I've got a few more Tarotcises up my sleeve for you! Try them out and have fun with them. But never underestimate the playful nature of these little tarot experiments. Each one serves a purpose and will only help you become a better, faster, and more confident reader.
This simple Tarotcise helps you bypass that part of your brain that wants to rely on the standard interpretations. It works best with two people. You'll need one of those little hourglasses that you might find in a board game.
One person shuffles the cards and pulls one off the top of the deck. The hourglass is turned upside down. Without thinking too deeply about the meaning, the other person starts interpreting the card as fast as they can. When the sand runs out on the timer, throw down another card, turn the hourglass upside down, and move on. And so on.
Grab your favorite tarot deck and randomly pull a card. Now, pretend that you're a reporter for a famous newspaper, and you need to write a news flash based on this card. Get creative and have fun with this!
Example: Three of Wands—“Elton John is getting ready to launch his next tour. This is going to be his biggest one yet. Sir Elton plans on sailing around the world and performing in every dock.”
The next time you are out and about on your errands, notice people around you. Without interacting, what is the first Court card that comes to mind? Go ahead and make a snap judgement. It's all good.
Next, initiate a conversation and see if the person matches up with your first impression. For example, I met a woman the other day at the coffee shop (the best place for this Tarotcise, in my opinion). Right off the bat, I thought: Queen of Cups.
A quick little hello at the cream station, and her feisty nature was apparent. Whoops—Queen of Wands! It's incredible how many times I am right on with my snap judgements, but when I'm wrong, that gives me a chance to analyze my initial impressions.
In this case, it was the soft look in her eyes that made me think Cups. But a few words later and I saw the fire! Keep in mind that people can be any member of the Court, depending on the day. Try this one out and see what you learn about your impressions and what Court card energy people may be taking on.
Being able to picture all the details in a card will help you be a better tarot reader. I can visualize and describe each card in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck down to the finest detail.
Here's a Tarotcise to play: Pick your favorite deck. Pull a card randomly from the deck and take a minute to study the card. Turn the card facedown and then draw the card from memory as if you were doing a police sketch. Try to get as many details as you can. Give yourself two minutes, maximum. Finally, turn the card over and see how many details you got right. Are you a good tarot witness?
Every movie director uses a storyboard as a visual organizer for preparing a film. Create your own using tarot!
Begin by creating an outline for a story. Now, choose tarot cards for each important scene or turning point. Lay them out, and then, with the cards as your images, finetune your story. Share it with someone you love (kids love this sort of thing).
Extra credit: use your camera phone and create a little film. Lay out the cards in order and begin filming with the first card. As the story moves along, move your camera to the next card and so on.
This Tarotcise will help you learn how the cards can work together to tell a story.
Lights, camera—TAROT!
Think of a setting—any setting. What tarot cards might best illustrate that setting?
For example, choose a hospital. You might pick the Nine of Swords to represent a patient, King of Swords or Queen of Swords to represent a surgeon, Strength to describe a nurse, Chariot for the ambulance, Three of Cups for the return home. Got it?
Try this out with all sorts of different settings: a picnic (Queen of Pentacles might be the woman who brings the best fried chicken to the event!), a church (Hierophant time!), a funeral, etc. Make this a game, but you'll also see that these are patterns that may one day show up in a reading.
What might be going on behind the scenes in some of these pictures?
The High Priestess. The walls of the city in the Four of Wands. The town the Chariot is leaving. Did you ever wonder what is going on in the background? Journal about what is going on behind the scenes.
Be curious. Let your imagination contemplate these scenes. Make your journal entry as vivid as possible. Tell the story of what might be happening in the backdrop. You might just discover some new interpretations!
Pull a card and find a quote that best sums it up.
Example: Seven of Wands: “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”—Paulo Coelho
This is a fun way to add some new insights to your interpretations!
Shuffle your deck and pull a card randomly. What is the first song that comes to your mind? If each tarot card had a theme song, what would it be?
Next, write a haiku or rap for each tarot card.
I love taking photos of things that remind me of tarot cards. With the advent of smartphones, I can click away whenever I'm inspired. For example, I've taken pics of a large scales statue in Portland for Justice, a fortune-teller's shop for the High Priestess, a sign for a restaurant called The Three Cups. You can find tarot photo inspiration all over your world . . . because tarot depicts daily life. Look for the tarot images around you.
Namely, let's talk about the weather in the tarot cards. Look closely at your deck and see what clues the weather in the background might give for interpretations. For example, the storm clouds in the Five of Swords show trouble, while the bright yellow in the Three of Wands suggests optimism. Go through your deck and make notes. If you were a meteorologist, what might you predict based on the tarot weather?
Pretend that you are a marketing whiz, and you have to write an ad or tagline (or both) for each tarot card.
Example: Ace of Cups—“Drink up! If you're thirsty for love, the Ace of Cups will quench that thirst once and for all. This cup is flowing with new bubbly stuff sure to please—I'm talkin' love, baby. Pop that cork and take a swig!”
Explore reading tarot in different venues and see if the energy feels different for you. For example, you might want to try reading in a coffee shop, the beach, at a family barbecue, or in the park with a blanket on the earth.
What feels better? What other energies might you be noticing? Does one environment feel stronger . . . or more distracting? Pay close attention to how different settings work (or don't work) for you.
Guessing the plot is an excellent way to build your prediction chops.
Pick your favorite television show character (I'll use Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones as my example). Now, shuffle the cards, focusing on what your character's next big move or plotline might be. Pick one card, turn it over, and make your prediction. Then . . . wait until the next episode and see what actually happens. Were you right? Might there be a new way to look at that card?
I pulled the Seven of Swords for Jaime Lannister. This tells me that he may find himself having to exit a situation quickly to avoid danger, or he may do something extremely underhanded and then have to go on the run! Either way, he's sneaking off and getting away with something.
What happened: He ditched Brienne of Tarth and went running back to Cersei like the rogue he was!
As you can see, there are many ways to play with your tarot cards. Have fun and keep shuffling!