The Three Modes of Tarot (Reading)

This basic reading can help you identify some problem areas in your life and gives advice about what energy may be best expressed.
First, sort through your deck and divide it into three piles;
Court Cards
Numbered Cards
Major Arcana

Shuffle each deck with your question or problem in mind. Draw one card from each deck, respectively.

Card 1 - Court Card - You, the current role you are playing in this situation
Card 2 - Numbered Card - Your situation
Card 3 - Major Arcana - The archetypical energies that are being expressed... the root of your actions and situation, the advice card

If you wanted to, rather than randomly drawing the first card (the Court Card) you could choose one as a significator. Conciously choosing a card to represent yourself or the role you play may help you focus the reading in that direction. Not sure what card represents you in this current situation? Try Court Card Excersize 1 (previous post) and choose a card from the list you create.

Here is a format for anlyzing and interpreting the cards in your reading, from the book "Tarot For Yourself" by Mary K. Greer. Write the following sentence and fill in the blanks with the card meanings.

"I am acting like a ________________[Court Card], a ___________________________ __________________[describe the type of person you see in that card] in a _________________[Minor Arcana] situation in which ________________ ___________________________ __________________ [describe your situation using action verbs] because of ___________________ [Major Arcana], which describes my need to _____________________ __________________________[describe the archetypical energies in you that need to be expressed]."

EXAMPLE;
"I am acting like a Queen of Pentacles, a nurturing woman who obssesses over houswork in a Two of Wands situation in which I am searching for control and independence because of Justice, which describes my need to find harmony, balance and justice in my life."

Taking it further; How can I best deal with this situation?

"I can use the attributes of _________________ [Major Arcana] to _________________ ________________________ [describe the best qualities you see in this card] in order to deal with ________________ [Minor Arcana] , which expresses my desire for (to) _____ ________________ _________________ [ describe the situation you have drawn to yourself] experienced by my Inner ________________ [Court Card], the one who ___________ _____________________ ____________________ [describe that aspect of yourself that chose to experience the situation].

EXAMPLE;
"I can use the attributes of Justice to create balance and harmony in order to deal with Two of Wands, which expresses my desire to choose where and how I exert my personal power experienced by my Inner Queen of Pentacles, the one who is a nurturing, rescourceful Housewife but does not want to be tied down and restricted by housework and chores."

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As you can see, I used one of my own cards from the Court Card Roles excersize to give the examples posted above. I chose the Queen of Pentacles to describe my role as a houswife because I see myself as creative, loving, and nurturing. The Queen of Pentacles has a dark side though - she can become obsessed withh housework and caring for others, and forget to take care of herself. OR, she can become discouraged when she finds herself unnapreciated, taken for granted, or overworked. This card seemed to quite perfectly describe how I am in the role of Housewife. So I drew the two other cards and found this to be very insightful. The Two of Wands shows how even though I love taking care of my home and family, I am dreaming of bigger things, adventures and accomplishments. I grow resentful of the never-ending housework when I don't have time to commit to my dreaming, my intellect, and my spirituality. I long for Personal Power, control, independence, and freedom, and my Queen of Pentacles expresses these desires by trying to control the household. I make lists, schedules, routines, chore charts, etc.... in short, I obsess... trying to find that sense of control and freedom. The root of the situation comes from the Major Arcana card, Justice. Above all things, I seek Balance and Harmony. When I lose my sense of Balance and Inner Harmony, I begin to feel like "It's not fair!" I lose my sense of Nurturing and Creativity when I feel unnapreciated... or when I feel that all the hard work I am doing is not being justly rewarded. So I have to ask myself.... is this really where I want to focus my energy? Is the gain or reward equal to the energy that I put out in the process? If not, then how can I shift that balance? If I don't ask myself these questions first, I will more than likely find myself revisiting the Queen of Pentacles "less attractive" qualities; Obsessing and Controlling. But if I remind myself to seek balance and Justice, to reward myself, to only put forth energy into the things that I know will leave me with a sense of balance and justification; then my Queen of Pentacles energy will flow as it should - creatively!