LESSON 5

The Daily Reading

You are now ready to begin putting your tarot knowledge to work. Lesson 5 describes the Daily Reading. In this reading, you select a single card that becomes your theme for the day. The purpose is to heighten your awareness of one approach to life for a single twenty-four-hour period. It also helps you learn the tarot without strain or tedium.

[picture of Two of Cups] Let's say you have drawn the Two of Cups for a daily reading. As you go through the day, you will watch for signs of this card's special energy. The keywords for the Two of Cups card are connection, truce and attraction. In the morning, you notice that a colleague, who has been rather hostile, comes to your office to talk. You sense a truce, and you take advantage of it. In the afternoon, while working on a problem, you look for the connection between two approaches and find your solution. Later, at a party, you talk to someone who attracts you. On each occasion, you access the energy of the Two of Cups and allow it to guide your decisions.

At first, you may want to choose your daily card deliberately so you can avoid repeat selections while you learn. This approach takes a minimum of seventy-eight days - quite a commitment, but if you stick with it, you will know the tarot deck very well when you are done. To choose your card, you can be spontaneous or systematic (first the Wands, then the Cups, etc.). You can pick a card that catches your eye, or one that seems fitting for the day's events. A single day on each card is enough, but you can take longer, if you wish.

Choosing your card deliberately is not a "true" daily reading since you look at the cards while you decide. Your conscious mind is involved. For this reason, you may want to jump right into doing daily readings. It will take you longer to learn the deck, but you can enjoy the full reading experience right from the start.

Choose a time for your draw that works for you. Mornings are good because you can pick a card during your wake-up routine. You can also select one at night. You will be ready to put your card to use as soon as you wake up. It isn't necessary to pick one time since your schedule may change. The main goal is to make your daily draw a part of your day so that your tarot work progresses. I don't recommend carrying your card around during the day as it could get lost or damaged.

If you're learning the deck, you'll want to refer to the information page for your card. Write down the keywords, and try to memorize them. They will help you remember the meanings of a card quickly. Study the details of the card's picture as well. You may want to make a copy of the information page to refer to during the day.

The Daily Reading Procedure

Shuffle the deck once or twice.
Hold the deck face down in one hand and cover it with your other hand.
Pause a moment to become calm and centered.
Ask your Inner Guide to give you the guidance you need for the day.
Place the deck face down in front of you.
Cut the deck to the left and restack it.
Turn over the top card as your card of the day.
Return this card to the deck, and shuffle once or twice.

Consider keeping a journal for your daily readings. See Exercise 5.1 for some suggestions.

I started studying the tarot in earnest when I was spending my days caring for my two boys, then under five. One day I calculated the distribution of my daily cards to that point and found the following:

Wands - 24
Cups - 44
Swords - 41
Pentacles - 57
Major Arcana - 56

How clearly this describes my life at that time - heavy on the real world (Pentacles) and basic forces (major arcana) and not so heavy on individual creativity (Wands).You will probably be surprised to find that you draw certain cards over and over. Of the fifty-seven Pentacles I recorded early on, I drew the Ace and Queen eleven times each! At home with my children, so many of my days reflected the themes of these two cards. The Queen of Pentacles is the ultimate nurturing mother. The Ace of Pentacles offers opportunities to enjoy the material side of life, and it doesn't get more material than dirty diapers!

I picked these two cards so often that I became suspicious about them. I examined them closely one day to see if I had damaged them in such a way that I would be more likely to select them. They appeared no different from the others. I was simply drawn to them because they expressed my situation at that time. The cards you select frequently will also tell you about your concerns.

The most important step in learning the tarot is to take the cards out of the box regularly. The Daily Reading is the ideal solution. If you do one each day, you will absorb the character of each card quickly and easily.

Exercises for Lesson 5