The Art of the Tarot: How Reading the Cards Can Help Us
We get to the bottom of the ancient and traditional art of card reading - also called Tarot - and ask Linda Hauptmann about her work as an intuitive card reader.
To limit tarot cards only to their forward-looking effect definitely falls short. For the archetypal symbols also address the subconscious in a way that therapists can use. In doing so, reading cards can provide information about unconscious tendencies of the past, the current situation as well as (possible) future events - and cards can also serve as a guide for partnership issues.
What exactly does card reading mean and how does it differ from other techniques of interpreting the future?
Linda Hauptmann: "Dear Sara, first of all: I prefer to use the Tarot. Card reading in general includes other card systems, such as Lenormand, Kipper cards and oracle cards. The Tarot in the form we know it today has been used for over a hundred years. The card that graces this article comes from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, published in 1910, which is also my all-time favourite because of its clear and beautiful imagery."
What does tarot reading mean to you?
Linda Hauptmann: "The cards represent a projection screen for me. When shuffling and selecting the cards to be drawn, I connect with my question. After turning over the cards, I have my answers in front of me. After many years of reading the cards, they usually coincide with what I have already sensed. But often the cards reveal more nuances, or help to structure temporal processes better."
What sets the Tarot apart from other techniques for interpreting the future?
Linda Hauptmann: "Clearly its depth. With 78 cards, every human theme and condition is covered. Nothing cannot be told through the cards. Of course, this is quite different with a purely binary system like the pendulum or the 24 runes. I also like those a lot with their strong energies, but for more subtle and psychologically oriented questions, the tarot cards with their range are definitely the tool of my choice."
"Even as a child I noticed that I have very fine antennae for my environment."
What were your first spiritual experiences? How did you discover your gift?
Linda Hauptmann: "Unfortunately, I can't tell you a 'spooky revival story' at this point. But spirituality is not supposed to be lurid. Even as a child I noticed that I have very fine antennae for my environment. And even at a distance I can sense how my friends and family are doing. Later, I consciously became interested in magic, divination and the like. More and more I dared to rely on my gifts - clairvoyance, intuition, high empathy."
And what role did the Tarot play in this?
Linda Hauptmann: "When I was 16, the Tarot gave me the opportunity to connect with people outside my immediate environment for the first time. At that time, of course, it had more of a playful character. A good twenty years later, life experience simply supports me in my Tarot consultations: a lot of understanding for the human psyche, experience with relationship dynamics, insights into being a parent, dealing with losses, generally everyday issues of adult life. Of course, that was not a given at 16. But it's very important to be able to give really comprehensive counselling."
"Most people still come to me with the most classic topics of all: love."
Currently, many are influenced by various crises, such as pandemics, war or the energy crisis. Have you noticed an increase in enquiries?
Linda Hauptmann: "Most people still come to me with the most classic of all topics: love. Uncertainty about whether the relationship will last, whether there is a perspective with the ex-partner or a new date, why there is something wrong with the partnership, whether there will be someone for the heart in the near future - that is still what moves most people. However, the demand for support with regard to professional decisions has increased a little. I have the impression that the development of the past two years has brought about an influx into the 'spiritual scene'. Topics such as mindfulness, meditation, energy work, but also small rituals such as the current ones on the occasion of the Rough Nights or the full moon, are becoming more and more popular. Apparently, many people have the desire to look more inwards in this challenging outside world. I find that beautiful. Because at the end of the day, our inner life is the area we have the most influence over."
How do you combine technique and intuition in your work?
Linda Hauptmann: "I don't work with techniques in the sense of fixed patterns and predefined interpretations. After more than 20 years I only work intuitively. As a beginner you 'learn' the meaning of the cards. For example, the 'Five of Wands': on the card we see five men fighting with wands. Wands stand for the element of fire, i.e. passion, creativity, drive, power. The number 5 is cabbalistically assigned to the level of Geburah - which is subordinate to the Mars energy, so it is characterised by confrontation, struggle, sexuality, competition. The textbook then says something like: a firing competition. I have internalised all these energies, but my intuition tells me without thinking whether it's about that or sometimes about something completely different. A wounded ego. The potential for peak athletic or professional performance. The desire to be noticed, and therefore to show oneself with aggressive cries for help. Or much further away from the classic interpretations. After the many experiences I have had with my cards, we have our very own language. Meaningful 'technique' in connection with the Tarot is for me rather the linking of different areas. So uniting the learned energy fields of the cards with a distinct intuition, paired with practical life experience, psychology and empathy for the other person."
Tell us, which topics in the field of future interpretation are particularly popular? Are there any recognizable differences between male and female questioners?
Linda Hauptmann: "I never isolate future interpretation from a thorough analysis of the present. Because - what is now, what we may not be so consciously aware of - that we can also shape or change for our own good right now. Pure future outlooks are most requested by singles longing for a partnership. In terms of who shows up so in the coming months. And from people who are facing a major decision: what can I expect if I stay with my employer, what can I expect if I take up the job offer as an alternative, something like that. And last but not least also from people who are basically well and solidly positioned, and still want to do some fine-tuning. In the sense of - what energies will affect me, what is important for my mindset, how can I position myself most sensibly. I can't see any major gender differences, actually. At most, perhaps, that the gentlemen sometimes understand their women less intuitively and would like me to give them an idea of their mood. But the topics are the same in themselves."
Many always want to know about the "accuracy" of the cards. What about that?
Linda Hauptmann: "I can only speak for my interpretation, because unfortunately one can also be very careless with the cards and in the worst case create uncertainty, fear or illusions and disappointment in the other person. My way is to rely completely on my intuition. Instead of making a textbook interpretation. But technically answered, I explain it to myself like this: we are all invisibly connected through time and space. Like mushrooms - we only see the individual fruiting bodies on the surface, but the root network connects them together for miles. So, I suppose, there is also an invisible field with us humans. In my perception, it is possible for us humans to connect with this field. I do this with the help of the maps. Indigenous peoples such as the Aborigines are said to communicate telepathically as a matter of course - I assume that this ability lies dormant in all of us. Whatever it is, I am always very happy about the confirming feedback on my readings. And sometimes I am amazed at where this information comes from.
How do you deal with negative prognoses from clients?
Linda Hauptmann: "That is a very important point. Dealing with negative tendencies. What I make clear at the beginning of every reading is that, in my understanding, our future is by no means set in stone, but very dynamic. Every moment we have countless opportunities to set the course for our next time. A card reading therefore always depicts the most probable course, unless something significant is changed in one's own behaviour, in one's own decisions. When I see unpleasant developments, I naturally - carefully and empathically - speak them out. At the same time, it is always my concern to look for options to defuse this tendency. Some developments can be completely turned around if one goes into this time with foreknowledge and mindfulness. Rarely, there are also situations that come very clearly from the outside and can hardly be defused. In those cases, I focus on finding a perspective for dealing with the challenge and what comes after."
How do you deal with it then?
Linda Hauptmann: "It is very important to me not to hang a sword of Damocles over anyone's head or to give them the feeling of determinism. That does not correspond to my thinking. Nor do I want to contribute to a self-fulfilling prophecy in the worst case, i.e. to affect my counterpart and thus fuel unpleasant developments. I would be suspicious of a fortune teller who would say with conviction that a separation, loss of a job or the like is a foregone conclusion. A card consultation should definitely be solution-oriented and not catastrophising. In this sense, I don't see myself as a fortune teller, but as a spiritual counsellor.
"So let's look forward to a year of pursuing and achieving our clearly defined goals!"
Please draw a card for us for the year 2023. What can we look forward to?
Linda Hauptmann: "I have drawn the Arcana III, the Empress, for our next year, and I can already feel this energy coming on strongly in the collective. As an aside - whether the card shows a man or a woman, it always applies to all genders and points to parts in each of us. The Empress embodies pure creation. Serenely she sits in her flowing robes on her softly upholstered throne. The sign of Venus - refinement, sensuality, luxury - at her feet, pomegranates symbolising fertility on her dress, in a nourishing nature with cornfield and stream. The Empress creates her life as she wants to live it. Beforehand, as Arcana II, as High Priestess, she has thought about what is important to her and what she wants to experience. Now she creates it - full of confidence in her abilities. What she touches flourishes. She radiates security, beauty, love and warmth, because she knows her goals, and her abilities. And she knows that she is responsible for her life. Let us look forward to a year in which we pursue and achieve our clearly defined goals with calm approach! And we are welcome to take a moment for gratitude. For the fact that life offers us this abundance of possibilities."
Linda Hauptmann, a native of Dortmund and mother of two, is based near Frankfurt am Main. As a graduate engineer in viticulture and oenology, she has a weakness for champagne, both professionally and privately. In addition to her hobbies, which include martial arts, traveling and good food, she is a spiritual advisor who emphasises regular meditation and deals with the topics of psychology and mindfulness.
