h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Now that's just !

A friend has just bought me a tarot reading. The woman is going to come to my home next Thursday; she'll read for Landlady's Daughter first, then for me.

I'm rather excited about this, never having had a "professional" reading before. Needless to say, this is a particularly strange time in my life...

Hmmmmmm…

I think I'll get my deck out.

I bought a deck and a couple of books but never learned how to read them. Perhaps when I retire and don't have my brain full of library stuff all the time.

Lil, it would be interesting for you to do a reading for yourself first and see how they compare. Bet you're better at it than you think you are.

I always fear that wishful thinking will cloud my ability to interpret the cards dispassionately. I have a lot to be wishful about lately, so an external perspective ought to help a lot.

The tarot reader was a very nice lady, who has had an interesting life. Her deck was a congeries of symbols from different cultures and mythologies. I looked over the deck and saw hexagrams, Hebrew letters, gods Greek, Egyptian and other, native Americans, and more. She also held a pendulum the whole time, which sometimes moved horizontally, sometimes vertically, and sometimes spun madly. The reader (let's call her T for tarot) said it was energy from her spirit guide, Hannah, who also spoke in her ear from time to time.

T has been doing tarot work practically forever: her mother gave her her first deck when she was nine!

After I shuffled, T spread the deck out in a horizontal line face down across the table, and from then on I drew cards in sets of 5 or 3, occasionally a singleton. I had a friend present and toward the end of the session Hannah even invited her to pull out a few cards.

There was so much information that I had two pages of notes consisting just of the names of the cards. Overall, the reading was optimistic concerning three major parts of my life -- health, finance and personal stuff.

Incidentally, I never asked her to guess things, because I don't think the purpose of the reading was to force her to overcome any skepticism. I gave her a basic outline of my situation and, rather than ask a particular question, I let the reading range where it would.

That sounds good Lil, will you mull over it and mention any further ideas?

GT

Very interesting. I'm glad you got an encouraging reading on all fronts.

Question. Why are there so many different decks?

[GT]

*hurries through the Conservatory, hoping to intercept Springie*

On the subject of tarot readings and different decks, I recently discovered this and consider it several cuts above other computerized tarot gizmos:
http://www.llewellyn.com/tarot_reading.php

Ohh! My deck is in there, The Gilded Tarot.

I've never gotten into trying to read a spread for myself. From time to time I like to shuffle, pull out a single card and see if it resonates with what is going on in my life.

There seem to be dozens upon dozens of different tarot decks.

I use the celtic cross, but I almost always have to write down the layout and come back to it weeks or months later to make sense of it.

I got quite excited when I found out there was a Kalevala deck - but it din't meet my expectations. I had expected it to be more in style with Akseli Gallen-Kallela's paintings:
http://www.gallen-kallela.fi/akseli/1_tradition.html

I love those sorts of artworks that are full of details to be savored. And the details should generally reference the meaning of the tarot card, if that's what the illustration is for.

Today, I pulled a random card, to 'familirise' myself with it according to some advice I read a good while back.

The Emperor

Which I see as *I* am in charge, *I* decide what to do with my life, *I* am responsible for what's happening in my life right now.

I've been increasingly unhappy with my current work position. Although it pays my bills and more.

This card seems to suggest to me that I should go looking for the position I *really* want. But how? Hmmmm...

Alternatively, the Emperor speaks of the entity who is in charge if it isn't you. Like, employer or paterfamilias.

I don't think it's easy to load an entire reading on one card, though. Why not try pulling 3 cards, for past, present and future? In order to familiarize yourself with the cards as you plan to do, you need a context in which to place them. imo.

Everything you mention about your work suggests that you have plenty of skills but spend long periods of time doing very tedious tasks that could be performed by a junior clerk. That's when you give us lots of youtube links.

Very accurate observation, Lil

The 'familiarising' thing was picked up from a website, suggesting that you give each card a personal meaning. This will change over time, obviously.

Pulled 2 more cards, since I think the Emperor does fit with my current situation, and got

Ace of Wands for past

Knight of Swords for future

*broods*

You could think of the ace of Wands as an amassing of resources, whether material, like money or chattels, or intangible, like skills and experience. Or you could think of it as the card of volition, that mysterious something that translates an impulse of the mind into a movement of the body.

The Knight of Swords is a tricky fellow, a mercenary, full of action but not wholly reliable. I would deploy him but not rely on him. To understand him completely you would have to reflect on 1. the people you've had to work with or live with who embody this type, and 2. how you've handled ventures in the past where there were large unknowns. Thinking about a new job is a good example!