51 replies to this topic

[Michele]

perhaps the logic behind reading for a fictional character is simply the practice of throwing a spread and learning how to read it - practice when you don't have a "real" person on whom to practice, or when you don't yet feel comfortable enough to read for another. How many full spread readings can you do for yourself if one wants to do several practices a day?

M

[Brigid]

perhaps the logic behind reading for a fictional character is simply the practice of throwing a spread and learning how to read it - practice when you don't have a "real" person on whom to practice, or when you don't yet feel comfortable enough to read for another. How many full spread readings can you do for yourself if one wants to do several practices a day?

M

Of course you couldn't keep reading for yourself, you would more then likely start making things up in your head! That is why I originally suggested the tarot contemplation exercise. I am not suggesting that the fictional caricature is foolish, it's just that it doesn't register with me and I have been reading cards for many, many years. But hey, we are all different and what works for some doesn't work for others. The most important thing when it comes to Tarot is connecting with your cards, without that true connection, nothing will work.

But here is another point, many people that read cards only use them as a guide (as I do) some only as a prop. because they have "the sight" and really have no need for them!

I would suggest a book of basic interpretations such as "A completed Guide To The Tarot, by Eden Gray". Just as an introduction to the meanings of the cards, but after that, they should speak to you on their own, if they don't? It is my belief that the Tarot may not be right for you. JMO

We all have different strengths or talents and it is my opinion that the cards either speak to you or they don't.

[Michele]

Of course you couldn't keep reading for yourself, you would more then likely start making things up in your head! That is why I originally suggested the tarot contemplation exercise. I am not suggesting that the fictional caricature is foolish, it's just that it doesn't register with me and I have been reading cards for many, many years. But hey, we are all different and what works for some doesn't work for others. The most important thing when it comes to Tarot is connecting with your cards, without that true connection, nothing will work.

But here is another point, many people that read cards only use them as a guide (as I do) some only as a prop. because they have "the sight" and really have no need for them!

I would suggest a book of basic interpretations such as "A completed Guide To The Tarot, by Eden Gray". Just as an introduction to the meanings of the cards, but after that, they should speak to you on their own, if they don't? It is my belief that the Tarot may not be right for you. JMO

We all have different strengths or talents and it is my opinion that the cards either speak to you or they don't.

Although I really don't work with tarot so can't say much, on that I'll agree, lol - it semes to me that any form of diviniation is the ability to connect. The cards (or any divinitory tool) is a trigger, but one has to be able to connect to their own sight. Otherwise it would be merely memorizing a book (something I suck at, lol, I can't even remember birthdays).

M

[Brigid]

Although I really don't work with tarot so can't say much, on that I'll agree, lol - it semes to me that any form of diviniation is the ability to connect. The cards (or any divinitory tool) is a trigger, but one has to be able to connect to their own sight. Otherwise it would be merely memorizing a book (something I suck at, lol, I can't even remember birthdays).

M

Neither can I!!

[Autumn Moon]

Here are my book recommendations:

21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card, Mary K Greer

Tarot for Yourself, Mary K Greer

Tarot Bible, Sarah Bartlett

The Tarot: History, Symbolism and Divination, Robert Place

Mystical Origins of the Tarot, Paul Huson

The Tarot Bible: A Handbook for the Tarot Practitioner, Kathleen McCormack


And here is my favourite exercise for learning the card meanings, and also for going through a new deck for the first time. It's just a little something that I do. Give it a try:

Hold your tarot deck with the backs facing up. You will sort the cards into two piles as you slowly turn each card over. When you turn a card over and look at it, try saying a key word or phrase to express a meaning of the card. If you can't do that, feel for that start of recognition, that 'I know what that means but can't put it into words yet' feeling. These are cards you are getting to know. Put them in one pile. The cards you turn over and find your mind a blank, or yourself in a panic of sorts because you have no clue as to the meaning, or you remember that you once knew it but now you can't remember, etc, put those in a second pile.

Take up the don't-know pile and get your favourite reference book. Turn the cards over one by one again. Make a guess of the meaning of each card, and look it up only after you have guessed. You will be surprised how many you 'guessed' correctly, even if the wording in the book sounds much more fluent and sensible than your own floundering definition. Let this be a lesson to you that you know more than you think you do, and that you can read tarot.

Reshuffle the cards and repeat. Try not to repeat the same meanings you used the first time around. (For example, if you said, 'Finding a loving relationship' for Lovers the first time, the next time, try 'Making a choice' --both are traditional meanings of Lovers card). I got a lot of benefit from this game when I was first starting out, and I still enjoy doing it with my new decks. It's like tarot flash cards.

Yes, make it fun and make it your own. It does come in time. Some take a little longer, some a little faster. Persistence is the key word, and as in another thread, learn to listen to what your intuition is telling you.

[Willau]

The thing is, there are sooo many Tarot decks out there. You really need to research them & see which images, of which deck, speaks to your subconscious & paints a readable picture. Find a deck that you can detect certain symbols & promote certain visions or feelings. Spread the deck, gaze, without referring to that little book & see the image in your mind. Progress through the spread chronologically & paint the picture. Walk away & come back to it & use your intuit.

For a beginner, find a deck that speaks to you, choose 1-3 card each day, spread them out, & take notes of the impressions they give you.

[Brigid]

The thing is, there are sooo many Tarot decks out there. You really need to research them & see which images, of which deck, speaks to your subconscious & paints a readable picture. Find a deck that you can detect certain symbols & promote certain visions or feelings. Spread the deck, gaze, without referring to that little book & see the image in your mind. Progress through the spread chronologically & paint the picture. Walk away & come back to it & use your intuit.

For a beginner, find a deck that speaks to you, choose 1-3 card each day, spread them out, & take notes of the impressions they give you.

very good advise!

[sarasuperid]

I found that tarot taught me so much about occultism. The various symbols on the cards as I researched them made me in time more fluent in weird and diverse topics of the magic world. The tree of life that many decks are based on led me to more awareness of the qubala and the astrological symbols led me to the zodiac. I could go on, but most of the decks we use today are in some way distantly related to the golden dawn's rider waite deck. And also much of modern occultism that the witch may run into in her mystical studies is too influenced by or inflencef the golden dawn. Now I don't really go in for that high magic style, but the awareness of those things makes getting around various books easier. And then I can get more that is relevant to me without getting hung up on strange terms.

[CelticGypsy]

Last week I was fiddling around with my cards, not so much as "reading" them, just touching them, shuffling them, I was only using the Higher cards, as opposed to the Lower cards. I kept drawing this particular card, when the deck I was using was face down to me, in a fan. I studied it for symbolism, and my eye brows shot up. I shared it with one of my Peers, here, the contimplation of :

Could a Witch cast a spell with Tarot. Could the Tarot, be more than divination, due to the symbolism of the card ?

Open for thought processess. Thank you.

Regards,
Gypsy

[Whiterose]

Last week I was fiddling around with my cards, not so much as "reading" them, just touching them, shuffling them, I was only using the Higher cards, as opposed to the Lower cards. I kept drawing this particular card, when the deck I was using was face down to me, in a fan. I studied it for symbolism, and my eye brows shot up. I shared it with one of my Peers, here, the contimplation of :

Could a Witch cast a spell with Tarot. Could the Tarot, be more than divination, due to the symbolism of the card ?

Open for thought processess. Thank you.

Regards,
Gypsy

Yes Cg they can. One could use the card as a focal point and cast a spell in sync with the meaning of the card, just as one would do with a rune or symbol. The symbolic nature of the picture I feel unlocks something in the witch, allowing a connection with the universal current. So, not only is it possible, it is a tool that I feel alot of witches overlook. Use all to serve the witch.

[8people]

People I know most for using tarot in spellwork are ceremonial magicians, Golden Dawn primarily.

[Brigid]

This is true 8, but I have used them a few times for spells with great success!
So yes CG, give it a try and see how it works for you!!

[sarasuperid]

I definitely use tarot and other oracle card sets for spells. The cards can be talismans and foci and even poppets. When I set up an altar for a working space, I often have some sort of image or idol in the set up, and cards are one possible source for that part of the set up.

[Marabet]

In fact, some witches base virtually their entire practice around tarot.

This is becoming true for me.

[Elvira]

This is a fascinating idea. I think I shall try this, thankyou

Elvira

[lusa]

My initial experiments were with the Tarot, and though I own the Thoth, use it, and have done spellwork with it in addition to divination, I'm no Golden Dawner.

I find from discussions concerning Tarot that the initial draw to it, acquisition of knowledge concerning it, and ability to ultimately make any use of it on an individual level are varied and personal.

I would echo the point made on the variety of decks. I would also restate what I said on a different thread about creating your own. I wonder how/if things would be different for me if I was not using a deck often associated with cocaine cultists. This being said, when I bought the deck, I was 13, knew nothing of Crowley, the GD, etc.. I simply saw the paintings and said, "This is it." If I was coming into this, I'd personally start with doing the research, the thinking, and then designing something that no one in the universe had except me. Look at the decks out there, find one that speaks to you,and if not, make your own.

On the research vs. intuition thing, I think it's a combination of both, just like the right/left brain makes the whole person work. While Tarot is in many opinions not a science in this respect, to know what others have seen in the images is sometimes useful. It also sometimes can cloud your judgment or gut instinct. The final decision of approach and method comes down to what makes you happy.

For me, learning the tarot like studying for a test with memory devices and stuff isn't my cup of tea because I do it to relax. When I was learning, I was inspired to recreate/riff on several of the paintings as my own art which I've attached here. The first is a painted woodcarving, each puzzle piece representing the major arcana with slots for colored marbles to sit on top of each one. The second is a lino cut print based on adjustment. The third is an image I adapted from the moon card in oil paints. This was back when I was about 16. I find the idea of doing reads for 'fictional' characters different, but not wrong. There is no "wrong way" for the whole, only for you. When I learned to play guitar, my teacher instructed me first and foremost to take it home and make a recording of the guitar playing it in the most unconventional ways possible. So I did, banging on the sides, plucking the bits string between the tuning pegs and the action, using pencils on the strings like little hammers for a hammer dulcimer. And it did not teach me to play like Hendrix..who played with his teeth. But it definitely did one thing for certain: it eliminated my fear of the instrument. Experimentation for the sake of fun experimentation helps with something that feels awkward. But this is only my view in a million others.

I'd advise learning over time, not jumping to making choices until you really feel ready, gauging what inspires you from what you read here and in other sources, and understanding that sometimes it might not work and if you want to continue it, it might take more research or more trust in your intuition: or both. There are many witches who use the tarot exclusively as their beautiful way to knowing and doing, and there are likewise many witches who see it as one tool in a beautiful toolbox. These choices are yours. Have fun with them.

Attached Files

•  carved and painted wood.jpg   77.72KB   9 downloads
•  oil painting.jpg   57.27KB   6 downloads
•  lino cut print.jpg   293.48KB   6 downloads

Edited by lusa, 15 September 2011 - 06:58 AM.