Significators...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 Jun 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Sam	17 Jun 2002
I was just wondering what a significator was. Is it like a card that is your card? i dunno...answers please!

Phoenix	17 Jun 2002
Everyone will have a different school of thought on this one. I don't use them all that much, but the cards that represent me are the King of Pentacles, the Chariot, Hermit, or the High Priestess.

Liliana	17 Jun 2002
Yeah its the card that represents theperson askingfor a reading The pictorial key way of choosing: Knight-above 40 male king-below 40 male queen-above 40 female page-below 40 female (persoally id reverse the knight and king and find it strange waite orders this way, and Id give anyove with kids the older cards) then suits go into looks wands-fair with yellow or auburn hair, fair complexion,blue eyes cups-light brown or dull fair hair with grey or blue eyes swords-dark brown hair, hazel or grey eyes, dull complexion pentacles-very dark brown or black hair, dark eyes,and sallow or swarthy complexion but even waite says if the persons personality fits better with another suit use it :) :THP

slinky_jo	18 Jun 2002
Hey Sam - what Liliana described is the traditional method of picking the significator/querant card (the card to represent the person you are reading for). A lot of people use this traditional method, but I prefer the tarot deck to "pick" the significator - I deal out the first card like all the others - it's a "random" card (but you know that nothing is really random in tarot!!).

Mermaid	18 Jun 2002
Or you can ask the querant to pick it - like, give them all of the court cards to look at and ask them to pick the one that they feel represents them best. You normally use the significator as the first card in the spread - underneath card n.o 1 in a Celtic Cross, for example.

zorya	18 Jun 2002
some people use a significator, to represent the person they are reading for. others, including myself, seldom use one, as it takes a card "out" of the reading.

Major Tom	18 Jun 2002
I don't use significators tending instead to allow the deck to choose as others have mentioned. One of the best ways to pick a significator is to use the querent's personality card. })

cjtarot	18 Jun 2002
Hi all, What I learned from this forum is to do it by the book. Learn the meanings of every card by heart. Pick a significator. Shuffle: lay the cards out in 3 piles with your right hand, pick them up with your left and hand them to me-left hand to left (hand-heart to heart). read from the top. DO THIS FOR A WHILE, THEN THROW THE BOOK OUT AND DO IT YOUR WAY. What happens is yes you remember the base meanings of the cards, but the pictures and your inner voice really tell you what is going on. shuffling..do what you feel..everyone is different..my friend shuffles, fans the cards and has the person she is reading for pic the cards I cut the cards and read from the cut cards. As far as a significator ..let the cards choose...you will be surprised how accurate you will become. Good Luck cj

catlin	18 Jun 2002
I usually make my clients choose a significator when I do a relationship reading.

Sam	18 Jun 2002
if i do it liliana's was, then my significator is :TKIS The King of Swords

Jewel	18 Jun 2002
Sam there are a few threads on this in the Reading Tarot thread you might want to check out.

Ravenswing	29 Jun 2002
hi sam-- this one bugged me for a while, cause, like zorya says, it takes a card out of play. then i came upon a solution... in the transformational tarot there is a pictureless card entitled "significator". a great idea. blank so you can mentally, intuitively (what ever you term it) image the person you are reading for on it. no close match court ("but he has white hair and grey eyes??"), no random pick. most decks come with some extra cards. sometimes blank, usually an ad for the deck or the card company. since it's not going to get shuffled, there's no problem putting a light coat of gesso (art store stuff; you prep a canvas with it) on it. you can either leave it blank or fancy it up. nice thing is that it is one of the cards from the deck-- it'll be the same size, have the same back, etc LVX steve

Sullanciri2002	02 Jul 2002
Hasn't any of you felt the need to - if you do use significators - choose it more intuďtively, or have the querent do it that way. This works well for me if you use a deck where the numbered minor suits are just as rich graphically than the courts and major arcana. You - or the querent - don't even have tp pick the same significator for different readings. You just feel related or linked to that card (or better, the visual symbolism on it) in regards to your question, or your concerns. This makes things less "intellectual" - which, min my humble opinion - is always a strain on the reading.

Original Destiny	03 Jul 2002
If I do a reading and the client is present...then I do not use a significator...the client is THERE with me...if I do a reading and the client isn' there, then I look for the client IN the cards dealt.:TFOOL

The Significators... thread was originally posted on 17 Jun 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.