Tarot: A Life Guided by the Cards

Copyright © 2022 Maddy Elruna

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

Matador

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Harrison Road, Market Harborough,

Leicestershire. LE16 7UL

Tel: 0116 2792299

Email: [email protected]

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Twitter: @matadorbooks

ISBN 978 1803139 333

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

Contents

Introduction

Section One    My Tarot Journey

Section Two    Tarot Basics

So, as a complete beginner, how do I start?

What does ‘psychic’ really mean?

Section Three    The Court Cards

Page of Wands

Knight of Wands

Queen of Wands

King of Wands

Page of Cups

Knight of Cups

Queen of Cups

King of Cups

Page of Swords

Knight of Swords

Queen of Swords

King of Swords

Page of Pentacles

Knight of Pentacles

Queen of Pentacles

King of Pentacles

Section Four    The Major Arcana

The Magician

The High Priestess

The Empress

The Emperor

The Hierophant

The Lovers

The Chariot

Strength

The Hermit

Wheel of Fortune

Justice

The Hanged Man

Death

Temperance

The Devil

The Tower

The Star

The Moon

The Sun

Judgement

The World

The Fool O

Section Five    The Minor Arcana

Ace of Wands

2 of Wands

3 of Wands

4 of Wands

5 of Wands

6 of Wands

7 of Wands

8 of Wands

9 of Wands

10 of Wands

Ace of Cups

2 of Cups

3 of Cups

4 of Cups

5 of Cups

6 of Cups

7 of Cups

8 of Cups

9 of Cups

10 of Cups

Ace of Swords

2 of Swords

3 of Swords

4 of Swords

5 of Swords

6 of Swords

7 of Swords

8 of Swords

9 of Swords

10 of Swords

Ace of Pentacles

2 of Pentacles

3 of Pentacles

4 of Pentacles

5 of Pentacles

6 of Pentacles

7 of Pentacles

8 of Pentacles

9 of Pentacles

10 of Pentacles

Section Six    Tarot Spreads

Different types of Tarot spreads, and how to do them

Section Seven    Your Personal Tarot Journey

Section Eight    It’s Complicated

Section Nine    Bibliography and Glossary

Introduction

This book started out as my teaching notes for my first formal group of students in Lewes. Over the past eight years I have continued to teach Tarot and build a busy life reading professionally. This book is based on my experience of the cards, both as a teacher and as a reader.

I have used my life as a reflection of the cards, which is very much how I teach; the cards come to life with real examples. This book is designed to work with the Rider–Waite Tarot deck (imagery by Pamela Colman Smith). It is helpful to have a deck to hand to really look at the cards while reading the book, which also will hopefully help you understand many of the modern decks inspired by the Rider–Waite–Smith deck. You can also pick the book up to research the cards as you read Tarot.

My Tarot classes are always designed for the complete beginner through to the experienced pro; we never stop learning, especially when it comes to Tarot. So hopefully there is something in this book for the total beginner as well as the more experienced reader.

This book was compiled during covid, as I struggled to adjust to the difficult end of my seventeen-year marriage. As I edited the notes I wrote roughly eight years ago, I added a personal reflection on my experiences at the time.

This is a Tarot guidebook, but woven through is my story – my personal connection with the cards and how I use them to guide my life. Where you see passages in italics, I am sharing my perspective now, as a seasoned Tarot pro – with the younger me who wrote these notes with the genuine hope of building a life based on the wisdom of Tarot.

I hope you enjoy the book – both the Tarot experience I have shared with you, as well as some of the more personal insights about how I came to be a Tarot reader, Norse shaman, and single working mum.

If you are looking for more Tarot resources, I have plenty on my website, including printable crib-sheets. As well as some free recordings of my led shamanic mediations. Just head to my website at www.maddyelruna.co.uk

•Section One: My Tarot Journey. How Tarot found me, and my journey to becoming a Tarot professional.

The 6 of Cups: my childhood.

•Section Two: Tarot Basics. Answering numerous odd questions about how to shuffle, when to read, how to phrase the question, how to get started, how Tarot works, and how to read accurately.

The Hierophant: my school education.

•Section Three: The Court Cards. My favourite group of Tarot cards, so this is quite an in-depth section!

The Chariot: and the madness of being twenty.

•Section Four: The Major Arcana. What’s not to love about the Major Arcana? Twenty-two ‘ big’ cards, and each one has so much to say.

The Tower: moving to Orkney and learning Stav.

•Section Five: The Minor Arcana. The magic of mundane life.

The Empress: on becoming a mother.

•Section Six: Tarot Spreads. Not just a list of spreads, but exploring how to create the right spread.

The Emperor: and becoming a Tarot pro.

•Section Seven: Your Personal Tarot Journey. A few ideas for journaling and personal spreads.

The Hanged Man: Chanting in the Barns

•Section Eight: It’s Complicated. Covering safeguarding, communiction and problems.

The Devil: difficult times.

•Section Nine: Bibliography and Glossary.

The World: starting afresh

I have no idea how to start thanking those who have helped me to write this book. I am mighty lucky with the level of support I have received from students, clients, friends and fellow professionals.

This book is dedicated to Odin (much of my life seems to involve him somewhere along the line), and to those who have helped me find my path – Darren, Shaun and Mads. To all those who chant with me in the Barns, and even on Zoom. And to Peter; you helped me to step back into Seidr even when I didn’t want to.

I would struggle to name all of those who have supported my Tarot journey, from the earliest workshops in Uckfield, to Lewes, the Barns, and then Zoom. I never tire of teaching Tarot. Huge thanks to Ali, Sara, Jenny, Saira, Nicola and Evelyn for feedback on the book. Thanks to Michele for helping me to blend shamanism and Tarot, and to Rachel for helping me to find my voice.

And to my lovely children, marni sky (lower case requested), Elwood Fox, Arthur Leaf and Stanley Bear, for understanding how much time this project has needed.

Section One

My Tarot Journey

This book was always meant to be a straight-up Tarot guide. But like many things, it got a bit mixed, a bit chaotic, and has evolved into a guidebook with my story interwoven around the cards. So, if you are curious about how I stumbled into Tarot, this bit is for you. If not, carry on to more Tarot-focused sections…

The 6 of Cups: my childhood

I have never understood why the 6 of Cups is so linked with nostalgia and rose-tinted glasses. Maybe I’m more pessimistic than others, maybe it’s a British thing, but when I think about my past, it is a patchwork of the good and the bad that I remember. And when I become trapped by my past, it is my wounds that trap me far more than my happy memories.

We are all, initially, created by our childhood, for good or bad, so rather than nostalgia I have come to see the 6 of Cups as a symbol of looking back; of being trapped in a backward glance, if you like. That is why the card shows no path out, no glimpse of a further landscape, and why it can feel scary, out of proportion, and claustrophobic. The 6 of Cups is the dreamlike (happy or downright nightmarish) landscape of our past.

My childhood was a strange time, and not always the happiest. My insecurity was with me from an early age, when my father left to start another family and I became a mistake best forgotten about. By the time I was five my mother had remarried. First we moved from the busy suburbs of Birmingham to an isolated village in Norfolk, then on again to Bedfordshire, where family life was centred around my stepfather’s dream of running a horticultural smallholding. Life there felt like being trapped forever on a small plot of land, with no real escape. Plants need tending 365 days of the year. There was always too much work to be done, and little time left for the family adventures I dreamed about.

For a long time, I was haunted by my childhood wounds, trapped in the 6 of Cups. I carried my childhood feelings of rejection and loneliness with me. Over the years, though, I’ve changed my perspective a lot, trying to be more focused on the now, the day I am living, and the future I am creating. I try not to gaze too long at the past; not to linger in the 6 of Cups.

The past is a foreign country;

they do things differently there.

(L. P. Hartley)

Why Tarot? My personal journey

I know the exact time I really ‘found’ Tarot.

I’ve been interested in Tarot since I travelled around America in my late twenties. Three months, an Amtrak ticket, and not a lot of money. It was the first time I had flown, I found New York overwhelming and exciting, and I made some amazing friends in the youth hostel. It was very hard to leave New York; suddenly America felt vast. On the train, the guy sat next to me tried to find out why I was crying. He handed me his number and asked me to call him when I’d finished my travels so he could hear all about them, because he knew I was going to have a great time. Just having one more friendly face gave me the confidence I needed – and I did have the most amazing time. Mansfield, Missouri for the Little House on the Prairie Museum; Graceland; New Orleans; Kansas; Las Vegas… I spent so many hours on trains and was always lucky to find accommodation (my budget really didn’t cover much).

Finally, my money and my energy ran out. I headed back to New York and decided to ring the guy from the train. I had relied heavily on the hospitality of Americans, and asked if I could stay with him for a few days – my plan was to spend the last couple of days crashing at the airport, as I was down to nearly zero funds by this point.

The guy (I remember his name was Frank) picked me up, took me to his student flat, and he and his flatmates invited me to stay until my flight – one week of food, beer, rest, beer, chat, beer… and maybe more beer; not sure I can remember. (There may have been a time when I woke up passed out on the bathroom floor to hear them debating whether to bury me as no one would believe that they hadn’t kidnapped and murdered me…) They were all Pagans (something I had not really come across at that time), and owned a crazy amount of books and Tarot decks. So, whilst they were at college during the day I would sit and read. It was a complete game changer for me and from that point I was hooked on Paganism – it felt like a missing colour had come into my life.

When I returned home, I continued to explore Paganism. I was bringing Tarot into my daily life and getting quite involved with Druidry. My greatest desire was to find a personal teacher, someone who would really teach me everything they knew – but despite attending Druid camps, retreats and workshops I just couldn’t find the right group or person.

Then I found my teacher. I was on holiday with my partner at the time, visiting a contact of his, Shaun, in Orkney. Orkney is a beautiful archipelago of islands off the northmost tip of Scotland; remote, wild, and a place I feel deeply drawn to. I was really only tagging along for the chance to revisit the islands – I had no interest in Shaun and my partner’s study of Norse mythology. One evening towards the end of the holiday, Shaun sat by the fire, smoking a pipe, and started to chat to me about the Norse Gods. Just like when I discovered Paganism, something clicked inside me. These stories made sense in a way I hadn’t come across before, as if they were in a language that resonated with me. They just made sense.

At the end of 1999, I left my home, my job and my marriage to move to Orkney. I wanted to learn all that I could about Norse mythology, rune lore, and Norse shamanism. Looking back, I’m still not sure why I took such a bold move. In my life at that time, so much was disintegrating, most of all my mental health. In a sense, I’d never really ‘found myself’ after my complicated childhood, and now my lack of self-esteem was destabilising me to the point of catastrophe. It was an intense time working with my teacher, Shaun Brassfield-Thorpe, for roughly eighteen months. But it was utterly life-changing, and one of the best decisions I ever made.

What did I learn in that time in Orkney? It’s hard to express (which is one of the problems I have with my rune-lore and Seidr work). I learnt how to experience the runes as primal energy (sound, wisdom, movement, force), and to interpret the world using my understanding of them. I learnt how to fight – unarmed, and with staff, knife and sword, using the shape and wisdom of the runes to move the weapon to defend and attack. It might sound romantic, but I have to say it was bloody brutal. I was covered in bruises, and it brought a lot of personal trauma to the surface. It was a deeply transformative time – to really acquire spiritual wisdom we must learn about ourselves. I learnt more about the Norse Gods and their stories, but the most wonderful thing I learnt was Lokk-Seidr. Lokk is a chant, and Seidr is an altered state of consciousness within which you can experience the non-physical world. The easiest word to use to explain this is ‘shamanism’, though Lokk-Seidr uses chant instead of a drum. I loved it – by entering an altered state of consciousness I could experience the world in a way I’d never thought possible: talking to Norse Gods; working with land spirits, elementals, and power animals. One day I experienced a terrible journey. I found myself utterly trapped in the chant, in all-consuming pain, pulled to the heavens by eagles and to the earth by snakes. Time seemed to stop; it felt like an eternity. Years later, when I was asked to teach Lokk-Seidr, I was very worried that someone else might experience that level of emotional pain, so I rang my teacher to check. He was very clear that my being aware of the dangers of Lokk-Seidr would make me a careful teacher, and that my students were safe. It made me think of the time a ski instructor pushed me off my skis to make sure I could get up again.

In time, I fell in love with a man living on the island and moved into his off-grid home. It was tiny, remote, and right at the edge of the beach. Life was focused on our time together, a fair amount of alcohol, and Norse shamanism – until I realised I was pregnant. Having filled my time with martial training, shamanism and alcohol, I realised that none of these activities were well suited to pregnancy. Our home was isolated, with very limited electricity, and I had nine months to fill. I needed to be busy; I needed a project, something to focus on.

As I went through my very limited belongings I found a Rider–Waite deck and a copy of Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack. Flicking through the book, I realised I had found something that could easily fill my nine months, and I started to really learn Tarot. I went through the cards one at a time, looking at each one, making notes and comparing each card to its ‘group’ – so for the 7 of Swords, for example, I would look at all the 7s and all the Swords to identify the similarities and differences. Then I would read the relevant chapters in Seventy-Eight Degrees, writing notes in the margins, and comparing Rachel’s thoughts to mine. I accepted nothing at face value, and I had no other Tarot resource except the Little White Book that came with the deck. It was the start of my personal connection to the Rider–Waite deck, and I remain very grateful for the beauty of the deck and the empowerment contained within Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom.

My limited resources defined my understanding of the cards. Without a large pile of books, the internet, or other people to ask, and with oodles of time available, I always went back to the card. I immersed myself in the imagery of the deck, supported by my one book. I still read and teach based on those images – not keywords, lists or associations: the images. What is utterly amazing is that today, seven years after starting to teach and to read professionally, I am still spotting new details and making new associations. The Rider–Waite deck really is like the never-ending book I wished for as a child.

In many ways, I am glad that my connection with the cards was made without much external input at all. I was forced to always go back to looking at the cards and connecting their symbolism to my life to try and understand them. It is too easy to get lost in other people’s interpretations without understanding why they have come to their conclusions. Then your reading of the Tarot can end up being based on a diversity of opinions, perhaps from people who have never actually studied the cards themselves in any depth. You will quickly realise that in this book I do not cover Tarot history to any real extent; nor astrology, the Kabbalah, elemental dignities and the like. I do have some understanding of these topics – but it is based only on reading others’ work, not my own understanding. So, I invite you to read books by other people, where you may find a genuine depth in these areas.

I adored this time. I walked along the deserted beaches, read a lot of historical fiction set in the Tudor period, and got totally lost in my Tarot cards. It was a dreamy, lovely time in my life, and perhaps the uniqueness of the time in which I got to know Tarot has helped to really keep my passion alive.

Years later, I decided to teach Tarot, and many of the notes that form this book were written at that point. I decided not to rely on the internet for my research, but I was able to purchase a larger Tarot library. For each card, I undertook the following process:

1.Gazing at the card for thirty minutes, then making my notes.

2.Comparing the card to its groups (the same number/rank and suit, or its place in the Major Arcana story).

3.Comparing the Rider–Waite card to its counterparts in the DruidCraft and Thoth decks.

4.Researching using my favourite Tarot books (you’ll find them listed at the back of this book).

5.And finally, writing up my notes on a very old laptop that didn’t have a battery and had to have the power cable wedged at a particular angle or the whole thing would crash.

I am so in love with my current laptop; the keys make typing so easy and the battery lasts for a very long time. Most of my writing is done in bed on a lap tray, and I enjoy the ease of connection with others in the Tarot community through social media and Zoom. I am glad in many ways that my own initial Tarot study was quite old-fashioned, and took place without the internet. But I do really value the sense of community and the ease of sharing information that the internet has given us.

Now, about eight years since I started my detailed Tarot notes, and eighteen years since I first studied Tarot, it is fascinating to read through, edit and update those notes. I am not changing personal reflections or memories from the original notes, but where life or my understanding has changed, I am adding in my current narrative and thoughts in italics. I will use parts of my life to demonstrate specific cards – the cards make far more sense when shared with an actual story behind them. The result is a sort of reflection on where my life and my Tarot understanding are now, after some years as a Tarot pro, compared to where they used to be.

Much has changed: I am now living in South-East England, in a house with power and even running water (!), and I am a single mum to four children. I work full time as a Tarot reader, teacher, and Norse shaman. Some things have changed, and others have remained consistent. My ex and I moved to England after our second child was born, to offer our children a more diverse life experience. And in time our marriage ended – perhaps we were better parents than partners.

Going pro

As my youngest reached the age of five I knew I would need to earn an income of some kind moving forward. I had various options: go back to teaching, set up as a childminder, or reach for my dream and work as a spiritual teacher and therapist.

My real dream was to work as a Norse shaman (Seidr Kona), but that felt pretty scary – partly because I had had such an awesome, amazing teacher, and so found it hard to ‘step up’ and do things my way; and partly because I just wasn’t sure how it would look in practice. There are lots of Tarot readers out there – it’s easy to look for inspiration and explore how others run a business. But my Seidr work is deeply personal. As a Tarot reader, I can hide behind the Tarot as a tool, but as a Seidr Kona, there is just me and my voice.

I read a lot of business books, explored names and logos, and worked out how I wanted my business to look. Oddly, I spent about three months trying to decide whether I wanted to teach or read Tarot professionally, before realising that doing both was a far better idea. I printed some business cards and left them in local shops, and set up a small fortnightly group to teach Tarot. This was really my testing ground – I listened to all the feedback and paid attention to students’ questions. Yes, I was teaching Tarot, but more than that I was learning how to teach Tarot based on my first students’ feedback. Finally, I felt ready for longer workshops, higher prices, detailed notes, and a clear curriculum. I found a venue and spent all of my profits up to that point on advertising: flyers, local magazines, Facebook. I poured my heart into advertising my first three-hour workshop. I was planning to teach a monthly workshop over nine months, covering all seventy-eight cards in that time, and I had high hopes of attracting ten to twelve students.

Before the first workshop I was overcome with nerves. I spent a full hour in my car, mostly crying, and very anxious. Finally, I plucked up the courage to set up the room and await my students.

I had two. Two students. After all my advertising. I was bitterly disappointed, and tempted to tell them that the workshop was cancelled and they could just bugger right off. But I took a deep breath and decided to teach my best workshop regardless of numbers. One of those students was Rachel Burge (author of The Twisted Tree and The Crooked Mask, novels inspired in part by our conversations on Norse mythology – and now a friend); the other also remains a client and friend to this day.

The next month the original two students returned, with a few more. I was presented with a dilemma that in turn became a gift. I had intended to run a clear nine-month course, cover every card, and compete the curriculum. But what if I ran it as a circular course – start at any point and continue until you finish? There was one other big change. The first two three-hour workshops involved me talking for the entire time. They were very didactic – there was no touching of the cards, or shuffling. Not moving off script, I stayed in complete control… until Peter, one of my students, asked the unmentionable: Is there any Tarot reading in this workshop? I had created a rigidly structured environment as a way of handling my nerves, and frankly his question really triggered me. So, I climbed onto the centre of the large table, sat in the middle of the students, shuffled my cards and prepared to demonstrate a mock Tarot spread. As I looked at the cards, I realised there was nothing ‘mock’ about this. It was deeply accurate, deeply personal, and it was all about me. Yet here I was, sat on the bloody table with everyone watching. There was nothing else to do except share the reading with the group. It was a watershed moment; the group loved the authenticity of the reading, and this has defined my Tarot teaching moving forward. I am authentic; I use my readings and my personal journey to illustrate, demonstrate and teach Tarot. At times I feel a little daunted by how much I have shared, but then clients trust me completely, so sharing a little of myself seems a good exchange.

Each month my numbers increased, and in time Rachel Burge, along with two other students, started asking questions about my Norse shamanism – so before long I was teaching that as well. I started off with a tiny group in my work caravan, before moving to the Barns.

The Barns. Two small barns that I rent a short walk from my home. Nestled in the Sussex woodland, they are the heart of my Nordic shamanic work. At the time of writing, I have been holding monthly shaman circles there for seven years. My current Norse group really came together four years ago, and we are a tight and very connected group. We meet one Saturday and two Wednesday evenings a month to enjoy chanting (Lokk-Seidr) and drummed shamanic journeys, and to seek direct connection with the runes and Norse deities. The Barns are a highlight of my month, and the people who gather there are family to me now. Sharing spiritual work over time kind of does that to you.

After the first nine months the Tarot course finished, but I just kept going, gathering students as I went. The original group wanted more, so I set up my monthly ‘Tea