Whachamacallit?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Major Tom	01 May 2003
This may just be a bit of fluff that's been tickling my brain for quite a while now, but I also think it has important implications. We've more or less settled on a name for the fanatic tarot deck collector and that is Taroholic or Tarotholic. We can call those of us who read Tarot Readers. But what about those of us who just love tarot? I happen to favor Tarologue as you can tell from the title I've awarded myself. ;) I've seen a number of people use the word Tarotist. Another name that's occured to me is Tarotphile. What's your opinion? What do you think we should call ourselves? Does anyone have another suggestion? Would it even be possible (or desirable) to reach a consensus? It should be noted that a taro is an edible tuber from tropical rainforests. :laugh:

Kiama	01 May 2003
Well, I use the term Tarotholic to describe both collectors and those who love Tarot. Just as I'd use the term 'chocoholic' for one who loves chocolate! Kiama

Diana	01 May 2003
Oh no, Kiama. Someone who loves Tarot is not necessarily a Tarotholic. Anything "holic" points to addiction and/or obsession. For instance, I love Tarot more than my heart can say, but I don't consider myself an -aholic at all. Passionate maybe but that's something different. A Tarologue would be to me someone who studies Tarot. But this doesn't necessarily imply love. The person can love Tarot if they study it, but the two don't need to go hand in hand. A lover of Tarot is a Lover of Tarot to me. If we want to put it in one word it would be LoverofTarot. But three words are okay as well. (P.S. Major Tom: taro ice-cream is a dream come true for an IceCreamLover.)

Dark Inquisitor	01 May 2003
Tarotphiliacs? Tarotmaniacs? Cartomantics? Tarotmantix? Tarotficionado? Tarotphelia

jema	01 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Tarotphelia Tarotphiliacs? Tarotmaniacs? Cartomantics? Tarotmantix? Tarotficionado? Tarotphelia hehe, i was just gonna say that! the word is already sort of taken by Tarotphelia. but tarotphilia works for me.

Kiama	01 May 2003
So, what do we call somebody who loves Tarot, studies it, and is a deck collector/is obsessed with Tarot? }) Kiama

Diana	01 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Kiama So, what do we call somebody who loves Tarot, studies it, and is a deck collector/is obsessed with Tarot? Oh that's a very well-known species. And not at all endangered. They're called "Kiamas". :D

Diana	01 May 2003
double post. Delete please!

firemaiden	01 May 2003
I thought a tarologue was a reader, and a tarot scholar. Cartomancy? is that a word in English? what about Cartomancer?

Astraea	01 May 2003
I believe that a tarologue would be a scholar of the subject, and a tarophile a lover of the cards. Taroholic is a word that conveys the idea of compulsion in one form or another, whether for collecting, studying or using. But many of us here fit several categories, and there are degrees of commitment within those -- perhaps tarophile would be best, overall.

Umbrae	01 May 2003
I hate ‘holic’. The ‘ho’ part, is the last portion of the word Alcohol: etymology of the same; new Latin, from medieval Latin, powdered antimony, from Old Spanish…from Arabic al-kuhul the powdered antimony, from kuhl kohl. Workaholic is not a word…it has no part of ohol – usually neither ethanol nor methanol are present. Chocoholic is not a word… it has no part of ohol – usually neither ethanol nor methanol are present. The suffix ‘ic’ indicates addiction. Therefore: Taroic, or my favorite, Tarotic, work.

ShorTerM	01 May 2003
Well this is the only word I could think of for the topic. I have made this word up from Tarot (obviously) and from amateur... Now there are several definitions for the word amateur... One of which is lacking the skill to be a professional... Personally I do not like this definition at all, and that is not the reason I have used that word here. The definition that I used was that someone is an amateur when they do something for the pure joy of doing it. They don't need to get paid to do what they do, because the fact that they are doing it is fulfilling enough... This reminds me of the olympics, and Elvis Stojko in particular... He is a world class professional figure skater, and he never turned proffessional so that he could compete in the olympics as an amateur... So anyways mixing Tarot and Amateur, I came up with Taroteur :D Lemme know what you think :D

raeanne	01 May 2003
Hi all, A tarot connoisseur could perhaps be called a tarotisseur. (Pronounced tar-o-ti-seur with the main accent on "ti".)

Gerbear	01 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae Workaholic is not a word…it has no part of ohol – usually neither ethanol nor methanol are present. Chocoholic is not a word… it has no part of ohol – usually neither ethanol nor methanol are present. When I went to elementary school, we had a write- in campaign to the company that made Winston cigarettes. There ad went; Winston tastes good like a cigarette should. We informed them, (to no avail) that this was grammatically incorrect. The correct way was; Winston tastes good as a cigarette should. English is a fluid language that has long since left it's Teutonic roots behind. It's very flexibilty has given it prominence in all new technologies. You can consequently find 'workaholic' and 'chocoholic' in the Merriam- Webster Dictionary, along with a list of the top ten web sites for these 'holics'. (For better or worse) If there were a poll, I'd vote for tarotholic.

baba-prague	01 May 2003
Cartomancer? Isn't that William Gibson's new book? LOL (well, I'd buy it for sure)

Khatruman	01 May 2003
Hey MT, Of the three appellations you came up with Tarotlogue, Tarotist, and Tarotphile, I am most partial to Tarotist. My main reason is that a phile and a logue, to me, connote those who love the said subject, but don't necessarily use it. For instance, I would see a bibliophile as one who has an extensive collection of old, rare books that he takes pride in collecting, storing, dusting, preserving, but not necessarily reading. I know your question involved looking for a lover of tarot designation, but those lovers seem to be more distant lovers, and I know you to be one who is also a user of tarot. A tarotist to me connotes one who doesn't merely love talking about them, but actually gets in and works with them. An ist to me is a lover and practitioner, one who in some way defines his/her life by them. I also must state, as an English teacher, writer and major, that I am not in the strict grammar school, but the linguistic school. I appreciate Gerbear's comment about English having left its Teutonic roots, and being a fluid language. It is a mutt language, having taken pieces from many other languages. It actually came about to allow the Anglo-Saxon peasants, French aristocracy, and Latin priesthood talk to one another, and it has changed ever since. If English couldn't accept newness or change, then Shakespeare would have been dead. He introduced over three hundred words, or new uses of existing words, into our language. Getting into arguments on what words ARE words or are NOT words takes us into looking at dictionaries as Holy Scripture, unchangeable. Language is communication. If life has become such that we need new words, word forms, or changed meanings of words, then so be it. Let's do it!

zorya	01 May 2003
how about 'tarotmancer' for someone who becomes one with tarot. ...and couldn't philotarotist mean, one who loves tarot? (major tom; taro chips are a real treat!)

blue_fusion	02 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Kiama So, what do we call somebody who loves Tarot, studies it, and is a deck collector/is obsessed with Tarot? }) Kiama uh, tarot enthusiast? :)

Diana	02 May 2003
zorya gets my vote! Long live tarotmancers and philotarotist. Tarotholic makes us sound like some kind of drug addict. Yuk. That's okay for fooling around when it comes to obsessive collecting of Tarot decks, but does in no way encompass the spiritual side, the personal development and the enlightenment that Tarot can lead us too.

raeanne	02 May 2003
Hi all, The word "expert" is a relative term. Am I an expert compared to all of you? Maybe not. But, am I an expert compared to the people I work with everyday? ABSOLUTELY! Merriam-Webster's definition of connoisseur is: Connoisseur: 1 : EXPERT; especially : one who understands the details, technique, or principles of an art and is competent to act as a critical judge 2 : one who enjoys with discrimination and appreciation of subtleties I really like the term Tarot Connoisseur! All of us here try to understand (to varying degrees) the details, technique, or principles of the art of tarot! We do judge one deck against another and pick at the subtle differences. There is just something about some of the other terms that don't quite have the right ring for me. Maybe the term connoisseur sounds a bit "uppity" to some, but I like it and I think it fits!

blue_fusion	02 May 2003
how about tarot gourmand,or perhaps tarot epicurean. LOLz

Violet Gargoyle	02 May 2003
I still like "Cardtrix". How about something akin for the scientific (or maybe its more of the Wile E Coyote name) "Dolce Deckus Acquirus"?

Jeanette	03 May 2003
This is such a fun thread to read! So would you call yourself a Tarotphiliac? It just doesn't sound quite right, if you know what I mean! At least not to me. I think Tarotholic *sounds* better, even if it doesn't mean quite the same :)

skytwig	03 May 2003
There is an ancient art of word creation that children use quite naturally. Can't find an appropriate word? Make one up. One that says it all. In another thread, I gave a wonderful example: conscouraged = confused + discouraged My daughter, when she was two, told me, with quite an "adult face", that she was "conscouraged". I thought she was brilliant. Made sense to me! So I think we need to employ such a clever and creative tool. Break out of the mold. Use our Magician tools......... Tarot + amore = Tarotamor Tarot + lover = Tarotover Tarot + walker = Tarotalker Tarot + life = Tarotife or Tarotiff Tarot + joy = Tarotoy ;) Anbody else have a VOCABULATION?

rota	03 May 2003
I'm a Tarotician, Tarotherapist and Tarotainer, from Tarotia. I engage in tarotphagy and even, on occasion, autotarotism. :)

jakyle	04 May 2003
You know the person who is too afraid to get their cards read.......... Do they have a tarotphobia? I think Tarotphile is a little extreme,but quite funny......How about just using a symbol? Third eye, or four eyes or just a middle finger:D We could have a little sign or gesture thing that only fellow tarotestosterone's could understand......(My personal fav)

jmd	04 May 2003
philo tarot mantic logue aholic

Demonesse	05 May 2003
jmd, That was freaky!

jakyle	05 May 2003
GREAT CANDY BAR BY THE WAY

RAVENAL	05 May 2003
This is great stuff and such fun... Tarot...&...oracle...=...taroracle...= ...taroaracle...taROARacle...Ta-Roar-Acle...but I am very much a tiger...born in the Tigers year...with eastern leanings/attractions... my vote goes to jmd for the magic rainbow word... beautiful to look at and flowing from the tongue...

allibee	06 May 2003
Major Tom In answer to the original question "Would it even be possible (or desirable) to reach a consensus?", I think the answer should be NO. We all see ourselves and our relationship with the tarot in a different light therefore to define it to a word would be inappropriate imho :O) allison

Major Tom	19 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by allibee Major Tom In answer to the original question "Would it even be possible (or desirable) to reach a consensus?", I think the answer should be NO. We all see ourselves and our relationship with the tarot in a different light therefore to define it to a word would be inappropriate imho :O) allison Nearly a year ago I let this thread die but now I wish to ressurect it because I still believe it is important. I happily disagree with Allibee because I believe we do need to reach a consensus so that we can agree what we're talking about. Language and thus communication requires consensus. It's all very well striking off on our own but how will we ever be able to share our insights if we can't come to a consensus with language. I even went so far as to post a poll which had gone in favour of tarotist which I dislike the sound of. My friend Diana has recently suggested to me the word tarologist which I think has possibilities. :) Naturally, you will notice I've not changed my title and I still think the best word is tarologue. ;)

DeLani	19 Mar 2004
I like Tarophiliac - it certainly implies love, and maybe a tinge of obsession, and sounds just a little naughty...

Namaste	19 Mar 2004
Tarotholic does seem to suggest addiction or obssession to me, so whenever I've used the term, I've used it as a reminder to myself; a caution of sorts, of you will. Thank you for bringing this up, Major Tom. I think tarotphile sounds just fine, since, to my mind, it both denotes a lover of, and a desire to become a connaisseur of the tarot... :)

Tarotmyst	19 Mar 2004
I would refer to myself as a tarotnatic. That is, if it wasn't so much fun to just say 'i looooooooove my tarot cards' to people who give me strange looks.

Diana	19 Mar 2004
Tom: After some research, and a lot of thinking, I think the closest one can get to a correct definition is "tarologist". It's strange that there is no official word in English. I still like Tarologue though. But that's because I'm biased. That's the official French word.

Moongold	19 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae Therefore: Taroic, or my favorite, Tarotic, work. So does one experience Taroticism or for that matter Tarotphilia? I know this is only fun but maybe it is not possible to have it all in just one word? How about Tarogogue? Hahahahah... for those who want to be pedantic, that is.

firemaiden	19 Mar 2004
Hold on, the word is tarologue, what's the big deal? oh.. you mean, we can't use French words? Why not? As Steve Martin said, they have a word for everything.

Diana	19 Mar 2004
géologue - geologist astrologue - astrologist ophtalmologue - ophtalmologist..... The list goes on and on. (What's in italics is French.) Sounds like a "tarologue" should be a "tarologist". Major Tom: Can I have a new certificate please? Scalawag Tarologist?

Moongold	19 Mar 2004
At the risk of being pedantic (hahahah - as pedagogues can be) gogie (French derivation) or gogia (Greek derivation) means guide. Now I am not passionate about any of this but my father was a teacher - a poetic pedagogue - a most exceptional man and he would have said: See - There are 78 cards, not just one :)

Moongold	19 Mar 2004
Hey... I think phil is the Greek root for love so tarotphile would be one way of saying lover of Tarot.

Diana	19 Mar 2004
Ignore my last posts. I missed out on the fact that Major Tom was talking about those who love Tarot... My mind was on another theme. A lover of Tarot would indeed, be a Tarotphile, as Moongold rightly points out.

Moongold	19 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Diana My mind was on another theme. Mine too, until I went back to look at Tom's original post.

Major Tom	20 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Diana My mind was on another theme. I think we can move onto this other theme. ;) So is a tarologist a person who studies and uses tarot? I still like tarologue...

WalesWoman	21 Mar 2004
How about a Taroamour, Tarot'amour, Tarot'aime... my french has gotten way rusty, but I think it would say, Tarot my love.

DeLani	21 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Diana Ignore my last posts. I missed out on the fact that Major Tom was talking about those who love Tarot... My mind was on another theme. A lover of Tarot would indeed, be a Tarotphile, as Moongold rightly points out. Would it be Tarophile or Tarophiliac? Isn't -philia what you experience, and one who expereinces -philia is a -philiac? Why is it a necrophiliac but a bibliophile? Is -philiac strictly for sex? I don't remember learing about that in English class! :)

Moongold	21 Mar 2004
Another view of all of this is that a person is rarely just one thing. That is sometimes one of the objections to collective nouns. So why not simply say people who love tarot? That is very clear and simple and lends itself to no misunderstandings. Aha..... but you will never get everyone to agree :D

The Whachamacallit? thread was originally posted on 01 May 2003 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.