How to Read Time in Tarot Cards
Time is a tricky thing with Tarot cards. The concepts of time have little to do with the various possibilities shown by the cards in most readings. Any change in course you make can alter that outcome. While pinpointing time in the Tarot is not an exact science, there are methods to employ to try and narrow down a time frame.
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Instructions
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Use simple three- and five-card spreads for a general indication of time in the way events are unfolding. These spreads are read from left to right. The card on the far left indicates the near past. The card in the center represents the present situation as it is. The card to the far right represents the near future.
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Employ the more detailed Celtic Cross spread to see further into the future. The three cards that make up the horizontal bar of the cross section are read from left to right: near past, present and near future. The card at the top of the staff section of the spread reveals the overall outcome of the reading. This culmination generally occurs later, after the events shown in the near future unfold.
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Use "clarifiers" to attempt to get a more specific time frame. A clarifier is a card drawn from the deck in the middle of the reading to clarify information given in the spread. If you want to know when the events a particular card is showing might be expected to occur, ask the cards to clarify the time frame.
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Set your mind before the reading on how you would like the cards to clarify time frames for you. You might decide to go with seasons. Each suit of the Tarot is associated with a specific season. While associations can vary among readers, in general, pentacles are associated with Winter, swords with Spring, wands with Summer, and cups with Autumn. So if you drew a clarifier in the suit of swords, you would expect those events to unfold sometime in the Spring.
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Learn even more detailed with clarifiers by assigning the numbers on the cards to associate with specific months. For example, you might assign aces as January, twos as February, and so on. If you then drew the five of wands as a clarifier, it would mean the events would unfold in May.
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Create a spread to give you a general reading on what is to come on a month by month, or week by week basis. This can be a good oversight for the future, or can be done as a follow up to a previous reading. Lay out the number of cards, assigning each a month, or a week, in the future. For example, on New Year's Eve, you might lay out 12 cards to represent January through December to see what the upcoming year holds. Just be sure you have it clear in your mind which space in the spread occupies what time frame you specifically want it to refer to.
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Record all of your readings in a journal. Look for patterns in cards that show up and when the events come to pass. If certain cards are connected with certain dates in your subconscious, you will be able to discover this connection by reviewing your notes. You can also track your accuracy with time, or lack thereof so that you can tweak your methods to improve your readings.
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References
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