She Thinks Thoughts

If you’ve logged in to Tumblr in the last few days, you will have seen the GDPR warning, telling you Tumblr is part of the Oath family of sites, and requiring you to opt-in to their privacy settings.

You may not have realised that, in contravention of the GDPR rules which ban default opt-ins, if you don’t go into the ‘more options’ button and opt out of each individual sharing partner, Tumblr will share your data with a whole huge list of other companies. Like, 300 of them.

@the-mad-duchess has a post here describing how you can disable them.

If you’ve already opted in to the Oath privacy stuff, you need to go to your Settings page:

Click the Privacy button on the right:

Then, click the little button next to ‘Cookie Consent’ to revoke it.

After confirming you want to revoke consent, you will immediately be taken to that big privacy opt-in page again. From that point we follow the steps @the-mad-duchess described - first click ‘Manage Options’:

Then, click the blue ‘Manage’ button, and expand the two lists. You’ll see five kinds of data sharing, and like 300 different companies:

The first five you can click manually more easily than using javascript. That might be enough to opt out of any data sharing - but I want to be sure. So, let’s make sure we disable every single enabled partner as well.

However, clicking on 300 little buttons to opt out of  is an absurd demand. There is, thankfully, a shortcut, using your browser’s developer tools.

What you want to do is open the web console. In Firefox, you do it like this: click the little menu in top right, then go down to where it says Web Developer:

Then, click the Web Console option:

This will open up the web console in the bottom of the screen. It will have a bunch of messages in it that you can ignore:

As shown, what we want to do is copy and paste some JavaScript code into this, then hit ‘enter’, which will make the browser simulate a mouseclick on every single one of these little buttons and thereby turn them all off. The code is this:

var rows = document.getElementsByClassName("vendor-options")[0].children; for (var i = 0; i < rows.length; i++) {rows[i].lastChild.firstChild.click();}

If you’re not familiar with JavaScript, let me briefly explain what this is doing. The first line finds the part of the page with all the buttons in it - specifically, the rows in the table of vendors, which is identified by the “vendor-options”. The second line goes through each of them one by one, and for each row of the table, goes inside and finds the button, and simulates a click on it.

If it works correctly, you will abruptly scroll to the bottom of the page and all those little buttons will slide to the ‘greyed out’ position. Now you can go ahead and click Done, click the OK button, and carry on using Tumblr, trusting that if they keep their word, they won’t share your data with those 300 companies.

I’m gonna chat with the New XKit devs to see if this can be added (they may already be working on it). But I hope this saves you some time.

—

Don Roff

Hello!!! First off you should check out my resource tag, it’s got some decent stuff in it.

A while back I went online to gather the best—IMHO—free resources I could about tarot for use by them as wants to learn.  Below are the fruits of my labor. 

Quick Methods of Learning Tarot

Learn Tarot in 7 Easy Steps (PDF)

Learn the Tarot in Two Hours - Part One and Part Two, by Ben Lucas (YouTube)

The Symbolist: A Simplified Guide to Tarot Symbols and Terms, by Corrine Kenner

A quick and dirty chart to tarot cards and their common meanings

Minor Arcana Quick Reference Chart - thetarot.co.uk

Learning Tarot

What Every Newbie Tarot Reader Should Know by Mary K. Greer

Easy Tarot Lessons with Dusty White (YouTube) - Part One 

How to Read Tarot by Bonnie Cehovet - PDF from AclecticTarot.com

Tarot for Beginners, or Now That I Have a Deck, What Do I Do With It?  by Olympias (TarotByOlympias.com) - PDF from her website

Learning the tarot (PDF - 19 lessons) by Joan Bunning.  The complete course is also online for free here.

Tarot Worksheets for Download and Study (PDFs)

Trainee Tarot Course by The Four Queens (Youtube)

Tarot Oracle’s Complete Tarot Course by the Tarot Oracle.  Part One is here,  and there are 15 hours in total (YouTube)

the Aeclectic Tarot Forum’s Cards masterthread (multiple links to articles on all 78 cards)

The Socratic Method of Tarot Reading by Jeanne Fiorini (YouTube)

How to Shuffle Tarot Cards by Kate Madison (YouTube)

Learning Tarot - Reversals

The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals by Mary K. Greer, via MyTeaCup.com (PDF)

Reversals, and What to Do if All of the Cards Are Reversed, by Christiana Gaudet (YouTube)

Learning Tarot - Court Cards

Why You Can’t Read the Court Cards, by Marcus Katz. Unpublished material from Tarosophy: Tarot to Engage Life, Not Escape It by Marcus Katz.  PDF.

Understanding the Tarot Court by Mary K. Greer and Tom Little, via ChinaTarot.com (PDF)

Court Cards at a Glance - Site and Printable Chart via TarotCourtCards.com

Learning Tarot - the Thoth Deck

Tarot: Mirror of the Soul.  A Handbook for the Aleister Crowley Tarot by Gerd Ziegler (PDF)

TarotTown: Thoth for Beginners - a Worksheet that breaks down a few of the complicated aspects of the Thoth tarot deck. (PDF)

Doing Readings

the Aeclectic Tarot Forum’s All About Reading masterthread (formulating questions, reading techniques, and more) 

Gaining Confidence in Your Tarot Readings by Teresa Michelsen/TarotMoon Press

How to Read For Others - the Tarot Sybarite

Overcoming Reader’s Block from TarotMoon Press

When the Cards Just Make No Damn Sense - the Tarot Sybarite

To Rephrase or Not to Rephrase from TarotMoon Press

Working With Vague of Complex Questions from TarotMoon Press

Interpreting Large Readings from TarotMoon Press

Asking Questions (For Those Seeking Readings)

How to Phrase Tarot Questions - The Free Reading Network

How to Phrase a Question for a Tarot Reading - PlanetWaves.net

Seven Ways to Ask a Good Question in a Tarot Reading  - TarotCanHelp.com

Effective Tarot Questions - The Tarot Reader Blog

What NOT to Ask the Tarot- BiddyTarot

The 37 Best Tarot Questions - Alec Satin

Public Domain Tarot Books (PDFs) via EsotericOnline.net:

Pictorial Key to the Tarot, by A. E. Waite

A French Method of Cartomancy, by A. E. Waite

An Introduction to the Study of the Tarot, by Paul Foster Case

Oracle of the Tarot, by Paul Foster Case.  Keyed to the Knapp-Hall Tarot

The Wisdom of Tarot by Elizabeth Haich

What is the Tarot? by Ouspenpsky

Book T, by MacGregor Mathers  Intro the the Golden Dawn system of tarot interpretation.  Very dense reading, not keyed to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, and not for beginners

Tarot of the Bohemians, by Papus.  References the Tarot de Marseilles and the Oswald-Wirth Tarot.

A History of the Tarot, by Dame Gabby

The Continental Tarots by Christine Payne-Towler

A Self-Guided Tour of the Tarot by Cameo Victor

The Continental Tarot, by Christine Payne-Towler

The Qabalistic Tarot by Robert Wang

Sex Magic, Tantra, and Tarot: The Way of the Secret Lover by Hyatt and DuQuette

Printable Tarot Decks (Public Domain Art)

Rider-Waite-Smith Deck (High-Resolution Images) viafantasycards,wordpress.com

Color-Your-Own Rider-Waite-Smith Deck via tarotinstitute.com.  Coloring your own deck is a simple and effective way to fix the image in your mind and internalize its many meanings.

Color-Your-Own Marseilles Deck via tarot-cards-reading.net

The Tarot de Marseilles is one of the oldest known tarot decks, and is the basis for the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Click here to download a full-color Marseille Tarot Deck

VintagePrintable has a tarot deck from Venice circa the 1500s for print.

You can also print the Bodet cards from 1739 by clicking here.

DarkTarot.com has another printable traditional deck available for personal use. Please note the copyright.

Once you’ve decided which deck(s) you want to print, save the printable tarot cards to your computer. Avoid printing directly from the browser as you might end up with some weird and unwanted results (trust me on this).

Print out the tarot cards on your chosen paper. Make sure that you print them in the standard tarot deck size. If you’re not sure that the size is right, do a test print of one card so you don’t destroy the entire paper. If you printed the images on regular paper and want a good backing, then you need to use spray adhesive to glue the paper to the actual cards.

Carefully trim the edges of the cards - some people like rounded edges, so make sure you have enough place for the borders. 

Once the cards are printed, let them dry and then seal them with a varnish spray. After that, run them through a laminator. These days laminators are pretty affordable, and if you find yourself creating lots of tarot decks, you might want to invest in one.  You can also take the files to office supply stores (such as Office Depot in the USA) for printing and laminating.

Tarot Spreads:

Creating Tarot Spreads (PDF)

Divination Spreads (PDF)

Three Card Spreads (PDF)

Three Card Yes-Or-No Spread (PDF)

Popular Spreads with Interpretive Charts from MyTeaCup.com (PDF)

KMilliron’s Free Tarot Spreads eBook (PDF) - a poster over at AclecticTarot’s forums collected all of his spreads into a PDF for sharing via MediaFire

41 Quick Tarot Spreads For Reading Any Situation - JeanneMayell.com

Original Tarot Spreads - TarotMoon Press 

AeclecticTarot Forums’ Tarot Spread Index

gardenofthequeen’s tarot spread tag

hellboundwitch’s tarot spread tag

TarotSybarites tarot spread tag

Tarot Journaling

http://austinpagan.com/ebooks/Tarot%20Exercises.pdf

Creating Your Own Tarot and Oracle Card Journal by owlmoon (YouTube)

Tarot & Astrology

Tarot and Astrology by Hajo Banzhaf. 

Simple Astrology Spread (PDF)

Tarot & Numerology

Secrets of Tarot Numerology by Gary Meister: Lesson One, Lesson Two, Lesson Three, Lesson Four, Lesson Five, Lesson Six, Lesson Seven, Lesson Eight, Lesson Nine, Lesson Ten, Lesson Eleven, Lesson Twelve

Issues in Tarot

Ethics When Reading For Others by Dixie Vogel (YouTube)

Ethical Tarot Reading by BiddyTarot

Setting Boundaries and Developing a Code of Ethics from TarotMoon Press

What A Tarot Reading CANNOT Do For You by Mita Bhan

Third Party Readings by BiddyTarot

Why I Don’t Do Tarot Readings For Third Parties by tarotcanhelp.com

Your Tarot Reading Made the Client Mad!  What Now?! by Dixie Vogel (YouTube)

The Peril of Practice - Unhappy Clients from TarotMoon Press

Are There Any Clients That You Would Refuse to Do A Tarot Reading For? via TarotWisdomReadings.com

Going “Pro”

Becoming a “Professional”: How To Know When You’re Ready to Charge For Your Tarot Readings by Biddy Tarot.  See also her article How Much Are Your Tarot Readings Worth?

Becoming A Professional Tarot Reader - What You Need to Know by DailyTarotGirl

Suggestions for Becoming a Professional Tarot Reader by Mary K. Greer

Charging Fees for Readings by Madhavi Ghare

Why I Do Not—And Will Not—Do Free Readings by idanceitarotiart

Mary K. Greer: Tools for Recording Your Readings

Getting Experience: Join the Free Tarot Network where you perform free Tarot readings via email, with the support of a Tarot mentor.  See also biddytarot’s Seeking Feedback from Your Online Clients

The following is NOT free, and some of the information on the Internet is dated, but the bulk of information contained within is outstanding: Christine Jette’s book Professional Tarot.  Highly, highly recommended.

Organizations That Support/Promote Tarot

Tarosophy Tarot Association - “We teach methods of Tarot to divine your life, and make your way better through it – understanding more along the way.”  This organization runs TaroCon US, TarotCon Australia, and TarotCon UK.

American Tarot Association - “The American Tarot Association is a professional and social organization for Tarot enthusiasts, students, scholars, and readers. We promote the study and appreciation of Tarot by supporting a variety of educational programs.”

Tarot Association of the British Isles - “TABI is a not-for-profit association run by unpaid volunteers with a passion for Tarot and the esoteric. We were formed in 2001 to provide support, information and resources for Tarot enthusiasts of all levels.”

Tarot Guild of Australia - “The TGA represents a community of Tarot enthusiasts, readers and teachers from across Australia and worldwide.”

Tarot Publishers

Tarot Media Company - “…our goal [is] promoting the work of Tarot authors, artists, and scholars to make their creations available to the Tarot public and to support them in their goal of right livelihood.”

US Games Systems - Publisher of classic and contemporary tarot decks, Rider-Waite, Crowley Thoth, divination and oracle decks

Lo Scarabeo - Born in 1987 in Torino, Italy, Lo Scarabeo is now a leading international company in the mind, body and spiritual health publishing, with a main focus in Tarot publishing. Lo Scarabeo is one of the most important Tarot publishers in the world.

The Game Crafter - “the world’s first web-to-print game publishing company and offers a print on demand game publishing service…The Game Crafter gives designers an easy-to-use system to make a board game, card game, or custom playing cards. TGC offers templates, instructions, videos, and proofing tools to help designers create a quality product”.

Shopping For Decks

TarotGarden

ShopTarot

If you’re browsing decks on AeclecticTarot, you can usually click a link on the deck’s page and be taken to a web site to order.  Those affiliate links usually help the site, too.

Tarot Card Games

Wikipedia’s article on tarot card games

Simplified Rules for The Game of Tarot, via Mary K. Greer’s blog.  For a copy of the rules of French tarot, see here. 

Rules for Games Played with Tarot Cards via Pagat.com.  There are literally hundreds of rules variations out there, here’s a handful of them.

Emperors, the fortunetelling betting game played with Tarot cards by copperbadge

Theoricus Poker by Frater B.T. - a fun way to learn correspondences from astrology, etc., with the different tarot cards.

Arcanus Major - A Tarot Roleplaying Game

Tarot History

Take a look at this graphic for some quick facts about tarot

Thomas L. MacDonald’s detailed, excellent series on the history of tarot cards.  MacDonald is an editor over at Games magazine.

For a shorter overview of the history, you can look at tarot author Mary K. Greer’s blog post What Every Newbie Tarot Reader Should Know About the History and Myths of Tarot and the TarotL History and Information Sheet.

History of Women’s Tarot - Tarot as a keystone of the Women’s Spirituality movement branches off in a different direction from the mainstream in the mid-1970’s.

Make sure you do some reading about Pamela Colman Smith. Smith is the artist who designed the artwork for the Rider-Waite-Smith deck (the world’s most popular tarot deck, and the one most people think of when they hear the word “tarot”) in 1909.  

Smith based her RWS deck design on the Tarot de Marseille.

Smith’s creation of individual scenes on the cards of the minor arcana was a huge leap forward in tarot deck design, and contributed mightily to the enduring popularity of the RWS deck.

You can see examples of her non-tarot artwork here and here.  Don’t forget her book Susan and the Mermaid!

One thing to keep in mind about Pamela Colman Smith is that she made a deliberate decision to reduce or eliminate the Christian imagery found in the early tarot decks.  For example….

The Hanged Man image comes from the medieval Italian practice of hanging traitors upside down (Fun Fact: at the end of WWII, Mussolini was hanged upside down to mark him as a traitor; and please be warned that link is GRAPHIC and TOTALLY NSFW).  That practice was inspired by the death of Judas Iscariot in the Bible, where Iscariot is described as falling “headlong” (Acts 1:18). In the earliest tarocchi decks, the Hanged Man is depicted with bags of money, or with coins falling out of his pocket, a reference to the infamous thirty pieces of silver Iscariot was paid for betraying Jesus Christ.

The World card can be seen in many churches and ancient Christian manuscripts, usually showing Christ ascending into heaven surrounded by symbols of the Four Evangelists.

Smith’s High Priestess replaced La Papessa (the Papess, a female ‘Pope’ figure) in the deck.  Lots of folks assumed that this image was inspired by the legend of Pope Joan, but evidence suggests that the image is a female allegorical figure for the Roman Catholic Church (which claims the title ‘The Bride of Christ’)

General Cartomancy

Origins of Playing Card Divination - Mary K. Greer’s Tarot Blog. An illustrated presentation of theories and research on the origin of playing cards.

The New World Witchery Guide to Cartomancy by Corey Hutcheson (PDF)

Secondhand Souls: Cartomancy - Guide to learning cartomancy. Includes a brief history, discusses cards, and gives spreads.

Playing Card Meanings - Serena’s Guide to Divination

Sarena’s Tarot: Using Regular Playing Cards - A guide to using regular playing cards for divination.

A Manual of Cartomancy, Fortune-Telling, and Occult Divination by Grand Orient, published 1909 (PDF) via the Wayback Machine

A French Method of Fortune-Telling by Cards, by A.E. Waite, published 1912, via Hermetics.org

Fortune-Telling By Cards by Prof. P.R.S. Foli, first published 1915 . PDF via labirintoermetico.com

Cartomancy: History and Legend of a Prophetic Artvia associazioneletarot.it (PDF) 

Arcana Arcanorum: The Playing-Card Oracle - A personal system of playing card divination is presented with card meanings and layouts.

Other

A Glossary of Tarot Symbols from TarotMoon Press

the Difference between Oracle and Tarot Cards by hellboundwitch

World Tarot Day

World LeNormand Day

Tarotpedia, the Online Encyclopedia of Tarot

Tarot Reflections Archives - Back Issues of the newsletter of the American Tarot Association

Tips For Reading at Psychic Fairs by Teresa Michelsen

Reading at Charity Events by the Tarot Sybarite