The Lego method of discovering Tarot card meanings correspondences will give you something to say about any Tarot card that comes your way.
Our guide to “the Lego Method” and Tarot card meanings is Tim Ferriss.
What in the world would Tim Ferriss have to say about Tarot card meanings?
In a recent post about how to memorize a shuffled deck of cards with the help of Grand Master of Memory, Ed Cooke, Tim says:
“The Suits (think: personalities):
Diamonds—rich people
Hearts—people you love
Clubs—tough or crazy people
Spades—amusing or absurd people”
The above suit definitions are quite suitable (hee, hee suitable) for the tarot suits of pentacles, cups, wands, and swords.
Step 1 – Suits
Tarot is derived from playing cards. The connections between playing cards and Tarot are not obscure.
Pentacles (diamonds) encompass wealth and the material world.
Cups (hearts) encompass many emotions, most typically love relationships.
Clubs (wands) encompass passionate movement and very often people with lots of wand energy are ballsy to say the least.
Spades (swords) are about communication, speech, and thought processes. People on top of their swords game are often very witty, sarcastic, and/or humorous.
Step 2 – suit plus number
The next step in what I am calling the Lego Method of memorizing a deck of cards, you must memorize each card in the suit. Ed Cooke calls his method the bicycle method, btw.
Using this same method of association, you build out the individual cards by matching a number and a suit.
“The ace of diamonds, on my scheme, is a sports- man (ace) who got rich (diamonds)—OK, Michael Jordan. The jack of spades on my scheme would be a religious figure who’s amusing—the Dalai Lama has a good sense of humor. The six of spades, a humorously controversial woman—Lady Gaga, no question.”
I love it! Not only can I see the associations with the corresponding Tarot cards, but it describes a method anyone can use to learn tarot card meanings.
- Get a few keywords to describe each suit.
- Make a list of the general meanings of the numbers. Refer to a numerology site, use one from another Tarot reader, or if you’re feeling very confident, create your own.
Tarot Card Meanings – pair number with suit
For example: the 2 of pentacles.
2 – balance, a pair of opposites, 2 distinct things
Pentacles – the material plane, money, things that endure
Putting it together: the 2 of pentacles is balancing 2 distinctly different things like money and time, or living in 2 different locations.
Of course there is a lot more to the 2 of pentacles than the above definition, but it’s a place to start! Once you’ve got your initial association with the card memorized, your experience with the card will allow your understanding and knowledge to grow.
Learning Tarot is just like learning anything else. You have to start somewhere and that somewhere is rote memorization. The memorization is your training wheels. By using the above system, you will create personal associations to memorize which will make them both easier to memorize and more meaningful.
Even if your initial tarot card meanings seem sparse and lacking animation, use them and stick with it. Your understanding will deepen with time.
The next thing you know someone will ask you, “How did you learn to read Tarot cards?”
You may have noticed I didn’t bring the court cards to the discussion. I’m saving that for a future post, where I can share a few fun tricks with you about the court cards in particular.
Way Cool