Tarot And Reading - The Art Of Reading The Tarot Cards

There is a general increase in the number of people who are interested in learning the tarot. While earlier this craft was mostly viewed as a divination (fortune telling) almost exclusively read by gypsies and fake psychics, these days people have recognized the real power of tarot.

Now practically anyone can learn to read the tarot, and reading the cards takes nothing more special than simple skill, which can be easily learned.

There are a couple of things you need to know and do when you want to learn to read tarot, and here are the main ones:

• Prepare to read the cards
• Ask the question you want answer to
• Select your deck
• Shuffle the cards
• Choose the cards to read
• Start reading the cards
• Put together the story

In short, these are the main steps that you need from start to finish. Of course, the actual reading takes a bit more than that, however everything can be learned. While there are a few genuine psychics who use tarot simply as a tool to gain that arcane insight, for the most of us tarot is something that can be learned if we just keep at it.

This means that once you've decided to start, you should:

• Learn the meanings of each card by reading them from books
• Learn the connections of the cards (this comes a bit later, with experience)
• Learn to read the cards by following your own intuition.

The last option is not a necessary step, however. There are many people who are very good tarot readers and they rely solely on the meanings given by the various tarot books.

But if you really want to gain excellence in this beautiful art and craft, then you should use what nature gave you in the first place: your own feeling, intuition and imagination to put the best and most accurate story together for the querrent (the person for whom you're reading).

Some people learn to read the tarot quite fast, but for the most of us, it's a long journey. However don't get upset by this. Afterall tarot is a life-long journey of self-discovery, one which you should follow with awe and passion.

Even if you think you know everything to know about the craft, there is always something new that comes in the next reading, something that will either give you that AHA moment, or will leave you baffled by the new meanings that you've just discovered.

If you're like me, you need a few good books to get you started with reading tarot cards. Head over to Tarot book reviews and check out some of the wonderful book reviews, such as the one for Learning the tarot by Joan Bunning. It's one of the best beginner books to get you started reading the cards the right way.

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Tasseomany - Tea Leaf Readings

Fancy a cup of tea? Hardly the most mystical question is it? Yet, before the advent of teabags such a simple question could be the prelude to some serious tasseomancy (tea leaf reading by its more common name) by the folks involved.

Tasseomancy is an old art, it began in China but it moved west with Romany travellers. The great thing about tasseomancy is its simplicity. All you need is some loose tea, a plain cup and saucer (not a mug) and a teapot without a strainer plus whatever sugar and milk you need to make the drink palatable.

Make the tea in the teapot using loose tea (you've guessed it, teabags just won't work). If the questioner wants milk and/or sugar let them add it and stir it themselves. Let the client drink the tea but try to keep chit-chat to a minimum, as this might colour your reading.

When the questioner has finished drinking take the cup in both your hands and swirl it anti-clockwise. Turn the cup so the handle is nearest to you, calm yourself and begin to read. The quarter of the cup nearest the handle symbolises the things that matter most to the client or their home.

The next quarter moving clockwise shows events moving further away. Opposite the handle is the area associated with strangers and distant places. The next quarter shows events moving into the subject's life.

Symbols that appear near the rim of the cup or the handle refer to the immediate future, those below that cover events in the next few months whilst the lowest part of the cup represents the distant future. The bottom of the cup shows negative influences - particularly if there is any liquid left there.

If you find a negative symbol near the rim the event will be less severe than if it is lower in the cup. Symbols pointing to the handle suggest something is coming to the questioner, if they face away from the subject they are moving away from them.

There are lots of symbols and you may find that you develop your own but here are a few hints.

Tea stalks represent people, large ones are men, the smaller ones women. A single leaf at the side of the cup tells of a stranger. Symbols associated with relationships include; circles, anchors and arches. Circles represent power and completion, or a romantic partnership, however if the circle is at the bottom of the cup near the handle means a relationship may end.

Business and finance symbols include triangles, dots, mountains, eyes and ants. An eye near to the handle means you will receive an offer but you need to be cautious. On a more sombre note; knives, unsurprisingly, tend to be associated with problems, especially deceit. A question mark warns you that you may need to be more cautious around plans and motives.

General good luck symbols include upward facing triangles (the opposite if they are downward facing), stars, horseshoes, keys (unless they are at the bottom of the cup - in which case beware of thieves) and rainbows.

If you find it hard to see any symbols at all don't worry; relax and let your mind wander and as you do so the shapes will appear to you just as clouds form shapes on sunny days. Maybe tea isn't your favorite beverage don't despair, you can read coffee grinds or herbal tea leaves too!

Or if you would prefer, why not talk to a Psychic and get a Prediction from them. Or if you would prefer your Daily Horoscopes.

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