From Erotic Tarot.

How do I use tarot?

A random selection of cards can allow us to bypass our conscious assumptions about ourselves and others. Arranging our chosen cards into “spreads” helps us organize and investigate our deepest thoughts and feelings.

You can think of your tarot spread as a little play or vignette, where the Court cards’ characters encounter scenarios in the Minor Arcana cards. How they get on depends on whether they are in their own element, or in a complementary one. The Major Arcana cards are the overarching themes of the episode (or drama!). They provide a powerful supporting or destabilizing influence on the situation, pointing to lessons to be learned or key issues, while the Minor Arcana pips tell us about everyday concerns.

for self-discovery • A tarot spread can provide us with a snapshot of our psyche for the day or the moment. It can help us decide on what to focus on and reveal issues that we might not otherwise be aware of. Use it as a springboard to explore a hidden desire.

for divination • We can place a snapshot or narrative at any point in time – past, present or future – to offer insight and guidance for avoiding potential pitfalls and achieving what we truly wish for.

for inspiration and play • Play with your deck – use it to tell stories and invent games. Pick or flip a card each, or solo, for a tip to spice up your evening. Will you show your partner your hand? Split the deck into Majors, Courts and Minors and lay out some from each pile in a series to create sexy social stories.

Or put down this guide and simply use your intuition to read the cards for yourself and friends…

READINGS

Tarot readings are most effective if you take the time to get to know your cards first. Keep them near you, look at them often and do plenty of practice readings. Which Court card do you feel most like today? Which Major trump would you like in your life right now? Are you feeling all at sixes and sevens?

However much the images may excite you, it’s best not to handle the cards with grubby fingers. Keep them in a stable place, wrapped in a nice fabric, ideally a large scarf. This way, you always have a clean, uncluttered surface to lay down the cards on, and you can pick them up quickly if dogs, kids, vacuum cleaners, etc., approach.

SETTING

You don’t need candlelight, incense or hippie teabags to do a reading, but it is essential that you have a calm and open mind. Keep distractions to a minimum. Do something that centers and relaxes you – meditation or breathing exercises, if that’s your thing – to get you in the mood.

erotic tarot the hermit card — Art by Sofie Birkin

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTION

The aim of having a calm and relaxed mind is to help you focus on the most important part of the reading – asking the right question. It is fine to ask a general question like “How will my week be?” if you truly want a general answer. But if you’re burning to know how to approach a specific person at a specific meeting and whether you should bring a specific friend, for example, then construct a question and choose a spread that addresses those points and leaves little room for ambiguity! Your can craft your own spread to fit a particular situation.

For example:

card 1 • _How should I approach X if I see them?

card 2 • _What will happen if I bring Y along too?

card 3 • _How will the evening end?

card 3a • _for me

card 3b • _for X

card 3c • _for Y

card 4 • _What will the overall outcome be?

HOW TO LAY OUT A SPREAD

Shuffle your cards in whatever manner you wish. If a card appears upside-down in a spread, look at the whole meaning, but pay particular attention to the “Take care” advice section.

Lay the cards out face down in the desired spread position. Before you turn over a card, repeat the subject of the position: for example, “this card is the past, this is the present, this one is the future.”

Make sure that you turn the card over sideways, lifting and flipping it from its longest side so as not to interfere with any reversals, and begin reading.

erotic tarot strength card — Art by Sofie Birkin

HOW TO READ THE CARDS

State your first impressions immediately, even if you’re reading only for yourself. Does the spread look promising, or tense? Is it crowded with people? Do you see your lucky number? These sorts of impressions can tell you more than anything you might find in a book, particularly once you start to trust them. If you’re reading for someone else, they should give their impressions first.

If the outcome of a spread seems unsatisfying to you it is absolutely fine to throw down an additional card for clarification, or a solution. If an extra card or two doesn’t offer a clear conclusion, it simply means you’re facing a tricky, long-term issue. Stop, sleep on it, and see if the answer becomes clearer. Remember too that a reading can be blocked because you are asking the wrong question, or you don’t have all the information you need to formulate it.

Many people like to keep a journal of their readings to compare outcomes and explore the lessons of each card.

AFTER THE READING

After the reading, put the deck away. Too many readings in a row can cloud your judgment and intuition. We recommend dancing to your favorite tune to clear the air!

Reading tarot is like music, or indeed sex: there’s some skill involved, but it’s mainly improvisation. We can appreciate the insight and fluency of a professional reader, as we can a highly trained musician like Alice Coltrane, but we can be just as moved by a youthful punk rock performance of X-Ray Spex.

erotic tarot the moon card — Art by Sofie Birkin

Sofie Birkin is a queer British illustrator living in Denver. She has created queer and trans inclusive illustrations for Bloomsbury, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Bandoo, and Nobrow, and uses her work to promote the gay agenda whenever possible.

From Erotic Tarot: Intimate Intuition, written by The Fickle Finger of Fate, illustrated by Sophie Birkin, published by Laurence King Publishing, available from Amazon and Bookshop.