21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card by Mary K. Greer

This book is too amazing NOT to do a review for.

Mary K. Greer brings almost 40 years of tarot experience, and has a wonderful view of intuitive reading. She is both an author and a teacher, and her tarot techniques that she provides in her books will alter the way you view tarot reading forever.

This is a 310 page book that provides exactly what the title implies...21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card!

The book is filled with activities / excercises for both the beginner and the adept reader, and the activities are thought provoking and highly beneficial for those who are interested in fine tuning their intuitive reading abilities.

All you need is the book, a journal for the activities / excercises, and your favourite tarot deck. I would strongly recommend using one that is fully illustrated / scenic, including the minor cards.

I assure you that you will not be disappointed! I am thoroughly enjoying going through the excercises with my Legacy of the Divine Deck by Ciro Marchetti. I plan on doing it with all of my favourite decks. I highly recommend it for beginning tarot readers and experienced readers alike!

Pete's Personal Year Reading

I chose to use the Legacy of the Divine tarot deck in this spread for Pete.

This is a Personal Year reading, using 13 cards.

The Devil was the card for January. This foretells of financial struggles, and self imposed bondage. It is important to recognize that it is easy to be your own prisoner, and just as easy to break the ties.

The Two of Cups was the card for February. This is a month of committed love, and deep relationships with family.

The Queen of Wands was the card for March. He will feel empowered and expressive, very passionate. He will start to balance his family life with work interests.

The Hanging Man was the card for April. He will begin to look at things from a new perspective. This will be his choice, not something that is forced.

Temperance was the card for May. This will be a month of balance and moderation. He will begin to adjust to his new life. He may make a new friend that surprises him!

The Ace of Coins was the card for June. He will get an opportunity that has fantastic potential. He shouldn't dismiss it. It will lead to financial security and material comfort.

The Four of Wands was the card for July. This will be a month to celebrate how far he has come and all the good things he has in his life.

Strength was the card for August. He will begin to have faith in himself and see himself in a different light. He is starting to feel like he's getting back on his feet.

The King of Cups was the card for September. His fatherly instincts will be very much at the forefront this month - someone may come to him for advice because of his understanding and empathy.

The Eight of Cups was the card for October. This will be a month for change, as if he hasn't seen enough this year. He will move from one situation that isn't working towards one that will work.

The Two of Wands is the card for November. This is a month of choice and opportunity - time to take charge of his life. It may involve moving, or changing jobs.

Faith is the card for December. Some sort of ceremony or spiritual focus will highlight this month. This could indicate your first holidays with your new family.

The overall year card was the Six of Cups. This will be a good year, full of wonderful memories...You will feel nostalgic and even homesick at times, but you will embrace your new life completely.

Deck Interview - Legacy of the Divine Tarot

This deck interview was done with one of my favourite decks - The Legacy of the Divine Tarot, by Ciro Marchetti.

No surprises in the interview!

The 4 of Coins represents the most important characteristic of this deck. For one split second, I was a "huh?" moment, until I realized that while it is a very generous deck, it would very much like to keep me all to itself! I consider this deck the greatest gift to my tarot journey to date.

The Queen of Cups represents the strengths of this deck. Empathy and intuition ooze from the cards, and I find the readings very 'relationship' oriented.

Faith represents the limitations of this deck. There are NO limitations. This deck is everything it needs to be, to everyone who uses it.

The 10 of Coins represents what this deck is here to teach me. It will teach me completion. It will bring me success in the manifestation of my desires.

The Knight of Swords represents how I can best learn from / collaborate with this deck. I must keep my mind sharp, and remain idealistic and analytical.

The Page of Cups represents what will be the outcome of our working relationships. I knew it would be a Cup for this deck! Sweetness, kindness, increased empathy and a wonderful relationship with tarot will come from working with this deck.

The High Priestess - daily draw

This is The High Priestess from the Legacy of the Divine tarot, by Ciro Marchetti.

By far, this is one of my favourite Major arcana cards in any deck, and is often one of the cards I want to see before choosing a deck for myself.

This card represents sacred truth and hidden knowledge. She urges you to follow your intuition, and always remain receptive and aware. She also warns of secrets, and silent potential. Look deeper than usual...The truth and knowledge are there, but you have to open yourself to them.

Now, to pick a deck for this week! I may go to a three card daily reading, as opposed to single card.

Today's Daily Draw

This is the 9 of Wands from the Legacy of the Divine tarot, by Ciro Marchetti.

Quite a 'sensible' daily draw to follow The Hermit!

This card indicates that it is time for me to regroup and build my strength in order to move on. I have to acknowledge my strengths and weaknesses, and be very careful not to fall into the same traps again.

Emotionally, the past month has been very difficult. It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride for both of us. We've had more than our share of obstacles and challenges, and I haven't related well at all to the way I've been dealing with things. I've had alot of stress in my life, but I've never succumbed to it the way I have in the past couple of weeks.

This card reminds me that I can handle anything that comes my way, but I have to call on my inner reserves to do it.

I needed this card today.

Today's Daily Draw

This is The Hermit from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, by Ciro Marchetti. This is one of my favourite renderings of the entire deck.

It is a beautifully moving card, and if someone has difficulty reading intuitively with this image, they probably shouldn't be trying to read intuitively at all!

The Hermit is a very apt card for me today, as I am trying to work on the way I feel and react to different situations. I bring alot of stress upon myself because of my emotional reactions, so The Hermit is reminding me to step back, and spend some time alone in quiet contemplation. I need to get in touch with my own inner guidance, and search for hidden truths and a deeper understanding of my reactions to the mundane world.

Today's daily draw

This is The World, from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, by Ciro Marchetti.

It has been 8 days since I drew this same card from a different deck.

Honestly, I feel as if I should be drawing the Hanged Man daily. We are truly in limbo, and unable to get information on what is happening with our immigration. The Hanged Man would be very appropriate!

But, I continue to draw daily cards that are encouraging...Cards that tell me that something is happening...Something is changing. My hopes and expectations have been quite the roller coaster ride for me over the past month.

The World represents completion, a natural ending for something.

Yesterday, we finally received a response to the last email we had sent to the Montreal Consulate, but only after filing a complaint with the NVC about their refusal to answer emails. They informed us that our case had not been touched yet...They were still working on mail received the last of October. Our packet was not received in their office until November 4th.

Hearing this forced me to change the way I am thinking. I had to force myself to step back from the edge, and realize that we will not make it home for the holidays. I have to tell myself that we are almost there, and this will happen soon, it's just not going to happen as soon as I want it to happen. Having hope was causing my stress level to increase, so I had to release that. I believe this is the completion or the natural ending that The World is indicating today in my life.

I let go of the stress and anxiety for my own health. I am prepared to wait.

On a side note, I had a deck that I did not care for because of the deck quality (Liz Dean's Golden Tarot) and today, I was reading about doing timing readings with a deck you don't normally use for readings. I decided that the Golden would be a good deck to use for that, since I would not be using it for anything else.

I'm sitting there shuffling, itching to try the timing theory that I had read about, and of course, the only question that comes to mind is When will we get the Visa?

I shuffled and cut, and the 2 of Wands was the card that I got. 2 days??? That could totally change the meaning for The World and me today!

But I will NOT let this stress me out!

Today's daily draw

This is the 4 of Swords from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, by Ciro Marchetti.

Drawing this card for the day reminds me that it is time for rest and relaxation. I need to take a 'time out' from the stress I have been under for the past few weeks.

This is a very fitting card for me today. I've been having problems with my blood pressure, and with all the chaos and confusion we've had recently, it's not surprising. This card tells me that I must look after myself, and get this under control. If I cannot do this, I may wind up having to seek medical help, and that is the last thing I want to do here.

So, today will be a quiet one, focused on calming my mind and slowing my heart rate.

There is nothing quite like being slapped upside the head with a tarot card to know what needs to be done!

Today's Daily Draw

This is the 10 of Coins from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, by Ciro Marchetti.

This is one of the most amazing decks I have ever seen, and I will be using it this week for my daily draws. I highly recommend this deck for any tarot enthusiast - beginner and experienced alike. It's a wonderful deck for reading intuitively.

This is a wonderful card for a daily draw. The 10 of Coins represents family ties and support, and comfort on a material plane. It may even indicate an inheritance or financial assistance in some way. This card can also indicate government work, and I am very hopeful that this is indicative of the immigration proceedings for us.

I have an amazing support system in my family, small as it is. If it weren't for them, I don't know how I would have gotten through these last few years dealing with immigration and everything else. My children are my life, and the entire reason we have been struggling to return to the US to live.

We have a very small family, but we are very close. I have two fantastic adult children, and both of them are my best friends. I sometimes believe that both of them are stronger than I could ever be. I have a son in law whom I love dearly, and an elderly grandmother who is a constant source of entertainment.

One of the most exciting things about going home will be merging my family together once and for all, and allowing my children to get to know my husband better. It's something I've only fantasized about for years.

It is something to truly look forward to!