when loaded , YATD "draws" either one , three , or ten cards , depending on the spread . in the case of the ten-card spread , the significator is omitted , and card one (which covers the significator) appears at the top left corner , instead of its traditional place beneath card two (which crosses the significator) , in order to accomodate the online medium . The rest of the spread follows the arrangement described here
a note: traditionally , a reading involves two people - a querent (the subject of the reading) and a diviner (who reads the cards.) however , many people play both roles simultaneously , querying the tarot directly about themselves . for clarity the words "diviner" and "querent" appear in this guide , however the use of YATD to pull cards for oneself is equally valid and encouraged .
in lieu of shuffling , the querent may sit in quiet contemplation of the query at hand for a moment or attempt to clear her mind via breathing exercises &c . the query may be presented to the diviner now or any time before the cards are drawn . since YATD uses random numbers derived from radio static, it may be desireable for the querent or diviner to tune a radio between stations during this phase and "tap in" to the current of atmospheric noise
when the querent is ready and the query has been presented to the diviner , the diviner loads one of the three spread pages in a web browser . the cards may be identified by number - the major arcana is numbered 0-XXI in roman numerals in the same order as the waite-smith deck , while each suit of the minor arcana is numbered 1-10 in arabic numerals , and then P , N , Q and K for page , knight , king and queen . the card number appears in a different corner for each suit - bottom left for wands , bottom right for swords , top right for cups , and top left for pentacles
the name of each card also appears in the alt and title text of the image , meaning it displays when the cursor is hovered over the card on a computer and can be read by screen readers . additionally , clicking any card will show the diviner a short interpreatation and list of divinatory meanings excerpted from the pictoral key to the tarot, by arthur edward waite
however , the diviner is encouraged to consider the spread first visually and emotionally before turning to the established meanings . YATD is intentionally abstract and open to "rorschaching," allowing shapes and figures to potentially represent or resemble different things to different viewers . this obviously works better if you don't recognize the card - for diviners who are very familiar with pamela colman-smith's illustrations , it is my hope that YATD can still provide refreshing shifts in persective , as well as a very quick line to the basic shapes at work "behind the scenes." diviners may also pay special attention to the "waveform" formed by the horizon line running through each card into the next
all of this to say that the diviner at this stage uses her intuition and knowledge to read the cards and return a response to the querent , or in the case that they are the same person , she reads the cards herself . i hope for this tool to help people learn more about themselves , their friends , and the art of divination .
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