The journal · The systems
Tarot
The deck's structure, the spreads to learn first, and where the tradition comes from.
14 articles.
What is my tarot birth card? The arithmetic and the 22 answers
Add your birth month, day and year, keep summing the digits while the total is over 22, and one of the Major Arcana is yours.
8 min read
Major vs Minor Arcana: the structure of the deck
Seventy-eight cards. Two halves. Learn the shape and the deck stops being scary.
4 min read
The Celtic Cross, explained
Ten cards, two structures, and one position almost every guide gets wrong.
4 min read
Rider-Waite vs Thoth vs Marseille: choosing a deck
Three traditions. The choice shapes how you learn far more than which art you like.
5 min read
Court cards are the hardest part. Here's a system
Sixteen cards, one grid, and the question to ask before you read any of them.
4 min read
What the Death card really means
It's about endings. No reputable reader treats it as literal, and I've been reading since I was nine.
4 min read
The Fool's Journey: reading the Major Arcana as a story
Twenty-two cards in sequence. The fastest way to learn them all, and then let go of it.
4 min read
Does your first tarot deck have to be a gift?
No. The rule appears in no historical source, and its main effect is to stop people starting.
7 min read
Tarot vs oracle decks: what's the difference?
One has a structure you can learn. The other has whatever its creator felt like. That's the whole difference.
4 min read
Reversed cards: read them or skip them?
Not traditional, not required, and a decision to make before you shuffle.
2 min read
Can you use a secondhand tarot deck?
Yes. The tradition never forbade it, collectors depend on it, and the energy worry is newer than the decks it worries about.
7 min read
The history of tarot: from Renaissance card game to divination
A card game for about 350 years before anyone read a fortune with it.
4 min read
Your first tarot spread: three-card readings for beginners
Three cards. One question. Frankly, more use than a ten-card spread you can't read.
4 min read
Can someone else touch your tarot cards?
Yes. The tradition never forbade it, many reading styles depend on it, and the contamination worry is newer than the cards.
8 min read
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