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

IME they do, just not as non readers expect them to. Nor do you have to be psychic to use them.

Tarot cards aren't much use when trying to predict exactly what will happen. OTOH they can be very useful when trying to work out what your options might be and how you feel about them.

They can also be useful as a tool to loosen up your creativity, or as a focus of meditation.

Yeah, well I wish they worked in the spooky metaphysical way.

There was a time when mine did - I had to stop using them for about a year because most of what came up was bad news.

Hmm.... You wouldn't be willing to use them on my behalf, would you? And tell me the results?

I would if your'e sure that's what you want, but you need to bear in mind that they're currently more of a tool for thinking than anything, and really not that accurate when predicting dead certainties instead of what might be. I'm also about as psychic as a house brick.

OTOH I hardly know you, which might help me to avoid filling in the gaps. It'd be interesting reading for somebody else for once.

Would you prefer a general reading, or is there something a bit more specific you want to ask?

"I would if you're sure that's what you want, but you need to bear in mind ... [etc., etc.]"

Yeah, I know. But whatever, it'll be fun.


Can we do both a general reading and one about whether I'll sell my screenplay? I have dark brown hair and brown eyes, if you need to choose a signifying card.

Okay, I'll give it a go. Depending on when I have time, you'll probably get them by this time tomorrow.

The general reading, with two cards per month plus two as an Overview (from the bottom of the deck): King of pentacles (coins), 7 of pentacles.
The King of pentacles is the one which best fits your colouring (it might also refer to a very practical man, somebody who handles a lot of money, or somebody born under one of the earth signs of the zodiac). In my deck, the 7 of pentacles shows a man tired after some very hard work which will bear fruit, just not yet. Unfortunately, I tend to see it come up when the payment is likely to be delayed.

July: Karma (Judgement) inverted, King of cauldrons (cups).
An awareness that what you'll get out is what you've put in. The King of cauldrons generally indicates a fair haired blue eyed man or somebody born under one of the water signs, possibly quite sensitive or emotional, often artistic.
August: 8 of swords, Queen of pentacles inverted.
Hemmed in and apparently alone. Awareness of a woman with dark colouring or born under one of the earth sign, quite practical, probably handles money or works with a lot of plants or animals.
September: 2 of pentacles inverted, 6 of cauldrons inverted.
An awareness of robbing Peter to pay Paul - be careful with your money and how you spend it, but also beware of false economies. An awareness of an innocent (or platonic) friendship, possibly one from the past. Feeling nostalgic? Catching up with an old friend or somebody from your past.
October: 4 of pentacles, 2 of cauldrons. Being very careful with resources (maybe a bit too careful). A partnership of equals, generally more love than work (although it could be both)
November: 10 of rods inverted, The Lovers inverted. Feeling overburdened, an awareness of starting a difficult task - a bit of advice, help at the start, or experience should make this easier. Feeling that a choice has to be made.
December: The Star, The Magician. Hope. Enlightenment, art and emotions balanced by science and logic. Help on the way? Finding everything you need and knowing how to use it, in order to bring a tangible result.
January: The Sun, 7 of rods (wands). Completion, happiness, success, possible material wealth. Being in a very well defended position, even if under attack.
February: The Emperor, The Tower. Legal matters (relating to property and contracts?), but the person will be fair minded if they think you're being reasonable. Reasoning will work better than trying to appeal to their better feelings. Don't mess with this person, they wield a lot of power and influence. Keep an eye on things like plumbing, heating systems, and the roof, this card can indicate problems with the structure of where you live. It can also be a very testing time, but one which you'll get through in more or less one piece.
March: Knight of cauldrons inverted, 6 of rods inverted. An awareness of somebody with pale hair and eyes, or somebody born under one of the water signs, possibly quite sensitive or emotional, often artistic. Probaby communicating or working on somebody else's behalf. An awareness of a group celebration of hardwon success.
April: The Lone Man (The Hanged Man), 2 of rods inverted. Temporary withdrawal or going on retreat in search of ideas. If they come, it may be at some cost (financial or otherwise). Awarenss of the need for balance between work and play, becoming more skilled through practice, making something difficult look easy until those watching try to do it.
May: the Guide (Temperance) inverted, King of rods inverted. Awareness of the need to look beyond yourself for help. Moderation in all things. Help will come, but it will have to be asked for first. Awareness of a man, probably redheaded, or of a firey nature, who works in business. Unlikely to turn you down if you catch him at the right moment. If he says he'll do something, he might not be reliable - he might intend to keep his word but be far too busy.
June: Queen of Rods inverted, The Fool inverted. Awareness of a woman, probably redheaded, or of a firey nature, who works in business. Busy, but not always reliable, mostly because she's busy. Awareness of new beginnings which can be risky, but need not be. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

I just found this thread.

Taking it from post 1, in psychological jargon, tarot cards can be described as projective apperception tools.

Projective apperception tools figure prominently in psychological diagnostic regimens since they provide a measure of unselfconscious access to the workings of the subconscious and unconscious minds.

Thank you for the reading. Have some flowers --

Though I'be got copies of two versions of the Ryder-Waite deck, which are among the most popular tarot decks, I usually work with the Thoth deck designed by Aleister Crowley and painted by Lady Freda Harris, since I was rather taken with her sense of color harmony.

Her basic palette is organized in minor key chromatic hue analogies, corresponding across the octave of normal color vision, from about 375nm at the violet end of the spectrum to about 750nm at the red end of the spectrum to the black keys on the piano keyboard at about 50nm intervals.

I don't endorse anything in Crowley's moral philosophy though, Lady Freda Harris's predilection for minor key themes notwithstanding.

Is there a "How To" Psychic book on Tarot Cards. If so what do they say regarding giving your own reading, i.e., a self-reading

Corrections:

'I'be' should be 'I've', of course. (Sometimes its just my own stupid fumbling.)

'analogies' should be 'analogues'. (Sometimes its a balky, uncooperative, often argumentative, excessively pretentious, autocorrect feature of a beta testing word program that came preinstalled on my new VZW Ellipsis 7 tablet that constantly reminds me of Dr. Strangelove's malfunctioning mechanical arm from the Peyer Sellers feature film.)

There should be a comma after the last use of the word 'spectrum'. (Sometimes its just my own stupid fumbling.)

Stone Aart: "Is there a "How To" Psychic book on Tarot Cards. If so what do they say regarding giving your own reading, i.e., a self-reading "
There are several, IMHO Eileen Connolly and Sasha Fenton are pretty good for general use. Others are better if you prefer to meditate with individual cards or use them in magic, but that's probably better left until after you've covered the basics.

As a rule of thumb, there's nothing inherently wrong with reading for yourself (useful when getting to know your deck and working out how to string two or more cards together), as long as you steer clear of obsession and try to avoid using the cards to feed your own wishful thinking.

ITIWBS my first deck was a miniature Marseilles tarot, which I didn't get on with (the Minor Arcana was too abstract for me), learnt with a pocket version (ie normal playing card size) of the Rider Waite, sometimes borrow the Norse tarot deck from my husband, but my main one is the Tarot of The Old Path.

I agree that Lady Frieda Harris's images on the Thoth deck are very appealing to look at and meditate with, OTOH the cards are far too big for my hands.

More focussed reading (re his writing) for Florida Sailor 28-06-14

Bottom of the deck (overview): Knight of rods - A creative man, or of medium colouring, possibly self-employed.

Question: 5 pentacles inverted - feeling as if left out in the cold and pretty hard done by. Not completely alone, and some help may be at hand.

The reason for asking the question: Queen of rods - A woman in the creative field, who might be inclined to promise whatever you want to hear but not always able to deliver - more busy and preoccupied than malicious.

Recent past: Queen of cauldrons - A woman of watery nature, or of pale colouring, possibly quite emotional and (again) not always reliable. Can be fond of her creature comforts, possibly psychic, less proactive than the Queen of rods.

Near future: 6 rods inverted - awareness of celebratiing success in public. Recognition. Victory after a slog.

Short answer unless you change what you're doing: 3 pentacles inverted - awareness of time spent getting something right which is a combination of talent and practice. eg "after all that time I've put in, slaving over a hot keyboard I was...."

This describes you: Karma (Judgement) - you'll get out what you put into the situation. Time to let your work go out into the world as you move onto another project while waiting.

You're in the house of (surrounded by): 3 swords inverted (gulp!) - awareness of quarrels, disputes, and words generally hurting a lot.

Hopes and fears: 5 cauldrons inverted - awareness of crying over spilt milk. Somebody (maybe not the person for whom the reading was done) needs to concentrate on what can still be saved from the situation - only 2 out of 5 cauldrons were spilt. Help on its way.

How it may be: 3 rods inverted - awareness of constructive input and help with the project from somebody who's more experienced (their own work has already borne fruit).

Two for good measure: The World - completion, perfection, joy. A chance to let the work speak for itself.
9 Swords - take it easy and look after yourself once the work's completed or circumstances may force you to do so - the risk of burnout or worse.

To summarise - this looks like an eventual "yes".

~*~

You're in the house of (surrounded by): 3 swords inverted (gulp!) - awareness of quarrels, disputes, and words generally hurting a lot.

Hopes and fears: 5 cauldrons inverted - awareness of crying over spilt milk. Somebody (maybe not the person for whom the reading was done) needs to concentrate on what can still be saved from the situation - only 2 out of 5 cauldrons were spilt. Help on its way.

~*~



I don't know, those two make it sound kind of contradictory.

Though intriguingly, when I do this myself I get similar results. Can you tell me the name of the spread you used?

It's a variation on the Celtic Cross. I don't often use the covering or the crossing cards, and don't automatically use a significator at the beginning of the spread.

The extra cards at the end are added if the final card of the column is Minor Arcana (suggesting that the outcome is less fixed than if Major Arcana).

Just moving this up my conversation list. Pay of no mind.