Base card

Hi everyone.

I have only recently begun to take note of the base card in a reading. Btw, to clarify, for my own sake - it is at the base of a deck when doing a reading?

Anyway, what do people feel about it's significance in a reading? Any tips?

SQ

Anyone?

Are you talking about the shadow card, SQ?

My newbie tarot friend is in love with the base or "shadow" card. I now call her the Shadow Queen. When she's doing readings, she'll even look at the base card first before the rest of the reading...LOL. She's a bit much.

I don't do base/shadow cards myself, although reading with this friend has made me look at the bottom card of the deck here and there. I think the idea behind the base card is that it gives you an additional clue, or tells of something that it's in the "shadows"...maybe unknown to you or the situation. Some call it "hidden factor" card.

For example, let's say you do a reading about a significant other. You ask, "What will he do next with regards to me?" For the sake of this example, let's say you get Two of Cups and Ace of Cups. You'll read, "Wow, he'll express his huge feelings for me, how wonderful!" Great. But then you also look at the base card, and the card is, 4 of Pentacles. Now don't anyone attack my views, I'm just giving an example here...

So maybe the base card is saying, though he may express his feelings for you, he actually will turn out to be, or is feeling, quite possessive towards you and that might be what's prompting the big, gushing expressions of feelings. It's that little "unknown" piece of info that you wouldn't perhaps have if you just looked at the cards drawn in your readings alone.

The base card is not essential (in my eyes), but some people swear by it. It all boils down to developing your own reading style and finding if reading the base card does, indeed, help you with the reading, or if it just confuses you more.

Hope that helps!

GA

Yeah, base card/shadow card.

Thanks GA, your thoughts really helped!

Think this card can give an important image and guidance of any extra factors needing assimilation into your question.

I always use this card. I look at it before I turn the cards over for the reading. It can tell me the crux of what I am reading about. Especially if the sitter isn't being forthcoming.

I always read the base card as well, it's important to me like final peace of advice, or final bit of insight, something that for me 'colors' the whole reading.

depending on the spread, i'll use a base card...i usually look at it as the foundation of the issue, or the overarching issue...it's really useful. in relationship questions sometimes i read it as the foundation of the relationship (e.g. strength of relationship, status of relationship etc)...with the other cards drawn being the current dynamic factors within the relationship.

mx

If I shuffle and deal the cards all at once, I read it as what definitely 'won't happen' -- sort of the road not taken, since it represents the cut of the deck, where I've selected the other cards.

If I pick cards from the deck individually, there is no base card, so that becomes moot.

I don't always look at it, but often do. It adds something to the reading, but not all that much for me.