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Are You Playing The Fool to Your Advantage?

September 11th, 2006

The Thursday Night Tarot: Weekly Talks on the Wisdom of the Major Arcana
The Thursday Night Tarot: Weekly Talks on the Wisdom of the Major Arcana

by Leonard Mutch

What does the appearance of The Fool mean for you when it appears in a Tarot spread? Do you get excited or worried? In this short article we explain what The Fool means when he appears in the Tarot.The Fool is perhaps one of the most important tarot cards in the deck. He is the first card of the Major Arcana, the first of 22 cards. He is also the only one of the Major Arcana to remain in our modern card deck, appearing as the Joker. His journey is at a deeper level the journey we are all on - the journey through life and life’s troubles, as no matter how old we are or what experiences we have been through we will still contine to find ourselves in areas where we are unsure, and vulnerable.

The Fool has appeared in many guises over the centuries in the different decks that have appeared. In the Visconti Sforza deck he is seen looking a bit like a tramp without shoes in his stocking soles, and threadbare at that! He carries a large stick or staff over his shoulder as though ready to commence a long journey.

In the Wirth deck he looks a bit like the court jester of old, and most like the forerunner of today’s joker in the traditional card deck. He has however a cat with it’s teeth sunk into his left leg, and a crocodile in the distance. The picture on this card seems to indicate the urge of The Fool to get on with his journey in spite of all obstacles both past and future. The Arthurian Tarot portrays The Fool as Parsifal who sought the mythic Holy Grail, and the Mythic deck depicts him as the Greek god Dionysus, wearing animal skins of many colours, and dancing gaily at the edge of a cliff.

No matter which deck we use the appearance of The Fool is a sign that we should follow our own path no matter what. We need to have the courage to jump off the cliff into a new venture if that’s what is called for. We need to have faith in our convictions no matter how hard this might be.

There are risks to everything in life and the appearance of The Fool in a spread is a great opportunity for a new beginning provided you are willing to make the jump!
About the Author
Leonard Mutch is a writer with an interest in all things psychic. He makes it easy to develop an understanding of The Tarot at his website http://www.read-the-tarot.com where you will find loads of information.

Tarot Readings: What Questions Can You Ask and When?

September 1st, 2006

A Magical Course in Tarot: Reading the Cards in a Whole New Way
A Magical Course in Tarot: Reading the Cards in a Whole New Way

by Ferdinand Culvelier
In this article you’ll read about the kind of questions you can ask for a tarot reading. Also attention is payed to when it is best to do a tarot reading.

Types of questions for a tarot reading

In principle you can ask any ethical question to tarot as long as you are the subject of the question. But some types of questions don’t receive a clear and helpful answer.

You must know that tarot never gives a yes/no, good/bad, black/white… answer. Tarot describes a situation. It tells a kind of story.
Also tarot doesn’t take decisions for you. It doesn’t say what you must do. It’s your responsibility to take account of the advice, tarot gave you, or not.

Another point of attention is that tarot never gives you an inevitable outcome. During a tarot reading using certain spreads, tarot gives an outcome of a situation. But this is an outcome on condition that nothing is changed to the present circumstances. It’s up to you to change the circumstances if you don’t like the outcome.

In my experience this are the most frequent asked types of questions for a tarot reading:

  • Questions about the evolution of something
    This is the kind of question you ask when you want to know what the outcome will be from a certain situation. In general tarot gives a clear and helpful answer for this type of question. You mostly will also get an indication of where there are possible difficulties.
  • Questions that ask for the description of a situation
    When people want to know more about the background of a certain situation. This is often the case for introspective questions.
  • Question about the Personality
    Example: “I have problems for communication with other people. Could you tell me about the background of these problems?”
  • Questions that ask for an advice of tarot
    Example: “How should I change myself to give a new start to my relation?”

The above types of questions are all suited for a good tarot reading.
But often people also ask questions that are not so well suited. This are the types of questions that ask for a black/white answer from tarot. Or that ask tarot to take a decision for them.
Here are some examples:

  • Yes/No questions
    Example: “Will I have a relation with the boy I met last week?”
  • Questions that ask tarot to take a decision
    Example: “Where should I go during the holidays: France or Spain?”
  • Questions about time
    Example: “When will I find a new house?”. Tarot will never give a strict timing on any subject. Tarot is about descriptions.

Mary K. Greer describes a yes/no spread in her wonderful book “Tarot For Yourself”. I never experimented with it. I think that you miss a lot of the possibilities of tarot with that kind of questions anyway. But if I ever would try it, this would be the spread that I use.
By the way, the outcome of that spread can be neutral.

Of course, people sometimes ask double questions that belong to several types.
For example: “Is my love relation solid and how will it evolve?”. This is a combination about the situation of a love relation and about the evolution of that same relation.

A question should always be related to yourself. Never ask something about somebody else, like: “How is the relation between my boss and his wife?”.
You never would get an answer from a tarot reading for a question like this. And it is highly unethical.

A tarot reading is also not suitable for pure “materialistic” questions. You should not expect that tarot will give you the winning lotto numbers or tell you where the treasure of the Inca’s is hidden.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t ask about material things. If the object is related to you, then you might get an answer from Tarot.
For instance “Where will I find a new house?” would not be a good question. But “What is the meaning of a new house for me” could very well be considered.

When to ask for a tarot reading

The answer on this question is very simple: when you truly feel the need for it.
Don’t let you influence by anybody. And certainly not by an unscrupulous tarot reader. Only listen to your inner voice.

Another question is: “How long should I wait between two tarot readings?”. In this case you can use the following tips:

  • In the very first place: listen to your inner voice. This overrules anything else.
  • Some spreads, used in a tarot reading, give you a kind of intermediate outcome. When you have reached that point, you could ask for a follow up reading. But be aware that, if you have changed anything to the initial circumstances, that outcome never might be realized.
  • It’s not a good idea to ask for a new tarot reading, on the same subject, too fast. You must give yourself the time to deal with the first reading. Don’t rush it. You are not a machine. Myself I think you should at least wait 1 month, even 2 months, between two tarot readings on the same subject.

Ferdinand Cuvelier (aka “Temu”) is a tarot reader with over 25 years of experience
He also studied Kabbalah and Theosophy and integrates these principles in his readings when adequate.
His tarot readings are characterized by his earthed tone which makes the readings easy to understand and usefull.
Ferdi is also the owner of Tarot For A Better Life
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ferdinand_Cuvelier