Intuition has a lot to do with your decision on what the cards mean, but there are other aspects that contribute to their overall meanings. These aspects will help guide you to their deeper meaning. You should consider their numerology, elemental, and symbolic elements along with your instinct.
You may find it useful as you begin your tarot journey to create a one page key chart for the meanings. If you have trouble remembering the meanings of the cards, a quick glance is much more helpful than a search through your companion book.
As you move along your journey, your understanding of the cards will shift and expand. You will also notice that once you begin reading, the cards will change their meanings according to the reading. More about that later, let’s look at the numerology aspect of the cards.
When applying numerology to the tarot card meanings, one looks to the meaning of the primary numbers. These are the one digit numbers. When you move up to compound numbers, two digits, the numerology meaning becomes more enhanced.
Here’s a quick example. The number eighteen will take on the meaning of its sum, one plus eight, of nine. But it will also pull aspects from the numbers one and eight. At the end of this article you will find more on the meaning of eighteen.
As with everything, you will find many opinions on the meanings within numerology. You can do your own research and come up with your own opinions. For now, here is a quick chart of meanings for the primary numbers.
0 – Transformation
1 – The beginning of a cycle
2 – Balance
3 – Expansion
4 – Foundation
5 – Communication
6 – Harmony
7 – Intuition
8 – Structure
9 – Completion
Now, when you look at the number eighteen, you will find that its meaning will be a combination of its components’ meanings.
9 – Completion, 1 – The beginning of a cycle, 8 – Structure
Your attention should focus mostly on the nine, while the one and eight adds new dimensions to its meaning. Here, your intuition will come into play. You will also find sources that will give you a set meaning for the number eighteen as opposed to combining the meanings of its components. The direction you chose is entirely up to you.
18 – Completing a task that will provide a sturdy structure for the next cycle.
Elemental aspects will be discussed in the next article.
Also see: Elemental Aspects, Symbolism
4 comments:
This is probably a dumb question, but when the cards appear next to other cards, does that change their meaning?
There's no such thing as a dumb question. This is actually something I plan to address in a later article. I'll try to answer this the best I can here.
Sort of, but not really. Nice answer right? The meanings don't change, but they do influence one another. The spread and positions will also effect the meaning.
Here's a quick example: Two cards with no designated positions.
Alone they would mean:
Ace of Wands - new direction, creative venture
4 of Wands - indicates a happy home, security
Together these could point to a wedding, the purchase of a new home, or even the remodeling of a home.
Each reading is different. Intuition is the main source of the results. Therefore if this was a reading for someone, the meanings would be clearer.
I hope this answers your question.
Wow, that's really neat!
Aubrie,
Thanks for the questions. I love interacting with others and helping them better understand the tarot.
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