Tool or crutch?

thadine

I have been getting into Tarot and Oracle cards to help develop my intuition. I've found them really useful as a guide for my intuition - I rarely look up card meanings, but give my intuition free reign to go where it wants. Of course, I wouldn't be lost without my cards. I still "hear" things without them. I just find the cards a useful tool.

So my question is, are the cards a tool or a crutch? Should the ultimate aim be to "hear" without using anything at all?

vee

Well, a crutch IS a tool.

There are many different ways people access their intuition, just like there are many different ways people walk. Don't see the point in attaching negative connotations to either of them!

The crowned one

I had this discussion today

Deliberation will out perform intuition when you have access to all the necessary data, so all the cards needed and information necessary to deliberate the right path. In such cases analysis can generate new information letting you make a better decision. We tend to believe otherwise, it is counter-intuitive, intuition LOL! Intuition works for emotional responses, like tasting three different "apple pies": once you experience it, there is little left to learn. Thinking about it will not change the flavour and you have all the information you are going to get to make a intuitive decision. The fact is that pie preferences result mainly from emotional responses, not logical analyzation. Emotional responses tend to happen automatically and rapidly in contrast to the slower deliberate processing underlying analytic reasoning. There is a place for both in tarot, it is knowing when to use which ability. Obviously in tarot it is not apple pie, it is pecan

nisaba

thadine said:
I have been getting into Tarot and Oracle cards to help develop my intuition. I've found them really useful as a guide for my intuition - I rarely look up card meanings, but give my intuition free reign to go where it wants. Of course, I wouldn't be lost without my cards. I still "hear" things without them. I just find the cards a useful tool.

That's perfectly fine.

So my question is, are the cards a tool or a crutch?

For some they are a tool, for others a crutch. For some they are an excuse, for others they are a compact way to store a fine arts collection (after all, how many full-size paintings can you hang in your home?). They may be other things to other people.

Should the ultimate aim be to "hear" without using anything at all?

Only if you want to be a "pure" psychic, or a medium. I'm very, very happy indeed to be a Tarot reader, I much prefer it. And I love the ownership of different decks, and how decks deliver messages differently, and sorting and looking through them, and rediscovering old ones I haven't used in a while ...

The implied ansewer that you seem to be looking for, for your question (that cards are a crutch and unnecessary), would deprive me of a *lot* of deep, enjoyable pleasure, and my inner life of a lot of colour and meaning.

Trogon

That's a very good question and a good observation. The answer is ... maybe. I have wondered the same thing from time to time. But, for me, I do find that the Tarot, or any other divination method I've used, are tools to aid my focus and help me to communicate what comes through to my intuition. I've used the Tarot for quit a few years, but I've also used pendulums for even longer. A few times, more recently, I've done some scrying using a crystal ball. All of these things are, to me just tools. I have had a few opportunities to "read" for someone without using those tools and they've worked quite well. However, I feel that, for most readings, I get more detail when using the Tarot or these other tools. Does that mean that I'm using them as a "crutch" ... no, I don't think so. However, if you feel that you need to start doing some readings without these tools, then do so. What it comes down to, I guess, is what feels right to you. I guess you could do a reading for yourself on the question.

Trogon

The crowned one said:
Obviously in tarot it is not apple pie, it is pecan

Dang it! Now I want pie!

thadine

vee said:
Well, a crutch IS a tool. There are many different ways people access their intuition, just like there are many different ways people walk. Don't see the point in attaching negative connotations to either of them!

It's true that a crutch is a tool, but I suppose the difference in my mind is that a crutch is temporary. A person may need a crutch for a period of time whilst they are building up their strength, but eventually they will walk without it. If they continue to depend on the crutch when they no longer need to, it may actually impede their growth.

A tool on the other hand, in my mind would be more like, say, a bicycle. I don't need it to get from A to B because I can walk if I choose to. However, I may prefer to use a bicycle because it's easier, or perhaps I just like to ride it, or some other reason.

thadine

The crowned one said:
I had this discussion today

Deliberation will out perform intuition when you have access to all the necessary data, so all the cards needed and information necessary to deliberate the right path. In such cases analysis can generate new information letting you make a better decision. We tend to believe otherwise, it is counter-intuitive, intuition LOL! Intuition works for emotional responses, like tasting three different "apple pies": once you experience it, there is little left to learn. Thinking about it will not change the flavour and you have all the information you are going to get to make a intuitive decision. The fact is that pie preferences result mainly from emotional responses, not logical analyzation. Emotional responses tend to happen automatically and rapidly in contrast to the slower deliberate processing underlying analytic reasoning. There is a place for both in tarot, it is knowing when to use which ability. Obviously in tarot it is not apple pie, it is pecan

Interesting. I am not 100% sure I understand what you are saying, but my understanding is that you see intuition as a tool for tarot as opposed to the other way around. Reading the cards is based on a logical analysis, though intuition can enhance the reading and give additional insight. Is that what you mean?

thadine

nisaba said:
That's perfectly fine.
Only if you want to be a "pure" psychic, or a medium. I'm very, very happy indeed to be a Tarot reader, I much prefer it. And I love the ownership of different decks, and how decks deliver messages differently, and sorting and looking through them, and rediscovering old ones I haven't used in a while ...

The implied ansewer that you seem to be looking for, for your question (that cards are a crutch and unnecessary), would deprive me of a *lot* of deep, enjoyable pleasure, and my inner life of a lot of colour and meaning.

I am not looking for any particular answer. I did not state in any way that cards are a crutch and unnecessary. I am merely posing a question to open it for discussion. If I started with my mind made up with an answer, what would be the point in asking anyone anything?

On the other hand, I find your phrase "pure psychic" interesting. Are you implying that using things such as tarot is not "pure", or at the very least less pure? In what way? From the querent's point of view, surely it doesn't make a difference what is used or not used, as long as the response is what they need to hear?

thadine

Trogon said:
However, if you feel that you need to start doing some readings without these tools, then do so. What it comes down to, I guess, is what feels right to you. I guess you could do a reading for yourself on the question.

Actually, I have gone the other way around to you. I have gone "tool-less" for years. It's only recently that I have started looking into tarot, pendulums etc. just out of curiosity. I have found that it is a lot easier as they provide me a guide or framework of sorts. They are especially useful when I am feeling a little tired and finding it harder to focus or clear my mind. Plus, I just like looking at the cards because they're pretty

However it did make me start to wonder how others felt about it. Do people continue to use the cards and seek to learn more about them and to read them better, or are they used as a temporary thing that is part of overall psychic training? Obviously the answer is different for different people. I can certainly see that one could spend a life time studying the cards and never "master" them. On the other hand, I can also see that one can be lazy with the cards, never seeking a deeper understanding, and never wanting or trying to develop their own psychic abilities.