a holy book that came from Egypt and appeared in Europe thanks to Gypsies. Despite his baseless conclusions, the Europeans ate up every word of the mystical tarot.
Ten years later Jean-Baptiste Alliette, a known French Occultist released the first tarot deck that was specifically made for divination and wrote a book on how to use the cards as a divining tool.
Moving into the Victorian age, near every well to do family had a tarot deck due to the explosion into mysticism and the afterlife. Most house parties had entertainment that included a séance, tarot, tea leaf, or palm readings.
The most recognizable tarot deck- the Rider-Waite Tarot was first published in 1909. Arthur Waite worked with artist Pamela Colman-Smith to create the infamous deck. Over 100 years later, it is still one of the most recognizable decks and the one that most people use for imagery and symbolism references.
This Two Minute Tarot was originally presented by April Kane for White Oak Grove CUUPS August 4, 2019. ©2019 April Kane
