base card and 'top' card

i've been wondering whether the card that's on top of the deck when you stop shufling is also important. i usually consider the base card, ie the one at the bottom of the deck. i've read somewhere that the base card describes the energy underlying the situation and the top card the energy that's available to you, ie the energy you can use to change the situation.

are there any other thoughts on this?

I think it's up to you.. You can see almost every card as 'important' if you like.

Personally, I never look at the card on the bottom of the pack... I do use the Quintessential card a lot in my readings though.

BrightEye said:

i've been wondering whether the card that's on top of the deck when you stop shufling is also important. i usually consider the base card, ie the one at the bottom of the deck. i've read somewhere that the base card describes the energy underlying the situation and the top card the energy that's available to you, ie the energy you can use to change the situation.

are there any other thoughts on this?

Click to expand...

It is only recently (this year) that I started considering the base card in my readings and that's because my deck told me to. My deck has the same card over and over again on every reading until I take notice of that card and its energy. Then the card disappears. It is most bizarre. At the moment, I have Indi from the Fae Oracle at the bottom of the deck at every reading and with my Fantastical tarot, the Knight of Cups. I need to work out what they are trying to convey. This seems personal to me, I don't know anyone else who has experienced this.

I have started to look at the bottom card of my deck after i have drawn the cards from the top of the deck, some people call this bottom card the shadow card, I found out this card made sense with my reading, it summs up the reading, sometimes it turn out to be the Quintessential when adding all the cards from my reading, the total of all the cards happen to be the same as the shadow card which is the card at the bottom of the deck.

peek-a-boo

When the cards are shuffled and I'm ready,
I relax for a moment or two, take a breath,
and cut the deck ~ into three piles...

The first pile stays in the Middle
then I set the cards down to the Right and cut again
putting the third pile to the Left

I pick them up, Middle-Right-Left.

Now, this gives me a very unique bottom card because
it comes directly from the second cut, third pile cards.

I call it the "peek-a-boo" and allow it to be special...
part of the reading, or an extra something on the side.

Sulis said:

I think it's up to you.. You can see almost every card as 'important' if you like. Personally, I never look at the card on the bottom of the pack... I do use the Quintessential card a lot in my readings though.

Click to expand...

An interesting commentary, if only as an opposing view,
or posted for the sake of contradicting the original idea.

It might be worthwhile to start your own thread on this?

I never used the bottom card, never occured to me to do so, UNTIL I read some of Fulgour's commentary and saw a reading. Everything made crystal clear sense to me, and depending on how specific or in depth the reading is with the existing cards, I will put the bottom card in as an extra. Just for the record, I never used clarifiers either, but saw through rereading information in this forum, just how important they are.

Peace
Baroli

ive always seen the base card as the crux of the matter or what the *real* question is mostly about and it normally is very informative

I never thought about the top card (after shuffling but before you cut?) as having a significance

Perhaps that one means this is where you are at right now - (before you cut) and in a way I can see it as youre predicament and the surrounding reasons youre asking the tarot question and your strengths and weaknesses before you set out on reading the spread

like the top card is where you are/what you want personally and the reading will be your answer/guidance along with the base card

so top card = you personally at a moment in time with any situation
the rest = the universe/guidance/how things may unfold from the position of GO of the top card

did that make any sense? to anyone?

Sulis said:

I do use the Quintessential card a lot in my readings though.

Click to expand...

What is the Quintessential card?

The Quintessential card is when you add the numerical value of the cards together and reduce it down to less than 22 - the corresponding Major gives you a general overview or theme to the reading... Sometimes I see it as a card of general advice.

I find this very useful.