Tarot notecards by Lila Hunnisett
If you grew up in a traditional religious household, you may believe that tarot cards are scary and dark, and something to do with witches and the occult. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Tarot’s history begins the Catholic church, and many Italian cities still have tarot readers offering readings on the streets. Like everything, tarot can be taken over by people who offer scary scenarios, but in fact, having a proper tarot reading is one of the most empowering things you can do.
They are scarily accurate (but not to scare you, if you choose the right deck or the right reader!) The original Venetian deck is believed to have come from Egypt or India many moons ago. Tarot Nova’s guide on how to read tarot is a wonderful resource on how to shuffle, deal and read cards (usually a simple 3 card reading is enough). This site also has the most comprehensive and easy-to-read guide to all 78 cards, so you can garner information on the cards from the same site.
A traditional deck has 78 cards. The 22 major cards represent big life events, and the 56 minor cars are for less important and daily events. There are four suits (wands for energy and creativity, cups for love and emotions, swords for thoughts and actions and pentacles for wealth and career).
People who are experienced can then, after shuffling, read what is going on in your life and offer advice, and sometimes predict the future, but only if you are willing to learn the lessons. You can ask specific questions before performing a spread. This can be from a daily reading (card of the day for energy to learn from) to a full 10-card Celtic Cross Spread. Tarot cards are simply tools to help you make better decisions.
Real Talk Tarot is a beautiful deck in a keepsake box, with a 64-page book. Updated from the classic Rider Waite version, this has no scary or dark pictures, and has lighthearted illustrated. The King of Cups in this deck is pictured as a handsome barista (!) and the Seven of Wands has a political protest on the street!
A Cute Kawaii Tarot App
The Kawaii Tarot App is a cute way to learn this fascinating art. First conceived in Italy centuries ago, tarot is surprisingly helpful and accurate, in order to help you make life decisions. It’s quite complicated to learn as there are 78 cards to become expert in. But although helpful to make choices based on intuition and the future, most tarot decks are not only confusing and inspiring, but dare we say it (along with some tarot readers) a little bit scary?
The creator (a former programmer) of this beautiful app has taken the classic Waite-Smith deck, then simplified everything into Japanese-style illustrations that still work as well. The app offers 6 simple spread (for love, business, decisions, self-care and life). You can take notes, then save journal entries with your readings. The meanings are also within the app.
There is also a printed deck with book, if you prefer. If you want to get help from the tarot, this colourful deck is ideal to give you all the benefits, while keeping your soul away from things that make you too scared to shuffle the pack.
