doing tarot in altered state of mind?

I frequently get the urge to play with my cards after I get home from a night of going out with my friends, and usually I've had a good couple of drinks in my system. I also like playing with my cards and looking at them after I've smoked some ganja sooo... is that bad or does it produce false results? do my cards have a personality or does it offend them in any way? I'm not sure how I should look at my cards as...

The cards don't have a personality. They're pieces of cardboard with pretty pictures on them. If you want to use them stark naked sitting in a puddle of chocolate syrup while high on cough medicine, go for it. You can do anything you want to with them. Your cards are gonna be sticky when you're done and you probably won't remember the readings, though.

Good Question!

euphoria said:

is that bad or does it produce false results? do my cards have a personality or does it offend them in any way? I'm not sure how I should look at my cards as...

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There historically, many shamans and seers, from the ancient Greeks on, used various drugs to enhance their insight into the unknown and esoteric. Using anything from a glass of wine to a hallucinogenic mushroom to gain insights is not unusual, and the results of doing really depend more on the reader than on the substance used, I think. I know, for example, that if *I* tried to read after drinking, my results would probably be a mess and at least one of my decks would be offended...I suppose the others would just be amused But that doesn't mean you'll have the same results.

My inclination would be to say that if you're motivated to read in such a state, then have at it. BUT do not get into the habit of being in such a state to do readings. It may not be a bad idea to read after a few drinks, but it IS a bad idea to feel that you can't read unless you've had a few drinks. That way lies alcoholism.

In the end, whether this is good or right for you isn't for us to judge. The best judge of this already in hand. Ask your cards. Only they can tell you how they feel about you reading in an "altered state."

Solitaire* said:

The cards don't have a personality. They're pieces of cardboard with pretty pictures on them. If you want to use them stark naked sitting in a puddle of chocolate syrup while high on cough medicine, go for it. You can do anything you want to with them. Your cards are gonna be sticky when you're done and you probably won't remember the readings, though.

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Haha, actually if I had a pool of chocolate syrup I might try rhat! J/k... but yeah, when I read these forums, people often speak of their cards as if they were an entity of it's own... them being "mad" or "unfamiliar" with you or worn out from use or passing energies and that stuff. I mean, if they are just cards with pictures on them, then do "energies" really even make a difference? wouldn't another deck produce the exact same or similar results?

I've also been told that trying to do tarot or other spiritual like stuff while intoxicated was bad because you could accidently contact things on a lower plane or whatever?? I'm confused, but it sounds scary and I am a little superstitious!! Can someone clarify? Does an old deck lose its power if you don't use it for a while or start using a new deck? All these things confuse me. I can't decide between these 2 decks I have, and I really want to get a new deck too, haven't found one that really called out to me though.

i want a really nice deck. Bohemian Gothic looks really nice right now... are there any good decks similar to that?

Solitaire* said:

The cards don't have a personality.

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I beg to differ. We had a long discussion about this. If you wish to believe that something which is inanimate cannot be infused with any kind of personality (sic) that's fine. But don't say it as a "fact," as if no one here who believes otherwise could possibly be right. People worship statues that they think are living and can be hurt, even cry or bleed. They pray to trees that they feel have personalities, insist that certain items are cursed or blessed and looking out for them. It is not a unique belief to personify items and have faith in the reality of that persona.

If you can believe that there is a power out there that gives you information via the cards, than it seems silly to dismiss someone else's belief that the cards themselves have a personality. Both rely on belief, not science. So the fact that the cards are just paint and cardboard is irrelevant. Of course they are. And why, if we're speaking of supernatural powers, can't paint and cardboard be infused with personality? Especially if the paint was used to create images by a magically inspired artist?

You don't have to believe it. But to dismiss it out of hand as if anyone who does is being silly, doesn't make sense. Not if we're talking about the faith, belief and the supernatural rather than science.

Solitaire* said:

The cards don't have a personality. They're pieces of cardboard with pretty pictures on them. If you want to use them stark naked sitting in a puddle of chocolate syrup while high on cough medicine, go for it. You can do anything you want to with them. Your cards are gonna be sticky when you're done and you probably won't remember the readings, though.

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lmao.... I agree its how you read... not your state of mind

euphoria said:

I've also been told that trying to do tarot or other spiritual like stuff while intoxicated was bad because you could accidently contact things on a lower plane or whatever?? I'm confused, but it sounds scary and I am a little superstitious!! Can someone clarify? Does an old deck lose its power if you don't use it for a while or start using a new deck?

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When you're intoxicated you let down your "guard" as it were. Now speaking from my own belief here, I would say that it has nothing to do with "lower planes" and such. It's more a matter of having no filter.

Imagine a basin of water filled with leaves and twigs and dirt and such. You want to get some water. So you unplug a drain, and remember to filter the water as it pours out. This is a tarot reading. You "unplug" a drain which draws water (energies) down into you and gives you information. Clear, filtered information that keeps to the questions and goals you're after.

But if you do tarot intoxicated, then you unplug the drain but don't use the filter. You get everything that comes down the drain whether it's what you want or not. The energy and information is not as clear or pure or focused. That's how I would explain it. But, once again, historically speaking, drugs have been used to open people up to such experiences. I suppose the trade-off is that without a filter slowing things down, you get more water.

And no, I don't believe an old deck will lose power if you don't use it. I've decks I only use once a year at that and I've never found them less powerful for the lack of use. Though when you go back to it, you might find that both you and the deck are a little rusty and need to get re-acquainted.

Solitaire* said:

...... If you want to use them stark naked sitting in a puddle of chocolate syrup while high on cough medicine, go for it.

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Hmmmm. Maybe I'll try this... sounds like a kinky fun way to get hubby interested in Tarot,too...LOL.

Thirteen said:

My inclination would be to say that if you're motivated to read in such a state, then have at it. BUT do not get into the habit of being in such a state to do readings. It may not be a bad idea to read after a few drinks, but it IS a bad idea to feel that you can't read unless you've had a few drinks. That way lies alcoholism.

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Spot on! Nothing wrong with experimentation. I went through a whole stage of reading while in a trance (naturally induced), and I've certainly read the cards having whistled down a couple of glasses of wine. But it's like with anything creative - don't let drink or drugs become a crutch in order to write, play music, read tarot. You should be able to read tarot in most circumstances - provided you can quieten, centre and focus your mind sufficiently.

Having said that, if you are completely blotto, you really shouldn't be doing anything like that (not only tarot), because your good judgement goes out of the window - as does your protection.

I think that reading for oneself while intoxicated is pretty harmless- but I really wouldn't read for anyone else. The meanings could get jumbled, and cause more harm than good.

I do personally believe that my cards take on personalities, but then, many of my things do. Perhaps it depends upon the personality of the owner more than the cards themselves.