Created especially for beginners, the Easy Tarot kit is the easiest way to learn to read Tarot cards. In the Easy Tarot Handbook, author Josephine Ellershaw shares tips, shortcuts, and time-saving techniques gained from more than thirty years of experience reading tarot cards. Using the beautiful Gilded Tarotdeck, you'll learn how the seventy-eight cards link to one another and provide insight as their unique energies merge in the Cross of Truth, the Celtic Cross, and other spreads. There is even a list of card combinations that commonly indicate specific events--such as pregnancy, a wedding, a new job, and more. Also included in the Easy Tarot Handbook: A quick guide to card meanings Sample readings, safeguards, and ethical guidelines Tips on keeping a tarot diary Troubleshooting advice that addresses questions such as, "What if the cards don't seem to connect?" Contents Foreword xiii Part one: Good Foundations 1 Step 1: Background 4 No history lesson 5 About the Tarot deck 6 Introducing the Gilded Tarot 6 Step 2: Answering Your Questions 8 How does Tarot work? 8 Who uses Tarot cards? 9 Do I need to be psychic? 9 How soon will I be able to do readings? 10 Fate or free will? 12 Disposing of a few myths and misconceptions 13 About other ancient sciences 13 Step 3: Making Preparations 15 Caring for your Tarot cards 15 Guidance and protection 16 Using a crystal 17 Preparing your Tarot deck 18 Step 4: Keys to Learning 20 Your number one learning tool 20 What kind to use? 20 How to record information and why 21 viii - Easy Tarot Handbook About dreams and psychic development 22 Your intuition 24 Tying it all together 25 Step 5: Just Before We Begin . . . 27 One card does not a reading make 28 About reversed cards 29 About Tarot spreads 30 Getting started 30 Following completion of each suit 32 Congratulations 32 Part Two: Meeting the Tarot 33 Step 6: The Minor Arcana--Suit of Wands 34 Step 7: The Minor Arcana--Suit of Cups 46 Step 8: The Minor Arcana--Suit of Swords 58 Step 9: The Minor Arcana--Suit of Pentacles 69 Step 10: About the Court Cards 80 Step 11: The Minor Arcana--The Pages 84 Step 12: The Minor Arcana--The Knights 89 Step 13: The Minor Arcana--The Queens 94 Step 14: The Minor Arcana--The Kings 102 Step 15: The Major Arcana 108 Part Three: Preparation for readings 139 Step 16: Getting Ready to Read 140 Reading for yourself 141 Preparation 141 Asking the Tarot 141 Shuffling and cutting 143 Using a significator 145 Recording readings in your diary 146 Example of a Tarot diary record 147 Before you begin, some helpful advice 148 Part Four: Various Tarot spreads in depth 151 What type, when, and why? 152 Step 17: The Cross of Truth 154 About your reading 156 What if the cards seem unrelated? 157 Checking your accuracy 158 Sample reading: The Cross of Truth 159 Points to note 162 Step 18: The Nine-Card Spread 163 Step 19: The Celtic Cross 165 Further insights from the Celtic Cross 169 The "what-if " scenarios 172 Timing with the Celtic Cross 176 Step 20: The Life Spread and the Anchor 179 Life Spread positions 182 The Anchor 183 How "non-fixed" spreads differ and rules that apply 184 The key cards 185 Impact on area groupings 185 Connection to the Anchor Spread 187 Timing for the Life Spread 189 Part Five: The Final Touches 191 Step 21: Card Associations 192 Sample from the Life Spread 194 The cards you can't relate to 196 About the "awkward" cards 197 Putting it into perspective 199 About illness 200 Card combinations 203 Step 22: Living with Tarot 208 Reading for others 209 Reading for minors 211 Some final words 213 Part six: Useful Tools and Templates 215 Minor arcana cheat sheet 216 Major arcana cheat sheet 218 The Cross of Truth template 220 The Celtic Cross template 221 The Life Spread template 222 The Anchor template 223 Brand new still in the plastic wrap.