Tami Simon: You’re listening to Insights at the Edge. Today, my guest is Theresa Reed. Theresa has been a professional full-time Tarot reader for more than 25 years. A recognized expert in the field, she’s been featured in over 50 blogs, websites, podcasts, and magazines. She’s been a keynote presenter at the Readers Studio, the world’s biggest Tarot conference, and she coaches Tarot readers via online courses and her podcast, Talking Shop. She’s the author of more than a dozen books and courses on Tarot and astrology, and with Sounds True, she’s published the new Tarot Coloring Book, a book of 78 images from the Rider Waite deck, where you can color all of the symbols and deepen your understanding of the Tarot.
In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Theresa and I spoke about how the Tarot is not a passive tool, but one that requires our engagement with intention, the proper framing of a question, and an openness to magic. Theresa also did two readings for us, one a two-card reading and then a single-card reading about the state of our world and useful instruction from the Tarot for our time. Finally, we talked about her new book, The Tarot Coloring Book, and the power of learning in a form that’s also fun. Here’s my conversation with Theresa Reed:
Theresa, you’re known as The Tarot Lady. Right here at the beginning, I wanted to find out how you first became interested in the Tarot, but even more importantly, how it stuck and became such a life-long passion for you that you carry the name The Tarot Lady.
Theresa Reed: Hi, Tami. That’s a great question. I love talking about my beginnings, because I like to say this for me all happened quite by accident, and probably the thing that led me to Tarot was curiosity, and passion is what’s really kept me at it for a long time. I actually began reading Tarot when I was a teenager. Like most teenagers, we’re all trying to figure out, “Who am I? What am I all about? Why am I here? What’s my purpose?”
Those were things that were going through my mind quite a bit. I had a friend whose mother was quite unusual. She was a pianist, she was a psychiatrist, and she also loved astrology. She one time offered to read my astrology chart, and at the time, it made so much sense to me, and it started me, of course, wanting to know more. So I began studying astrology. That was my first way into the metaphysical world.
One day, I was at a local bookstore. It was really rare that we went to the bookstore, because actually, it wasn’t that local. I grew up in a rural area, so we would very occasionally go out to the mall. We went to the mall, and I always like to say I’m not a girl who was into shopping for shoes or clothes. It was always books, so, of course, the first thing I did was I went to that bookstore, and I thought, “I need to get some astrology books so I can learn more.”
I was in the New Age section, and back then it was very, very tiny. The market wasn’t as big as it is now. I was looking for a few books, and I spotted a Tarot deck. Immediately, I had to grab that thing because I had seen them in the movies. I thought, “Wow, this looks really cool. I need to see what this is all about.” That deck went home with me, and I remember pulling it out, unwrapping it, looking at the little white book that came with it, and studying the cards and the symbols and reading for myself and whoever would allow me to read for them, which mostly was my sister back then. It made so much sense. It was so helpful. There was so much guidance and wisdom, and I just found it to be incredibly useful. I’m a practical gal. That’s what really drew me in.
I found that it became almost like an obsession—a healthy one at that, where I just thought about it a lot. I was always constantly looking to learn as much as I can and to read for as many people as I can. I just was pretty much on it every day. Kind of like my son is a drummer; as soon as he picked up his drumsticks, that was just it. He just knew. It was the same thing; it was just it. I just knew.
I didn’t know it was going to turn into a career. That happened many years later, but I read and read and read and read, and any time I could get my hands on any Tarot literature, I would grab that too. Again, there wasn’t a whole lot back then that I could absorb. It really required me to do quite a bit of hunting and pecking. You had to be very passionate in order to really get your skill level down. That’s how it all began.
I became known as The Tarot Lady because after I had been in business for a while, I would have clients come to me. They would always say, “I just had to go and see my Tarot Lady,” and I just thought that was really funny. It’s not [a] very original title, but that’s always what people would call me, so I just became known as The Tarot Lady here in my city, and that’s why my business is called that.
TS: I want to ask you what might seem like a very obvious question, but it’s not obvious, actually. The answer isn’t obvious to me, which is, how do you understand that the Tarot works? You said what you were drawn to was that it was so useful and that you value usefulness. How does it actually work in a useful way?
TR: I am a very, extremely, extremely practical gal. I always say I got a lot of common sense. For me, the way Tarot would work is it was almost like the images when I was really young—I’m trying to go back to that time. I would look at them. I’m a very, very visual learner, and the images represent all the archetypes of our daily life. There’s a lot of guidance in those cards.
How they would work is—and how they still work for me to this day is, I would lay out the cards, or I lay them out now, and then I look at those images and it starts to help me form a story, so to speak. I look at the story that those cards are telling me about the situation that I may be asking about. In those stories, I can see the kind of like—what would I say—the advice, the wisdom, the choices that are present. I don’t know if I’m explaining it really eloquently, but it really works, again—it’s like they tell a story. They’re like a prompt. Think about those—what are those tools that psychiatrists use? The Rorschach? Is that it?
TS: Yes, the Rorschach test, the ink blots. Yes.
TR: Yes. It’s kind of like that. You lay them out, you look at the image, you look at the story it’s telling. The images, again, they evoke thoughts, they evoke inspiration. They really help you to look at a situation in a very spiritual way, so to speak. All the cards contain not only things from our day-to-day life, but they do contain advice within them. For example, if I pull the Four of Swords on a given situation—let’s say I’m asking about a business decision that I need to make. I can look at the card and I can look at the image, and I see that there is a figure that is lying down on what looks like a casket, and they have their hands folded. There is this beautiful stained-glass window and swords on the wall and one sword on top of the casket.
Now as soon as I start looking at that, even just describing it, I’m seeing this image of rest and meditation, because the figure almost looks like it’s meditating and contemplating. That might tell me that maybe I need to wait a little bit longer. Maybe now it’s time for me to meditate on the situation and on the decision that I’m thinking about making until I feel absolutely at peace with it. That may be the way it gives me guidance. If I’m just looking at it to describe my situation, it could also be telling me that the situation now, it’s at rest. It’s not moving yet. You can look at it from the context of what is this telling me about the situation, or what is this advising me.
From there, it can really help you to live your life more consciously. You know, Tami, I feel a lot of times, and I know certainly back in the day when I was young, we tend to sleepwalk through life. We think that life happens to us. But I’m a firm believer now that life is a series of choices, and I think the Tarot cards and other tools like it, they help us to slow down and to really ponder and contemplate where we are and where we might be going.
When you slow down to do that, to really look at your situation, you’re more likely to make a mindful decision, and when we’re making mindful decisions, what we’re doing is we are creating life on our terms. We are creating a magical life. The Tarot cards can be a wonderful ally when you’re making decisions and trying to figure out, “Where am I going from here and what might I expect if I take this route versus that route?”
TS: OK, so I’m with you in terms of the value of, first of all, pausing—stopping and saying, “I need some input here, some different ways of thinking and looking at this potential ‘Y’ in the road that I’m facing in my life.” OK. Then there’s a story that’s told by the cards, and that that story can help us think in some different and more creative ways. All that makes sense to me.
I think when I wonder how the Tarot works, part of my question is, is the universe picking the cards? How is this one particular card or the spread of cards coming forward in that moment? Is there some real “magic” to that? Or is it just like any ink blots will help you come up with new creative ways of looking at them, no matter which one comes forward?
TR: I actually think there’s a little bit of magic in it. Why do those cards come up? Why does a certain card come up? I don’t have the answer to that. I don’t think that we can have all, every single mystery completely brought out into the light of day and solved. So for the cards, I really do think there’s a little bit of magic with that. I think it comes up what needs to come up.
TS: How do you think one could develop, if you will, a relationship with that power of magic, the magic that could come through the cards? How do I cultivate that relationship?
TR: You cultivate that relationship like you cultivate any relationship. It’s trust. How do we develop a trusting relationship with someone we love? We develop it by spending time with it, by being open to the other person. It’s the same with magic and magical living. There is an element of having to trust and be open to it. It’s really about being present with it as it is and not being closed off to the experience.
TS: One of the things I’ve often been curious about is different kinds of divination tools and then the person who’s using them. Here you are, obviously, I think, a very intuitive person. Is it that the Tarot is providing all of this great guidance, or could you potentially do a terrific job advising people in their lives, even if they were working with tea leaves? “OK, I’ll read tea leaves. I’ll read your palm. I’ll read your scalp. I’ll read the clouds in the sky.” Then there’s the Tarot. “Oh, I’ll read the Tarot.” Really, I have to credit you, the person, with your intuitive gifts. That’s really what’s important, and whatever tool they’re using is just kind of the form, the clothing they choose to wear in an intuitive interaction. I’m curious what you think about that.
TR: I do agree with that. Actually, here’s the way I like to describe it. Anybody can learn to read the cards. I’m a firm believer in that, but it’s like a musician. Anybody can learn to play an instrument, but there’s a very big difference between somebody who is either natural with it or who has just such a passion that they’re going to really get it down, versus someone who just picks it up and they can learn all the basics.
In other words, anybody can learn to read, but in order to really read well, either you have to have that natural ability to touch into your intuition or to tap into the intuition, or such a passion that you’re going to be determined to study them until you really get it down. Here’s a really wonderful thing about the cards. When you work with them long enough, you’ll find that you do become more intuitive, but, again, the more intuitive you are, the more open you are, the better they work for you.
TS: Hmm, that’s interesting. How do you think that happens, that the more you work with the cards, the more intuitive you become? How does that happen?
TR: For some people, it happens because they’re working with them and they start to have a lot of “aha” moments. You might do a reading about a certain situation, and then later on, you’re looking back and you remember the reading—in fact, I always recommend that people keep a journal when they’re beginning—and you might see how the reading unfolded and how the advice unfolded and really helped you or maybe showed something that you needed to be seen.
When you start having experiences like that, you really do start to trust it a lot more. It’s the same with gut instincts. I grew up in a household where intuition was valued. If you had a dream, we didn’t ignore that. If you had a feeling about a situation, we didn’t ignore it. Oftentimes, what would happen then—especially as I remember as a young gal—I would have feelings about certain things and then later on, of course, it would turn out that my feeling about the situation was right on. It was dead on. It’s like I knew something was coming and I didn’t ignore it. The more I got comfortable with that, the more I kept track of all those things that would happen just the way I felt, the more comfortable and confident I became with my intuition. Same with the cards.
TS: Theresa, I thought it would be an interesting experiment for us here, live on Insights at the Edge, to be able to actually do a reading together. To prepare for that, I have a question in mind, but before I ask my question, I’d be curious to know what you think the best way is to construct a question, to frame a question so that the cards can really respond intelligently.
TR: That’s such a good question, because a lot of times when people come to a Tarot reading, they want to ask, “Will I . . . ?” For example, they might ask, “Will I get married?” When you’re asking a question from that standpoint, you’re becoming a very passive bystander in your life. You’re coming from a position like life just happens to me. Whereas I, again, firmly believe that we create our lives. We create our future. We create it by our decisions, our choices, the way we’re acting or reacting to a situation. I always say Tarot is not a passive tool. Tarot can show potential outcomes; it can show things that might be coming. It can illuminate what lies ahead for you or even what choices are good for you, but if you ask your question in a way that makes it more proactive, it’s going to allow you then to take your future by the horns, so to speak.
For example, instead of asking, “Will I get married?” a better question might be, “What can I do to meet the right partner?” Or if you’re asking something about maybe a situation at work that you’re struggling with, instead of asking, “Will I get fired? What can I do to improve my situation?” Questions like, “What can I do?” or “How can I understand?” or asking it from the standpoint of, “What do I need to know about blank?” Those are great ways to ask questions.
TS: OK. I think my question is well-constructed according to what you’ve just described. Now the other thing that I was thinking is that we could do a two-card spread. This is something that you talk about in The Tarot Coloring Book, [you] give different options for how people can relate to the deck. One option, the very simple one, you say you can just pull one card, but then you also offer, even before getting to the complicated spreads, that you can pull two cards that show two different possibilities. How does that sound? We’ll pull two cards here.
TR: I think that is a great idea.
TS: OK.
TR: Let me get my cards—get them in my hands and start my shuffling.
TS: OK. Start your shuffling. Something magical happens in the shuffling, yes?
TR: Yep.
TS: That’s part of the magic. Yes.
TR: The shuffling’s important. I want you to think of the shuffling as like a little ritual. When you’re shuffling them, you’re really—as woo-woo as this sounds, you’re putting your energy into them. You’re putting intention into them. You’re opening up to the guidance. It’s also really relaxing to shuffle the cards. I just really enjoy them, how they feel in my hands.
What we’re going to do now—the cards are feeling nice and ready. They’re feeling warm, so to speak. You’re going to let me know what your question is.
TS: OK. Just one curiosity first. You said you’re putting intention into them as you’re shuffling them, and it sounds like you enjoy the shuffling process. What’s the intention that you’re putting into them?
TR: The intention is I want to get the very best possible, clear answer.
TS: OK. Here we go. What do listeners of this program need to know about the Earth’s evolution at this time, and specifically, the attitudes that will be most supportive to create love, justice, and healing?
TR: Mmm. That is a great question. Let’s focus for a moment. Tami, when you’re feeling ready, you’re going to say, “Stop,” and then I’m going to lay out the cards and I’m going to tell you what I see.
TS: [Tami pauses briefly.] Stop.
TR: Just so you and your listeners know what I’m doing, I always put the deck face down, and then I cut it into three piles with my left hand. The reason why I do that is, again, it’s really part of the ritual of really getting the whole thing set up. The left hand I always use partially because I’m left-handed, but also I’m an old-school reader, and the old school way of doing things is to always use the left hand because it’s closer to your heart and, therefore, the reading comes from your heart.
We’re going to look at our two options. Option number one is the Queen of Swords, and the Queen of Swords is about speaking our truth, and it is really important going forward now to really bring your truth out there and to not be afraid to speak up. If there is something that you see going on in the world that you feel needs to be changed, it’s important now for people to lead, and leading with truth and really standing tall and standing up, even if you’re afraid. It is so important to be doing that. Queens always talk about nurturing, and the Queen of Swords is about nurturing the word. It’s about nurturing, again, our truth. That would be a really important option for the listeners to be considering.
Now, the second card. Oh, it’s a Death card. Well this is really interesting, because the Death card is about creating evolution and change. The Death card doesn’t hang onto the old. The Death card welcomes the new, even if the new feels scary. It’s indicating if there are changes that you want to see, it’s not enough to just speak up about it. You actually have to be an active agent of change, and that means getting involved in the world in a bigger way. This is indicating not to be passive with change, not to just accept the changes, but to also initiate change.
When I look at these two cards, what I’m seeing here is that we are living in times where things feel maybe a little unsteady, and for some it might feel also a little bit fearful. If you are ready to speak your truth and lead with your truth, or take initiative and initiate the changes that you want to see, we have the potential to do great, great good in the world. I look at this and it’s like, we can change the world for the better.
TS: What a beautiful reading, Theresa.
TR: Yes. Speak up.
TS: I’m so glad I asked.
TR: Yes. Take initiative. The Death card—I also like to see with both these cards, they’re about also being thought leaders and agents of change. We can be that. We don’t have to give up.
TS: Now I thought it might be interesting to find out how you treated both of these cards in The Tarot Coloring Book in terms of looking at different symbols that you wanted to make sure that the person who is coloring the image of the Queen of Swords or the Death card, that they really paid attention to. I’d love to know as part of this, your process in saying, “This is what I think really the key image is and how to relate to it and how the act of coloring might help relate to it.”
TR: Right. That’s a great question. Each one of these cards has so many different symbols. I’m going to use my Death card here as our little example.
TS: OK.
TR: The Death card—first of all, it’s very feared often by people. People are afraid to see the Death card come up in a reading. I always blame it because of those James Bond movies. No, Death card does not mean death. It’s actually a card of transformation. If you look at the card and you look at the symbols, you actually see that this is actually not a scary card. The images are showing—first of all, we do see this big white rose on top of the flag. White is the color of purity, and the white rose is a symbol of transformation. It’s a symbol of purity and growth.
The other thing you might notice if you look closely at this card is the sun rising in the background. It’s this big, beautiful sun. It’s bright gold. That’s also a symbol that there’s something new coming. There’s something new, and it’s hopeful and it’s positive. The Death card actually is a very positive card. It’s not a negative card, and it’s all about looking, again, at the symbols.
What’s interesting is when you start coloring these cards—I have to laugh at this, because I’ve looked at Tarot cards for over 35 years, but when you start the act of coloring, you start to notice things you’ve never noticed before, because you’re in there and you are looking at the card very, very closely. In the Death card, for example, in The Tarot Coloring Book, I was just coloring it recently, and all of a sudden I looked and I’m like, “You know what? There’s this tiny little cross in the background with somebody kneeling in front of it.” I never noticed that in all these years.
What does that do? That opens me up to a whole other meaning here. This card then shows somebody accepting an ending, somebody who’s maybe taking a reverent attitude towards it. That’s going to give me a whole other vocabulary that I can use then for the readings. When you start coloring these cards, it’s so interesting to notice the things you’ve never noticed before. I think it makes you more mindful as a Tarot reader, but it also, for new people, it helps you to really see all the different ways that you can look at these cards.
TS: Now you’re using the Rider Waite deck in The Tarot Coloring Book. That’s the imagery that the colorer, I guess—reader and colorer is working with. Yet, there are so many different Tarot decks now with such different imagery, and it seems like working with different imagery from different artists really changes the associations and the stories that come alive. It makes me think the Tarot is quite a malleable tool, if you will. I’m curious what you think about that.
TR: Absolutely, I totally agree. Here’s the thing for me. I’m a traditionalist, so I absolutely love the Rider-Waite. I always say it’s the gold standard. This deck has been around since 1909, so very, very long time. I would probably say most modern Tarot decks are based on the imagery of the Rider Waite deck. You may get a deck like—for example, I love the Baroque Bohemian Cat’s Tarot. I like it because it’s got these adorable cats in it and they’re wearing Victorian clothes. It’s kind of like my one little silly deck that I just enjoy, and it’s my personal deck, and all the images are based on the Rider Waite deck.
There are so many different decks out there that you can find something that still has traditional symbolism, but it might be more appealing to you. If you are somebody who likes cats, for example, there’s a bunch of cat decks. There’s a new deck out called the Urban Tarot, if you want something with a more modern symbology. Then there’s other decks that are very different. They don’t follow the whole standard Rider Waite thing.
There’s a lid for every pot. For some people, they might look at the Rider Waite and not feel it, but they may open that Urban Tarot and really feel a sense of connection. I think that’s important. I think for a Tarot reader, you have to pick a deck that works for you, a deck that speaks to you, a deck that appeals to you. When you find one where the images really grab you, you’re going to find that you give better readings.
TS: That makes sense. If you love the images and you really connect with them, that will bring out your best seeing, if you will.
TR: Mmhmm.
TS: Theresa, I want to ask this question that’s kind of the skeptic in me, if that’s OK. I’ve been working with the skeptic in me, but also as you bring up the Queen of Swords and the importance of just speaking our truth, I think it’s an important thing to model. [My question] is, I was reading in your book, The Tarot Coloring Book, this very brief and helpful history of the Tarot. One of the things it mentioned was that the Tarot deck began as a card game, that it was originally created to be a game that people played in the 1400s in Italy. I thought, “How did this thing that was created as a game turn into a legitimate divination tool?”
It was a game. Games are meant to be, you win, you lose, you have fun. The person who designed it, were they thinking of, “I want to cover all of the archetypes that come together in a meaningful way to portray human possibilities”? Or were they thinking, “I want to come up with a game that’s fun to play”? This turning of a game into a divination tool, I noticed that brings up questions for me about the legitimacy of the Tarot, and I’m wondering what you think about that.
TR: First of all, it’s still played as a game in many parts of the world. It’s not straight just for divination, and I think a lot of people don’t realize that. Tarot nowadays is often associated as a tool for divination, but it is actually still played all over the world as a game. The game-players are still out there playing it. I don’t have a real good answer for how it became the divination tool or whether or not it’s legitimate.
There’s a lot of things that become divination tools. Who comes up with the idea of reading coffee grounds? When you think about it, when I drink a mug of tea or a cup of coffee, I’m doing it because it tastes good. I’m sure the people who originally started drinking it weren’t thinking of divination, but somewhere along the line, somebody got an idea that, “Hey, there’s something here and I’m going to look at it.” It’s much the same as we look at other things as omens or signs of something coming, like hawks. My family, if we see a hawk, we always say, “Oh, my God, there’s important news coming.”
I don’t have a real answer on that, but I think people, sometimes they’re just looking for guidance, they’re looking for it somewhere. Somehow, the guy who wrote the book on divination—his name is Jean-Baptiste Alliette. He’s also known as Etteilla. That’s his written name, which is basically “Alliette” spelled backwards. He saw it as a way to read it as a divination thing. Where he got the idea, I don’t know, but I’m sure glad he did.
TS: OK. Now I’m curious. In the two cards that you pulled in response to my question about this time that we’re in, were either of the cards reversed or were they both straight up?
TR: These were both straight up.
TS: How do you view reversals when you work with a deck?
TR: I am a fan of reversals. I have to say, I didn’t realize that a lot of people don’t read with reversals, because back when I learned how to read, the little white book had interpretations for reversals, and the one book I had at that time also had reversals in it. I just assumed you had to read reversals. I did not know until I came into the Internet age that there are many, many people who do not use reversals. Their theory is that the cards are—they contain everything that they need. We don’t need to turn them upside down. It would be like taking a beautiful painting and turning it upside down. You don’t need to do that.
I come from a very yogic background. I’ve been teaching yoga also for many years, and in yoga, one of the quotes that really stuck with me a long time ago was from B.K.S. Iyengar, who said, “You need to do inversions, because if you don’t do inversions, you will only see things one way.” I really love the idea of reversals because it gives me a whole different way of looking at the cards.
Suddenly—if we take the Death card, let’s use it again as our example—and we turn it upside down, what that is showing us then is that a change is not being accepted. It’s not being embraced, or it could also be symbolizing limbo or an unwillingness to let go of the old. Here now I have a whole bunch of new interpretations. I think it adds a lot of variety. It adds additional insights, additional guidance. I think reversals are great. That being said, I’ve had plenty of readings from people who do not use them, and the readings have been remarkable, so it’s really a matter of preference.
TS: You mentioned that you are interested in yoga and you actually run a yoga studio and teach yoga as well as being The Tarot Lady. I’m curious to know how yoga and your work with the Tarot complement and inform each other.
TR: For me, when I came into yoga, I also came into that kind of by accident. There’s really no accidents, right? I was having a lot of breathing issues. I still have tremendous breathing issues to this day. I had a friend who said, “You know, why don’t you try some yoga? Maybe it’ll help you.” I said, “Oh, OK. I might as well give it a shot, because this is not fun.” Anyhow, I went into a yoga studio and I took this class, and I walked out of there and I felt amazing. My body felt so good, and I had had a nagging hip issue at the time that really went away. I felt so good. I was just in the best place physically ever.
Also, as I walked out of there, I thought, “Wow, I feel really good emotionally.” That’s when I realized that maybe I had some emotional things that I need to work on. I think yoga made me more aware. When I sat down that day and did my readings, I was so calm and so blissed out that it just seemed like my reading flowed even better. I felt really whole, if that makes sense. It really brought me into my body, and that’s another thing. I think a lot of us, we’re not in our bodies. We are not in our bodies. We are not a hundred percent present. Things like Tarot and yoga, they make us awake. They make us aware and in the present moment. I think, for me, yoga has been a lifeline. It makes me feel better physically, but it keeps me in my body.
TS: I know, Theresa, that you’ve done thousands of readings at this point, and I’m curious to know if there are core themes, if you will, that just seem to come up again and again in readings. That you think, “God, if I were to boil down all these readings that I’ve done to a few core themes that the Tarot seems to point to again and again and again,” what those might be.
TR: Love. Love is a big one. Relationships are huge. People also want to know about their work, their way of making a living. Money and love would probably be the two biggest things. People also will want to know how others are doing. Sometimes people want to know how others on the other side are doing, or they may be curious about what’s going on in the world. There is variety there, but if I had to distill it, it would be love and money would be the two big things.
TS: Then another thing I’d love to know your view on is how you would advise someone on how best to receive a reading, whether it’s from a Tarot reader or from any kind of intuitive, such that they remain in a place of empowerment. I know for me, sometimes earlier in my life I used to get various readings, and I put so much faith in what the person said and then let’s just say it didn’t come to pass in the way that they described it. I felt betrayed by this person. I thought, “I’m never going to have another reading again. I’m never going to give away my power like that again.” I wonder what you have to say about that.
TR: The first thing is, you do need to go in with an open mind, because if you’re walking in expecting that everything’s going to come true or expecting that it’s bunk, it’s not going to work for you. Those are mindsets that do not work well for Tarot. I always say if you come in thinking this won’t happen or this will happen, then once again we are certainly not approaching it in the most helpful way. I think the best way is to come in really being open to the experience, being engaging with the reader, letting them know what’s going on, what you want to know.
Also, asking good questions. I think if you come prepared with a few questions on the things that are important to you, and then you’re approaching it that way, I think you’re going to get more out of the reading. If you just come in saying, “Just tell me my future,” once again, we’re being passive. If you want to be empowered, come in with an open mind or come in with good questions.
TS: You talked about how a Tarot reader could be compared to a musician. Anybody can learn the music, but not everyone is going to be a supremely talented musician. What do you think the secret sauce is, if you will, Tarot Lady, for someone to be really gifted as a Tarot reader? What’s that inner secret sauce?
TR: A darn good connection to your intuition. You’ve got to be real comfortable with that. You’ve got to be able to trust it a hundred percent. I think that’s really the most important thing. That’s what sets the good readers from the great readers. The great readers really listen to their gut.
TS: You talk in the book, The Tarot Coloring Book, about how one of the things you love about the Tarot is how helpful it is in helping people make decisions and make better decisions. I was curious if you could give us a couple of examples in your own life of a decision you were faced with and how the Tarot helped you.
TR: Oh, my goodness. There’s so many decisions. I use it a lot for business, which may sound kind of goofy to some people. For example, if I have an idea about something that I want to do, I’ll often consult the cards and see what the cards have to say. I have to laugh, because I resisted having a website. I’m going to use this as my example. It’s kind of embarrassing. I just resisted technology and websites. I was just kind of like, “Oh, I’m never going to do that. I don’t need that.” It was really funny. My kids actually had to force me to get a computer and just learn email. They’re like, “At least know how to do that. Come on.”
Anyhow, I was resistant. Then one day, I remember it so clearly. I woke up and I thought, “I think I need to get a website. I think I do.” I had this feeling about it, and then I ended up, of course, doing a reading on it, and the cards were really good. I remember especially the Two of Wands, and the Two of Wands in Tarot shows this figure who’s standing over a fortress. He’s got a globe in his hand, and he’s looking outward. It’s a card of success, but I looked at it and I thought, “Huh, global. I think this is going to help me maybe get business from people who aren’t local. I’m going to go global.”
Of course, then I put up my website, and long story short, my website has completely transformed my business. I am now reading for clients all over the world. I’m out there. I’m involved in the world on social media, and I have to laugh and think about all that resistance and then getting that reading. I did that reading for myself, by the way. That Two of Wands, it still sticks with me. It was really good guidance, and I’m glad I followed it.
TS: As you’re talking about the Wands and we briefly talked about the Swords. I’m wondering if you could give our listeners just a quick summary of the layout of the cards in the Tarot, the way you understand them.
TR: Absolutely. In a traditional Tarot deck, there’s 78 cards. There are some non-traditional decks that will have more cards, but I like to stick with the traditions. The 78 cards are divided into two groups. The first group is the Major Arcana. It’s 22 cards. The Major Arcana, they’re easy to spot. They have Roman Numerals on the top and they have a little title on the bottom. They symbolize the bigger picture—the Hero’s Journey, different themes or lessons in our life, fate, and the bigger picture overall.
The Minor Arcana has 56 cards. The Minor Arcana symbolizes our day-to-day life. These are the things we have control over. Within the Minor Arcana, there are four suits, and the suits are Swords, which symbolize thoughts and conflict and truth. We have the Wands, which are enterprise, work, and passion. We have the Cups, which is the emotions and our relationships. Then there’s the Pentacles, and the Pentacles symbolize material things, money, and our values. Each of these suits also symbolizes a different element, so the Swords are air, the Wands are fire, the Cups are water, and the Pentacles are earth.
Within those Minor Arcanas, we also have the Court cards. Each suit has four Court cards. There’s Page. Page symbolizes young people, but it can also symbolize messages or new beginnings, too. Then we have Knights, which symbolize traditionally young males, but they also symbolize action. Queens are mature females, but Queens can also symbolize what we need to nurture. Then we have Kings, and Kings are mature males, but they can also be mastery over a situation.
I do have to add with those Court cards, those are probably the most challenging for people to learn, because people often say, “Well, how do I know if this is a person or if it’s a seed or some action? How do I know what it is?” It’s really going to come down to the context of the question and sometimes what you feel. For example, the Queen of Swords can symbolize you. it might symbolize this is you right now needing to be very honest and speaking your truth, but it might symbolize maybe a person who’s coming into the situation who might cut through the clutter and bring clarity. It’s really going to come down again to what comes up and what you’re feeling around it.
I’d also like to add that even though it says male and female, I tend to look at the cards as rather gender neutral, because I believe we all have male and female energy within us, and anybody can function as a Queen or a Knight or a King or a Page, depending on what’s going on in your life.
TS: Is there a card—particularly let’s start here within the Major Arcana—that you relate to the most? Like, “Oh, that’s my card. I feel such an affinity with that character in the Major Arcana.”
TR: In the Major Arcana, I would probably say the Sun is the one I feel the most aligned with. First of all, it’s my favorite card in the deck. It’s a card of just joy and creativity and play. I tend to be kind of a playful person, so that card is always the one I love to see in a reading. It’s the one I love. It’s the one I relate to. If I had to choose a Court card, though, I always pick the Queen of Swords for me, because the Queen of Swords does speak very clearly. She’s kind of no-nonsense. Those two cards would sum up me and the way I like to live. I like to be playful, but I also like to be very clear with my communication.
TS: It’s interesting that the sun is also on the cover of the Tarot Coloring Book. That’s good the way that turned out.
TR: Yes.
TS: Now, Sounds True approached you about creating a Tarot coloring book in partnership with us. I’m curious to know your response when you were approached and also just what you see as the unique value of a coloring book to learn the Tarot.
TR: When Sounds True approached me, I was immediately on it, because I had had a book in me for a while, and I’m a very voracious blogger. I am blogging constantly. I write about Tarot all the time. I had a book in me. I knew I had that book in me, but I needed to wait for the situation and the timing to be right. When I was approached by Sounds True—and here’s, again, intuition—it immediately felt right. I thought, “This is exactly where I want to go.” I have long admired Sounds True’s books and I have quite a few of their books on my own bookshelf. It was a very easy yes for me.
When we started talking about the concept of a Tarot coloring book, that also immediately appealed to me for a very simple reason. I’m a very visual learner. I learn more by hands-on. I actually am slightly hearing impaired, so for me, it’s always been visual, visual, visual, which is no surprise then why I love Tarot so much. I’ll never forget when I was studying anatomy for my yoga teacher training certification, anatomy was the most confusing thing ever. I could look at a Tarot card a million ways, but the whole idea of coming up with pelvises and iliopsoas and this and that, I was just scared. I thought, “I can’t get this.”
I ended up buying The Anatomy Coloring Book, and it’s a very famous book. I think a lot of medical students use it. I sat down with that book and colored in all the muscles, all the different bones, all the things I needed to know so that I could identify them. And the really amazing thing happened because I was learning in a way that was right for me. I absorbed that anatomy information like a champ, and I’m happy to say I got 100% on the anatomy portion in my exam and I got the highest score in my class. Again, I was really resistant and afraid and fearful because the way the teacher was teaching me wasn’t the way I learned. For me, getting my hands on those crayons and really getting in there, it stuck.
I think with Tarot it’s the same thing. I think a lot of people are intimidated by the cards, “How am I going to remember those 78 cards? Oh, my God, there’s so much.” When you start coloring in, you’re—again, you’re feeling the card, you’re looking at the images, you’re looking at the symbols. In the coloring book, we give a nice guideline with some suggested interpretations so you can look at those and maybe think, “Maybe I’m seeing another interpretation here of my own too.” I think it really helps people to absorb the Tarot in a really creative, fun way.
TS: OK, Theresa, to end our conversation, how about a single card reading for a question I’m going to ask you. Jjust one card. What do you say?
TR: I’m for it.
TS: OK. My question—I’m going to try to ask it and frame it in a good way, is, what would be most helpful for the person right now who for whatever reason is not feeling as hopeful and optimistic about their own power in the world as they’d like to be? Is there a Tarot card that could be helpful and instructive to that person who for whatever reason feels somewhat down and not as lit up and optimistic as they’d like to be?
TR: All right, let’s go ahead and we’re going to pull a card for that. Tami, when you’re ready, say, “Stop.”
TS: [Tami pauses for a little longer this time.] Stop.
TR: In case the listeners are wondering while I’m picking the card, the reason why I will ask the person who’s asking the question to say “Stop” is, that way we’re both kind of putting our focus and intention on these cards. That’s why I do that. All right, so let’s see which card we pull. Oh, the Wheel of Fortune. The Wheel of Fortune, it’s really interesting because the year 2017 is actually a Wheel of Fortune year, and here’s how we come up with that. Then I’m going to come back to the advice.
You take the numbers two, zero, one, seven and you add them up, and when you add them up, they become the number ten. Ten is the number that rules the Wheel of Fortune, so 2017, this is saying that in general, we’re all in for a time of great change. Many of those changes are going to be better than we anticipate. What goes down must always go up. This year I think is going to be very important for people to know that a change is coming, and a lot of the change might be better than we anticipate. Fate has a funny way of doing that.
Now if we look at the Wheel of Fortune, though, as how can we empower ourselves, be the change you want to see in the world. Be the change you want to see. If you’re not feeling empowered, if you’re feeling hopeless, be the change you want to see in the world. Start there.
TS: Wonderful. Thank you. I’ve been talking with Theresa Reed, The Tarot Lady, and with Sounds True, she’s created The Tarot Coloring Book, which is a great way to begin a Tarot practice or to deepen your understanding of the Tarot. All 78 cards from the Rider Waite deck are laid out for you on a page on oversized paper, and the symbols are highlighted in such a way in the corresponding text that Theresa has written to help you color in the symbol and understand what it means and reflect on it in your life. What a fun way to engage and deepen one’s experience of the Tarot.
Theresa, thank you so much. Thank you for your good work and for your inspiration. I know you’ve inspired me today. Thank you. I’m glad the cards spoke to us in such an uplifting way through you. Thank you.
TR: Absolutely, and, Tami, thank you so much for sticking with me today. It’s been an absolute pleasure.
TS: SoundsTrue.com: many voices, one journey. Thanks for listening.
