Kristin (one of my apprentices) and I sit down for a friendly chat of two-card pairings. We bind two cards together to create various meanings (two cards--one meaning). We wanted to avoid highly personal issues that would be of little interest to anyone so as usual we picked on celebrities and news events. Not to worry, no real celebrities were injured (or insulted) in the process. Later did a quick run-through of the suit of Cups in a "family album style" where we looked at the images as if they were just strange pictures from a family photo book. We tried to figure out what the people were doing in each image. These two exercises allow you to explore the tarot in real life without having to resort to long-disproven metaphysical hokum that has been ADDED TO the tarot over the years. The tarot is mysterious enough without us having to invent things to add to it to make ourselves feel special. The true master can understand the tarot like a fish understands the ocean, and tie card meanings and card blendings to real events in her life or for the people she reads for. Some people will not like this seemingly casual approach and will insist that old superstitions must be held to. Oh boo hoo. All I care about is that you get the nonsense out of your head and let the cards talk to you. The tarot is nothing more than an alphabet the gods speak to you through. It is also such a good psychic muscle workout that over time you will depend less and less on the cards and become proficient at hearing the voices of the gods (metaphorically—not "voices in your head"). Eventually the cards will be little more than a focusing tool and verification of what you divine. This is how we get there—and it is still free. But it is up to you to learn. Thanks for being here :-)