Author Archives: Raaginni Jadhhav

How Tarot Works?

Is Tarot magic or science ? a lot of mystery and curiosity surrounds the Tarot .
So how does Tarot really work?

Since ancient times tarot has been used as a tool for predictions and spiritual growth, so here is how it works

A Tarot deck consists of 78 cards which are further divided into major Arcana cards and minor Arcana cards. Major Arcana cards consist of 22 cards and these cards are mostly inclined towards spiritual and karmic lessons and guidance

Minor arcana cards which consist of 56 cards reflect our daily trials and tribulations. They connect us to our outer world and the situations we encounter.

Each card has imagery /symbolism on them which tells a story about your life or the life of a person you are reading for. this imagery gives us instant access to our inner wisdom or intuition which helps us in predicting future or getting guidance to manifest an ideal future. It helps us understand our strengths and our shortcomings. They show is the best path to manifest our goals.

We are all connected to a higher consciousness or higher wisdom and this source help us in predicting future and telling an individual’s soul story. This the higher wisdom you use when you are giving readings to other people. You can help them understand their life path and give them answers to the issues they are struggling in their day-to-day life.

So, the key to using Tarot cards in the most powerful way is to tap into your intuition.

Tarot is just not a predictive tool but it can be used for self-development, knowing about our spiritual progress, making the right choices, planning a business, chosing the right job for your career growth or getting deeper insights into your relationships with others.

Now that you know how Tarot works and how it can help you overcome challenges and manifest an ideal future, get that Tarot deck out and start reading !!

Why I use “Reversed Tarot Cards” in my readings

A lot of tarot readers do not like reading Reversed Tarot Cards. A lot of gloom and confusion is associated with reversals. But I love reading reversed tarot cards, as they bring a lot of insights and layer of depth to my readings. The reversed Tarot cards show you when the energy is blocked in certain aspects of your life. that’s how reversals help you turn around things!

If you are a beginner or if you have completely avoided reading reversed tarot cards, this is the post that will hopefully change your perception about reversals As you will learn how to use them in the most empowering and positive way.

Once you know the meanings of all 78 tarot cards you can very easily master the reversed tarot cards. Then you only need to take the upright energy of the cards and apply to the reversed energy of the cards. The reversed cards most of the times shows blocked energy or opposite meaning of the upright cards.

You can see the reversed cards in your readings and identify where to release the blockages in your life and turn around things in your favor and understand which area of your life needs attention or work.

reversed cards expand our understanding of what’s happening within us and knowing how to make impactful changes and work on self -development.

There are various ways of interpreting reversed tarot cards in a reading. but I use these below methods more often

1: A simple yes or no

You can ask your tarot deck a particular question to get a simple Yes or a No.

Below is the Sun card from the Rider-Waite tarot deck

The sun card upright always means a big YES!! A card of triumph and new beginnings.

2: The second method of using reversal tarot cards is for self- development, below is an example

As you can see in the above image the Emperor cards are reversed, and a reversed emperor usually indicates instability, confusion and inability to make the right decisions. This spread represents an individual struggling with things like indecisiveness and confusion and lacks maturity like indicated in the surrounding cards. So it’s very clear as to where the blocked energy is and one can work towards it.

3: Energy work

Energy work or internalization is a method which can be used to track ones spiritual or emotional growth. I personally use this method almost every day to know about myself by drawing a single card from the deck and yes this technique involves reversed cards for deeper understanding of blockages or attitudes which needs working on. For example:

As you see in the above image, I have pulled out a reversed high priestess card. Usually, a high priestess in an upright position represents wisdom , knowledge and the ability to learn higher knowledge, etc. But a reversed high priestess represents all the opposite things like Ignorance, superficial knowledge and the inability to understand or prejudice towards things. This is how you know what needs to be changed within one’s self. These were just one of the few methods I use with reversed tarot cards 🙂

There are various ways you can use these reversed cards for gaining a better understanding and finding more clarity in your readings or helping others gain better clarity. Hope the next time you use your deck you will not shy away from the reversed cards 🙂

Origins of Tarot

There are many theories about the origins of Tarot, (pronounced Ta-row) but no one knows for certain where or how or by whom the cards were developed.

Some claim the Tarot was derived from the ‘Book Of Toth ‘while some others say its origin is as recent as the fourteenth century where playing cards first entered Europe most likely from Egypt. and in another theory by traveling tribes called the gypsies (Roma) though no documented evidence is found. The oldest surviving cards are the Visconti-Sforza tarot decks painted in mid 15th century for the rulers of Duchy of Milan.

In Florence, a deck called Minchaite was used which consisted of 97 cards with astrological symbols and divided into the four elements. Our modern tarot decks now consist of 78 cards divided into major arcana (22 cards)and minor arcana(56 cards) which again is divided into four elements (wands, pentacles, swords &cups). some researchers believe minor arcana was part of the original Egyptian tarot decks while others say they were added to the tarot deck in the fourteenth century from an Italian card game known as ‘Tarocchi’

  • Mid 15th Century Tarot Cards

The illustrations on the tarot cards seem to be derived from the ancient teachings and symbolism of Egypt. It is believed that the high priests of ancient Egypt designed the tarot cards as one way of preserving their secret teachings for the future generations of royal priests and students of occult arts.

Another theory suggests that the tarot philosophy was derived from the mystical Jewish tradition called ‘Qabbalah’ or ‘Kabala’.

Kabala teaches you that it is possible to raise your consciousness above the level of the mundane and lead you to an understanding of Divine. Kabalists never wrote down their teaching but they were passed down from teachers to students as this suggests that the tarot philosophy might be derived from Kabala. The order of the major arcana is connected to the Hebrew system of letters and numbers. In this teaching, letters and numbers are considered as reservoirs of divine power and knowledge.

In another school of thought, Major arcana is a record of the secret teachings of various underground religious groups and the ‘Gnostics’ being one such group. These Pagan or gnostics or early Christian sects were forced to take their faith underground to escape persecution.

Even the origin of the name ‘Tarot ‘ is in doubt. Famous tarot exponents believe that the name derives from the Egyptian words tar “a path” Ro” royal ” meaning the royal path of life. It even means Taru meaning to “require an answer” or “to consult” in Egyptian.

  • Ancient Egyptian depiction resembing modern tarot

Whatever the origins of Tarot, it is clear the symbolism on the cards is universal, speaking to many different cultures and philosophies.

People have been using Tarot for centuries and have developed their own version of the deck and own style of reading the decks. So Tarot, though its origins still a topic of debate is believed to contain full knowledge and mysteries of life and creation if only one can learn to decipher them. Tarot can be used as a tool of divination or a tool for self-development.