View Full Version : Transparent Oracle Study Group - Techniques and Mechanics
NorthernTigress
04-01-2011, 08:42
Terminology:
When there was a Study Group created for the Transparent Tarot, there was a lot of discussion on terminology. There seemed to be a word and/or abbreviation for everything.
I'm not sure if we need to get quite so complicated this time. For the Transparent Tarot, there was a lot of talk about Reversed Images (flipped up and down) and Mirror Images (flipped right to left). This isn't really relevant for a round deck, in my opinion. But we could talk about it, if anyone is interested.
When I was doing readings with the T-O, I started naturally developing my own language, just as I was naturally developing my own reading style.
I call a grouping of cards on top of each other a Stack. I know, not very romantic. A T-O "spread" can be one Stack, or several Stacks.
The visual image produced by looking at all the cards in a Stack together I call a Blended Image. (The Transparent Tarot Study Group called it a Composite Image, I think.)
When there are too many cards in a Stack and it becomes hard to see/interpret, I call it Muddled. (The T-T Group called it Jumbled.)
The T-T Study Group also had specific terms for cards that were combined in other ways that just as a Stack. Film Strip(FS): Cards only partially combined, more side-by-side. Freeform Image(FI): spreading out cards semi-randomly so that they only partially overlap. Please let me know whether you think these would be useful for discussion.
If anyone disagrees with this basic terminology, or has ideas of their own, please let me know.
Techniques:
The ideal number of cards for one stack, without using a Light Box to backlight the image, seems to be 3-4. I did an experiment where I made a Stack of all the cards for each direction, to see if they were readable. In most cases, all 10 cards together were very Muddled. For the most part, half of a Direction (5 cards) was still reasonably readable. In my experiment, the most cards I had in a Stack that was still readable was 7, for the Sun, Moon and Planet cards from the Above direction.
It seems to me that the T-O can use familiar spreads with only minor modification, by combining spread positions into stacks. When I did my New Deck Interview, by FireRaven, I did the first three questions as one Stack, and the next three questions as a second Stack. It worked very well.
I personally have not found an easy way to shuffle the T-O. If anyone has discovered a good shuffling technique, please, please, please let me know!
Sidhe-Ra
04-01-2011, 19:36
Quite right that the 'flipped' and 'reversed' doesn't apply so much with the T.O.
'Stack' seems fair enough, but I prefer 'combination', both of which are self-evident and I don't think it will cause confusion for people to use their own terminology unless they decide on something random like 'kumquat'!
Something new to consider with the T.O is whether an image is 'aligned' or not. That is, have you chosen to line the images up to create the mandala and a symettrical image, (by lining up the numbers at the bottom), or have you overlayed them randomly, or rotated after placement, or a combination of all these. For example, you may choose to place them randomly initially, then rotate them until the numbers align, or until the image otherwise 'clicks' for you.
Em x
Mellaenn
04-01-2011, 21:43
. For example, you may choose to place them randomly initially, then rotate them until the numbers align, or until the image otherwise 'clicks' for you.
Em x
I very much like this idea! When I cast my crystal oracle, I have the sitter toss the stones onto a large, square reading cloth and they fall randomly. Then I turn the reading cloth around until a picture "clicks" for me, or my intuition tells me "it reads this way". It has been very effective.
On the other hand, a tilt to the left or to the right can also be considered to indicate degree. I don't have my T-O yet, but I did obtain my first round deck recently, the Motherpeace. In that deck if a card is tilted to the left it is considered to be a lighter or lesser version of the card's meaning, if it is tilted to the right, it shows a more intense version of that card's meaning. But that deck does not have the flexibility of the transparency and I know from my transparent tarot that layering creates what pictures it will create and they are a thing unto themselves. :)
It might be interesting as part of our study to interpret the same reading in both ways as a form of contrast to see how meaning varies.
Mellaenn
04-01-2011, 21:46
By the way, I like the word "stack" but for the sake of consistency in our discussions I'm going to stick with Emily's terminology of "combination". I know from working for years as a training facilitator that if you don't stick with the same words for a group of people, you stand of chance of wandering off into the forest! :)
NorthernTigress
05-01-2011, 07:00
By the way, I like the word "stack" but for the sake of consistency in our discussions I'm going to stick with Emily's terminology of "combination". I know from working for years as a training facilitator that if you don't stick with the same words for a group of people, you stand of chance of wandering off into the forest! :)
A Combination of Cards does make sense, and has an alliterative appeal. But I thought that "stack" was a nice simple word, like "spread" is a nice simple word.
That said, either one will do.
NorthernTigress
05-01-2011, 07:08
On the other hand, a tilt to the left or to the right can also be considered to indicate degree. I don't have my T-O yet, but I did obtain my first round deck recently, the Motherpeace. In that deck if a card is tilted to the left it is considered to be a lighter or lesser version of the card's meaning, if it is tilted to the right, it shows a more intense version of that card's meaning. But that deck does not have the flexibility of the transparency and I know from my transparent tarot that layering creates what pictures it will create and they are a thing unto themselves. :)
Unlike the motherpeace deck that has a single image on each card, the T-O doesn't really have an obvious "this way up". With a few exceptions, most of the images come in threes, around the center.
Here are a few examples (from my recent reading thread).
Sidhe-Ra
05-01-2011, 19:14
That's right. I thought it about time that someone designed a circular deck that was actually circular in design rather than normal pictures on circular cards. Of course the mandala was key to the whole idea as well.
It occurs to me that 'flipped' images are worth considering becuase in some cases it does make a difference to how the cards interact. There are a number of cards which would face different ways if they were flipped, which could affect the reading.
NorthernTigress
12-01-2011, 03:56
Another thought I've had. I look at the cards, individually and in combination, and I take into account the relative location of the images.
If you think of the card as a wheel, some of the images are closer to the hub, and some are around the rim. All of the elements, for example, are at the Hub; while some of the landscapes (Desert and Ocean) are around the Rim. The majority of the images are somewhere in between.
It's tempting to see the Hub as being more "central" to the question being asked, and in some ways more "stable" too. The Rim, on a wheel, is more mobile (and therefore more changeable?). On the other hand, the Rim images seem to be more "all encompassing" too. Like the other images are being surrounded by the energies of the Rim card.
NorthernTigress
01-02-2011, 16:44
Just wanted to mention that I acquired a "light table" from an artist friend of mine. She used it for tracing, but I've found it useful for looking at the cards. It also makes photographs clearer by avoiding flash-glare.
The model I'm using is the LightTracer by Artograph. There's been newer models since then, the LightTracer2, the LightTracer Elite, but they are all basically the same, lightbulbs set behind a flat plastic sheet. The same company also makes "LightPads", the same idea but using LEDs instead of bulbs.
The model I'm using is the LightTracer by Artograph. There's been newer models since then, the LightTracer2, the LightTracer Elite, but they are all basically the same, lightbulbs set behind a flat plastic sheet. The same company also makes "LightPads", the same idea but using LEDs instead of bulbs.
Hmmmmm....I feel a project coming up. I think I shall fabricate my own light table. What's the point of working in an electronics lab if I don't use all the goodies for my own personal projects? :D
Besides...I wonder how it would look with different light choices, say blue, yellow, green, red...
So, need a piece of white plastic, a box, a power supply, a bunch of LEDs of different colors and some switches....yup, gotta put that Electrical Engineering degree up on the wall to good use!
Gypsy Wolfwoman
06-02-2011, 03:37
Terminology:
I personally have not found an easy way to shuffle the T-O. If anyone has discovered a good shuffling technique, please, please, please let me know!
My adult sons and I play Magic: The Gathering, both against each other and in tournaments. Most of the cards in a really top-notch deck are worth between $2 and $100 each, so they are only played in deck-protectors, and - gods forbid! - NEVER shuffled! The method most used by any pro Magic player is to shuffle the cards into stacks - take the deck and lay out the first through, whatever number you like, say 6th cards, then keep going around until all the cards are stacked, as if you had X number of "players", then restack all the small stacks into one stack with the entire deck involved. This way you've redistributed the entire deck, bent no cards, and have a reasonable expectation of an even distribution of cards w/o having to physically manhandle them. It's worked great for me with the TO!
My adult sons and I play Magic: The Gathering, both against each other and in tournaments. Most of the cards in a really top-notch deck are worth between $2 and $100 each, so they are only played in deck-protectors, and - gods forbid! - NEVER shuffled! The method most used by any pro Magic player is to shuffle the cards into stacks - take the deck and lay out the first through, whatever number you like, say 6th cards, then keep going around until all the cards are stacked, as if you had X number of "players", then restack all the small stacks into one stack with the entire deck involved. This way you've redistributed the entire deck, bent no cards, and have a reasonable expectation of an even distribution of cards w/o having to physically manhandle them. It's worked great for me with the TO!
Awesome idea!! MY T.O. just arrived today. I didn't expect them to be so large! This method will work great for "shuffling."
So, how did everybody go about cleaning the residue off the disks? I read in the book to use a soft cloth, but it is merely smearing it. I want to be careful with them - I am concerned that they could scratch easily.
I was thinking a bit of washing up liquid in warm water would get the residue off, and even though the book said that was O.K., I am still hesitant to try.
Sidhe-Ra
09-02-2011, 18:10
So, how did everybody go about cleaning the residue off the disks? I read in the book to use a soft cloth, but it is merely smearing it. I want to be careful with them - I am concerned that they could scratch easily.
I was thinking a bit of washing up liquid in warm water would get the residue off, and even though the book said that was O.K., I am still hesitant to try.
Actually you're the first person I've heard of who has had a problem with residue on the T.O., but it was a big issue with the T.T.
Seriously, gentle soap and water will be fine- tried and tested xx
Actually you're the first person I've heard of who has had a problem with residue on the T.O., but it was a big issue with the T.T.
Seriously, gentle soap and water will be fine- tried and tested xx
They are quite oily - I had to wash my hands thoroughly after handling them. When I tried using a soft dry cloth as recommended, they just smeared! There were also fingerprints on some of them. I was handling them by the edges, and looking at them as I lifted them off of the pile.
I will give them a gentle wash this evening!
Actually you're the first person I've heard of who has had a problem with residue on the T.O., but it was a big issue with the T.T.
Seriously, gentle soap and water will be fine- tried and tested xx
Okay! That is done. I will tell you - at first I was disappointed in the deck as the cards were so grubby - and translucent rather than transparent. But a gentle wash up and they are actually transparent. And no longer oily. I must have just got an extra well lubricated batch - like at the beginning of a run after machinery was lubricated.
Now, to use it...