Tarot Card Spreads: The Love Pyramid

I commented on my last post about Tarot Spreads that one of the major interests in card reading sessions are those related with love matters. “Liebesglück” (translated from German to English: Luck in Love) is one of my most popular spreads, and it’s one I adopted from Hajo Banzhaf (The Tarot Handbook). I personally call it the “Love Pyramid”.

In this Love Pyramid you will be able to see how your relationship’s present state is and also the direction where you, as love-partners, are headed for along this present path.

Please remember that we are “Free Will Human Beings”. Our present path and the direction we’re headed for is our choice. If you don’t like the present path or the direction you’re headed for: do something to change it. You and only you decide how your life will be! And this is independent from those things that happen in life which you cannot control.

With this spread I always use the Universal Waite Tarot; and I think people like it because it’s very easy to follow. On the graphic, the gray line of cards on the right is the woman’s side; and the white line of cards on the left is the man’s side.

• Card 1 at the top of this Love Pyramid represents the forces that maintain this relationship together. Here you can see the principles for this relationship’s existence and also how this relationship is being lived at the moment. Harmony or discord can be seen according to the card placed at the top.

• Cards 2 (woman) and 3 (man) represent how each partner lives or sees this relationship individually. It represents the point where each one is standing at the moment in relation to this love partnership.

• Cards 4 (woman) and 5 (man) represent what each one expects from this relationship and what their wishes are; but it can also represent what they fear might happen in the future of their lives together.

• Cards 6 (woman) and 7 (man) are cards of advice. They give you a direction to look upon or follow. I find it interesting that these cards – many times – open the eyes of the consulting persons to things they had been ignoring.

• Card 8 is the future card. It represents what both, man and woman are bound to “produce” as a result of the present way they are living their relationship. It represents the road this relationship is headed for.

I hope you enjoy this spread. If any questions should arise, feel free to make your questions in the comment boxes. All comments are welcome, and I’ll be more than glad to answer.

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New Tarot Cards: How to prepare them for readings

I remember having heard from friends of mine that one shouldn’t buy the Tarot cards: one had to wait until someone game them to you as a present. I was a child back then, and even though I was so eager to get my hands on a Tarot deck I waited for years until my dad finally gave me my first Tarot d’ Marseille. Please: don’t wait so long as I did!

Oh, that was a great day for me even though my father was making fun of me and the cards. I was 11 at that time and I still treasure my first Tarot. Each time I open my treasure box and get them out of their gold lamé cloth, I gasp at the beauty of their colors, details and the connection between us. Many years of studies and experiences unite us.

If you’re reading this and have your new cards near by, I congratulate you on your purchase. These are the first days of a long relationship on a journey that in many ways will change the way you conceive reality. Many surprises and learning experiences, not to mention some disappointments, await you.

In these ups and downs of life, your Tarot Cards will be there for you, waiting for you to unveil them.

Now, let’s get started with the action:

• Find (buy) yourself a nice cloth of more or less 1 square meter. It can be any color you like, although I would prefer deep red, dark green, royal blue, white or even black; important is that this cloth should have only one color or a very discreet pattern. It shouldn’t steal your attention from the cards.

• Find, buy or sew yourself a small cloth bag inside of which you will place your Tarot Cards instead of the carton package where they usually come in. Humans like nice and soft fabrics, give the same to your cards.

You can make the preparing of the Tarot Cards a ritual with candles and incense, with very soft music at night. It’s fun and it helps you concentrate on the energy flowing from you into your cards:

• Place your cloth, from step 1, on top of the table where you will have your first reading. Sit on a chair where you will dominate the whole room you’re at. Avoid sitting with your back to the door or a window. If you have to choose between both options, then sit with your back towards the window and make sure you can see the door. News comes through the door of the house or room, it is symbology: you are in control. But also, psychologically, one has the tendency to better concentrate when ones face is oriented towards the door: news does actually come through the door. Noises and possible interruptions distract less if you’re not giving your back to them.

• Place a glass of water which represents the vast waters of the infinite ocean that is the information you will gain access to. Water is the element of intuition. Flowers or incense are great helpers for creating a nice atmosphere and for connecting with the beauty and wisdom inside you. A candle is also a way to get in contact with the wisdom of Light-Energies. The fire of a candle can help light up and activate your Spirit Mind! Although this step is optional, try this out. It’s a very nice experience that celebrates your initiation in the Tarot world. I usually have a glass of water and a candle.

This is a meditation you will do now.

• Take your new Tarot Cards in your hands and shuffle them while feeling how the energy from your own being flows into the cards and returns back into your body. Visualize, while shuffling the cards, how you start to travel with your mind and soul through the cosmos.

• Visualize how you immerse yourself in the flowing of energy and wisdom of the universe and the eternal Mind-Spirit.

• Make contact with True-Light Energies of Wisdom – your Spiritual Guides– who will help you to better understand the relationships between eternity and time-bound space. (Just use your imagination, it’s not really important for now which form these energies appear to you) Eternity, past and future fuse in the present; ask for help to be able to understand the correlations of events at all times.

• Be determined to be conscious at all times of what is true. Be like a tree whose branches reach out to the sky as high as it gets, never forgetting that the higher you go up, the deeper your roots should dig down deep into earth. Your mind may experience high spiritual realities, and these should be in harmony with the beauty of your material reality.

• And as you stretch your branches into the never ending cosmos, start being again conscious of the roots that bring you back to earth. Be thankful for this great opportunity to better know yourself and the energies that move the universe.

You can now start by looking at each card; start with the Major Arcana. You can do the same with the Minor Arcana also some other day. Observe each card: its colors and motives. You can read their meanings in a book and try to associate the principles read with the images in each card.

I have written about the meanings of the Major Arcana in this link; but I highly recommend that you read my post Major Arcana: a Story of Spiritual Growth. This story will introduce you the main principles and sequence of the Major Arcana; it will help you to get familiar with the archetypes these cards represent.

The Universal Waite Tarot is a great way to start learning Tarot because the meanings of the cards are more or less “readable” in the images. I usually use the Major Arcana from my Marseille deck and the Minor Arcana from my Waite deck, amongst others.

There’s a renown author whose books I enjoy, Hajo Banzhaf is “the” Tarot expert in Germany and his book The Tarot Handbook I highly recommend. His explanations are very handy and direct; some of his card spreads are some of my most used. The Relationship Game is one of the most asked for among my friends. You will enjoy it!

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Tarot Spread with the Major Arcana

This tarot spread is a very practical and easy way to obtain an overview of the situation or person to be consulted. I learned it about 20 years ago from one of my mentors, and since that time I use it as the first spread in every session. I use only the major arcana because in this spread it is important to find out the main principles or energies that dominate the person or question; details will be looked upon later based on this first overview.

What makes this tarot spread so special to me is that it takes into account “how an event is perceived” as a complement of “how it really is.” How something is perceived is not necessarily reality, and it helps to see the difference.

What kind of questions can I ask?
You can find out about the elements involved in an event or obtain a description of it. You can also ask about people: here you might want to know how you or someone else is doing.

The place or “atmosphere”
First you should choose a quiet place to spread your tarot cards. You will need a cloth to spread your cards on; it is not a good idea to spread your cards directly on the table surface. This cloth marks the territory where your cards can act. Placing a glass of water near you and/or flowers together with a lit candle or some incense is a way to get connected with the energies of the universe and with the collective-subconscious. Water is the main element of intuition-readings; water is analogical to the mass of information in the universe. I always feel like if I’m diving into a vast ocean where I can find the information I’m looking for. A flower is a product of the earth, and its beauty always inspires. The fire of the candle and incense are also ways of getting in touch with those universal energies: light and aroma. These are nice elements but not indispensable. A quiet and “nice” atmosphere is really important.

Before you start: visualize
Close your eyes for a moment and visualize how a string or ray of light that starts inside your mind extends itself so long that it connects you with the stars and cosmic energy in the universe. Visualize your mind already being in connection with the universal stream of information; feel that your mind has free access to that information and be thankful that you are able to experience this.

Mixing and asking
Mix the cards and at the same time think about your question. Think about the overview you wish to have in relation with the topic you chose. When you’re finished mixing, place the cards – face down – in a pile on top of your table.

If you read the tarot cards for yourself, take a small amount of cards with your left hand (the hand of your subconscious) and place this new pile of cards before you. Then, place the remaining ones back on top so that you have one pile again. If you do this spread for someone else, let him or her make a second pile of cards in their direction and place the remaining ones back on top. Don’t look at the cards yet.

The tarot spread
Now take each card from the top of the pile and place them – face down – in the order shown in the graphic, from 1 to 15. After you’ve done this, take the last card from underneath the pile and place it on the left upper corner of the other cards.

Reading and interpreting
First of all turn the 16th card around. This card will give you the general “atmosphere” of this spread, of the reading and of the topic you’ve asked about.

Then turn cards 1, 2, and 3 – faces up. These represent the present and also how the person feels inside; they show elements that are important for him or her at this moment. If it’s an event or situation, these three cards will describe what is happening at the moment or which energies are involved.

Turn cards 4, 5, and 6 around. They represent what is in that person’s mind, wishes and hopes included. Here you can see which opinion and feelings the person has regarding the main topic revealed in the first three cards. If this spread reveals information about an event, it portrays how you see it and what you think about it or what you wish for.

Now turn cards 7, 8, and 9 around; they describe the reality of an event or situation; what it is about and how it is developing. When consulting a person, these cards represent the place where you stand in life at that moment and related to the main topic read in the first three cards.

Cards 10, 11, and 12 give you a glimpse of the place you came from, the situations that preceded your present moment (the present is described by cards 1, 2, and 3). In case of reading about an event it describes where this situation started.

Cards 13, 14, and 15 give you an idea of what the future will bring.

All three cards in each place are related to one another, sometimes even chronologically.

But, there are also some other relationships to look up:
After reading the cards in their normal place, relate cards 4, 6, 7, and 9; this gives you a better idea of what’s happening and where this situation is headed for.

Cards 6, 3, and 9 give you an idea of which energy is going to make the change that is seen in the three future cards. I see these cards as a door to the future; it can be an open door or a closed one, with the features that need to be worked out before going ahead into the next stage.

If you’re new to Tarot try not to push yourself into understanding all that has been laid in front of your eyes. You can observe them and ask the universal mind for help in order to understand the hidden messages, ask for help to uncover these mysteries. If you still find it hard to understand, write the question or topic down on a piece of paper and place it facing down on the table. Leave the spread as it is and then come in an hour and look at everything again. I sometimes take pictures of the spread so that I can relate the spread with reality as time goes by.

In order to have a better idea of which energies each Tarot Major Arcana has, you can read the information in the following links:

Practical Tarot guide: Major Arcana card meanings – Introduction

Practical Tarot guide: Major Arcana card meanings – Part1

Practical Tarot guide: Major Arcana card meanings – Part 2

Practical Tarot guide: Major Arcana card meanings – Part 3

Tarot Major Arcana: a story of spiritual growth – Part 1

Tarot Major Arcana: a story of spiritual growth – Part 2

Tarot Major Arcana: a story of spiritual growth – Part 3

Filed under Predictions, Tarot | Tags: how-to, readings, universal-awareness | Comments (2)