Tarot, the mind, and when the mind's messed up.

Over the past week I have had two interesting stories with reading tarot while influenced by something, and I would like your looks on it and whatnot. The first episode comes from Ravan, who if you didn't know is one of my students. Recently, one of her overdramatic make a huge deal over everything friends made a half arsed suicide attempt to get attention after her boyfriend dumped her (For being a drama queen). So Ravan tried to ignore all the BS surrounding all this by getting high. While after this I had a *SERIOUS* talk about doing these things, while she was high, and abnormally happy, she decided she'd try a reading! On me! ... I won't share what it was about or the results because its very personal, but she's been the most accurate I've seen just about anyone, and she did it while almost constantly giggling and kept saying how everything was absolutely clear to her.

The SECOND incident involved me getting my mind messed up. This weekend I was at a convention where at one point I got hooked up with a nice drink, and set myself up in a corner with a table, grabbed some victems, and went at it, and within seconds I had a crowd of people who were drunk or trying to get drunk, my victem the latter. So I accidently started what I'm gonna call the tarot drinking game, which I'll post under Fun and Games, and went at it. From what I can remember, the more I drank the better I got, but my victem also got drunker and less able to understand me. Now, while I didn't get drunk (Thanks to the liver of the gods I had to drink lots of water and pee about 10 times in an hour) I DID feel a bit different than I am normally while reading. I also remember my gypsy godmother sipping wine while she read, and I just wonder if these things messing with your mind somehow makes it easier to channel the feel of the tarot from the cards into words.

Claiming he's not drunk,
Teranar

Alcohol's legendary ability to relax inhibitions strikes again! It appears that in both instances, the relaxing effects of drugs and alcohol overcame the natural reserve you have about doing a reading well, so your intuition was able to make itself felt more strongly than otherwise.

Cheers, and may the skin of your leg never cover a banjo!*

Bob






*Old celtic toast, bowdlerised to prevent my being banned.

I would think the ideal is to attain such clarity with a sober mind and spirit......

Poisoning the brain and liver and spirit does not appeal to me as means that is truly compatible with the energy work necessary for 'reading'.

Justification, by the way, is a form of denial in alcoholism.......

There is a point, when altering the normal blood chemistry, that readings become spot on. It’s a window that often closes quickly. Many spend years trying to reopen it, and destroy their livers or minds in the process.

The introduction of Alkaloids or Acidics will affect your readings. Often when ego is removed from the picture – readings get real accurate. Further, once the chemistry alters enough for the analytic mind to go to sleep and the right brain take over…often – you can hear the spaces between the cards with absolute clarity.

But often the window closes…to early…and lives are spent in a futile effort…

it is possible to 'be there' without altering blood chemistry...

I'm coming from the other end of the spectrum here, Skytwig, that I don't necessarily think it is anymore "poison" than caffeine, chocolate, or sugar. Not great for you, but certainly not poison, either.
As was stated with the alcohol being able to soften the inhibitions, that can be a help. But in higher doses, alcohol increases the ego-sense, which is usually counter-productive to reading others and trying to look at the big picture.
On the other hand, natural entheogens (psychedelics) have been used in every culture throughout the world to highten and sharpen intuitive/spiritual powers. Peyote, Cannabis, Psylociben mushrooms, and Datura are just some of the more common (and commonly known) examples of this.
I think that the western culture's fanatical rejection of altered states of consciousness is wrong and actually keeps us as people from exploring the many realms of reality both within and outside of our minds.
For more information about entheogens, here is a link to a site about the late Terrance McKenna: http://www.deoxy.org/mckenna.htm
Check it out.

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There are a number of issues which, to my way of thinking, are all intertwined here. For my own sake as to how to address them, I'll attempt to separate them into little boxes - even though life may be far for integrated than this:

• the issue of the usage of mind-altering substances to assist the reading;
  
• western society's (or societies') view of the taking of substances which alter consciousness;
  
• developing reading skills and maintaining awareness.

Though there are also other aspects to all this, so far these three seem to be the more central issues.

There is no doubt that the usage of foodstuffs, poisons and other products can be used in certain well developed ritualistic use in certain contexts. As an obvious example, the way wine is used as one of the Mithraic-Christian sacraments.

Likewise, certain substances have been used to assist the shaman in various specific cultural settings.

One thing common to these is the absolute respect, reverence and awe which the practitioner has towards the sacred. When it is profaned, abuse, excesses and problems arise. Witness, again, the alcoholism of the proverbial Irish Catholic priest (of course, most are in fact not).

So part of the problem is at times not so much taking the substance, but taking it in ways which are somewhat toxic and for at times purely egocentric, escapist, hedonist, epicurean or narcissist 'reasons'.

This moves us onto the second point. I do not think that our society has, as such, a totally anti-mind-altering view - witness its view of meditation. Rather, it has such a physicalist approach that it seems to negate anything which diminishes the beauty and functioning of the body. If there were no side-effects, could be specific as to when it took effects (example, sleep as in Valium, or in the pangs of childbirth, or...), or it increased the functions of any part of the body (as many of my unsolicited e.mails tell me), the drug may yet be viewed as acceptable - as long as it altered consciousness in only specific conditions, and terminated its effects as one engaged back in the 'normal' world of car-driving, etc..

Again, here we talk of drugs, whether it be alcohol or other, outside of a context which uses it as sacred, and hence with high respect, substance.

Partly because of what I have just said, I am personally not in favour of consuming alcohol as a game and then engaging in a reading. By all means, playing with the Tarot, reading into any set of images as many weird and wonderful stories as one can, or even, in some cases, partaking of a little alcohol as part of one's preparation - and limiting its consumption to such - may have its place.

Sure drugs may unveil parts which remain normally veiled, or allow one's narrative to flow in ways which surprises oneself. But at what cost?

As much as I admire games of all sorts, drinking games being among those(the game not the drinking), I have to say that I made a personal decision about such things. If you can't enhance your understanding and sprituality without the use of drugs/alcohol/psychotropics then why bother? The goal is a happy, healthy life for all involved, in my opinion. That's not to say that I don't have wine or beer on occasion, I just don't do it as part of a divination process.

It is like this woman I know who has a reputation for being "psychic". She doesn't use cards but is very spot on with what she tells people. She also has a brain tumor which she is dieing from. Some say this is why she has the ability. But I certainly wouldn't wish a brain tumor on myself or anyone else for the sake of enhanced psychic ability.

I wasted my money on a recent film here in the US called "The Order" in which one scene has hooded figures hanging on crosses who are literally hung whenever the evil master wants to foretell the future. (sorry, I considered not even posting this drivel but I'm going to make a point). Master need some info on the future, snaps his fingers, hooded person dies while spieling out a divination of the future. I was totally sickened by the whole concept, not to mention the movie. The apparent point here being that a human life is worthless and that the divination provided is somehow more important, at least to the plot of the film.

My point? Divination, oracular wisdom, foretelling the future, spiritual insight is not worth negative, destructive actions. If you want to experiment with your mind that is up to you, but make sure and learn the skills of that experience yourself and don't count on the artificial substance to do it for you. Learn the lesson and incorporate it, then ditch the mind altering substance.

I can see where Teranar's coming from. But I can also see where everybody else is coming from at the same time, since I kind of ascribe to all the views.

You see, I personally do not like drugs (when I say personally, I mean as something for myself, I don't mind others doing what they want to do.) and I do not drink alcohol for the purpose of getting drunk anymore. In fact, I very rarely drink it anyway, mainly because it's too damn expensive, most of it tastes digusting, etc.

However, I have done many readings after I've had a couple of glasses of wine, so I have been sober enough to not let my ego get in the way, yet relaxed.

A bit of background: I used to be a social phobic. I still am, though to a much much lesser extent. Social situations with strangers and large groups of people used to scare me witless. Doing readings for these people scared me even more. Now, this fear totally blocked my readings, and they were rubbish, but I found that I had to relax, and what is the natural way to relax in a pub? A couple of glasses of wine. As a result, I became more relaxed, less scared, and read very well.

Now, I guess my point is not to say that as a forerunner to all divination one needs to drink some alcohol. My point is to say that I don't think we should condemn the action. Different strokes for different folks: you try reading for strangers when you're a social phobic.

That said, I agree with augerswell that one should not become reliant on a substance to make one 'good' at divination. It's a form of dependency, and in the long run could lead to bad consequences. I also don't think that getting blind drunk in order to read Tarot is a good thing, and since I have virtually no experience of drugs, I guess I can't comment.

Kiama

I do not think that illegal drugs are beneficial under any circumstances. You might be able to read 'better' under the influence, but how do you actually know that you're not just spouting drivel if you are high? Mind-altering chemicals do exactly what they say - change your perception. So you may think that you've given the best reading ever, when actually what you've said isn't relevant at all. Taking illegal drugs at any time is a bit silly, but taking them to try to elevate your reading ability? I would rather spend my life working towards a way of reading accurately without needing chemicals, than have a quick-fix in the form of hallucinogens, etc.

I would possibly exclude cannabis from this rant, as it is safer than many legal drugs and does not have the same negative effects (to my knowledge).

I do drink, but I would never let myself read when drunk, as I would be too afraid of talking rubbish. This is why, if I'm going out and I know I'm likely to drink, I leave my decks at home.

I'm a sufferer of social phobia too, and I agree that a couple of drinks loosens you up and lets you relax.

I'm sorry if this seems like a complete rant, but this is a subject very close to my heart. Several good friends of mine have ruined their lives taking drugs in pursuit of spiritual enlightenment and mind-expansion. One, before I knew him, was chased out of a state for dealing, and he is now having to consider the possibility of going back there because he can't afford to stay in Britain. Another has lost her university degree, her best friend and her job, and is incapable of relating to people who don't take drugs. I will not stop being their friend because of this, but it has made me aware of the very real risks of taking drugs.

I just don't think that anything can be worth what I've watched them sacrifice, not even being able to read accurately.