relationships with the cards

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 06 Nov 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

prometheus	06 Nov 2002
hi! i'm new to reading tarot and i'm attempting to build a relationship with my cards to deepen my understanding. i've read through the booklet that accompanied the deck and studied it well. but, i feel like a connection and my own interpretations are missing. i've been sleeping with them under my pillow...any other ideas? thanks for your help!

marmalade	06 Nov 2002
i found with my first deck it took a while to happen, but it all suddenly just 'clicked'. i find it's really hard to get a feel for the cards until you start doing readings with them... you can study the cards & the books forever, but it won't really sink in until you start using them and seeing how they relate in relation to other cards and to their position in the spread. put the book away, and start doing some readings; interpret the cards as best you can on your own, and see how it feels. as long as you keep referring to the book, you won't be able to connect with the cards in the way you're hoping. the first few readings will probably be shaky, but if you're reading for yourself you should be able to tell if you're heading in the right direction. i always find it hard to read for myself, so do some reading for friends, or people on here, for some practise. which deck do you have & how long have you had it?

StargazerLily	06 Nov 2002
What I'm doing now with my first deck is picking a card a day and writing in my journal my interpretation, my "story" about the card, what the book says about it, and what Thirteen says in her basics (although my deck doesn't follow tradition too strictly). I already am in love with my deck because it's very, very beautiful and it's the Tarot of the Cat People and I am a BIGGGGGG cat person!! I think you may want to spend time going through each card and interpreting it for yourself.

prometheus	06 Nov 2002
thanks so much for the response. i presently have the mythic tarot by burke and greene. it seems, that i lack confidence. i'm too afraid or timid to do readings for others. when i read for myself i find the cards to be tremendously accurate. i just get impatient with having to look back at the book so much. i guess it's all a part of the process of learning!

marmalade	06 Nov 2002
don't worry about what the book says. if you know the basic meanings of the cards then you'll do fine. you'll learn the further shades of meanings with experience. just dive right in!!

Silaria	06 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by prometheus thanks so much for the response. i presently have the mythic tarot by burke and greene. it seems, that i lack confidence. i'm too afraid or timid to do readings for others. I could have said these words myself... still can on occation. I rarely read for others and when I do they are those I consider close friends - people I can trust. My confidence was so lacking when it came to the cards that I couldn't be part from the book associated with the deck (not the LWB, the actual companion book for the deck). Only recently, within the past year, have I been working at breaking my dependance on the books and to trust my own instincts. Thus far they haven't been wrong. Like everything else, learning the tarot takes a lot of patience. Studying 1 card a day like StargazerLily suggested is a great way to get to know the cards and what YOU see in them. Keep a journal of your observations as you study the cards. You will see that in no time your confidence will grow. :)

SlyR	06 Nov 2002
Here's a recommendation that you'll see me make over and over: Buy and study the book "Archetypes on the Tree of Life" by Madonna Compton, Llewelyn Publishing. Five minutes with it and you'll see what I mean.

lawguy51	07 Nov 2002
...and may I add 'Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom' by Rachel Pollack, which I cannot get my nose out of!

Jewel	07 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by lawguy51 ...and may I add 'Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom' by Rachel Pollack, which I cannot get my nose out of! Excellent book! Lawguy, if you like that one you might want to check out her new book Forest of Souls. Totally different perspective but very interesting and gives you TONS to think about!

StargazerLily	07 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Silaria Keep a journal of your observations as you study the cards. You will see that in no time your confidence will grow. :) This is true, prometheus. There are many times when I was so excited about being dead on about what the cards mean (at least according to my LWB and Thirteen's basics). It definitely makes me feel more confident in being able to someday just rattle off a reading instead of just to explaining what each and every card means according to a book.

anjocoxo	07 Nov 2002
Actually one of my biggest fears (and the reason why I don't do a lot of readings) is b/c I'm very afraid I'll forget the meaning of a card or something... Now i'm starting to write my own little book (with the basic meanings of the cards + threads to use) and i'm going to start to use the minor arcana (so far i've always used the major)... and my little book will go with me, just in case i forget something... but i'm still afraid something will go wrong, I guess it's just lack of self-esteem, anyway.

Shadow Wolf	26 Nov 2002
I had limited success with my first deck. It was my third deck that I fell in love with, and have the closest connection. How did you come it ???? Did you choose it or did it choose you ??????

Umbrae	26 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by anjocoxo ...is b/c I'm very afraid I'll forget the meaning of a card or something... just in case i forget something... but i'm still afraid something will go wrong... I like it…boiled down to the essence. Usually our ability to ‘click’ with a deck is because we are left-braining it…thinking. On the other hand, because we cannot ‘click’ we go out and buy another deck – thinking ‘it is the wrong deck’. Alternatively, perhaps we need another book! Merchandising has taught us that to buy, is to solve. (And now that the buying season is upon us full force – by golly you can solve all the problems of the world…just say, “Charge it!”) Wrong-a-roonie! If you want to click with your deck, read with it. Begin at the beginning. Go Slow! Unless you strive for mediocrity. At the beginning, you should be doing smaller spreads…three cards (That’s why folks who invented numbers place the number three, before seven which comes before 10)…(LOL). Begin with three card spreads. Begin doing three card readings (for others). Do them forever. Do a lot of them. There is no need to advance to a five-card spread until you have at least six months of reading under your belt. Buy a spiral notebook. Use it as a Journal (very important). Write down every reading (both cards and your interpretation). Only read for yourself no more than once a week. Three card readings are versatile, and accurate. More cards do not always mean better readings (but they look good on TV). Read old posts on this site. If you are starting, a Celtic cross will be too much. Try it in a restaurant, and you will go bonkers. I learned to read in restaurants many years ago. It is a great place to learn shielding (what some call psychic self defense). You ain’t shielded, your reading will be scattered. Throw out the LWB (burn it...really burn it). Take all your other Tarot books and store them where you have little access to them. Here is the rub...you already know what the cards "mean” - now you have to listen to what they say. And if you forget what they ‘mean”…just listen…what do the surrounding cards tell you…what does the space between the cards tell you? Half the quarrels in this world come about because one side or the other simply is not listening…and I am asking you to listen to the cards. I am asking you to look in between the cards. Which is why we start small and work our way forward.

Mystica	26 Nov 2002
Lot's of good advice already, but here's my 2 cents worth...I have the Mythic deck and I love it, the readings seem very much to the point. But as you're just beginning I would suggest a Rider Waite deck, I use the Universal Waite. Use both decks, use the one that 'feels' right each day. Also, keeping a journal is essential to the learning process, IMHO.

The relationships with the cards thread was originally posted on 06 Nov 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.