By Gary Meister
A person can spend a lifetime studying the Tarot, and still never know all there is to know. But—you don’t have to spend a lifetime before you can start doing meaningful Tarot card readings for yourself and for your friends and relatives. You don’t even have to memorize all the meanings in the Little White Book (LWB) that comes with each new deck of Tarot cards. All you really need to know to get started is one meaning for each card, and know it well. This series of articles will show you an easy way to do that, with Numerology.
But this series isn’t only for beginners. I didn’t learn this system until I had received two Tarot Master Certificates from two different sources, and after nearly 30 years of Tarot study. And, along with some other systems, I use it to this day. So—if you are a newcomer to Tarot, this might make your learning curve a little faster. If you’re a veteran reader, this could be a new technique to add to your arsenal.
Okay—a quick review of where we are right now:
Secrets of Tarot Numerology Tables
Table of Elements
Major Arcana = Spirit = spiritual growth
Pentacles = Earth = finances, money, material things
Swords = Air = thoughts, ideas, attitudes
Wands = Fire = imagination, creativity, intuition
Cups = Water = love, relationships, the emotions
Primary Number Tables
0 = Infinite potential
1 = Action, Beginnings
2 = Cooperation, Coming together
3 = Creativity, Expansion
4 = Reason, Practicality
5 = Changes, sometimes crises
6 = Peace, Harmony
7 = Success, Learning from one’s mistakes
8 = Success through hard work
9 = End of a cycle of life
10 = Completion, Perfection, Endings leading to new beginnings.
11 = Extreme creative action on important new beginnings
12 = Creative, cooperative beginnings
13 = Beginnings, Creativity, Expansion, with reason and practicality
14 = Beginnings + Practicality + Big changes
15 = Action or beginning + Big changes + Peace and harmony
16 = Action or beginning + Peace and harmony + Learning from mistakes
17 = Action or expansion + Learning from mistakes + Success
18 = Beginning + Success + End of a lifecycle
A quick reminder: the adding I’ve been doing, and continue to do, is Numerology’s way of rendering a compound number into a single number value. This is called the Fadic System. (19 = 1 + 9 = 10)
Okay.. Number 19, The Sun: Beginning + The end of a cycle + New beginnings (1+9=10)
A small boy rides bareback and nude upon a white horse. White is the color of purity; nudity symbolizes having nothing to hide. A bright sun shines in the sky. A stone wall can be seen behind the boy, with sunflowers growing over its top. The interesting thing about the sunflowers is they are facing the boy instead of facing the sun. It's as though the boy is a greater source of brightness than the sun itself.
In a spiritual reading or karma reading, this card could indicate a soul completing its earthly tasks and—at least for right now—returning home...
Element = Spirit. So, in just about any reading, this card will either directly or indirectly point to the client's spiritual life—or to a spiritual aspect of the question asked. Let's try it on...
"You appear to be involved in wrapping up a major cycle in your life or a big project you've been working on. Its time has come, and so has yours. The project or cycle involved seems to be reaching a successful completion. It is time for you to get ready for a whole new cycle, which, whether you have recognized it or not, has already begun. Pay attention to new opportunities, and whatever you do, don't stay married to a project which has reached maturity and no longer needs you. Time to move on."
What do you get on this? Look at the card and talk about it for a while. Expand! As I've said so many times before—YOU are the reader! Your take is more important than mine here, because you are working with your subconscious mind. It won't lead you astray. It will draw the perfect card for you. As long as you have memorized a meaning for this card—either my meaning or your own—you will get the card you need. Believe in it!
Now…Number 20, Judgement: Obviously, there isn't any adding to do here; this just brings the number two to a higher vibration—a higher octave, so to speak. It adds power to the basic #2 meaning. The cooperation, here, is universal cooperation—cooperating with Universal Law and using amplified judgment in all your choices and beginnings at this time.
That's what I think... What do you think? You're the reader... (What a clever phrase—I wonder why I never said that before?) ;o)
Now…Number 21, The World: 2 + 1 = 3, Cooperation + Action = Creativity
In some decks, this card is called The Universe. Personally, I like that name better, but The World is the traditional title. So what are we doing here? Well...
"A whole new world is opening up for you. You need to work with Universal Law to bring about your desired results. But—don't just think positively; you need to take the necessary action to bring your new goals about. With that combination—believing in the Universe to cooperate with you, and taking the action needed—some wonderful creative things will be your result."
Now, let’s recap some stuff: In the last lesson, I mentioned a few websites where you can find some good Tarot Spreads. Here are those links again:
http://www.tarotpassages.com/spreads-readings.htm
http://www.newagestore.com/divination/tarot.aspx
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/spreads/
These sites can give you all sorts of ideas for spreads to use in your readings. However—I would suggest sticking to one-, two-, or three-card spreads for a while. (See my previous lesson in the March issue for an example of a one-, two-, and three-card spread)
Don't forget your Tarot notebook. You can add to that for years, because you'll find that nobody ever knows everything about Tarot. It is a lifetime study. One last time, I'm going to give you the complete keyword list:
Secrets of Tarot Numerology Tables
Table of Elements
Major Arcana = Spirit = spiritual growth
Pentacles = Earth = finances, money, material things
Swords = Air = thoughts, ideas, attitudes
Wands = Fire = imagination, creativity, intuition
Cups = Water = love, relationships, the emotions
Primary Number Tables
0 = Infinite potential
1 = Action, Beginnings
2 = Cooperation, Coming together
3 = Creativity, Expansion
4 = Reason, Practicality
5 = Changes, sometimes crises
6 = Peace, Harmony
7 = Success, Learning from one’s mistakes
8 = Success through hard work
9 = End of a cycle of life
10 = Completion, Perfection, Endings leading to new beginnings.
11 = Extreme creative action on important new beginnings
12 = Creative, cooperative beginnings
13 = Beginnings, Creativity, Expansion, with reason and practicality
14 = Beginnings + Practicality + Big changes
15 = Action or beginning + Big changes + Peace and harmony
16 = Action or beginning + Peace and harmony + Learning from mistakes
17 = Action or expansion + Learning from mistakes + Success
18 = Beginning + Success + End of a lifecycle
19 = Beginning + The end of a cycle + New beginnings
20 = #2 Amplified, taken to a higher octave.
21 = Cooperation + Action = Creativity
Now, we've come to the end of this particular course—Secrets of Tarot Numerology. At this point, I believe you know at least one meaning for each of the 78 cards of the Tarot. And—you are capable of doing meaningful readings for yourself and others. Work with Tarot every chance you get, and you'll be amazed at your progress! Remember—you are now a Tarot Reader!