How to make connections between tarot cards

Introduction

I remember when I was starting out with tarot, I would pull some cards and then dive straight for the book. Even when I did discern messages I would dismiss my own interpretations if they were different to the meanings the book suggested. I was a book reader rather than a tarot reader.

Along the way I picked up a lot of information, so I know it wasn’t all bad. But I believe it did slow my progress. Yet, I do encourage everyone to read through the accompanying guide book whenever you get a new deck. The guide book is a great way to give you a feel for the deck, to add to your knowledge, and to give your intuition more to draw from. Ultimately though I believe it is best to trust your own interpretations. Having the confidence to do so comes with practice. I didn’t realise that when I was starting out so I was unnecessarily hard on myself. Please don’t make the same mistake.

Background

I started reading tarot a long time ago. Last month I passed the twenty-five year mark. Not that I dedicated the same amount of time to the tarot then that I do now. For a long time I just couldn’t connect to the cards in a way that I felt I should have been able to, so I would put them away and forget about them for a while. But something kept drawing me back and I’m glad it did.

Apart from when literally reading a single card draw, experienced readers do not interpret cards in isolation. Instead they look at how the cards relate to each other and the story they have to tell. However, it is not possible for a single tarot book to provide all the possible meanings for every card combination. I did wish for such a book when I was starting out though.

Cards speak to each other and the answers they give are based on the question asked, their position in a spread, and what stands out to you at the time you are looking at them. Thus two cards can read very differently from one reading to the next. Even after all this time, I am constantly surprised by what I notice for the “first time” and I love it.

Bridging Exercise

This exercise is simple, yet effective. It was featured in Tarot Face to Face: Using the Cards in Your Everyday Life by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin.

Bridging is something most experienced tarot readers do automatically. But, as is the case with any skill, it is something you can practice and get better and better at. Put simply, it involves making connections between the cards in a spread. Even after all this time, I have benefited from, and enjoyed, consciously doing this exercise. Bridging is a skill that really is worth practicing.

How to do it:

1. Select two cards at random from your deck and place them side by side
2. Look for what “bridges” those two cards. Some suggestions for things to look out for are:
   • similar colours
   • any objects that appear on both cards
   • any aspects that clash
   • any aspects that you believe go together
   • the card numbers (the same, both lower numbers etc)
   • whether they are court cards, Major Arcana or Minor Arcana and what that means to you
   • the suit (are they the same or different and what impact would they have on each other. For example – water dowses fire but fire can produce steam)
3. Jot down anything that comes to mind.

In the book, the authors point out that, “The important thing is not to try and interpret the cards, nor make sense of them individually.” They go on to add, “Don’t reject any thought that arises, whether it is a statement of fact or an intuitive impression.” Just write down everything. DO NOT edit your thoughts. There is no right or wrong. Let your mind make whatever connections it chooses and remember this is about what those connections mean to you. That is how experienced tarot readers interpret and glean meaning from spreads.

I love birds and have many ways that I relate to them when they appear on cards. Yet, I have a friend who is petrified of them. The magpies carolling outside my window as I write this therefore mean very different things to the two of us. Nonetheless, both our associations are valid. Please remember that as you look at the associations I have made below. Your ideas around colours and so on could be very different to mine and that’s perfectly fine.

Examples

Bridging IX The Hermit and Page of Cups

• Both holding something in their right hand which is my dominant hand
• Both holding something unusual – The Hermit has a star in his lantern, the Page a fish in his cup
• Both facing to my left – the past
• Different shades of blue in the background – from dark to light
• Both male, old to young – inner wisdom, inner child
• One is all covered, the other’s clothing is bright and visible.
• Some ideas on how it might go together – what I have to offer is different to others but it is based on experiences from my past that are only just coming to light that I can draw on. Don’t take things so seriously, remember to have fun and play. You can’t hide away for ever. You could miss opportunities.

Bridging 5 of Pentacles and 10 of Wands

• 10 is double 5, exponential increase
• Two of the figures are hunched over
• On the 5 of Pentacles the one that is not hunched over is using the crutches to aid mobility. The man on the 10 of Wands is carrying the load awkwardly
• The Weather has cleared
• One card shows people out in the cold and snow, while the other shows a man out in full sun – neither may be favourable.
• On 5 of Pentacles she doesn’t notice the building and on the 10 of Wands he is heading towards a building but can he see it? What is the role of the building in both? Could they both be churches rather than a church and a house?
• Green leaves on stained glass and green leaves on the wands
• Some interpretations – if we don’t notice the help that is available to us we can increase our burden. Don’t need to carry all our burdens. Look for options. Conditions might not be favourable right now. Change in financial situation – increased income – from the hard work, Eschewing initial financial gain for better financial opportunities down the track – study for better position? Spiritual burden – spiritual lack, shame needing to be released – confess your sins?

Bridging Queen of Swords and Ace of Cups

• Blue sky on both
• Single bird on both cards
• Similar colourings
• Yellow link to solar plexus chakra – personal power – the queen’s platform and the cup
• Blue link to throat chakra – authentic communication
• The queen is heading towards the cup
• Swords – head, cups – heart – the need to balance the two?
• Clouds – her head’s above the clouds, there’s clouds on her cloak and the hand on the Ace of Cups is coming from a cloud
• Trees growing beside the water on the Queen of Swords whereas the plants are growing in the water on the Ace of Cups
• Possible interpretations – Clarity about what she loves, single focus on what it is she’s reaching for, being your authentic self and loving yourself for it – the link between self love and personal truth. Being loved for who you are; clarity in a romantic situation.

Additional note

As you can see there are many possible interpretations. Which one to apply is determined by the surrounding cards and the question you have asked. The focus in doing this bridging exercise was purely to practice building bridges between the cards though, not to answer actual questions. Although I do believe that new understandings and answers naturally come to the fore.

Before I wrap up, I thought I would make a quick point about card positioning and how much it can change the meaning of cards. For the first three examples I randomly selected cards and placed them in the order I drew them. Below I have actively reversed the positions of the Ace of Cups and the Queen of Swords. Notice how this creates new bridges. As certain elements stand out more, you naturally make different associations and see things in different ways. Remember, bridging is a dynamic process.

• Now rather than reaching for the cup she has turned her back to it. Turning her back on love?
• My eye was drawn to the yellow on the crown rather than the base this time – cup versus crown
• The cup is coming out of the clouds she has risen above so she can’t see it or doesn’t want to see it. Fear or uncertainty about love, an attempt to protect herself?
• She holds a sword not a cup – decision based on fact rather than emotion, tough love

Wrapping it all up

Bridging is a relatively quick exercise that can be practiced each day. Doing so will strengthen your ability to make connections between cards and to decipher what they’re saying to each other. Plus, in actively looking for the similarities and contrasts that exist between random cards, you become more aware of the details present in the individual cards.

For example, in doing the bridging exercise for this post today I have a gained another perspective for the 5 of Pentacles. I have heard so often that the man is wearing a bell to signify he’s a leper. This is coupled with the advice not to draw attention to your weaknesses. Minnow Pond Tarot over on You Tube loves this explanation. I have rarely read this card with that interpretation but I am aware of it.

However, now I see his strength. He is using crutches to help him and he is looking up. Is he asking for help, or for guidance, or looking for shelter from the snow? If he is, he’s trying to find ways to change his situation. In stark contrast to the other figure, he isn’t falling victim to his circumstances. He seems to be doing all that he can to improve them.

This stood out when, through bridging, I noticed the woman on the 5 of Pentacles and the man on the 10 of Wands were both hunched over and yet he wasn’t. Just looking at the 5 of Pentacles on its own, I saw two people out in the cold. Next time I see this card in a reading I wonder how I will see it. Every reading is an opportunity to discover something new. Enjoy.

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The pictured tarot deck is Radiant Rider Waite Tarot published by US Games Systems Inc