The Open-Face Tarot

Certain sandwiches are served open faced...that is, topless. There are certain uses of Tarot that are done "face up".

I thought for awhile about where to put this post...but as it falls under the heading "the many uses of Tarot" I thought it'd be good to put it under Using Tarot Cards. This topic actually arose elsewhere in the "Primary Deck Reflections" thread, but I thought I'd bring it out here for others to see and comment.

When the "future" part of Tarot is done through a random shuffle...when we see a suggestion of a possible future...and then find it comes to pass...is it any wonder? Haven't we in fact taken that "suggestion" and seen it come about thru the "miraculous" workings of the universe...BECAUSE we saw the card?

Say we do a daily draw in the morning...to see what the day might bring...and then carry the card mentally, looking for it expectantly...isn't that a self fulfilling prophesy? Didn't we set the intention and then repeat it thoughout the day, only to find it manifesting before our eyes? "Woah...the cards were right!" And isn't that more than a little passive? Would it be more empowering to CHOOSE a card...FACE UP...OPEN FACE...based on what we'd like to see happen?

I have done "spellwork" before in this fashion, using the tarot to set clear suggestions to the higher self. I've found it to be EXTREMELY effective. I've also found it to be EXTREMELY dangerous, too! (My forewarning...)

But, now, here's another aspect to this whole question....and hopefully you can see how it is related....I am basing this whole thing on my personal belief in what we could call "Law of Attraction" which is a "new" rewording of ancient knowledge....I first heard that SPECIFIC phrase/term (Law of Attraction) thru the channeled spirits Abraham, (Esther Hicks)and then of course we had the mass-market version, "The Secret"...but knew the basic workings of it thru much older stuff. I learned it, I think, thru B.O.T.A. and their materials which I used to take. Their stuff is based of course on ancient philosophy. Indeed, it can be argued that this was the message of Jesus and Moses before him. So it's nothing new. Nor are Tarot cards. But to get back to my point...

Were card readers of the past...long past...more FATALISTIC then we are now...more inclined to tell their sitters, "It's Fate, it's in the cards". And were (gullible) sitters brought back by that?

The random shuffling of cards that are then offered as "future"...well, we NOW say this is not carved in stone, the future is malleable...this represents the way things are flowing now, you can change it....

Might we be better served in our daily draw, or if, in working "Future" aspects with a sitter, to conciously choose the future cards, and using those as a powerful suggestion for what we want...rather than "luck of the draw" and waiting to see if it was right or not.

Could we...SHOULD we...perhaps leave in the random card(s) coming up, as we do now, saying "Look, this is the way it's going now...this is what you are intending (consciously or not)...this is what you are setting yourself up for...is that what you want? If not, let's change it, NOW." Then guide the querant, first in understanding how the random future card is somehow the intention that they are currently setting (it is in fact, actually the PRESENT), and then assist them in the conscious choice (with our help, of course, being the cards expert...) of a card or two that depict/suggest what they DO want. Or is this, as a reader, too dangerous/meddling...if you get my drift. (As I mentioned above, I've seen the dangers of spellwork, too!)

The "shuffle-shuffle, bang, Future, thank you come again" norm doesn't seem very empowering. It seems sort of passive on the part of the person receiving the reading. And maybe this is where the average querant is at...maybe we need to help them get involved? Am I making sense?

Deep waters

lol wow you ate your wheaties this morning! This is a very deep subject

I understand fully of what you are saying.I do agree on concentraiting on a card for personal attunment. (If you want it , it will come.) Helping newbie tarot readers or even advanced readers to better understand their cards is an excellent idea. I especially love this idea if you were to teach a class, and maybe use this as an excersize.

Egypt said:

lol wow you ate your wheaties this morning! This is a very deep subject

I understand fully of what you are saying.I do agree on concentraiting on a card for personal attunment. (If you want it , it will come.) Helping newbie tarot readers or even advanced readers to better understand their cards is an excellent idea. I especially love this idea if you were to teach a class, and maybe use this as an excersize.

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Yoghurt and Granola, actually!

That's a great idea about the class exercise. Now to build a class around the exercise!
(Exercise class...wait a minute....) The ten of wands workout?!

class excersize

HMMM lol excersize, lets see. You could start with your views on how this excersize helps with the attunment of the cards. Then you could ask them to pick a card of their choice.or maybe they perfer to get a random card to read, for the more advanced readers.

Then the excersize would commence You could add a card log sheet for them to write down their thoughts, on the images , what the card is making them concentrait on the most and how it is related to their life.

you could also have them look deeper into the card as to what goals this card could bring forth? Inturn this can be done with any card of the choosing Which is what makes it so great!

How about, "Now, lift the card over your head, 100,000 times...(or until muscle failure)...."

To be serious (not that I ever am)....
Something like, ok, now you just read this card for your sitter as "future"... How did you just fail them? (Class responses).

How can you better serve them here by helping them take an active initiative in their future? (Class discussion)

Where does that leave the card you just read as future? (In the present...what they are consciously or uncosnciously creating for the future).

How can you help them to change it/strengthen it? (Discussion...)

PRACTICE SESSION.

This would help established readers make changes in their sittings to further assist their clients in taking an active role in their future.

Mallah said:

How about, "Now, lift the card over your head, 100,000 times...(or until muscle failure)...."

To be serious (not that I ever am)....
Something like, ok, now you just read this card for your sitter as "future"... How did you just fail them? (Class responses).

How can you better serve them here by helping them take an active initiative in their future? (Class discussion)

Where does that leave the card you just read as future? (In the present...what they are consciously or uncosnciously creating for the future).

How can you help them to change it/strengthen it? (Discussion...)

PRACTICE SESSION.

This would help established readers make changes in their sittings to further assist their clients in taking an active role in their future.

Click to expand...

I absolutley agree! This is a geat excersize and i am excited to hear your results for this ! Keep me posted

Whoa - o - ho!!! This is really interesting. I'm so glad that you brought this up. It immediately made me think of the relationship between Graphology (handwriting analysis) and Graphotherapy - where people are taught to consciously alter their handwriting in order to make changes in themselves. So, if you write like someone with more self-confidence you will tend to become more self confident, etc. Of course, handwriting isn't "random", it's an expression of personality and psyche.

I'll bet a lot of people already sort of do this with their daily draws, either consciously or unconsciously. At least if they operate like me, in that I'm looking for guidance for self improvement, improving my life etc. If I really believe that the "right" card is presenting itself, then the so-called randomness is cancelled out. And, perhaps, the conscious mind is not always the best judge of what how we need to change or what we need to have!

If you simply believe that you can make a useful story out of any card or combination of cards, learn an important lesson, and move on to the next "teaching" and learn something else, and that the appearance of cards is truly random, then I suppose consciously choosing cards and applying one's will to something could be a better way.

I tend to believe the former, that cards are not just random, at least at the best of times, but I might still add this to my repertoire. I was just thinking that an interesting exercise might be this:

As a daily draw, from your chosen deck do, first, a conscious choice of the card you want to put to your use for some kind of change. Then shuffle and cut and choose one that way. Can you discern which one will truly benefit you the most?? It might be interesting to keep a journal of this for awhile, and see what trends appear, both in the cards and in your life.

(Hey, Mallah, I just remembered, that when I did that reading for you awhile back, I left you one last message on that thread. As it didn't require a reply, I don't know whether you saw it....)

Kris Hughes said:

(Hey, Mallah, I just remembered, that when I did that reading for you awhile back, I left you one last message on that thread. As it didn't require a reply, I don't know whether you saw it....)

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Hey, I'm not sure, I'll go check it.

Mallah said:

Say we do a daily draw in the morning...to see what the day might bring...and then carry the card mentally, looking for it expectantly...isn't that a self fulfilling prophesy? Didn't we set the intention and then repeat it thoughout the day, only to find it manifesting before our eyes? "Woah...the cards were right!" And isn't that more than a little passive? Would it be more empowering to CHOOSE a card...FACE UP...OPEN FACE...based on what we'd like to see happen?

Click to expand...

Hal - I understand where you're coming from with this line of thought - the idea that if you pick a card that says 'YOU'RE A LOSER!' then that will stick with you all day {whether it's true or not.} But that leads me into the theory that just because a piece of cardboard tells you something - that it ain't necessarily so! If your card-of-the-day says 'It's going to be a TOWER kind of a day for you' it leads me to two conclusions, both possible: 1) It's gonna be a bad day, or 2) You're gonna MAKE it a bad day for someone else. Maybe both.

I suppose what I am trying to say that if you want to chose your own image for the day and want it to be only a positive affirmation - then you don't need a Tarot card to do it for you.

Just my two cents ....

Kris Hughes said:

(Hey, Mallah, I just remembered, that when I did that reading for you awhile back, I left you one last message on that thread. As it didn't require a reply, I don't know whether you saw it....)

Click to expand...

Yes, I DID see that. Didn't really have more of a response to put in, tho...I'm just watching to see what happens!