Greetings all. Be sure to check out the new spread: “Loss“. This spread unlocks our inner feelings when we inevitably deal with Loss. We all deal with loss in our life, and it is important to understand why this happens.
Follow the link below to see the spread page.
Let’s be honest. Tarot decks are subjective, how can you have a ‘best?’ one? Popularity, quality of illustration and style are all things to take into account when choosing a new deck. This article exists to inform the reader of other decks which might take their fancy, from a selection of high quality decks.
Probably the most well known, though not the original, tarot deck in use. The Rider Waite deck is a brilliant starter set, as well as being perfect for advanced use. Every tarot reader should own a set of the Rider Waite tarot cards.
The Hermetic Tarot
The Hermetic tarot draws from hermetic and alchemical symbology. A beautiful deck, the Hermetic tarot deck can give you a different, more esoteric perspective on the questions you’re seeking answers for.
The Cosmic Tarot
The Cosmic Tarot is intended to make tarot more approachable, and helps by making the symbology of the cards easier to interpret. A fresh design and highly reviewed, one to check out if you haven’t had a look yet.
The Wild Wood tarot is as well known alternate deck, using neo-pagan symbology to tell the story of the cards. Beautifully detailed, it’s one to check out, especially if you are this way inclined.
The Druid craft Tarot
Created by practising druids, notably those of OBOD fame (Carr-Gomm), the Druid craft tarot is similar in some respects to the Wild Wood deck, but focuses on Druidism over other neo-pagan practices. Featuring fresh illustrations, it’s one to take a look at if the designs appeal.
I’ve recently started offering tarot readings on fiverr. The experience has been uplifting, and I’ve been able to help a number of people so far. It’s very different from offering readings in person, and there are certain pros and cons of distance reading. You’re unable to discuss the reading as it’s taking place, and can only offer the final product. I quite enjoy this aspect, you can stay focused on the initial query and there is no distraction from further questions. You also perform a purer reading, untainted by unconscious hints and body language the querent offers. You can have a look at the fiverr page here.
As soon as somebody orders though the gig page on fiverr, I get an email. I reply as soon as possible to say that I have received the request, and to give a rough timeframe. Fiverr allows extras, so if the querent has selected 1-day Delivery, I will make that reading my priority. Once this reply is set, I try to find a good period of time in the day I can dedicate to the reading.
Finding time to fit readings in can be tough, but so far I have managed every reading on time. It is so much more than shuffling, dealing cards, laying them out, then typing up the reading. I like to get into a good receptive mental state before performing the reading, and I always perform readings when I am alone. Usually, the readings are simple, one or two cards, as described on the gig page. I perform my readings while sitting on the floor, though this is mainly because I do not have a table! Once the cards are dealt, I simply look at them. Intuition and knowledge of tarot cards plays it’s part here. Once the cards are dealt, an image will start to form. At this stage, I’ll start typing up the report.
Once the report is typed up, I’ll leave it for an hour or so, and then come back to it. The reading is still in my mind, even after it has been performed, and sometimes taking a step back to observe the situation can help you see things from a new angle. At this stage, I’ll edit the report and review it, as an editor would review a book. The reports I type follow a set pattern, shown below in a censored, but actual report.
First I greet the querent, and then get started with the reading. I like to jump straight in. I make it clean I know their question, and then type how each card I draw relates to it. One thing I like to add, are missing cards or suits (if many cards are drawn). At the end, I summarise the reading into actionable steps for the querent. I like to give a sense of closure to the question.
I send the typed up and formatted report as an image or PDF file. It’s as simple as that. For once, the technological part of something is the easiest! I like to be open to communication afetrwards and I’m always happy to discuss the reading afterwards.
It’s really up to you. If you have a tight schedule like I do, then it’s a very good idea. You can still practice tarotology for real people, on your own time. I’ve found it to be just as good as a face to face reading, and my feedback so far has been very positive!
You may not know already, it hasn’t yet been advertised, but Tarot-Explained now offer Tarot readings, through fiverr. It’s taken a long time for us to get to this stage, and there has been a lot to consider. We started offering free readings through the website, and the response was staggering. Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone who submitted a request through. It helped me grow as a reader and I hope I helped you too. Changing from free to paid was a step, but necessary. The funds raised go towards the website maintenance and hosting, and in future will be used to better expand Tarot-Explained into an even better resource.
The journey from reference website to paid readings was long, almost three years, and some lessons were learned! This article might help you out if you’re an experienced reader just looking to start reading for others, and wondering if you should get paid. The answer is, broadly speaking, yes. Consider the following if you are looking to charge for your tarot readings:
You’re providing a service for others, which they have requested. You know you are offering value to them, and you should be compensated somehow. It’s fun to do tarot as a favour for friends or family, but you can really help others out with your skills and intuition. It may not seem like a big deal to some, but performing a tarot reading is a lot of work. When I perform a reading through fiverr, I spent anywhere from an hour onward getting into the correct mental state, and typing up and presenting the reading to the querent. This is a lot of effort for five dollars!
You should consider your skill level with tarot. How good do you think you are, how accurate have you been in the past? Have you had any big mistakes? A good test, is to see if you would pay for a reading from yourself. Would you? Are you value for money? Are you enhancing others lives through tarot? If so, then you should consider charging for your readings.
This all depends on your style, analysis and spread that you use. On fiverr, we only offer a single card question, or three questions if the user upgrades. Bear in mind that these can take over an hour each. Are you comfortable earning under minimum wage for a reading? I am, because the money goes to help the website. If you’re looking to live off your readings, you should work out expenses and charge much more. I perform these readings simply to cover cost.
Currently, we offer a reading in a written document. A stylised page, typed up after the reading has taken place. You can take this one step further by performing face to face, over Skype, during a phone call, or a recorded video. All of these will affect your pricing. Consider charging for your next tarot reading, even if it is as little as one dollar, or for a favour. They are asking, and you are giving. It makes sense to balance the equation out. If you’re interested in getting a reading from Tarot-Explained, then by all means follow the link below and you will hear from me very soon!
Receive a two-card reading for the price of only one. Simply ask two questions, and I will consult the tarot for your answers. You will receive a formatted PDF document with the results of the reading, potentially including things to be aware of, dangers to look out for and how to face the future with certainty. This offer is only available for the next thirty days, follow the ‘order now’ button to submit a request.
Check out tumblr! There are a lot of brilliant alternative blogs on tumblr, so it’s a great way to find like-minded people. within the first hour, I was liking and following many different blogs. This particular piece really struck me, it’s a commission from http://spring-forth-from-my-mind.tumblr.com. I hope you all like it! Be sure to follow us too. If you send us a message, we’ll be sure to follow you back!
(Permission was gained from the artist to share her work)
This spread shows a tarot card which represents each of the zodiacal star signs for the coming year, January 2018 to December 2018. One card per star sign, they should give you the general theme of how the year is going to progress and end. To use this Zodiacal reading, scroll to your Star sign, and read what is in store. Click the card for more information. If you would like a more in-depth personal reading, or you’d like to expand on this, considering a reading from Tarot-Explained.
The Six of Wands. This will be a good year. Expect goals to be completed. Go out of your way to make good memories this year.
Eight of Cups. You might give up on a long held belief this year, but remember it is for the best. Something might go wrong this year to change you, but you will recover and grow.
The Fool. New beginnings and new starts. Come into this year with a fresh perspective; New Year, New you. You’re only at the start of your journey.
Nine of Pentacles. It’s likely that things are coming to a happy ending. All that which you’ve worked for is going to pay off in the coming year. Be sure to congratulate yourself as you ascend to a better state of being.
Ace of Swords. If you’re willing to put the effort in, this will be your best year yet. Be strong and decisive. There’s no need to rush, you’re only at the start of it.
The World. You’ll accomplish much this year. If you believe you have a life goal, then 2018 is going to be either completing it, or getting very close. If you have set new years resolutions, then you’re sure to complete them in 2018.
The Emperor. You will take charge of your life this year. If you are feeling stifled and constrained, then 2018 is the year when you will break free.
The Devil. Be sure to look out for traps and pitfalls this year. There will be many choices presented to you which are not the right thing to do. Try not to give into past weakness,
The Moon.You might be feeling lost and directionless right now, but 2018 is the year when things pick up if you make them. Stop worrying about the little things.
The Magician. Don’t lose sight of your goals. You have a lot of ambition and there are many ways to apply your skills, don’t get overwhelmed, just focus.
Ten of Pentacles. Money might be tough this year, but you will end the year in a good state. You’re going to mature and grow a lot this year in an area you weren’t aware of.
Five of Swords. This will be a tough year for you. Expect adversity. Be prepared for it, what are people going to challenge you over this year?
I hope you’ve all been having a good year so far, a number of cool new things have happened on Tarot-Explained this year, most notably our readings! We’er offering readings, both Free and premium readings through Fiverr, and we’ve got loads of cool website features planned for 2018, read on for more info.
We’re now offering tarot readings and they’re proving to be exceptionally popular. Find out more at the tarot reading page here. For no obligation, you can request a free reading, this includes on card and an email response. A premium reading can answer three questions and will be delivered promptly. They have proven to be much more popular than I’d imagined so there are only limited slots open for each. I really want to add value for premium readings so first of all, they are very low cost.
The newsletter is now live. You can sign up with the widget on the sidebar. Simply enter your email address and you’ll be subscribed. In future, there will be a tarot card of the week, as well as special newsletter only offers. You’ll hear about things first on the newsletter!
The site is complete, but that doesn’t mean more bonus features can be added! We’ve been requested a number of times to add inverted card meanings to each page. These will be added as soon as they have been thoroughly researched. Symbology for each card will be finished this year too!
Finally, designs for each card will be added to the redbubble store. You can view the store here. These stickers have been so so popular. It’s quite a bit of work to touch up each card and get it ready for print. Redbubble frequently have savings so these stickers and phone cases, so be sure to check back frequently.
That’s all for now, expect an update mid-February. As always, thank you for visiting Tarot-Explained!
I hope you’ve all had a merry festive season, and are all looking forward to the new year. January 2nd 2018 marks the third birthday for Tarot-Explained.com. It doesn’t feel like our second birthday was too long ago, how time flies! The site has come a long way and I love seeing it grow. The road map for the new year involves video descriptions, in depth symbology of the Rider-Waite deck, card keywords, and much much more.
Thanks so much for sticking around, and see you in 2018!
It’s Halloween again, arguably the best time of the year. Last year, we introduced a Halloween spread for you all to try out. If you weren’t here for it, give it a go this Halloween! Tarot-Explained.com has seen a number of updates recently, so we’ll summarise them in this post.
Sometimes a written definition isn’t enough for a tarot card description. Maybe it doesn’t seem relevant enough or fit just right. We’ve started adding keywords to each card description, starting with all of the Major Arcana. You can find them on the card description pages, near the bottom. Sometimes a keyword can help more than a given description, it gives you a different perspective and a more open starting place to draw connections from. Soon, all of the cards will have keywords attached.
We’ve also drawn up a road map of new features to add to each card; symbology, astrological ties and card connections to name a few. It’s exciting to work on and I’ve loved seeing this site grow. In January, Tarot-Explained will be three years old! Thanks for sticking around, and thanks for the nice comments I’m receiving through email.
All the best.
Happy Autumn, and now that the autumn equinox has passed, it’s all downhill from here! I’m only joking. Autumn is a time to calm down and start finishing the things you started earlier in the year. In this case, I wanted to write about tarot in popular culture months ago, and I’ve only really just gotten around to it. To start with, we’ll briefly discuss the tarot symbolism of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ‘The Holy Mountain’.
If you are one for spotting hidden symbolism and meanings, the Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ‘The Holy Mountain’ is a brilliant film to watch. Tarot plays a prominent role in the film both as an element of the story as well as clearly inspiring the designs of the characters. To try and actually describe The Holy Mountain is difficult; as a surrealist film the narrative is rather disjointed and sometimes difficult to watch, but it’s sprinkled with extremely memorable scenes which you’ll think about for days.
In the above scene, The Alchemist character uses the tarot deck as an allegorical tool of transformation for the story of the fool figure, whom eventually grows into a Christ-like figure, following the journey of the fool. The meaning of the Magician card and Hermetic concepts are described effortlessly in one line, with the bull and the vulture. This is one of the earlier scenes in the film, and forms a basis for the following story, introducing ten characters that are all essentially aspects of the whole main character.
Alejandro Jodorowsky still studies the tarot; he wrote a book on it and saw it differently to how it is usually portrayed. Not happy with the tarots use as a divination tool, he treated it more as a psychological aid. Interestingly, he combine cards in order to better understand them. Jodorowsky considers only one deck to be pure, the Tarot de Marseille, and all others to be derivative, each new tarot deck release losing the original meaning of the cards, until you end up with something like a tarot deck based off a TV show. It’s true that this opinion is shared by many, but as with many aspects of tarot, there is no objective truth.
In future we’ll be looking at more tarot inspired films, music and books! Have you read a book or seen a good film that features Tarot symbology? Comment below!