The 21 Principles of Tarot – XVI

Tarot Principles 16

XVI. Prepare to Face Ten Thousand Readings

 

Tarot is a dynamic engagement with every situation in time.

When we read for others or ourselves, we re-align ourselves to the present moment.

Tarot teaches us that time is the moving likeness of eternity.

Time is a Tower that is endlessly building and collapsing.

Remember then, from the very beginning, that every reading, time and again, is a reminder that you are present.

This will never be any different, from the beginning to the end.

 

Extended Commentary

The secret of tarot is time. All our creation is bound by the process of time and a reminder that we transcend it in every moment. The mystical teaching of tarot can be discovered in every reading, even if we have to conduct ten thousand readings to see the truth of the matter. At some point, we will know that every reading is one reading, endlessly infinite and constantly unified in change. This realisation is like the lightning that strikes the place of the divine and releases us from our illusion.

Practice

 

Shuffle Your Whole Deck.

Consider any situation for which you would like clarity.

Draw out four cards and place them face-down in a vertical line starting at the bottom.

4 Card Vertical

Part 1

Turn over the lower two cards (1 & 2).

Read the lower card (1) by saying “I see this situation from my own point of view as …”

Read the second, upper card (2), saying, “However, other people see this situation as …”

Compare the two cards – are they very similar interpretations or very different?

How does this explain how people are behaving about the situation?

How does it explain why you are receiving the feedback and responses you want or do not want?

What might you say as a commentary on these two cards and their comparison?

Part 2

Turn over the upper two cards (3 & 4) – only having read as much as possible in the lower two cards.

Read the lower of these two cards (3) by saying “My major attitude about the situation which is not necessary is …”

Read the card as a distracting hope if it is generally positive in nature or a distracting worry if it is more negative.

Either way, it illustrates something that should now be dropped or released in some way.

Offer a commentary on how this attitude (whether a useless, unrealistic and misguided hope or a depressing, anxious, worry) might be utilised.

Read the uppermost card (4) as an outcome by saying, “So, the outcome will be …”

Interpret that card as a natural consequence of the insights gained from the previous three cards.

Does it offer a warning or a result? Either way, it is the necessary information to be communicated at this time.

 

Take a moment to look at all four cards and their relationships.

Do you have several Court cards?

 

TIPS

 

Always go back to first principles if you want by using the keywords or the words you chose for challenge/resource/lesson.

Always look at the cards.

Allow yourself to read them as pictures in a book.

EXAMPLE

Tarot Principles Ex 16a

1 & 2

Tarot Principles Ex 16b

I see this situation from my own point of view as a lesson [Hierophant] However, other people see this situation as something I am driving [Chariot].

Commentary: I realise from the difference of these two cards that I need to show more responsibility and accept my agency. That it is not just a lesson for me – it impacts others. Also, that I should share what I am learning with those involved.

The fact that the two cards are Major Arcana shows this situation is a pattern that plays out in other areas and times of my life beyond the present situation and question.

3 & 4

Tarot Principles Ex 16c

My major attitude about the situation which is not necessary is working without reward [8 of Pentacles]. The outcome will be a fruitful blessing that will grow naturally and with bounty [Empress].

 

Commentary: Whether I worry about the work and effort or not, the outcome is one which will be rewarding given time. I should also allow it to take a natural course. I can follow the advice that arose from cards 1 & 2 and take the reins that belong to me, as a major lesson in my life.

 

Intermediate/Advanced Exercise

 

You can now read a Celtic Cross!

If you go back to Exercise XII (12) and add this Exercise XVI (16) you will see that we have now learnt the whole Celtic Cross!

Go back to the very first layout of 10 cards in Exercise II (2), “There is No Such Thing as an Accidental Oracle” and lay them out in a Celtic Cross if they were not already in that layout.

Read your reading from Exercise 2 using Exercise 12 & 16 and you may now see that there is – truly – no such thing as an accidental oracle.


All is planned to the pattern and you are now prepared to face 10,000 (or more) readings.

In our final five lessons XVII (17) – XXI (21) we will explore further methods for you to put all the principles into your ongoing practice beyond this course.

This exercise is a modification of one of the fifty exercises found in Tarosophy: Tarot to Engage Life, Not Escape it.


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