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!

Court Card Excersize 1

Court Cards can be problematic for many people as they learn to use tarot cards... for many they are difficult to interpret in a reading. Some people will say that the Court Cards ALWAYS refer to other people in the querent's life, but I have found this to be far from true. My rule of thumb is this; Court Cards almost always refer to YOU and alternatively will sometimes refer to someone you know. In fact, the Court Card can refer to you AND someone you know. After all, the people in our lives often reflect some part of ourself.

"Jungian psychology provides a framework for integrating both points of view; the Court Cards as yourself and as another person. The concept called "projection" refers to projecting (or thrusting) inner qualities of yourself onto other people around you, whether or not they have these qualities. They become shadowy reflections of yourself. It works like this: You notice in other people some of the characteristics that you do not recognize in yourself - both positive and negative. As a result, you tend to let these people act out your own unconscious perceptions of yourself and your own inner situations, or you get angry with them when they don't." ~ from Tarot For Yourself by Mary K. Greer.

So, a good first step in understanding the Court Cards is to recognize their aspects and personalities within ourselves. We all have many different roles that we play in life... we change gears, energy, and focus depending on which role we are playing at any given time. Myself, for example; I am a Mother, a Wife, a Waitress, a Blogger, a Tarot Reader, and many other things. This excersize suggested by Mary K. Greer inher book, "Tarot For Yourself" not only helps you understand some Court Card personalities better but also helps you on your road of personal self discovery.

Make a list with two columns. On the first side write down the many different roles you play in your day to day life. On the second side, write the Court Card that you think is expressed in that role. Male/Female doesn't matter, and you can use the same card in more than one role if you feel it fits. Use this chart by Joan Bunning if you need help determining what card applies to each role.

Current Roles In My Life / Corresponding Court Card
__________________/____________________
__________________/____________________
__________________/____________________
__________________/____________________

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My Court Card Roles
Current Roles In My Life / Corresponding Court Card

Mother / Knight of Swords
Wife /Knight of Pentacles
Housekeeper /Queen of Pentacles
Waitress / King of Wands
Friend / Queen of Swords
Volunteer /Page of Pentacles
Teacher-Writer-Blogger / Knight of Swords
Tarot Reader - Astrologer / Queen of Cups

If you wanted to take the self-discovery a step farther, you could revisit each of these cards to help you understand yourself better, make improvements on flaws, embrace your strengths, etc. The next blog post I make will be a follow up excersize of this nature - check back soon!!