Significators

[Solandia]

Do you use a significator card when reading the tarot? (Do you choose a card beforehand to represent yourself or your question?)

~ Solandia

[cj]

Solandia (13 Oct, 2001 00:01):
Do you use a significator card when reading the tarot? (Do you choose a card beforehand to represent yourself or your question?)

~ Solandia

Solandia,

I have never done a reading with a significator. I feel you need the full deck to do a reading.

cj

[Jane]

Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.

It really depends on the spread.

When doing a Celtic Cross spread, I sometimes let the deck pick the significator position (ie the first card dealt is the sig., not picked beforehand).

When doing the Opening of the Key, a significator is picked, but left in the deck. That's how you know which pile of cards to read and where to start the count from.

Jane

[jade]

sometimes when i'm finished a reading, i pull a significator if i am unsure of who the reading is about. that way it brings clarity.

i don't use them on a regular basis.

how about you solandia, do you use them?

blessed be.
jade

[Alta]

Hi Solandia,
I let the deck pick, and I find it adds depth to the reading. Let's you know just who the querent is on that question. so to speak.

[Hoonoki]

konnichiwa Solandia-san ...

I think i answered that question before in an old post but anyway, my answer has changed a little after learning more about the tarot and doing more readings.

If a spread requires me to use a significator card, sometimes i let the deck decide (whether it's a pip, court, or major card) or i choose a card myself. It depends on whether i strongly feel that i should let the deck decide. I would normally choose the Queen of Wands because many times when i would do readings for myself, the deck would chose this card. Her fire element also coincides with my astrological Sun sign.

[MeeWah]

Prefer not to use a significator because it eliminates a card from the deck--I like to play with a full deck Often, the first card acts as a significator--it describes the querent's position, concern or the matter at hand (which may not be what the querent has in mind). The second card further clarifies the nature of same.

[Kiama]

I used to use significators in all my readings, but I found when choosing that sig. I was biased, so I progressed to letting the deck choose one for me. Now however, I do not use one, and usually find that if I need one, the deck throws me one anyway. I also find now, after reading the cards for quite a while, I can recognise who the cards are talking about by which cards it throws at me!

On my first date with my boyfriend, I gave him a reading. The Fool was thrown at me as a significator for him, as was the King of Swords. Then, it threw out the Queen of Wands as me... It's been like that ever since! (Needless to say, that reading told us what was gonna happen between us in the future, but at the time I didn't wanna say anything just in case he thought I was biased...)

Kiama

[bec]

I only use a sig.card if the deck/cards tells me to do so - exs. during shuffling and a card falls out or I see one turned upsidedown. When I do a CC spread on a stranger and having a hard time finding the person in my intuition, I use a recognition card - that shows me the person. I draw that card before the others and put it back in the deck before picking out for the spread.

[Solandia]

I don't generally use a significator card, as I prefer to have the full deck there for the reading, like MeeWah

But I think they can be useful when reading for another, if the querent looks through the deck and choose the card. It's good for insight on their problem as they see it consciously.

~ Solandia