Death,Devil,and Tower Oh my!

The three cards that no one wants to see when getting a tarot reading done are the Death, Devil, and Tower cards. But why? Their meaning is always misunderstood by people who do not read tarot cards. In actuality, the cards representation is based solely on the person reading them. Some readers read the reverse, and some do not. How are you supposed to know how to read them? Let us start from the beginning. Firstly, it begins with the deck you chose. My rule of thumb is always going with the one that you feel the most pull to. The deck that you can't seem to take your eyes off of, or the one you keep putting down and picking it up again. You are meant to have the deck for a reason. When you finally pick your deck, the next thing is to connect with the deck. Take the deck out of the box and shuffle it. Shuffling helps connect your energy with the power of the deck. I know it sounds strange, but you will read better once you connect with the deck. To start off with a new deck you must learn how to read it. Each deck comes with its own manual. The first one you will learn is the Celtic Cross Tarot Spread.

This is the basic spread for any tarot reader. Each position represents a part in a person's life. Your manual has an explanation on each position. As you are shuffling, concentrate on the shuffle. Every person shuffles their deck differently. Some people will let the person they're reading for shuffle. Others tend to do the shuffling themselves. For myself, I do a mixture of both. I believe that the person you are reading for should also handle the cards so that their energy is also in touch with the deck. The deck will show you what you should be concerned with. As you pull the cards, place them in the way that it shown above. Each position reads to the next. After the cards are placed, read them in the order that is shown. When starting out, things may not make much sense. That is when you make the decision to read only the upright or read the reverse. Now you are probably wondering why I named this Death, Devil, and Tower OH MY! The reason is the meaning behind each card is always a subject of controversy. What I mean is that to a person who doesn't read tarot, seeing these 3 cards means bad things are coming to them. In actuality, they don't exactly mean what you think they do. Let us start off with the Death card. Now yes it means what you think it means, but it also doesn't. Let's talk straight. Death card usually means a death of the old life for the new. Changes are in your future. Now if you read the reverse of the card, the interpretation of the card is stagnation. Meaning you are stuck in the same situation with no way out. So, in a way, it is a death.

Moving on to the next card, the dreaded Devil Card. The Devil does not mean something demonic. It is all about attitude and energy. When we think of the devil card, we tend to think of evil. The card itself does not mean evil in any way. It represents energy. That force that drives us. When channeled, it can be used to empower us. Yes, it can also be used negatively. Abusing or controlling others. Drug abuse and promiscuity. The reverse meaning means a dangerous repression of the instincts. Denying the energy can lead to an uncontrolled eruption. Distractions to help ignore these primitive instincts, can lead to an artificial life. In laymen's terms, using anger or instinct in the right way can enhance your ability. Using it wrongly, it could damage things beyond repair. The devil card is one of caution.

Lastly, the Tower card. Though the card itself looks menacing, the actual meaning is one of great change. In the upright position, the interpretation is one of controlled destruction. The breaking down of the old to make way for the new. Knowing you have to get rid of the old ways to make way for new growth. The opportunity to make a brand-new path. The reverse is similar in a way. Being stuck in the same ways, calling for change. It may also represent an uncontrolled change. Trying to hold together something that is doomed to fall apart. The need to try and hold it together obstructs beneficial change.

There are also many cards in the deck that seem like they have an ill will upon them. The meanings of the cards should be interpretated the way the reader sees fit. The book is a guide for those reading the tarot. Studying the book is a good way to learn how to read not only for yourself, but for other people. Now you might see after a while that the signals you once got from the deck have now become confusing. This could mean that the energy from the deck is getting "burned out". Like people, decks can tire out. Readings become confusing and hard to interpret. This may mean you may have to get a new deck. Now before you say that you can't get a new deck, hear me out. There is a way to recharge your deck. Again, this falls to the one reading. My method may be different than yours, but it doesn't hurt to try. I separate my deck into its suits numerically. Ace being the top of the suits and the Major Arcana starting with 0 the fool to 21 the world. All in the upright position. I put the deck back together then reshuffle the whole thing again. Some people use crystals to recharge decks. The crystals should have a meaning to you. If you want to use crystals but don't have a clue which to use. The easiest ones to use are Clear Quartz and Amythyst. If recharging does not work, then it is time to get a new deck. A lot of tarot readers tend to use more than one deck. Some are more accurate with certain people than others. That is further down the road though. As someone who has been reading for a number of years now, I can only explain things in my own personal experiences. Just keep in mind that the future is always changing. The cards may read one way the one day and another way the next day. This is all determined by the actions of the person being read. Finally, some food for thought the future is fluid. Always moving, always changing. Keep looking into the future and don't forget to live in the present.