Can't connect with the one card spread

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 28 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Yodes	28 Jul 2002
A month or so ago i started doing the tutorials at learntarot.com, and to be honest i kind of rushed through it, doing a few lessons a night, and towards the end i didn't really pay attention to the last few ones, mainly pertaining to reversals and card combinations, something i consider more as helpful hints than anything else. That said i went as fast as i felt comfortable. However, i have started (every so often) doing daily readings, to learn the cards more than anything else, but i find myself distanced from the cards... When i have done other spreads, celtic cross and the golden dawn (which i really like. From tarotspreads.com) i feel i can identify, with them. I was wondering if anyone else feels this way, i just don't feel like there is anything in my daily readings. Thanks Yodes

zorya	28 Jul 2002
hi yodes, have you tried keeping a daily journal? sometimes the meanings become clearer as we look back on them. you might also consider using three card spreads for your daily reading.

mooncat2	28 Jul 2002
I agree with Zorya - try with three cards. Keep the journal - sometimes the cards are an ongoing theme over a period of time and it becomes clearer later. Also make sure you have centred and focused on yourself. Several times I failed to do this and suddenly realised that the cards were reflecting answers to readings I was doing for other people - thinking about them and the cards picked up on it. Just reflecting on a card throughout the day will usually bring something to light - I always look at mine again in the evening. And even if you don't feel a connection to your daily life its still an excellent way to learn the card meanings. Sometimes the message is so simple we overlook it. Pull the Sun - smile at everyone today!

amyel	28 Jul 2002
I hear you. I personally don't find 1 card readings very enlightening. I like a little more depth. Try a 3 card layout....

Starfish	28 Jul 2002
Just wanted to add my vote to the do 3-card spread idea. I find it works the best for me. :THERM Starfish

Mojo	28 Jul 2002
Yodes, I know we're supposed to be all supportive of new Tarot enthusiasts and such, but after reading that first paragraph of yours over and over and then considering what you're asking us, I have to be honest and say you'd probably be better off finding a hobby that provides instant gratification. Tarot isn't it. You sound like you're expecting to pick up the cards and become Miss Cleo overnight. I got news. It doesn't happen that way. Tarot is something that takes time and attention and patience and empathy to learn to do well. If you can't tell a meaningful story from a single card, how can you possibly expect to weave together the meaning of a complex spread? Especially since you look upon reversals and card combinations as mere hints. Daily readings should be done daily. That's why they're called daily readings. And it's in doing them daily that you gain anything out of them. Go back and re-read your posting and be honest with yourself in asking, "does that sound like someone who is serious about learning the tarot?"

the hermit	28 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Yodes ... i have started (every so often) doing daily readings, to learn the cards more than anything else, but i find myself distanced from the cards... Yodes: On James Rioux’s website is an article he calls "The Missing Card and Blurring the Lines". James Rioux Someone else posted this here just a short while ago (sorry, can’t give credit… the mind is the first thing to go… at least I remember the site though :D ) I think you might find it interesting and useful. I won’t take away his thunder, but it deals with looking at the card on either side of a single drawn card for more guidance... 9 of swords—look at the 8 and 10… The Lovers? Look at the Hierophant and the Chariot. Give it a look… let me know if it's helpful.

Yodes	29 Jul 2002
What i'm trying to do mojo, is appeal to the tarot commuinity. I'm saying that while i have done a few larger spreads, and have suprised myself completely on these occassions, i really feel like i see something... the daily cards do not do it, i don't feel the connection. Maybe i explained myself wrongly, as far as reversels, i don't like reading them. While they do indicate something, i feel it would be a strain to work out exactly what the reversal is representing, the reverse of the card, the energy of the card is present, the energy of the card is potential, the energy of the card is diminishing... or any other interpretation. To be honest mojo, i saw the whole tutorial as a series of hints. The authors way of learning is by no means going to be the same as every other tarotist. So while i take on board the ideas of the author, i always kept it in my own mind to question what i read, and make sure i keep my own interpretations... The cards are my inner guide, so while i could get a reversal and consult learntarot and find a meaning, i don't think it would be fitting, how is the author meant to know what my inner guide is saying... that said i really like the card interpretations on the site, and i think they are very useful. I really don't appreciate your post mojo, and while i did re-read my post and can understand your view point, i can't say i like it, or think it was warranted. For everyone else who replied, thanks, i will try the 3 card spread, ohhh and the hermit, i have been reading that site. James Rioux sounds incredibly well versed in tarot as well as many other areas, i really like his work and views. - Thanks.

jamesriouxctm	29 Jul 2002
Hello all, I was going to reply to this thread anyway, but now that my name's been brought up I don't have much of a choice, do I? As has been already mentioned, when done properly a one-card reading can be an incredibly dense source of information. The problem I find is that many readers (especially beginners) tend to look at single cards as standalone entities, and this can make a single card all but inscrutable. The real power of Tarot comes from the interrelationships of the cards, and that's why most instructional texts these days direct beginners to the three-card reading. This is the smallest reading in which crucial interrelationships first become visible, at least, under the old school of Tarot teaching. As some of you may have heard, I am developing a system of teaching Tarot that focuses on the relationships between cards right from the start, and it's this kind of a methodology that makes a powerful one-card spread feasible. "Blurring the lines" is indeed one step of this process, but it's not the only one. It is possible to apply elemental dignity to a single card, for instance. Until such a methodology becomes widespread (as I expect it will over the next decade or so) what can we do in the short term if we want to improve the accuracy of a one-card reading? The first thing is to practice, practice, practice. One of the best places to do this is the Free Tarot Network (http://www.freetarot.net/). As time passes you'll begin to see more and more information in a single card reading. This can also help your reading abilities in general, in more ways than one. You should also consider the fact that daily readings are not always the best way to gain insight into the cards. Earlier this summer I was doing some research with daily predictive readings (i.e. draw a card to describe the events of a given day) and their overall accuracy was quite poor. Weekly readings did better and monthly readings were unassailable, but sometimes I would draw a card for a given day and it would mean nothing at all to me. Perhaps, Yodes, you would do better by trying an alternative method for learning what the cards mean to you. Meditation or contemplation on the symbols is often quite useful. You can also try looking at the card from a different perspective (as I describe in another article on my site) and discovering what good things you can see in a supposedly bad card like the Ten of Swords or Five of Cups. Another interesting exercise is to pick two cards and consider what could connect them together, in terms of both symbolism and interpretation. I do highly recommend a daily journal, even if you don't do daily readings at all. Just jot down any insights you have about the energy of a certain card. I wrote about a page on The Tower on September 11th, for instance. Pay attention to how the symbols and archetypes of the Tarot manifest in your daily life, and keep a record of it. The insights you can glean from a Tarot journal are pretty much boundless, if you are willing to look deep enough. As you have noted, it is not possible to work entirely within the confines of another author's belief system regarding the cards. You have to be willing to experiment with different approaches and see which one connects with you the most. If you prefer working with large spreads, so be it. If you find that you really like three-card spreads, great. The most important thing is to keep trying, keep working, keep growing, keep learning.

Yodes	29 Jul 2002
thanks alot. I have actually read both of your articles that have been mentioned here. One of the things that drew me to the tarot was the symbolism of the cards, it amazes me that something that has been around for so long is such a source of mystery and information, all at once. Seeing the cards as a look at your inner guide, perhaps the large spreads provide such a large look, i can just identify better. Thanks alot, for your insights, i appreciate it.

The Can't connect with the one card spread thread was originally posted on 28 Jul 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.