Easy Tarot, Learn to Read the Cards Once and For All

Easy Tarot: Learn to Read the Cards Once and For All! by: Josephine Ellershaw and Ciro Marchetti

Created especially for beginners, the Easy Tarot kit is the easiest way to learn to read Tarot cards. In the Easy Tarot Handbook, author Josephine Ellershaw shares tips, shortcuts, and time-saving techniques gained from more than thirty years of experience reading Tarot cards.

Using the beautiful Gilded Tarot deck, you'll learn how the seventy-eight cards link to one another and provide insight as their unique energies merge in the Cross of Truth, the Celtic Cross, and other spreads. There is even a list of card combinations that commonly indicate specific events-such as pregnancy, a wedding, a new job, and more. Also included in the Easy Tarot Handbook:

A quick guide to card meanings
Sample readings, safeguards, and ethical guidelines
Tips on keeping a Tarot diary
Troubleshooting advice that addresses questions such as, "What if the cards don't seem to connect?"

In depth description: Easy Tarot: Learn to Read the Cards Once and For All!

Yes, You Can Read the Tarot!

Are you ready to learn to read the Tarot? Perhaps you've seen other people read the cards and been amazed at what they revealed. Perhaps you thought you needed some sort of special psychic abilities or magical powers to understand their symbols. The truth, however, is that anyone willing to spend a little time with a Tarot deck and the right teacher can learn the Tarot. You can read the cards!

Now, Llewellyn is proud to present Easy Tarot, the complete set that can help anyone learn to read the Tarot. Inside the decorative box you'll find three tools. The first is one of the most beautiful Tarot decks ever created, The Gilded Tarot by Ciro Marchetti. This deck has been described as the "perfect working deck." Its brilliant colors and fantastic art are consistent with traditional symbolism, so what you learn can be used with any standard Tarot deck. But we think once you start working with The Gilded Tarot you will love it and want to use it for all your readings. It will inspire your interpretations and thrill anyone you read for.

The Linchpin of Learning
Even the best Tarot deck will look mysterious until you learn the meaning of the cards. Included in this set is the Easy Tarot Handbook by Josephine Ellershaw. Rather than focusing on history or philosophy, it focuses on the practical aspects of Tarot reading, giving you 22 easy steps that provide everything you need to know to read the cards.

The first part of this book answers the basic questions every budding Tarot reader asks: How does the Tarot work? How soon will I be able to do readings? If the Tarot reveals our future, are our lives ruled by fate? What about free will? Then you'll learn how to prepare yourself and the cards for giving a reading. You'll also discover how to keep a Tarot diary and work with your intuition.

Meet the Tarot
The next section of the book reveals the secrets of each card of the Tarot. It describes the symbolism and the meanings of the cards in ways that are clear and easy to grasp. You will want to keep this book handy for reference until you have an in-depth understanding of the symbols and interpretation of each of the Tarot "keys." It also explains:

How to formulate questions to ask the Tarot
How to shuffle and cut the cards
Whether you should use a "significator" card
How to choose the right Tarot spread for any question

Then you'll learn to use five different spreads. They are completely revealed, and sample readings are given so you'll see exactly how they work.

This kit is more useful and comprehensive than any other introduction to the Tarot. You'll learn how to deal with reversed cards, how cards in a spread relate to each other, what to do if you have difficulty interpreting a card and how to read for other people. There is also a "cheat sheet" with all the meanings of the cards in a very brief form.

As a special feature and third part of this set we've included a magnificent layout sheet with an advanced version of the famed Celtic Cross Spread where you can place your cards.

If you're tired of paying others to read the Tarot for you, or if you have always wanted to read the cards, this is simply the best way to become a Tarot reader.

Editorial Reviews: Easy Tarot: Learn to Read the Cards Once and For All!

"A brilliant combination and for a fantastic price!" Belladonna's Hearth

"I would recommend the set to any beginner who is looking for a straightforward and logical way to study the Tarot." The Tarot Reader, quarterly e-zine from the Tarot Association of the British Isles

"Engaging and down-to-Earth, the Easy Tarot Handbook by Josephine Ellershaw is a refreshing introduction to the Tarot." Janet Boyer

"The Easy Tarot Handbook is straightforward and very useful to beginners and the Gilded Tarot a beautiful deck to begin with. The two together will provide a beginner reader with a strong base for doing accurate readings." RefractionsTarot.com

Excerpt: Easy Tarot: Learn to Read the Cards Once and For All!

Step 1

Background

It all starts with you . . .

I feel it is important for you to understand your own reasons for wanting to learn Tarot. You may not have really considered this before. Perhaps you just feel attracted to the cards sufficiently enough to want to learn more about them. That's fine, nothing wrong with that, but your reason is probably the main thing that will keep you going. Being able to receive personal guidance is quite a good reason-and I can honestly say, the Tarot has never let me down.

So if you can, identify your reason or reasons now-and write them down! Having a goal to aim for will help you achieve your objective, rather than aimlessly drifting along. It is your underlying reason that will encourage your perseverance. Since this is a rather one-sided conversation, I shall assume that you are a complete beginner to the world of Tarot. So forgive me if you have traveled this road before, but this way I can ensure that nothing is left out or left unexplained, leaving you dangling in mid-air somewhere.

Perhaps your first introduction to the Tarot was through actually having a reading yourself, but in whatever way you came into contact with the cards, their mysterious images resonated somewhere deep within and beckoned you to follow.

No history lesson

There seems to be an endless supply of theories over the origin of Tarot cards, and most books usually include some version of their history. However, I wont go into detail about that here, as it is an issue of continuing debate.

The history of the Tarot appears to be as mysterious as the cards themselves, with many different cultures laying claim to some connection, along with varying theories and speculation as to how they evolved. I find it most apt that their universal appeal can be traced to so many cultures. No matter which civilization, continent, or timeline we examine, there appears to be a common thread; a theory that emerges throughout-that the Tarot was created using a secret code of symbols and images, to preserve the knowledge of a secret doctrine.

Factual history traced so far leads to fourteenth-century Italy, and while the Tarot in whatever form may have existed centuries before, there is considerable conjecture (but inconclusive evidence) to support these theories at the present time. . . perhaps it will always remain so. If you are interested, many books explore the history of the Tarot in depth.

Our concern here is in learning the cards in order to receive their guidance and, thankfully, knowledge of their history won't improve your ability to read Tarot cards any better.

The most important fact is that they work! The rest of this book is laid out in such a way as to show you how they work and how to gain access to their knowledge.

About the Tarot deck

Firstly, let us consider the actual Tarot itself, how it is ordered, and what it consists of. The Gilded Tarot contains a total of seventy-eight cards, of which twenty-two are known as the major arcana, using Roman numerals 0XXI. The remaining fifty-six are referred to as the minor arcana.

The minor arcana is then broken down into four different suits wands, cups, swords, and pentacles. Each suit contains an ace through a ten, followed by a page, knight, queen, and king (known as court cards). Each of the suits represents one of the four elements:

Wands-Fire
Cups-Water
Swords-Air
Pentacles-Earth

The cards contain archetypal images, pictures, and symbols that make a connection with ones subconscious mind. The major arcana focuses on the higher matters of life, while the minor arcana indicates situations in our daily existence. But both are important. Think of the major arcana as the bricks and the minor as the mortar that fills the spaces, holding it all together.

Introducing the Gilded Tarot

Somehow I have the sneaking suspicion that you have already unwrapped your new Tarot cards to take a peek and who could resist such a temptation?

I have purchased a great many cards over the years; in fact, my home is littered with unused Tarot decks. There is nothing more disappointing than thinking you have found the deck, only to discover that you cant work with it. There have been quite a number that have fit into that category for me once laid out, the cards all appeared muted, with no solar plexus reaction, or the interpretations that I'm happy with, just didn't fit with the images.

Like most people who love Tarot, I was constantly searching for the "perfect" working deck, like the search for the Holy Grail . . . and finally I found it in the Gilded Tarot, created by Ciro Marchetti and published by Llewellyn. Now I use nothing else. I believe they are the most visually stunning Tarot cards available and they immediately became the favorite deck for many in the Tarot community, readers and collectors alike.

The Gilded Tarot is breathtakingly beautiful; the magic and mystery of its images instantly transport you into another dimension. This is really most important, for your cards should provoke an instant inner response, regardless of whether you understand it. With each image presented, it is akin to becoming immersed in the scene and merging into the story. How I wish these cards had been available when I first began to learn!

Most people learn with what is termed "a beginners deck," and then transfer to one they prefer later. There is a huge number of Tarot decks available, but many of the images and interpretations vary, so if you do change it can be like learning all over again. By using the Gilded Tarot, you will be saved from major frustrations from the beginning and if you don't feel the need to transfer to something else afterward, you get the best of both worlds a double whammy!

Table of Contents: Easy Tarot: Learn to Read the Cards Once and For All!

Contents

Foreword xiii

Part one: Good Foundations 1

Step 1: Background 4
No history lesson 5
About the Tarot deck 6
Introducing the Gilded Tarot 6

Step 2: Answering Your Questions 8
How does Tarot work? 8
Who uses Tarot cards? 9
Do I need to be psychic? 9
How soon will I be able to do readings? 10
Fate or free will? 12
Disposing of a few myths and misconceptions 13
About other ancient sciences 13

Step 3: Making Preparations 15
Caring for your Tarot cards 15
Guidance and protection 16
Using a crystal 17
Preparing your Tarot deck 18

Step 4: Keys to Learning 20
Your number one learning tool 20
What kind to use? 20
How to record information and why 21
viii Easy Tarot Handbook
About dreams and psychic development 22
Your intuition 24
Tying it all together 25

Step 5: Just Before We Begin . . . 27
One card does not a reading make 28
About reversed cards 29
About Tarot spreads 30
Getting started 30
Following completion of each suit 32
Congratulations 32

Part Two: Meeting the Tarot 33

Step 6: The Minor Arcana Suit of Wands 34
Step 7: The Minor Arcana Suit of Cups 46
Step 8: The Minor Arcana Suit of Swords 58
Step 9: The Minor Arcana Suit of Pentacles 69
Step 10: About the Court Cards 80
Step 11: The Minor Arcana The Pages 84
Step 12: The Minor Arcana The Knights 89
Step 13: The Minor Arcana The Queens 94
Step 14: The Minor Arcana The Kings 102
Step 15: The Major Arcana 108
Part Three: Preparation for readings 139
Step 16: Getting Ready to Read 140

Reading for yourself 141

Preparation 141

Asking the Tarot 141
Shuffling and cutting 143
Using a significator 145
Recording readings in your diary 146
Example of a Tarot diary record 147
Before you begin, some helpful advice 148

Part Four: Various Tarot spreads in depth 151
What type, when, and why? 152

Step 17: The Cross of Truth 154
About your reading 156
What if the cards seem unrelated? 157
Checking your accuracy 158
Sample reading: The Cross of Truth 159
Points to note 162
Step 18: The Nine-Card Spread 163
Step 19: The Celtic Cross 165
Further insights from the Celtic Cross 169
The what-if scenarios 172
Timing with the Celtic Cross 176
Step 20: The Life Spread and the Anchor
179

Life Spread positions 182
The Anchor 183
How non-fixed spreads differ and
rules that apply 184
The key cards 185
Impact on area groupings 185
Connection to the Anchor Spread 187
Timing for the Life Spread 189

Part Five: The Final Touches 191

Step 21: Card Associations 192
Sample from the Life Spread 194
The cards you cant relate to 196
About the awkward cards 197
Putting it into perspective 199
About illness 200
Card combinations 203
Step 22: Living with Tarot 208
Reading for others 209
Reading for minors 211
Some final words 213

Part six: Useful Tools and Templates 215

Minor arcana cheat sheet 216
Major arcana cheat sheet 218
The Cross of Truth template 220
The Celtic Cross template 221
The Life Spread template 222
The Anchor template 223

If you are considering this book, and cannot quite commit to making the purchased, I would just like to say Easy Tarot: Learn to Read the Cards Once and For All! by: Josephine Ellershaw & Ciro Marchetti is another one of those great books for those who really take taro reading seriously, and never can get enough information, stories and techniques to use in their own readings for others.

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