Intuitive Tarot: When the Images Tell the Story

Can you perform a tarot reading based solely on the images, without knowing the meaning of the cards?

Short answer: Sometimes. Before I get into this and upset the community, let me say first that anyone who wants to learn to read tarot should absolutely learn the basic meanings, symbolism, numerology, etc. If you choose to do it professionally, you'd be doing yourself and your clients a disservice if you just started making things up as you went.

However, there have been times that I've pulled cards and been able to discern what the message was without needing the meanings. The images on the tarot cards sometimes tell such a clear story, that the meanings of the cards are unnecessary.

Even if you didn't know what the tower meant, it's pretty evident from the imagery. Looking at these cards, also excluding the meanings of the page and knight of swords, I see two people separated by a cataclysmic event. Something big happened here and it caused a divide. Even the way the two figures are facing away from each other alludes to them going in separate directions. If the cards were to be moved around, say we were to transpose the page and the knight so that they were facing each other past the tower, that could change the story slightly. We might consider that, even though this event caused a divide, they may still want to work through it or at least see eye to eye on some of the issues.

I find these images easily telling a story as well. Here's the Devil, presenting this heart that's all strung up and we can see someone is stuck in his lair, all of which might make you think "trapped" or "stuck". But the woman on the star card almost looks like she's waving him off. Kind of like, 'Thanks, but no. You can keep that. I'm good.' Then the fool rounds out that story as an image of freedom.

Now, for this reading, it's interesting because the images portray the meaning of the cards well, so how I read this using the standard meaning, versus just the story, is pretty much the same.

What story forms for you when looking at these images?

What feelings or meanings do you get when looking at these two images side by side?

This is a fun one because it can mean so many different things. This is the type of imagery that I feel is telling a story, but that is going to be specific to the individual or question. Are these two different people with different goals or wants? Or is this one person with conflicting thoughts and feelings? The queen of wands looks very grounded. Even her harp looks as though it's made from that tree, almost as if she needs to be rooted to the spot to play. The empress, although standing on a tree branch, showing some relation to the Queen, is facing in the opposite direction releasing butterflies from a basket; an ultimate show of freedom and release.

I've mentioned this before but there are some days, especially when my mind is cluttered or I have a lot going on and can't focus, that I like using my standard Rider Waite deck. Quick, clear, to the point. I associate those cards with the standard meaning. No fluff, no special hidden meanings. But there are times when I love using cards with different, deeper imagery, especially when reading for others. I find they can give so much more context to the guidance offered and my intuition really speaks to me there, when I let my imagination find the story among the images.