Mea Culpa of an "intuitive" student

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 24 Apr 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kissa	24 Apr 2002
Hi guys, I've learned so much from you that I would like to give some piece of advice to new beginners to tarot. Please note I am a beginner too. I met a tarot deck for the first time in my life when I was a teenager, it was RWS and I got bored of it although I was really attracted to tarot. Then, at the beginning of this year, I had the URGE to connect again with tarot, it came out of nowhere and I started to look around for decks. In the meantime, I had received my old faithful RWS from home (for those who haven't put up with my bio yet, I am a Frenchie living in Finland) and this bloody deck was still a complete mystery to me !!!! Living in Finland, the range of immediately available decks wasn't that wide so I went to on-line shops. After viewing only a few cards of some decks, I thought I HAD to get them (then started my addiction to tarot decks collecting but that's another story ... ;) ). I ended up with on-line bought decks that I couldn't understand so I bought more decks, completely different styles etc. and was still disappointed : I was trying to learn with the 100% intuitive "BS" but just grew frustrated !!! (I got the book by Prosapio "Intuitive Tarot" that urges you not to read any book before you have studied all the cards by yourself and feel that you don't learn anything new anymore. Well, this doesn't work for me !!!) Still didn't want to give up (I feel that tarot has to be part of my life) I read LOTS of comments on decks/books/learning methods etc., not only from experienced tarot readers, but also comments of beginners, "normal ppl" ;) . I decided to buy the Universal Waite (recoloried RWS, much more pleasant than the original for the eyes) and Robin Wood, and I went for books as well: Joan Bunning and Mary Greer. And thanks to Kaz, who provided me with a wonderful address about the Robin Wood deck (and thanks to a thread here about it) I started a TAROT JOURNAL. And it all makes sense !!!! My conclusion is : probably lots of you are like me, you want to start fast, you want to learn and you don't know where to begin with, here is a few tips : (no-one has to agree and critics are welcome) 1) even if it isn't as appealing as some fancy theme deck, you should GET YOURSELF A RIDER WAITE STANDARD (=RWS) deck or the Universal Waite, or some really close copy: Albano-Waite, Golden Waite etc. check here : http://www.wicce.com/rider.html 2) invest in A GOOD BOOK. Have a look on Study Groups here on aeclectic to see what books are good. You will get a tremedous help whereas participating in or just reading threads of the ppl studying. 3) make a JOURNAL. It is the written trace of all these wonderful, magical, intense and personal moments you share with tarot. On the following site, you will get lots of info about tarot journaling and some GREAT worksheet for you to print : http://www.rglobal.net/user/nodntap/ A special thank you to Kaz who provided the address first. ( 4) buy a Robin Wood tarot !!!! Pagan yet very close to RWS but extremely open and easy to read, friendly and welcoming. Thanks to you all, who replied to my thread about it. Thumbs up !) Here was my 10 cent of euro ;) opinion. I wish I had been more organized and patient at first but then again, tarot is a passion so how can you expect ppl to be patient/organized when they encounter passion ??? :) THANKS to Solandia for creating Aeclectic. Remember to check how you can support her wonderful job ! Kissa aka Karen Geez, I hope I didn't sound to patronizing as it wasn't my intention. I honestly just wanted to help, nobody has to agree and I most certainly don't think it is the only way to begin your tarot journey. This is just my way, you know, as a tarot student I like to have "student's" methods : good teachers, good books, worksheet, exercises etc.

truthsayer	24 Apr 2002
kissa, i think your suggestions are excellent. if more beginners followed your advice, more would "get it" and not get frustrated w/ tarot. tarot is a journey not a destination. when you were learning to cook, was your first meal perfect? more than likely--no. it takes years of practice to develop skills. i used to need a recipe book. now i can put indredients together in my head. try to see tarot in the same way. thank-you kissa for caring enough about beginners to post your experiences both positive and negative. even if rws isn't the most attractive deck out there, it is easiest to learn by. so often we get questions from someone who wants to start w/ a difficult deck like the osho zen that also happens to be visually attractive. you can learn from OZ but it makes transitioning to regular tarot like starting over. it's easier to start w/ a standard like rws then branch out. i once couldn't cook a decent breakfast but i could do a good lunch or supper. with practice, i got to the point i could cook breakfast. knowing how to cook other foods helped me learned how to cook bacon and eggs. still haven't figured out pancakes. ;)

Original Destiny	24 Apr 2002
Thanks a bunch truthsayer...I am hungry now and will have to log off and get somthing to eat!!:TFOOL seriously...you both have made good points.I wish there were people like you around 30 years ago...my journey wouldn't have been so lonely:TWOR

Jenny-Li	25 Apr 2002
Great! I've done it the "right " way! ;) :D ;) I have the Universal Waite, I've read a couple of books but I don't use them for readings, when I read I use the notes I've made in my - can you guess? - Journal! And I decided to go buy the Robin Wood tomorrow - so that means I've covered them all! So Kissa, the most important question imaginable (...?): How did you end up in Finland? :) Light and love! Jenny :)

Umbrae	25 Apr 2002
Standing Ovation for Kissa!

Kissa	25 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Jenny-Li So Kissa, the most important question imaginable (...?): How did you end up in Finland? :) Jenny :) Don't you guess ??? A MAN of course !!!! I met this tall shy finn when he was an exchange student in my sister's university and we just ended up moving to Finland at the end of his year in France. As I always say, he brought himself a nice "souvenir" form his year down there ;) !!! Kissa

Kissa	25 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae Standing Ovation for Kissa! :D :D :D Thanks Umbrae ! Kissa

Jenny-Li	25 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Kissa Don't you guess ??? A MAN of course !!!! I met this tall shy finn when he was an exchange student in my sister's university and we just ended up moving to Finland at the end of his year in France. As I always say, he brought himself a nice "souvenir" form his year down there ;) !!! Kissa Actually I didn't guess it - but of course, I should have...! :D I've never been to Finland myself (to tell you the truth, the Finnish language scares me to bits...!) but I imagine it's rather nice, beautiful - being the "land of the 1000 lakes" and all. But what fascinates me is the fact that you, Kissa - must have learned, or started to learn Finnish, the most "incomprehendable" (?) language on this planet, I think... How is that?? *I reallize I should move this to the chat board, or to the private boards - hope the rest of you can put up with this...! Love and light, Jenny :)

Zhritza	26 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Jenny-Li I imagine [finland is] rather nice, beautiful - being the "land of the 1000 lakes" and all. The state of Minnesota, where I live, is often called "Land of 10,000 Lakes" in tourist info, etc. (we actually have about 13,000). I didn't realize we had stolen this slogan :D I am pretty curious about Finland actually, and about the Finnish language, despite the 15 noun cases (!!!!). I wonder what it must be like to live in France and then move to Finland...

Kissa	26 Apr 2002
ok Qolus and Jenny, I'll start a thread in the chat section about MY LIFE :D (and trust me, the only "noticeable" thing about it is that I moved to Finland as a Frenchie, nothing else, I'm afraid, no need to stay tuned for more revelations ;) ) On the only condition that all of you tell us a bit from your country/region too and maybe how you ended up living there if it isn't your home region at all, alright pr why you definitely want to stay in your homeplace ?? Kissa

The Mea Culpa of an "intuitive" student thread was originally posted on 24 Apr 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.