Spring Greetings to all My Tarot Students and Enthusiasts,

I do hope you are all keeping well and are looking forward to the summer months ahead.  We are progressing nicely through The Minor Arcana and very shortly The Four Suits will have completed their current journey or cycle.  The drama for each Suit is building momentum as they head towards the finish line, the climax of their endeavours.  At times it has read like a Soap Opera but then, the story of The Four Suits is based on Archetypal Characters and Archetypal Situations.  This is exactly how Soap Operas, Movies or Fictional Novels work as they too are all based on Archetypes.  They mimic real life but in the extreme; characters with over-the-top personalities and exaggerated scenarios.

I am delighted once more, to announce that I have finished re-working and re-formating the Four Nines of The Minor Arcana, The Nine (IX) of Wands, The Nine (IX) of Cups, The Nine (IX) of Swords and The Nine (IX) of Pentacles which are now ready for viewing.  For continuity purposes, I have continued the fictional storyline for some of the Cards in The Card Imagery Section, but do also include their basic description.  Just Click on the Individual Images below to go straight to the Individual Pages. Don’t forget to read The Nines Introduction first.

The Four Nines – Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles

Nines Introduction

These Cards will also be found in Lesson 9 of Part I of Course. They are also listed in the Section The 78 Cards – Detailed.  Don’t forget to read The Nines Introduction Page first before moving on to the individual Cards.

As with all the other Cards, there is detailed information on the Card Imagery and Description along with the Keywords and Meanings for both the Upright and Reversed versions.  Should you only require the Keywords and Meanings, then they can be found in the Section, The 78 Cards -Brief which is being created as I finish re-working each Card. There is still a great wealth of information available in this section and is probably most suited to those who just want to find out what their Cards mean rather than an in-depth study.

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It is important to remind you that it is not required of you to remember all interpretations given as that would be impossible.  What you are given is a wide variety of Keywords, Meanings and Associations for each Card.  Choose the meanings that resonate with you, make sense or have personal experience of. Take note of these, attempt to memorise them and use them as interpretations when those Cards are drawn.  In time you will find that you wish to add more meanings or keywords to your original ones as they become relevant.  This is how you build up your repertoire.

There are some Readers who only ever assign one meaning to each Card and therefore when a certain Card comes up, it means only one thing.  This is great if you have confidence and conviction of that sole meaning being relevant for your Querant.  Every Querant and Each Situation is often complex and complicated.  One meaning may not be suffice to unravel their Reading or provide any constructive advice.  If one meaning per Card works well for you then that is the way to go and is perfectly fine.  Otherwise, try to build up a variety that you are comfortable working with.

It is important also to remember that you will not learn The Tarot overnight, so don’t expect to. Take your time and get to know each Card on a personal basis.  Learning The Tarot involves self-discipline, personal application and heaps of patience.  Unlike many courses today that offer Certification after a One-Day or Weekend Workshop, allowing participants to then set-up professional practices as a qualified this, that or the other, you won’t be able to do that with Tarot. For a start, you have 78 Eight Cards to cover and remember, 156 if you are planning on reading reversed, and also many other disciplines to take on board such as Numerology and Astrology.  However, there are some who attend weekend Tarot Workshops and then set-up in business straight away. I have heard from very good sources there are several to be found at holistic  and psychic fairs where they have to consult their books and notes under the table when interpreting readings for people who are actually paying them for the privilege of it.

This type of Tarot Reading brings disgrace to the profession and is very damaging to the reputation of diligent, experienced Readers.   No one wants to, or expects, to have to study anymore in the current climate of ‘just add hot water and stir’ qualifications. I have taught several classes over the years and at the beginning of each course some students will drop out after the first class or two.  Those who come to let me know their reason for leaving explain that there was more involved than they thought.  They had always wanted to learn Tarot but they thought it would be simple.  Some had already attended Angel Card Reading Courses and now wanted to add Tarot Reading to their list of services.  They believed it would be as simple to learn Tarot as it was Angel Cards.

I always explain to anyone enquiring about learning Tarot the complexities involved if you really want to be a serious Tarot Student.  Tarot is an Apprenticeship and an Art.  It takes time to become adept at it but still some students find this hard to accept. If you wanted to become a psychologist, biologist or indeed an artist, and enrolled in a college to study it, you certainly would be very concerned if you discovered that all your tuition was to be covered in a weekend along with certification and graduation. The same applies to Tarot.  You will have to be prepared to work and study at it for some time if you want to be a Good Reader.

This is not to say you shouldn’t be Reading for others at all. On the contrary, you should now be hungry to practice your growing skills on friends and families members who will only be too happy to help you out.  It is important to let people know you are just learning at this stage and need to gain some first-hand experience.  This will take the pressure off you.

Best of Luck with your continued studies,

Vivien (Your Tarot Teacher)

Copyright © 2006-2013 Vivien Ní Dhuinn