"Why Use Elemental Dignities?"

I will refer to Paul Hughes-Barlow from his SuperTarot site as PHB.
http://www.supertarot.co.uk/lessons/beg.htm

1. PHB - "Learning the Tarot using Elemental Dignities means that you do not have to memorize loads of 'facts' about each card. The advantage of this system is that it does not require detailed knowledge of the divinatory meanings of individual cards, so you will be gradually building up more information (about the elements or lack of elements) as to what is going on."
   
   Don: This is both true and false. If you read strictly the elements it's true. But I personally find this to confining and read both the elements and the card meanings. Reading strictly the elements is both easier - and harder than learning the divinatory meanings for the 78 individual cards (156 if you use reversals). After all - you are only dealing with 4 elements (Fire, Air, Water, Earth) - unless you include the 5th element of Spirit. But how these elements interact can get very tough going at times.

2. Don: You can use elemental dignities in place of reversed cards ... or along with reversed cards.
   
   Don: This is true. I do NOT use reversed cards as in having some cards come out upright while others come up inverted (reversed). But I do read the cards reversed meanings using elemental dignities. And there are some who use both reversed cards AND elemental dignities.

3. PHB - Elemental Dignities can improve you readings (standards).
   
   Don: Put simply - without reading elemental dignities you aren't getting what the cards are telling you, or you aren't getting the complete picture, or you are getting what the cards are saying completely wrong. Unless you are very insightful and intuitive, which few tarot readers truly are.

4. Don: It adds layers and depth to the cards and thus to your readings.

5. PBH - Elemental Dignities can increase your earning power with clients, and respect among other Tarot readers.
   
   Don: Yep!!!

6. Don: So you can learn and use the 'Opening of the Key - OOTK' spread(s). [Grin] This is a bit of a joke since the OOTK set of spreads are very long, and very boring to do - for the most part. And after the first Stage the other stages pretty much tell you the same thing. Along with ED's you also need to know how to count and pair cards in order to perform the OOTK.

7. Don: Because they're fun!

Don S.