soo many things to consider give me a headache

Pao

Lately I took a break from reading because I am now only reading following my intuition. but then i wonder ok now I have to look at the image and see what i get and ALSO incorporate what ive learned? the numbers, the typical meanings for a card, the suits, it drives me mad. i dont know what to do.

I was looking to getting a deck out of my element like the Necronomicon. And then I noticed that some of the cards like the 2 of swords (a couple kissing) do not follow the "traditional" meaning. so what do i do? follow the image of the card without taking into consideration the traditional meaning, or #s. I am confused.

Do you guys take every single thing into consideration or read the image alone or what? ahhhhhhh! :(
 

elvenstar

I get information and pass it on. I don't worry about whether this information is related to tarot learning, other learning, something in the image or just out the blue. Sometimes it'll be one of those things, usually a combination of some but not all. I'm sure you'll get some great replies :) For me the main thing is to relax and trust that the 'right' thing will pop up.
 

Umbrae

For some, the minutia is important, for others it’s not.

For me, during a live reading, when I turn the card over – what come to me then. It may be wayyyy off from the ‘meaning’ of the card. And from experience – what hits me when I turn the card over is what I am supposed to share with the sitter.

Do we have to memorize everything the deck creator and the pundits write about each card? I don’t think so, but that’s only my opinion.
 

Star-Willow

Oh Pao, your post has given me some relief....... I've struggled with this of late too and just decided that I should go with what comes/feels right to me, despite trad. meanings and so forth......... pretty much it's really your personal connection with your deck and how you work with it.........
This is just my take on the situation........... :)
 

Pao

yea I agree with you guys. I isually go with what I feel at that moment and do not focus on any traditional meanings. Specially if I do end up purchasing this deck and the pentacle suit is very strange I want to give accurate reading but I know for sure the images are not traditional so...ok i feel better now i'll go with what i feel.

thank you!!!
 

Open Arms

Open your mouth and what comes out ... at that moment in time.... is right.
 

Sakura Murasaki

If the "traditional" meaning happens to be revelent to the reading, then that's what I'll say. If I only focus on the image and say what my intuition is guiding me to say, then that's what I'll say.

:) I used to think that I was supposed to stick only to the traditional once. Then I found this great forum and formed my own opinions on how I should read.
 

Splungeman

Oh...I have felt your pain. I find that the more you just go out there and do it, the more you learn about what kind fo reader you are.

I'm kind of a mixture. I utilize my own meanings for the cards as a baseline, which I have documented and meditated upon in my journals, then search the cards and their arrangement for clues...

Which direction are the cards facing? Is it relevant? Does this group of three cards in the spread need to be connected with another over here? Should they be read separately or together as one statement? I utilize my intuition to get the answers to those questions. Also if something jumps into my head during the reading, a seemingly random image perhaps. I'll ask the person I'm reading for if it means anything to them. (Thanks for the tip Umbrae!) I've found, so far, that it usually does mean something to them.

I think the symbols on the cards are important as well, it's just picking out what image on the card is relevant at the time.

I like to use this example when explaining this: I was doing a reading for a person who was wondering if she should be a nurse. I had two career options in front of me, each expressed in three card groups. One of the groups contained the 2 of cups (RWS deck) as the middle card. I pondered over the card for a moment, wondering what about it was relevant. Suddenly I knew to focus just on the cadaceus symbol in between the man and woman on the card. My personal meaning for the card was not relevant, nor was the "traditional" LWB meaning. All I needed from that card was the cadaceus symbol, the symbol of the practice of medicine. AH HA! Now I knew which of the two three card groupings indicated the path of the nurse. The cards that flanked it commented on what her life would be like as a nurse....the reading continued from there. (I also got another meaning for that card to add to my journal in case it ever comes up again)

I think the more readings you do for people, the more you kind of figure out how you read the cards. Umbrae's method seems primarily intuition driven. Somebody else may be a symbol reader only. I'm kind of both I guess. :)

Just keep doing readings for people and practicing. That's the best way to figure out what kind of reader you are.
 

Pao

thank you!! everything said makes a lot of sense and makes me feel better. i was starting to get worried...yet again!

Splungeman I have noticed that i see different things in different readings and sometimes its only a piece of the card that stands out like you mentioned about the cadeceus. it varies for me so i guess i have to be in the moment and see what comes. maybe i will get the deck after all and see what kind of things i can see with such a dark deck!

thanx all!! happy friday!
 

gregory

I just read what I see. Sometimes that will be some tiny thing in the card that I never saw before. That is the way it seems to work for me....