Few things in life are guaranteed. This is especially true if you’re a Tarot reader.
But this one rule — the Rule of 2 — is guaranteed. Iron clad.
Doesn’t matter who you are, how you read, or how hard you try to prove this wrong.
You won’t.
You can’t. The Rule of 2 will make your Tarot readings better. Every time. No exceptions.
Want to be a better Tarot reader?
Here’s what you do:
After you have made your predictions to the client, provide them with choices by converting the Tarot cards from passive forces into active ones.
That’s it.
No matter what type of Tarot reading you’re giving — career, relationships, health — if you give the client the option to change the outcome by converting the Tarot cards from passive events into something the client can do …
… you have my iron-clad, 100 percent guarantee that you’ll deliver a better reading.
Every time. Dependable as death, taxes and comedy.
How exactly does this work?
Simple.
Each Tarot card can be read in two ways. The first way is passively, and the second is actively. The first way is how we generally make predictions — the 5 of Cups means the client will experience loss, the 9 of Disks means the client will inherit money etc. The second way is how we give advice.
Here’s how it works:
- Deliver the Tarot reading as normal. Read the cards passively. State what the future will be like for the client. Explain the outcome to their questions.
- At the end of the reading, if they are unsure of how to proceed, provide them with some choices.
- Do this by converting the relevant Tarot cards into active forces.
I’ll let Crowley explain:
“The Five of Wands is therefore a personality; the nature of this is summed up in the Tarot by calling it “Strife”…This means that, if used passively in divination, one says, when it turns up, ‘There is going to be a fight’. If used actively, it means that the proper course of conduct is to contend.”
The Book of Thoth by Aleister Crowley p43
Notice that he hasn’t said that the proper course of conduct is to become a bad person. He hasn’t said, go out and be immoral. No, all he has said is, “contend.” Start fighting for your rights.
What if we replace that card with the 3 of Swords?
Does that mean that we tell people to go out and stab someone in the heart? No, of course not.
But what if we said, “In order to get your life back, you’re going to have to break his/her heart?”
Does that sound so bad?
If we just stopped our Tarot reading dead after reading the Tarot cards passively, the client would have walked away thinking that the future holds nothing but grief and sorrow. This way, the Tarot offers them a way to liberate themselves … the liberation in the form of action: sever the links to someone who causes you pain.
We have definitive steps the client can take to improve their future. End the relationship, as difficult as that is, and things will get better. Remember, this isn’t just advice we have plucked out of thin air. This is advice based on the Tarot cards in front of us.
The main thrust of the rule of 2 is to read the exact same cards in two different ways. You go from reading the cards as passive events that will happen to the client, onto providing advice and options based on the active force behind the cards.
What if the client doesn’t need advice?
Are you sure?
More often than not, people seek out a Tarot reading because something is confusing them. They don’t know what to do, or they want clarity where they have none.
By using the rule of 2 and switching the cards from their passive to active roles, we automatically provide options. And here is the really important point. We’re not making it up. We are not bringing our own emotions, feelings or morality into the reading. We are remaining absolutely impartial. By trusting the Tarot to deliver the right advice to the client, we free ourselves of the responsibility to guess what the right course of conduct might be.
And the really good thing about this — it requires no extra investment of our time. The Tarot has done all the heavy lifting. All we have to do is interpret.
Two readings for the price of one
The rule of 2 provides the client with two readings for the price of one.
This technique is efficient because we use the same cards throughout. We don’t need to deal out two spreads — a future spread then an advice spread. Both possibilities already exist within the Tarot cards themselves … at any one time.
If the client likes what the future offers then the advice is simple — “keep doing what you’re doing.”
If the client wants to change their future — then use the same Tarot cards to convert outcomes into options.
This doesn’t just apply to external forces. For the more psychological reader, this technique is still valid. For instance, the 8 of Swords could indicate that you interfere with your own plans; self-sabotage. Converting that passive interpretation into an active one, we could say, “Interfere with the interference.” The Tarot has given you the problem and the solution all within one card. This approach encourages awareness.
Exercise!
A good way to practice this technique is to deal out some Tarot cards and convert them into active forces.
Ask yourself questions to help you make the switch from passive to active. What advice do they offer? What proactive approach is the card suggesting the client take? Here is a short list to help get you started.
- 3 of Swords: Sever all ties. Break their heart … and leave.
- 5 of Cups: Let someone down.
- Tower: Attack — Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war.
- 5 of Swords Accept the price you will have to pay and make it happen at any cost.
- 8 of Swords: Think before you speak.
- 8 of Cups: Abandon everything!
Combinations
- 9 of Swords, 2 of Cups: Be cruel to be kind.
- 5 of Disks, 6 of Cups: Time to look after yourself, not other people.
- 10 of Wands, 7 of Disks: Micro-management will get you nowhere. Time to delegate.
You get the idea!
By using the rule of two you will deliver better and more effective Tarot readings each and every time … Guaranteed!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this technique. Let me know if you agree or disagree with it. What problems do you foresee using it? Want a place to practice this technique? Share and discuss it here, talk about it amongst yourselves — let’s learn from each other.
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27 comments… Let's discuss
Great post Doug! So much of tarot is passive these days so I think this approach is really appropriate to get us all out of our slumbers…. It’s much easier to give advice and suggest proaction when we’re looking at a ‘good card’, but less so when it’s one of the dreaded bunch; but I think that quite often, it’s exactly what the seeker needs and has actually to come to hear.
The Emperor has featured heavily in my life of late and so in making him active, I would say I need to take control of things, start running the show and be the boss.
7 of Swords – taking back what’s yours… and of course, if we’re looking at the Thoth, then either the 4 or the 7 of Cups tell me I need to go out and eat some more chocolate cake
Hi Catherine,
Thanks for dropping by and sharing some examples with us
I especially liked the chocolate cake advice of the 4/7 of Cups
Interesting stuff, as usual. What I find especially intriguing is that theoretically (or technically, whichever you prefer) one could have a potential response to any stimulus in life using this technique. For example, in your own life, if you experience for example an altercation (as suggested by the 5 of wands), you can easily deduce a possible solution. This would only be a semi-solution, however, because with tarot there are more cards, and therefore more solutions. For example, what about a situation of an altercation where the answer is to let it pass? The cards would tell, but not necessarily what you’d think of if you just thought of the altercation in terms of a one-card solution. I fear I am rambling, but these are things that come to mind. I like this method, though!
Hi Dan,
Thanks for dropping by
This is true. There are usually going to be around 10 cards to pick from, depending on the spread used.
I give some examples of 2 card combinations in order to address this real world problem, but I recognise that I didn’t really explain how I would incorporate that into a Tarot reading.
In reality, I never convert more than 2 (perhaps 3) cards into active forces. I don’t really have a definitive system for picking which cards to use, but I’ll try to make things clearer.
First of all, I don’t convert every card into an active force. Just the ones that I intuit will give the best advice for the client.
I think, as a guiding principle for others to use, then start with any cards that appear to cause the client the most problems (when read in a passive, fortune-telling manner) and then convert those into their active roles in order to provide advice which is most likely to liberate them from any further difficulties.
Good question Dan, and I hope that helped give you a starting point to experiment with this. If not, let me know and I’ll do my best to answer any further questions you might have.
Wonderful post! I have been using this technique for years, and I find it to be extremely helpful to my clients. I think most people DO want advice, and the Tarot can certainly provide that. Thanks for the great reminder about how to use the cards for more than just divination–action is good!
Hi Rose,
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your experience of using this technique
I’m glad you liked the post
Great post Doug – this is a technique I’ve used for a long time. Probably because I personally don’t see much point in information without an option to change the outcome. If negative cards fill up a reading, I do the same as you – - basically tell the client that if they don’t like the outcome, they need to change the way they’re doing life. And then, seeing what the cards offer by way of right action.
There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “Great information and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.” Without a game plan, the information doesn’t mean much, IMHO. But then, of course, I *am* a practical Virgo
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for stopping by
Well put! And I love the old saying
For a reading to be of practical benefit to the client, it has to offer either validation (in the form of predictions) or advice.
Glad you liked the post
I tend to do what I call pro-active reading with my clients rather than predictive anyway, I figure that most people can see option a, and I feel it’s my job to show them b c d and e, even if they don’t want to look at c. Then the decision of how they live their life is always up to them. I guess what I am saying is that I try to present alternative possibilities in order for them to make a decision for themselves. How? – By exploring beyond normal perception one can gain a more positive outlook, facilitate a greater understanding of oneself and their situation and in turn, empower them to make a better choice for themself.
Having said all this in favour of pro-active reading I hasten to add all readings have a predictive element to them too.
A good article again Doug, one to get people thinking.
Hi Helen,
I agree! If a client walks away from a reading feeling like they can change their live (in whatever capacity – a small change or a big change) then I think the Tarot reader has done their job
Thanks for dropping by Helen and I’m glad you liked the post
Douglas -
I like the idea of proactive readings, and I like the idea of giving the client options. I see these options as evolving fromt he cards int he reading, but notnecesarily coming from them. I would also only work with a client on this aspect of the reading if this is what they want to do.
Great post!
Blessings,
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
Good point, and I totally agree – any technique that a Tarot reader chooses to employ has to fit within their own code of ethics for them to be comfortable using it.
I’m glad you liked the post
Great post! This is a technique I use, yet never really thought about it much. After giving the overall reading summary, I answer the question directly, and offer action suggestions. I feel the purpose of a reading is more than giving information of what’s going on, but also how to deal with it.
Hi Cher,
I agree! To me, a great Tarot reading offers both information and clear direction.
Thanks for dropping by
Hello,
Thanks for your encouragement to post here, I am quite new to Tarot (everybody posting here seems so experienced!) but practicing hard so anything to do with practice: hurray!
)
A friend asked me yesterday to do a reading for her regarding a possible pregnancy.
The two most important cards were in my opinion
The Star and the Ace of Wands
So … to put that into actions would be:
Star – look after your body to make a pregnancy possible/likely and/or prepare emotionally for it
Ace of Wands – have sex????
)
*g* I like this approach a lot!
Greetings!
Hi Austriana,
I’m glad you posted again
LOL, yup! That’s exactly how to apply it! Great interpretations, spot on!
Thanks for sharing your example with us
Douglas, this is just an AWESOME entry! It is funny, but this is something I always do hehe – I like my readings to be empowering to my clients!
THANKS so much for showing exactly HOW to apply this principal – I know many will find this post very helpful in their practice! 
(Drinks sip of coffee – cheers!)
Hi AarTiana,
Glad you liked the post
(cheers!)
Great article. I am a strong believer that Tarot readings should be as much about explaining the current and future influences as it is about empowering the client to take action for a better future. In fact, I would say the empowerment piece is the most important! And great that you have created a way for empowerment around the ‘negative’ cards, in a way that stays true to their message but also acts as an opportunity for the client to take some of the control back into their hands. Very authentic and powerful.
Hi Biddy,
For a while I’ve wanted to find a way that a tarot reader could offer advice whilst remaining objective. The only way that I could think of doing this was to shift the focus away from the readers personal experiences and back onto the cards.
When I discovered Crowley’s concept of active and passive cards, I knew I had the beginning of a workable solution.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
i enjoyed this post, Doug!
i like the action of intentionally looking back and planning for specific action with various parts of the reading. I often do this–but this is more deliberate,and will add good focus to my readings. As you may remember, I have been reading for many years, so similar to my work in counseling, it is always helpful to re-learn and make more intentional things that may have become “habit”…
Wonderful stuff. Thanks as always!
Hi MzzLee,
I agree! Anything that is done with intention, as opposed to just habit, helps to keep us in the moment. It brings a level of awareness, as well as openness, which is integral to a good tarot reading.
I’m glad you liked the post.
Hello Doug, thank you for the very useful piece of advice! Today, one of my daily cards was 5 of Swords and I was pushed and pulled to give up my principles and leave the comfort zone: but I stood still and picked up the fight. It worked well.
But what would be the ‘active’ advice side of the Tower?
keep up good work,
VE
HI Victoria,
I’m glad the rule of 2 is something you’re personally finding useful.
The active side of the Tower? Depends on the context. It could mean to go to War. Perhaps the destruction of something is required? Destruction can be anything from someones plans to buildings. It could also indicate that the destruction taking place is psychological – like a belief system. Is there someone who is living a lie that, by acting as the Tower, destroys their illusions and saves you from the consequences of living under the influence of that lie?
The Tower destroys. I would mediate on what actively, and forcibly needs to be destroyed in order for a good outcome?
I often cover this subject in my blog, in a more subtle fashion, but the message is the same. I do the same in readings, wherein I’ll provide the passive message and then deliver advice on how to proceed based upon the active meaning of the card. The most solid example I can give of this centers around an article I wrote about the “Futility” card, 7 of Swords. Since we all tend to have that nagging voice in the back of our heads, I didn’t simply say “we are our own worst enemy”, I went on to say “here are some steps we can take to challenge our negative self-talk and see if that voice is valid or simply fearful”.
Great article, by the way. Though I’ve just discovered your blog today, I’m already enamored!
Hi Rachel C,
Great example! The 7 of Swords, when read passively, always represents problems of one kind or another, and by converting that into an active force, by suggesting they embody (consciously embody) that force, they can take control of their lives.
Thanks for dropping by and I’m glad you enjoyed the article
Hi Doug,
Great post. I think I’ve done this with tarot before, without consciously realizing it.
I also used this same technique for myself recently with the Lenormand cards. I read about the likely outcome of a meeting at work, then I reinterpreted the cards as advice for myself to apply to that meeting. It worked quite well. It gave me a sense of confidence going in, as well as affecting my behavior in a positive way.
The full entry is on my blog (August 10, 2010). The advice I got: “I want to keep in mind that the problems are affecting the health of my team, so to speak. As an important meeting for me, I want to remain positive during, and I probably want to get this woman on my side.”
So that’s what I did.
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