In order to begin your tarot healer journey, we first need to take a look at the current state of your seven chakras. For this, we are going to do a seven-card reversals spread. Yes, you read that correctly: all seven of your cards need to be in the reversed position. Over the years, I have found that the most accurate reading of the chakra system is done with upside-down cards. I can only guess why that is, but honestly, I have learned to just accept it and move on. However, my guess is that the chakras move and are not meant to be standing still. Oftentimes upright cards don't leave a lot of room for movement in readings, whereas reversals have moved and aren't the way we expect them to be, which makes them more aligned with moving energy centers. Reversals also allow themselves to be read in a blocked, protected, or retrograding aspect, much the same way chakras tend to be read.

Please don't get too attached to the fact that we will be working with upside-down cards here in the very first exercise. There are no bad cards in this spread, only cards that show us how we might be blocked, where we might need to be more attentive, and what sort of protection we may have wrapped around our energy centers. I have done this exercise with hundreds of clients and students, and they have all been apprehensive about it at first, but the deeper they got into the cards, the more they noticed how magical it was to use the reversed cards. Like your chakras, we are going to build this spread upward, starting at the root. So go ahead and grab your tarot deck, make sure you have it upside down, and let's start your chakra pillar spread.

• Card 7: Crown
• Card 6: Third Eye
• Card 5: Throat
• Card 4: Heart
• Card 3: Solar Plexus
• Card 2: Sacral
• Card 1: Root

You don't have to do a deep reading with the cards at this point. Just write down some observations or things that stick out to you. Try not to let your preconceived interpretations take over just yet. Keep your information-gathering intuitive for now. You may want to consider using one of your less-used decks, as this may force you to focus more on the images and less on your standard habitual interpretations of the cards themselves. Of course, if what you observe matches up with what you know, then that is fabulous as well. Just don't get too stuck in the mind. Let it flow and play with it. Maybe take note of a repetitive number or suit, and be mindful to see if you have more than two court cards or major arcana cards in the spread, as this might be important later on when we get to that particular chakra or chakras in Tarot Healer. Seeing as we are working with reversed cards here, you may also want to jot down anything that comes up that causes you distress or bums you out when you see a card in a position where you were hoping to see something more positive show up. It may not make sense now, but it might make perfect sense when you get to the information in Tarot Healer surrounding that particular chakra. I also suggest you keep a picture or list of these cards somewhere, as you will be using them as you move through the chapters in the book. Keep in mind that this spread is for information only, which we will explore as we move through the book. You see, Tarot Healer isn't just designed for you to work with each of the chakras in order, building energy, but it is also going to give you one of the biggest chakra tarot readings you have ever had. By the time you have worked your way thought this book, chapter by chapter, section by section, you will have the ultimate tarot card chakra map.

Welcome to the world of the tarot healer.

Excerpted from Tarot Healer, by Leeza Robertson.