Christiana Gaudet - Tarot Tour Guide: Tarot, The Four Elements, and Your Spiritual Journey

Published by Card and Craft, Inc.

Card and Craft Inc. offers strategic, spiritual, technical and educational support to those who live, work and play in a conscious way.

Tarot Tour Guide

Tarot Tour Guide

Tarot, The Four Elements,
and Your Spiritual Journey

Christiana Gaudet

Card and Craft, Inc.

Palm City, Florida

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This is a work of nonfiction. Names used within this work are either used with the permission of the individual, or are names used to protect the identity of those who chose not to reveal their names. No warranty is implied or given about the use of tarot.

TAROT TOUR GUIDE:
TAROT, THE FOUR ELEMENTS, AND YOUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Copyright Card and Craft Inc, 2019

Cover art by Steven Bright
Edited by Mary K. Wilson, Second Edition Edits by Mary Ellen Collins
Second Edition Interior Formatting by Jana Cole and John Gaudet
ISBN# 978-1-7328797-0-6
Electronic Publication Date: May 2019
Print Publication Date: May 2019

This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Card and Craft, Inc, 1025 SW Martin Downs Blvd Ste 203, Palm City, FL, 34990-2868

For more information please visit the authors website
www.christianagaudet.com

Table of Contents

Contents

Second Edition
Author Preface

When I first began writing the book that became Tarot Tour Guide , I had some specific goals in mind. At the time, there were books offering tarot interpretations, and specialty tarot books about tarot magick and tarot for creativity. There were very few books that described an inclusive tarot practice. My idea was that within tarot are lessons for life, growth, and healing, and that tarot-based magick, introspection, and divination could be a meaningful daily spiritual practice. I wanted to share that concept, along with practical ways of accomplishing it. Yet, there was more.

As much as I wanted to share the spiritual journey of tarot, Im also a practical diviner. So often I see a disconnect between the way we value tarot as a spiritual tool and the we way we value tarot as a fortune-telling tool. The net result of that can be deeply spiritual people who are mediocre tarot readers. The goal of Tarot Tour Guide was to present tarot as a spiritual journey and, at the same time, share practical and proven tarot reading techniques developed from my decades-long tarot career.

As I re-read the book in preparation for creating the second edition, I felt that the book had achieved that goal, but only to a point. What stood in the way of my complete satisfaction was that I was, at times, an imprecise writer. Also, I hadnt yet found my tarot voice, nor had I completely mastered the art of quantifying the mystical processes of tarot reading in a way that really made sense. Most importantly, I realized as I read over what I had written so passionately a decade ago that since then, Ive grown not only as a writer, but also as a tarotist.

Part of that growth comes from social media and the ability to connect with peers from around the world. Part of that growth is that a relationship with tarot is never a stagnant thing.

Im happy to report that there was nothing I had published in 2012 that I disagreed with upon reading it in 2018. There were a few places I felt I hadnt been clear or thorough. There were also some statements that now seemed dated. When I felt the need, I inserted some thoughts clearly labeled as Second Edition Author Update.

Ive also made some gentle changes to the text in several places, either to correct a typo, expand on a thought, or to improve style or clarity. In creating a second edition of Tarot Tour Guide , my goal is to present my original material in a way that is easier to understand and embrace, and to make this book available to the public again.

Each of us develops a unique personal relationship with tarot. Whether you are a beginner, an aficionado, or a professional, it is my hope that this book will help you explore new ways to connect with and learn from tarot, and new ways to allow the cards to speak to you in a reading.

Blessings,

Christiana Gaudet

August 2018

Palm City, Florida

Introduction

When I write about tarot as a tour guide, Im working from a number of levels.

This book is a tour guide for new tarot students as they begin their tarot journey.

For more experienced readers, I offer new perspectives and ideas, especially the idea that tarot guides us through the spiritual journey of life.

I have long held the belief that tarot is more than a simple fortune-telling device. I want people who read this book to broaden their understanding of tarot as a tool for spiritual growth and to view their tarot study as a spiritual journey.

A metaphysical understanding of the four elements has been a cornerstone of my spiritual journey. Viewing tarot from an elemental perspective makes it easy to learn and use the cards. Viewing life from an elemental perspective gives us the ability to maintain equilibrium on a constantly shifting planet.

In this book, I present the four elements as a way of understanding tarot, and as a way of understanding life.

Important Words

As in any field, the world of tarot has specific words that may be new to you. One of the words you will encounter in this book is magick . Many metaphysical practitioners spell magick with a k to separate it from stage magic. In this book, you will learn ways to use tarot cards to attract and manifest your desires. We call this tarot magick.

Second Edition Author Note:

Over the past year Ive become aware that many practitioners of magic/magick find the addition of the letter k smarmy and cheesy, or at least unnecessary. Even knowing this, I would still probably use it because I really do like to have a word different from what we use to describe mundane legerdemain. I did, however, want to acknowledge the ire of those who find this practice unappealing.

***

Another word you will see is querent . This is an old-fashioned tarot word. It refers to the person who is receiving the tarot reading. Other words used to mean the same thing are questioner, sitter and client.

The word significator refers to a tarot card, or position in a tarot spread, that represents a specific person.

Second Edition Author Note:

I wrote my first two books prior to becoming a blogger. Something that the practice of keeping multiple blogs has taught me is that it is often wise to take more time, and more words, to explain things. I think my earlier writing suffered from too much of an economy of words, although no one has ever accused me of speaking too few words!

As I read over my explanation of the word significator, I realized how much more I needed to say here, especially given that this word has virtually no meaning outside of tarot.

The word significator means a card that signifies a specific person.

In early tarot tradition, the significator was a card chosen by the reader from amongst the sixteen Court cards at the beginning of the reading to represent the querent. The significator was intentionally chosen, rather than drawn at random. The reader chose the significator based on the age, gender and appearance of the querent.

The significator would be placed on the table prior to beginning the divination. Energetically, this may be a way to connect the reading to the querent. There may be readers who still work with a significator in this way, although I dont personally know any.