A

Beginner’s Guide to the Cards,

Spreads, and Revealing the Mystery of
the Tarot

LIZ DEAN
author of The Art of Tarot and The Golden Tarot
 Contents
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCING THE TAROT
CHAPTER 2
HOW TO BEGIN
CHAPTER 3
CARD LAYOUTS
CHAPTER 4
CARD INTERPRETATIONS: The Major Arcana
0, The Fool
I, The Magician
II, The High Priestess
III, The Empress
IV, The Emperor
V, The Hierophant
VI, The Lovers
VII, The Chariot
VIII, Strength
IX, The Hermit
X, The Wheel of Fortune
XI, Justice
XII, The Hanged Man
XIII, Death
XIV, Temperance
XV, The Devil
XVI, The Tower
XVII, The Star
XVIII, The Moon
XIX, The Sun
XX, Judgment
XXI, The World
CHAPTER 5
CARD INTERPRETATIONS: The Minor Arcana
The Suit of Cups
Ace of Cups
Two of Cups
Three of Cups
Four of Cups
Five of Cups
Six of Cups
Seven of Cups
Eight of Cups
Nine of Cups
Ten of Cups
Page of Cups
Knight of Cups
Queen of Cups
King of Cups
The Suit of Pentacles
Ace of Pentacles
Two of Pentacles
Three of Pentacles
Four of Pentacles
Five of Pentacles
Six of Pentacles
Seven of Pentacles
Eight of Pentacles
Nine of Pentacles
Ten of Pentacles
Page of Pentacles
Knight of Pentacles
Queen of Pentacles
King of Pentacles
The Suit of Swords
Ace of Swords
Two of Swords
Three of Swords
Four of Swords
Five of Swords
Six of Swords
Seven of Swords
Eight of Swords
Nine of Swords
Ten of Swords
Page of Swords
Knight of Swords
Queen of Swords
King of Swords
The Suit of Wands
Ace of Wands
Two of Wands
Three of Wands
Four of Wands
Five of Wands
Six of Wands
Seven of Wands
Eight of Wands
Nine of Wands
Ten of Wands
Page of Wands
Knight of Wands
Queen of Wands
King of Wands

Afterword
Appendices
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Index
 1
INTRODUCING THE TAROT

HOW TO WORK WITH THIS BOOK

This book offers everything you need to know to read tarot cards for daily
affirmation, prediction, and intuitive and spiritual development. Anyone can
learn to work with tarot and can benefit greatly from its insights; all you need is
an open mind and a willingness to trust the impressions you sense during a
reading.
We begin with the basics—the structure of a tarot deck, and how the cards
link with astrology, Kabbala, and numbers (see pages 10 and 19). Next, you’ll
learn how to lay out the cards for a reading. You can try the traditional spreads
on pages 20–28, and the mini-layouts given for each major arcana card—a total
of thirty. The mini-layouts are all original to this book, and I invite you to share
them and use them as inspiration for devising your own spreads; the aim is to
help you be creative with tarot, to experiment and find ways to read the cards
that work for you. There’s no right or wrong way to lay out cards just the way
that’s right for you.
The interpretations chapters follow from page 29 on. To begin with, you
might like to use the key words for the card meanings shown on pages 29 and
118 as a quick reference. In the detailed major arcana card interpretations, you
will see listed the card’s alternative names, number, and numerological
association—this is the number that the card’s number reduces to, which gives
additional insight. For example, XXI, The World, reduces as follows: 2 + 1 = 3,
or III, The Empress. Also listed is the card’s astrological sign or planet, element,
Hebrew letter and Tree of Life pathway, chakra, and key meanings. I also
highlight and explain the key symbols of each card, along with each major
arcana card’s “Reflection” in the minor arcana, which guides you toward the
minor cards that hold similar meanings to the major card. For example, major
card IV, The Emperor, is reflected in the four kings of the minor arcana because
as kings they reflect the “father” aspect of the Emperor.
The minor arcana interpretations are divided by suit and list for cards Ace
 The minor arcana interpretations are divided by suit and list for cards Ace
through Ten each card’s suit, element, astrological association, number, and Tree
of Life position and key meaning. Page and Knight court cards list just their
element and key meaning, while the Queens and Kings also include zodiac signs
and associated chakras. You’ll find further information on chakras’ and crystals’
association with tarot in the Appendicies, along with a glossary of terms.
When you are reading your cards, or reading about them, you may be drawn
to particular aspects, from astrology to Kabbala or numerology to an individual
card’s fascinating history or symbols. While all these areas are research subjects
in themselves, this book aims to give you a foundation from which to begin; if
you’re a seasoned reader, my hope is that you will find something in these pages
that sparks your imagination and offers a new perspective.
However you work with this book, I invite you to share with me the journey
of tarot and benefit from greater insight into yourself and others.

HOW READING TAROT CAN BENEFIT YOU

Tarot is a system of archetypes, a picture-book of the human condition,
reflecting our states of mind and stages of life. Over the past six hundred years,
people have consulted the cards for religious instruction, spiritual insight, self-
knowledge, and divining the future. The ancient symbols we see on the cards are
designed to stimulate our intuition, connecting us with our higher selves or our
divine or spiritual aspect.
Regular tarot practice has many personal benefits, including the following:

Increased self-awareness: Tarot gives you space to focus on yourself.

Enhanced creativity: A tarot reading can offer a different perspective on a
problem and innovative ways forward.
Better-honed intuition and psychic ability: Tarot helps you see probable
future events and influences.
The ability to empower others to find their spiritual path

A NOTE ON THE RIDER-WAITE TAROT

Myriad versions and styles of tarot decks have been created through the years.
The tarot deck shown throughout this book is the Universal Waite, an enhanced
Rider-Waite deck. The original Rider-Waite was devised by A. E. Waite, one of
the key members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (see page 10), and
published by Rider, London. It is considered the most influential contemporary
deck and has inspired many variants. The deck should properly be known as the
Rider-Waite Smith, to honor the illustrator, Pamela Colman Smith, a fellow
member of the Golden Dawn.

EARLY CARDS: COURT AND CLERGY

The earliest surviving tarot cards date to the fifteenth century, probably created
in Northern Italy. (It’s likely that the word tarot derives from tarocchi, an Italian
card game that preceded tarot.) These cards, known as the Visconti-Sforza tarots,
were commissioned by the Duke of Milan, Franceso Visconti, as early as 1415.
Although the Church called early cards “the devil’s picture book”—possibly
because some printed versions were used for gaming purposes—these original,
hand-painted cards have predominantly Christian themes and imagery. Their
sequence tells a story of a youth who symbolically dies and is reborn, embodied
in 0, The Fool, and XXI, The World (see pages 30 and 114; for this reason, the
sequence of cards known as the major arcana is often referred to as “The Fool’s
Journey”). The cards feature angels, the four virtues, the Devil, and a male and
female Pope, along with other characters we would associate more with
fairytales than a satanic manifesto: the wise woman, the mother, father, the
innocent youth, old man, lovers, kings, queens, knights, and a magician. Yet
knowledge of the tarot may have preceded even the Duke, as in 1377 a German
monk, brother Johannes von Rheinfield, described a series of painted cards that
worked as an allegorical journey of life and the soul. It’s also believed that
gnostic sects may have used the cards to teach illiterate people about dualism, or
the interplay of opposites—which we see in many of the card’s meanings. In this
way, the cards may have been used to express and possibly teach Christian
beliefs.

HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE: ASTROLOGY AND KABBALA

The word occult may have dark connotations, but it actually means hidden
knowledge. The tarot’s reputation as an occult practice crept in during the
eighteenth century, with the French Freemason Antoine Court de Gébelin’s
treatise Monde Primitif (1781) in which he claimed tarot cards were in effect an
ancient Egyptian book of wisdom; he named the tarot The Book of Thoth, after
the Egyptian god of healing, wisdom, and the occult. De Gébelin’s beliefs
emerged as a part of the occult revival of the late 1800s, when ancient
knowledge was popularized by Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 and tomb
artifacts made their way to the West. De Gébelin’s work was continued by a
Parisian barber, Jean-Baptiste Alliette (know by his pseudonym Etteilla), who
developed the tarot’s possible links with Kabbala, the esoteric belief system
based in Hebrew tradition. The story continues with the French Rosicrucian
Eliphas Levi, who made the connection between the twenty-two cards of the
major arcana and the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which
correspond to pathways on the Tree of Life.
Levi’s research influenced A. E. Waite, the creator of the Rider-Waite cards,
who was a leading light of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a British
occult society founded in 1888 by freemasons William Wynn Westcott, William
Robert Woodman, and Samuel Liddell Mathers. The order brought together
kabbalistic, astrological, and Egyptian wisdom, creating a theory of tarot
associations that have become generally accepted today (see the Appendicies for
a list of these associations for the major and minor arcanas).
While tarot has collected many occult associations over the years, essentially,
these magical cards reflect the beliefs of their creators. Tarot’s ability to adapt
and survive has lead to a plethora of decks, from Wiccan tarots to Steampunk,
angel tarots to vampires, and fairies to Da Vinci. While these may be
contemporary tastes, tarot ultimately speaks to us through its archetypes, the
infinite mirrors of the self.

EXPLORING THE DECK: THE MAJOR AND MINOR

ARCANA
A standard tarot deck has seventy-eight cards, divided into two groups: twenty-
two major arcana cards and fifty-six minor arcana cards. The word arcana
means secret. The major arcana denote important life events or shifts, while the
minor arcana cards reflect day-to-day events. The minor arcana cards can be
seen as being more detailed aspects of the major arcana cards.

The Major Arcana Cards

Numbered from 0 (The Fool) to XXI (The World), the twenty-two major arcana
cards can be referred to singularly as arcanum and collectively as keys or
trumps. Although no one knows the provenance of the tarot’s major arcana cards
for sure, some suspect the word trump derives from triumphs, from the old card
game Trionfi, popular initially in Italy and France. In the game, trump cards
approximating the major arcana outranked other cards in the deck. For example,
the Fool is trumped by the clever Magician, who is trumped by the wisdom of
the High Priestess. Well-known librarian Gertrude Moakley also suggested that
the major arcana characters and symbols derived from a Milanese carnival based
on the Roman festival of Saturnalia: Cityfolk dressed as tarot trumps and
processed in chariots throughout the city. As the Duke of Milan is believed to
have commissioned some of the first tarot cards in the fifteenth century (the
Visconti-Sforza tarots, some of which survive today), the festival explanation
may be plausible.
The Minor Arcana Cards
The remaining fifty-six cards are known collectively as the minor arcana, and
they are arranged into four suits: Wands, Pentacles, Cups, and Swords. Each suit
has fourteen cards, from Ace to Ten, plus four court cards: Page, Knight, Queen,
and King.
The four suits each have a ruling element, and each corresponds to specific
areas of life:

Cups: the element of Water; emotions and relationships Pentacles: the

 element of Earth; property, money, and achievement Swords: the element
of Air; the intellect and decisions Wands: the element of Fire; instinct,
travel, and communication Psychologist Carl Jung famously distilled
humankind’s mental processes into his theory of four functions, and it sums
up the suit meanings neatly: Swords/Air: I think
Wands/Fire: I desire
Pentacles/Earth: I possess Cups/Water: I feel
Another way of remembering the suits’ elements is as follows:

Swords/Air: I think—the mind Wands/Fire: I desire—the soul

Pentacles/Earth: I possess—the body Cups/Water: I feel—the heart The
court, or people, cards of the minor arcana bring an additional element:
Knights: Fire
Queens: Water
Kings: Air
Pages: Earth
So, for example, the Knight of Wands is Fire of the suit of Fire, while the
Queen of Wands is Water of the suit of Fire.
Understanding the basic concepts of the elements offers a meaning for the
card. So, the Queen of Wands, combining Water and Fire, suggests emotions and
intuition (Water) with communication and energy (Fire).
 2
HOW TO BEGIN

YOUR CARDS, YOUR ENERGIES: CARD ATTUNEMENT,

CLEANSING, AND PROTECTION
Tarot cards, like people, draw in energy. During readings, tarot cards absorb
your energies and those of anyone else who touches them. For this reason, it’s
important not to let other people touch your cards casually; the cards hold your
energies and intentions, and are personal to you. Here are tried-and-tested ways
to attune to your new deck, cleanse the cards before a reading session, and
protect them when you are not using them.

Attuning to a New Deck

The process of connecting with your cards is called attuning. The more
connected you feel to your cards, the more accurate, insightful, and inspiring
your readings can be.
Before you begin reading a new deck of tarot cards, attune to them for exactly
seven days by sleeping with your cards under your pillow. Also, get to know
them by looking at the cards daily, touching them so your energy becomes
imprinted upon them. Some readers attune to their cards through visualization.
Try this:

1. Hold your cards in your right hand. This is known as the giving hand—and
you are about to give the cards your energy.
2. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and visualize light pouring down through
the crown of your head, your third-eye chakra, throat, and heart (see page
236), then down your right arm, into your right hand, and into the cards.
3. Imagine your cards filling with pure light. If you work with spirit guides or
angels, ask them to come close and to help and protect you during the reading.
4. Open your eyes when you are ready.
Cleansing Your Deck Before a Reading Session
When you take out your cards, clear away any old energy by blowing on and
knocking on your cards as follows:

1. Hold the cards in one hand and fan them out.

2. Gently blow on the card edges. You can do this in one breath.
3. Next, put the cards back in a neat pile, still holding them in one hand, and then
knock firmly once on the top of the deck. Now the deck is cleansed of old
energy and ready to use.

Protecting Your Cards When You’re Not Using Them

Your cards hold your energy imprint. Like people, cards may pick up extraneous
or negative energy from people and spaces, which can affect your readings. So
when you are not using your cards, protect them from the environment, both
physically and energetically. Keep them wrapped in a cloth of a dark color, such
as deep purple cotton or silk, and in a tarot bag or a box. You can also store them
with a favorite crystal—such as a clear quartz (known as the master crystal,
which keeps energies clear) or amethyst (for healing, insight, and protection)—
to keep them energetically cleansed and safe.

Creating a Space for Your Readings

First, find a peaceful space you feel relaxed and comfortable in. Make sure your
space has a flat, clean surface you can lay your cards on. Most readers put down
a reading cloth first to protect the cards both physically, as well as energetically,
from direct contact with the surface you’re working on. The reading cloth is
usually the silk cloth you wrap your cards in when they’re not in use, but any
piece of fabric you like will do.
You might like to perform a short ritual before you lay out the cards to honor
the ancient practice of tarot-reading that you are about to embark upon. Our
thoughts create reality and help manifest a strong connection between our cards,
ourselves, the person you are reading for, and if you are aware of them, your
spiritual guides who may help you during your reading.
Here’s a suggestion to get you started, and you can personalize your own
ritual as you read more:

1. Light a candle in your reading space and place it on a safe surface.

2. Close your eyes and take a few calming breaths.
3. Visualize white light flowing from the crown of your head into your cards, as
described in the attuning exercise, or simply set the intention to enjoy the best
tarot reading you can.
4. When you have finished your reading, affirm in your mind that the reading is
over, feel gratitude for the insights your cards and intuition have given you,
and put your cards away.
5. Blow out the candle.

CHOOSING CARDS FOR A READING

1. Shuffling the Deck

After you’ve cleansed the deck, shuffle the cards for a few moments. Relax and
allow your feelings and questions to surface. To choose the cards for a reading,
you can use either the fan method or cut the deck. The fan method is best when
you want just a few cards for a reading, while cutting the deck suits more
elaborate layouts that need lots of cards, such as the Celtic Cross or Tree of Life.

FAN METHOD
When reading for yourself: Spread all the cards facedown in a fan shape.
Choose the cards one by one with just your left hand (known as the hand of
fate), from anywhere in the fan, and place them in front of you, still facedown,
following the spread layout you have chosen.
When reading for another person: Have the person shuffle the deck. Take
the deck from the recipient and fan out the cards for him or her. Ask the
recipient to choose the cards from the fan with his or her left hand and pass them
to you so you can lay them out, keeping the cards facedown.

CUTTING THE DECK

When reading for yourself: Cut the deck twice with your left hand so you have
three piles facedown on the table. Choose one pile to become the top of the deck
and gather up the other two piles underneath it. Lay out the cards according to
the spread you have chosen (see pages 20–28) by dealing the cards from the top
of the deck and placing them facedown in front of you.
 When reading for another person: Ask the recipient to shuffle the cards.
Have the recipient split the deck into three piles using his or her left hand and
then choose one pile. Gather up the remaining two piles for the person and place
their chosen pile on top. Then you lay out the cards.

2. Turning Over the Cards

When turning over the cards, always flip them sideways—from left to right—not
from top to bottom or vice versa, or you may be turning the card upside down.
Doing so can give it a different meaning (see What About Reversals on page
19).
USING THE CARD INTERPRETATIONS
As you will see throughout this book, the cards—particularly the major arcana
cards—have lots of symbols and possible meanings. Consider the cards before
you look up their meaning; think about what aspect of a card you are drawn to
first. This is your internal guidance directing you to the most relevant meaning
of the card for your reading. This also means that the cards can offer a varying
significance each time you look at them. Similarly, when you read for other
people, you will find that you don’t give a card the same interpretation for every
person who gets that card in a reading—you are personalizing the reading
according to your intuition.
Sometimes you’ll begin a reading and can’t make sense of what the cards are
telling you. If this happens, here’s what to do:

Shuffle and lay out the cards again. If the same or similar cards come up this
time, go with the reading. Relax and tune in to the card images; don’t worry
about reading the traditional interpretations. Say what comes into your head
straight away, and the words will flow.
Did the Ten of Wands come up? If so, this often means there’s too much
 going on just now and it’s not the right time to read your cards. Wait a day or
two and try again.
If you’re reading for someone else, feeling blocked can indicate the
recipient’s state of mind. Here’s an example: During a recent beginners’
workshop, one of my students said, “My mind is blank. I’ve laid out the cards
for Rosa, but I just don’t know what’s going on here—can you help me?”
Before I could respond, Rosa said, “But that’s just how I feel—totally
confused. I can’t think.” If this happens to you, acknowledge the recipient’s
feelings and begin the reading again, asking him or her to let go of
expectations.

SIX EASY WAYS TO BEGIN YOUR TAROT READING

These six techniques helped me learn tarot over the years—and I wish I’d known
them all when I first began. Tarot is a journey, and you learn as you go. Try
starting with just one or two of the following tips and see which ones fire your
intuition.

1. Get Intuitive: Work with Images First

You will be guided to notice certain symbols on the cards. Each card is full of
symbols—but you will find that you notice one or two features that really stand
out in each picture. These are what I call your intuition hooks. Once you hone in
on these, go deeper and connect with how they make you feel. Don’t worry
about the written card meanings in this book just yet. Say whatever comes to
your mind straight away—before you begin to think what the symbols mean—
and imagine yourself telling a story.
To develop the reading, trying looking at the quick-reference meanings only
(see pages 29 and 118) and then go back to the card images. Staying with the
image as long as you can stimulates your intuition, which is essential to a
reading, whereas reading the words engages your logical left brain, which often
becomes the judge, questioning if you’ve got it “right.”
There’s no right or wrong—just your interpretation. You can read the detailed
card meanings when you’re not giving a reading to develop knowledge. But to
begin with, look at the pictures first; this technique can help you read any deck
of cards, not just Rider-Waite tarot.
2. Use Just the Major Arcana First
Start with the major arcana cards and progress to the full seventy-eight-card deck
when you’re more confident. The major arcana are the prime energies, whereas
the minors are more incidental influences. As many minor cards are dilutions of
the majors, you won’t be missing out on any vital information by beginning with
majors-only readings. The majors will give you or the person you are reading for
the essential messages.

3. Ignore Reversed Card Meanings

As you’re learning, work with the upright card meanings; if you get reversed
cards, turn them the right way up and focus on your responses to the card in this
position. Some tarot readers use reversals religiously, while others do not—no
matter how great their experience and knowledge. It’s a matter of preference; go
with what feels right for you.

4. Read the Suit Cards by Their Element

Try this minor arcana shortcut: Learn just the meaning of the element of each of
the four suits. For example, Pentacles, the Earth element, tells you that security
(home and finances, structure and planning) is the focus; Wands, for Fire,
reveals talking, creating, and action. Cup cards, of the element Water, ask us to
tend to our emotions and relationships; Swords, of the element Air, ask for
mental clarity and the need for resolution and decisions.

5. Read the Suit Cards by Their Numbers

In numerology, the ancient art of mystical number interpretation, numbers have
the following meanings, which correspond to the suit cards:

Ones (Aces): Beginnings; new energy

Twos: Partnerships, balance, and division
Threes: Acknowledgment
Fours: Stability and boundaries
Fives: Instability and challenges
Sixes: Harmony and improvement
 Sevens: Potential and ambitions
Eights: Rewards and progress
Nines: Intensity
Tens: Culmination; endings, but also beginnings; and completion
The numbers are modified by the element of the suit—so the Three of
Swords, in the sharp suit of Swords, means sorrow or betrayal (three Swords
compete against one another), while the Three of Cups, in the loving suit of
Cups, means celebration (three people make a happy crowd). Try putting
together the suit element and the number and devise your own interpretations.

6. Read Any Card by Its Colors

You may be drawn to one or more colors on a card when you are interpreting it.
Here’s a general guide to color meanings:

THE TAROT RAINBOW

Red: Energy, passion, and the material world
Yellow: Consciousness, illumination, and self-expression
Blue: Truth and clarity
Green: Nature and growth
Gray: Neutral; unknown outcomes
Purple: Intuition and spirituality
Black: Protection; oppression
White: Purity and innocence
Orange: Creativity and impulse
WHAT ABOUT REVERSALS?
You will see that all the card
interpretations in this book contain
both upright and reversed card
meanings. An upright card is just
that—when you turn it over, it is
upright. A card is known as
reversed when it is upside down.
There are lots of books dealing
solely with reversed meanings.
With a few exceptions, a reversed
card’s meaning is generally more
negative than the positive, or
upright, meaning. However, many
tarot professionals ignore reversals
in a reading and just turn the cards
the right way up if they come out
reversed; they use their intuition to
interpret the card in a positive or
negative light. Do whatever feels
right for you.
 3
CARD LAYOUTS

here are many card layouts to try, but you will find, over time, that you use
T two or three spreads, regularly: Readers often learn the three-card Past,
Present, Future; the Celtic Cross; and the Week Ahead as their foundation.
Try them all and see which you prefer—and do look at the mini-spreads at the
end of each major arcana card’s interpretation here for inspiration, too.

THE ONE-CARD DAILY READING

Giving yourself a daily one-card reading is a great way to get to know your tarot.
Shuffle the deck, cut it or fan out the cards (see page 16), and choose one card
with your left hand. You might also like to ask a question, such as “What do I
need to know today?”
Work with the card’s image for an interpretation or turn to the card
interpretations starting on page 29. Display the card where you can see it during
the day, or carry it with you. You can also choose the crystal associated with that
card (see the list in the Appendicies, page 235).

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

This easy spread is perfect for mini-readings. Shuffle the deck, fan the cards or
cut the deck, and then lay three cards as shown:
For more insight, you can lay an extra card for each position:
 You can also create your own three-card reading to look at different life
aspects—for example, Mind, Body, Spirit; or Love, Money, Home. You can also
lay a card known as a Significator (this comes up in the Week Ahead and Year
Ahead spreads, too—see pages 25 and 27). A Significator is a card that first
sums up the theme of a reading that you then lay down. For example:
 If you’d like to lay cards on one theme, such as love, you can choose a
Significator from the deck, rather than laying it out randomly as the first card
that comes up after shuffling. For example, for a love reading, you might take
out the Lovers card and then shuffle the deck and lay down three cards around it
as follows:
 For a legal question, choose Justice as your Significator; for questions about
education, choose the Hierophant; for psychic development, the High Priestess;
for family and fertility, choose the Empress; and so on.
ASK THREE TIMES: YES OR NO?
When you have a question and you need a fast answer, try this three-card oracle:

1. Shuffle the cards and then spread them facedown in a fan shape.
2. Ask your question aloud or in your mind. With your left hand, choose one
card and place it to the left.
3. Ask the question again and choose a second card. Place it in the center, as
shown.
4. Now ask your question a final time and choose a third card, placing it to the
right.

Turn over the cards and look at the list below to determine if they are yes, no,
or neutral cards. If you get three yeses, your answer is certain; two yes cards
(with one no or neutral) mean a positive outcome is most likely, but it may take
time to come about; and all no or a mix of no/neutral cards means the answer to
your question is, of course, negative.
If you are reading reversals: Reversed cards mean no. If you’re not using
reversals, turn any reversed cards the right way up and read the list below to find
out if your question is a yes or no answer.

Yes cards
All cards apart from those listed here as no, neutral, or exceptions
All cards apart from those listed here as no, neutral, or exceptions

No cards
Swords: Three, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, and Knight
Cups: Five, Seven, and Eight Pentacles: Five Death
The Devil
The Tower
The Moon

Neutral cards
Swords: Four
Cups: Four The Hermit
The Hanged Man

Exceptions
Two of Swords or Ten of Wands: The answer is not yet known.
Five and Seven of Wands: The answer is yes, but you must fight for your
prize.

THE CELTIC CROSS

The Celtic Cross is one of most popular tarot spreads in use today because it
answers a question or, if you don’t have an immediate question, gives an
overview of your life just now. Set your intention before you begin, asking your
question or for an overview as your shuffle.
Shuffle and choose the cards and then lay them out as shown below.
Many readers lay out the Celtic Cross, then add cards around card 10 for
more insight into the future. You can also choose any card from the layout and
begin a Past, Present, and Future layout, using the card from the Celtic Cross in
the card 2/Present position of that layout (see page 20) and adding two new cards
surrounding it, with the next new card in the past position and the final new card
in the future position.
Tip: If the tenth card is a court card—a Page, Knight, Queen, or King—then
the outcome of the question is up to you or the person you are reading for.
 FINDING THE QUINTESSENCE
When you’ve finished a reading using any layout, here’s a way to glean
further insight: Add up the major arcana cards by number and then reduce
it to a single digit. For example, if you had three cards—II, The High
Priestess; XXI, The World; and XIV, Temperance—this gives 2 + 21 + 14
= 37. Reduce this number further by adding its two digits together: 3 + 7 =
10, or X, The Wheel of Fortune. The meaning of this card—a change for
the better (see page 70)—offers an additional dimension.

THE WEEK AHEAD

For a look at the Week Ahead, lay down one card for each day—though not in
the regular, chronological sequence.
THE MONTH AHEAD
Here’s how to see the influences over the next four weeks by laying two cards
per week, side by side, as follows.
per week, side by side, as follows.

THE YEAR AHEAD

THE YEAR AHEAD
For the Year Ahead, lay down one card for each month in sequence, beginning
with the current month, in the position of numbers on a clock face. Again, you’ll
need a Significator card, so lay this first facedown in the center of the clockface,
followed by your month cards—so if it were August, you would begin with an
August card, then September, October and so on.

THE TREE OF LIFE

This layout reflects the pattern of the ten sephirots, or spheres, of the Tree of
Life, the central motif of Kabbala (see page 234). The sephirots express the story
of creation: The divine will flowed from the source, creating the top three
sephirots, which overflowed and created more sephirots beneath. The sephirots
are containers of the divine will of creation and the pathways on the Tree of Life
a representation of the downward flow of the divine will from the top sephirot,
Kether, to the lowest, Malkuth. The interpretation of each sphere, or card
position, has been adapted to give a clearer path for using the tarot for
divination, but also included are the traditional sphere meanings if you’d like to
use this layout to look purely at your spiritual development.

For Divination
1 Your situation
2 Responsibilities
3 Limitations and the past 4 What supports you
5 What opposes you
6 Achievements
7 Attraction and relationships 8 Work, health, and communication 9 What is
hidden
10 The future environment; the outcome

For Spiritual Insight

1 Kether: Unity; spiritual growth
2 Chockmah: Wisdom; the male principle 3 Binah: Understanding; the female
principle 4 Chesed: Love; universal love, peace, and the law 5 Geburah:
Power and destruction; judgment and negative aspects 6 Tiphareth: Beauty;
the child, rebirth, and progress 7 Netzach: Endurance; relationships and
instinct 8 Hod: The mind; communication, creativity, and intelligence 9
Yesod: The unconscious mind; dreams, mysteries, and intuition 10 Malkuth:
The kingdom; the environment
THE CHAKRA SPREAD
This layout follows the positions of the seven principle chakras, or energy points
of the body. Work with the seven card positions shown to answer your questions
about these life aspects. You can also create a more detailed spread using the
developing chakra points shown on pages 236–237, adding the heart seed, higher
heart, fourth and fifth-eye chakras, alta major, soul star, stellar gateway, and
earth star.

7 Life goals; spirituality

6 Intuition and trust
5 Communication
4 Love and relationships
3 Energy, health and wisdom
2 Creativity and projects
1 Home, finances, and security
 4
CARD INTERPRETATIONS: THE MAJOR
ARCANA

QUICK-REFERENCE MEANINGS

0 The Fool Beginnings; risks

I The Magician Action, ambition, and manifesting
II The High Priestess Secrets, intuition, and learning
III The Empress Creativity, resources, motherhood
IV The Emperor Order, power, and boundaries
V The Hierophant Unity, marriage, and education
VI The Lovers Love; decisions
VII The Chariot Progress; determination
VIII Strength Management; endurance
IX The Hermit Analysis; solitude
X The Wheel of Fortune Luck; fate
XI Justice Decisions; balance, legal affairs
XII The Hanged Man Waiting; sacrifice
XIII Death Transformation, change, and new
beginnings
XIV Temperance Negotiation
XV The Devil Restriction
XVI The Tower Breakdown and illumination
XVII The Star Hope and guidance
XVIII The Moon Crisis of faith; deep emotions
XIX The Sun Growth and recovery
XX Judgment The past; second chances
XXI The World Success and completion
0 THE FOOL

Alternative Names: The Jester, The Idiot

Number: 0 (can also be considered XXII or unnumbered,
depending on the deck)
Numerology Link: None of and all of the other major
arcana cards
Astrological Sign or Planet: Uranus
Element: Air
Hebrew Letter: Aleph
Symbol: The ox
Meaning: Instinct
Tree of Life Pathway: First, between Kether and Chockmah
Chakra: Crown, for spiritual connection, and base, for survival
Key Meanings: Innocence, risk, and beginnings
UNDERSTANDING THE FOOL
UNDERSTANDING THE FOOL
The Fool is the innocent adventurer, about to begin an important journey. With a
head full of hope, he is idealistic rather than practical; he is certainly not dressed
for travel. The little dog at his heels tries to warn him of impending peril, but the
Fool is blissfully ignorant of the risk he takes in stepping off a cliff. He is about
to encounter danger, but how else can he make his way in the world?
We all begin life as a zero, a tiny egg of potential. The Fool is the cosmic egg,
symbolized by the shape of his number, 0. As he journeys through the major
arcana sequence, he is a part of every card, but he also stands outside the
sequence, without a formal value. An absolute beginner, he is about to explore
the world, gain experience, and leave behind his status as a zero, a no-being. He
will travel lightly, without the baggage of commitment. The Fool is the dreamer,
lead only by his needs and desires.
Usually depicted as a youth, the Fool must grow to become a man in the next
card in the tarot sequence: the Magician—an individual who knows life and has
identified what he needs to succeed in it. The Fool on his journey will collect, in
his bag, the four symbols of the minor arcana suits (the Cup, Sword, Pentacle,
and Wand): These items are the essence of his survival—the Cup to drink from;
the Sword to defend himself; the Pentacle, a coin, for victuals; and the Wand to
connect him with his higher self. At this stage of his journey, he is yet to
discover the power and meaning of these objects; when he fully understands
their purpose, he may progress to the next stage of life, ready to morph into card
I, the Magician. Even though his number is zero, his preceding card is the
World, card XXI. Some tarotists even assign him number XXII/0, to show that
the Fool is both the end and the beginning of the card sequence.

THE FOOL’S ASTROLOGY

The Fool’s element is Air, which is fitting, given he is about to step off a
precipice into the ether and on his travels will go wherever the wind blows.
While the Fool is not linked with a zodiac sign, he does have a planet, Uranus,
which symbolizes independence and a free spirit.

THE FOOL AND KABBALA

The Fool’s letter is Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It has no sound
—it is the breath, the chi, the life force of the universe. Life begins with a breath,
as the Fool is the beginner in life. Aleph commonly means ox, for endurance,
and also instinct, which drives the Fool on his journey.
On the Tree of Life, he is placed on the first pathway between the spheres of
Kether and Chockmah—denoting his journey from creation to wisdom.

UPRIGHT MEANING
The upright fool signifies calculated risk. It’s never too late to begin anew and
follow your heart’s desire. The journey ahead is not without danger, but it is time
to take a leap of faith. This card augers well for those embarking on new
enterprises and educational courses, provided sensible planning is in place; this
is a time for optimism and a fresh perspective.
The Fool brings an opportunity to start over and feel young again or excited
at the prospect of a new way of living; the Fool is an embodiment of your spirit,
whether male or female, ready to explore and discover. Whatever you start now
will go well, provided you do look before you leap—but once the decision is
made, it’s time to push forward and not look back; have courage, commit to your
path, and be fully in the moment. The Fool’s appearance in a reading can bring a
sigh of relief, in that there is now a way ahead. Welcome in the new and travel
lightly.
Here are some insights the Fool can offer in particular areas of life:

Home: The Fool can show a young person leaving home for the first time.
Also, surprise visitors could call. You may also have younger guests in your
home.
Relationships: A new relationship—go with the flow at this point.
Career and money: You may have sabbatical or a new opportunity in your
current job or a new career or enterprise. Prioritizing your workload is also
the key to moving ahead swiftly.

REVERSED MEANING
Is what you’re proposing—or a situation offered to you—a leap too far? The
Fool reversed brings out his irresponsible side, as his mouth works ahead of his
brain. Without thinking through the downsides, the Fool makes decisions that
are not wise. The reversed Fool leaps without awareness and so becomes the
are not wise. The reversed Fool leaps without awareness and so becomes the
literal idiot, sabotaging his chances due to desperation and irrationality. Think
carefully before agreeing a new approach to work and hold back from emotional
commitments until you are sure of your ground.

HIS WISDOM MESSAGE

Leap, but look first.

THE FOOL’S SYMBOLS

In the Rider-Waite tarot, the Fool appears with these magical symbols. Some of
them reappear in other major arcana cards, so learn to recognize them and you’ll
soon find you can apply your knowledge throughout the deck.

The dog represents instinct and self-preservation. The animal tries to warn the
Fool that he is about to walk off a cliff, but the Fool is oblivious to his
warning.
See this symbol on card XVIII, The Moon.
The white rose or butterfly: The white rose stands for purity and innocence.
Some cards show the Fool with a butterfly, a symbol of dreams and spirit.
See the white rose symbol on card XIII, Death.
The bundle: The Fool carries little in his bundle—just his essentials and four
talismans, the symbols of the minor arcana.
The white sun: This is a symbol of consciousness, of the workings of the
mind that are directly expressed. As the sun rises, it illuminates the Fool’s
world, showing it all in the best possible light. The sun is white, which links
with the Fool’s chakra of the crown and has purity of spirit.
See the golden sun on card VI, The Lovers; XIV, Temperance; XIII,
Death; XVIII, The Moon; and XIX, The Sun.
The red feather: The red feather in the Fool’s cap denotes his life force.
See this symbol on card XIX, The Sun, and XIII, Death.
 THE HISTORICAL FOOL: IDIOT AND JOKER
In the earliest tarots, the Visconti-Sforza, the Fool looks very different
from the jester-boy we see on twentieth-century decks. With feathers in his
hair and his breeches down to his knees, the historical Fool is a figure of
ridicule—the village idiot, without dignity—yet the overarching theme of
the Fool of Renaissance Europe was as a signifier of Lent. The seven
chicken feathers in his hair and his traveler’s bundle represent a poor man.
He is not a court jester but rather a symbol of poverty, a temporary
reminder that worldly goods are not everything; what is in our hearts is
more important.
The Fool archetype was part of the Roman festival of Saturnalia (see
page 11) in which the major arcana characters paraded in chariots while the
Fool ran around to tease and torment them. This is another reason why he
is unnumbered—he had no official place in the procession. The Fool
survives today as the Joker in the standard fifty-two pack of playing cards.

THE FOOL’S REFLECTIONS

The beginner aspect of the Fool is held in the minor arcana’s four Aces: the Ace
of Cups (new love), the Ace of Pentacles (new money), the Ace of Wands (new
initiatives), and the Ace of Swords (new success); see pages 120, 148, 204, and
176. He is also reflected in the Three of Wands, for travel, and the Eight of
Wands, for movement, messages, and activity.

TRY A READING WITH THE FOOL

Take the Fool from your deck and set him before you. Now shuffle the
remaining cards and cut the deck or fan the cards out facedown. Choose five
cards with your left hand and lay them out, as shown. You could ask, “What do I
need to do to follow my path in life?” or “Is this risk worth taking?”

Card 1: You and your situation Card 2: The risks

 Card 3: The potential rewards Card 4: What you can gain Card 5:
Advice and likely outcome