the most basic beginner question from a non-beginner!

[donnalee]

It somehow never registered in my mind in the last few decades to contemplate the word 'cover' as in 'cover and cross', and the books I have looked in recently have simply said words to the effect of 'the covering card is the card that covers you'. I am not understanding the exact meaning! Is it like, "This book covers the subject in detail", so the card 'covers' you and your life in detail in the sense of containing a lot of information on the subject, or am I completely missing it? I don't take it to mean that this 'covers' the person in the sense of obscures them, and I could be completely wrong there too. Help in plain English, please! Thanks!

 

[ana luisa]

I won't be able to explain what the term COVER is meant but the way I use the cover card is like a card that enhances the meaning of the card below or weakens it. For example, if I get a 3 of cups and a 4 of Wands covering it, I see it as the strengthening of friendship . If on the other hand, I get a 9 of cups and a 6 of cups covering it, I may get what I want BUT I won't be satisfied. Does it make sense ?

 

[donnalee]

I won't be able to explain what the term COVER is meant but the way I use the cover card is like a card that enhances the meaning of the card below or weakens it. For example, if I get a 3 of cups and a 4 of Wands covering it, I see it as the strengthening of friendship . If on the other hand, I get a 9 of cups and a 6 of cups covering it, I may get what I want BUT I won't be satisfied. Does it make sense ?

I thought of that more as an expanding-the-detail card or what-happens-next card or no-really-tell-me-more cards, or the crossing card, which I understand to be put across the original card to indicate what (um) crosses the querent or original card. I never do celtic crosses in decades of having cards, and now when I am looking at specific language it is confusing me. Thank you for trying to clear it up!

 

[cSpaceDiva]

I don't usually think of it as detailed (that's what the rest of the reading is for), just briefly covering or summarizing the situation at hand. What led them to come to you with this question, or in a general reading it sets the stage for what it's going to be about. If you use significators (I don't) then it literally covers the card representing your sitter.

 

[tarotbear]

The problem with 'those terms' is that they are archaic! If you read older books about the Celtic Cross they use terms such as 'above him', 'below him', 'to the light', 'to the dark', etc - which may have meant volumes 100 years ago, but to us in the modern ages they translate into 'WTF?' They probably also suggest using a Significator!

In those archaic terms you put the Significator down first and then the card we see as 'Card #1' goes on TOP of that ... or 'covers him' and Card#2 'crosses him'.

IMHO - Card #1 always represents the actual heart of the question, so what is 'covering him' is his desire to get an answer about the question asked.

This is why we modern people use terms like 'Past', 'Present', and 'Future' in our readings ... which would have left readers of old scratching their heads and saying 'WTF?'