Stumped By Card Meanings Formerly Taken for Granted

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 24 Aug 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Elle	24 Aug 2003
This is a wierd phenomenon I have been experiencing lately. I thought I knew the basic card meanings by heart; I wouldn't have to use a book to look them up (other than for subtle nuances). Then a card like the Ace of Pentacles will pop up in the near future position or in the outcome position (or in any old position lately) and I find myself grabbing for a tarot book, scouring the pages, desperate for illumination. Hello? What am I doing? Did the meanings I thought I knew suddenly get erased from my memory or something? Is there like a tarot fairy with an eraser that gets a kick out of you having to learn it all over again? It's just me, right? Trying too hard? Reading too many cards? Warmest, Elle

Moongold	24 Aug 2003
Elle, Have you considered that the cards don't have fixed meanings? Their meanings may vary from context to context. There may be some principles relevant to each card but they would also depend on context. Have a look at Umbrae's Process thread somewhere here. http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/articles/process_introduction.html

Teranar	24 Aug 2003
That's some advice I have taken from the very beginning, what Umbrae has written. For the first year I read tarot I did not actually know every cards meaning. I always went by what cards were there, how they inter related, and mostly what I felt off them. Then when my gypsy godmother saw right through me at the next renfair and knew I had picked the cards up she started giving me a LOT of advice about how to read people, because a lot of them are scared, she says, of mystical things they don't understand. Amongst these bits of advice she gave me was to cheifly make them feel like a million bucks. Tell them the good news first and overplay it, then tell em the bad news, and underplay it with solutions. Make things seem simple, straightforeward, and never blame the person for any messes they are in. If neccesary, since they don't know anything about tarot usually, make stuff up up to avoid blaming them. Whenever a lady came up to her with man problems that was their fault she would find a way around telling them the honest truth - she would make up this BS story about Mars, or Neptune, or Venus, or whatever struck her fancy at the moment, about how select planet's position made all men act crazy for (anywhere between 4 and 17) years and their man problems therefore wasn't their fault, then she'd suggesnt ways to fix their man problem without ever blaming them once. I think I'm off subject now... but anyway, with a reading no meaning is set in stone, just go with what FEELS right... after all, as Umbrae said, we are the magic, wether we like it or not.

Diana	24 Aug 2003
Elle: I am having a similar problem as you. I seem to have lost my ability to read. I stare at the cards. It's more than just a "blank spot" as Umbrae calls it. It's a black hole. As if Tarot had decided to divorce me without informing me beforehand. I stare at the cards as if I've never seen them before. Makes me sad. :( Sad enough to make me want to cry. Although I have decided not to.....

Macavity	24 Aug 2003
Opinion not available. "Differences of perception" clarified via PM anyways... ;) Macav.

Moongold	24 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Diana Elle: I am having a similar problem as you. I seem to have lost my ability to read. I stare at the cards. It's more than just a "blank spot" as Umbrae calls it. It's a black hole. As if Tarot had decided to divorce me without informing me beforehand. I stare at the cards as if I've never seen them before. Makes me sad. :( Sad enough to make me want to cry. Although I have decided not to..... Diana, You are a very good, sensitive, intuitive tarot reader. This will return to you in full measure. Sometimes trees which have been giving out fruit for a long time, need to rest in the shade for a while, while nature restores them. All sorts of amazing things happen in such rest periods. Take care :)

Kiama	24 Aug 2003
Maybe it is the deck you use? I have exactly the same problem with certain cards (The Ace of Pentacles is one of them actually, as are most of teh other Aces simply because the creators of many Tarot decks don't put any meaning into the pictures for me to go by.) I find though, that if I grab another deck that I know has an excellent version of that card I am blanking on, I'll be able to pinpoint what it means in the reading very easily. Kiama

Astra	24 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Diana Elle: I am having a similar problem as you. I seem to have lost my ability to read. I stare at the cards. It's more than just a "blank spot" as Umbrae calls it. It's a black hole. As if Tarot had decided to divorce me without informing me beforehand. I stare at the cards as if I've never seen them before. Makes me sad. :( Sad enough to make me want to cry. Although I have decided not to..... Diana, did you ever have the experience of writing a common word a number of times, and all of a sudden it didn't mean anything, or you couldn't think why those letters should go together in a word that made sense? There is a french phrase that I can't remember entirely whose english translation is that you have to back up in order to leap better. The odd thing that came to mind is that you need to spend two or three days at a zoo talking to the animals (I dunno, it just came up).

Umbrae	24 Aug 2003
Elle: It means you are learning. When you began, you did not learn to read cards. You learned to memorize little phrases and parrot them back. Now that you are learning…you look at a card and realize that the meaning you were going to parrot back…is false, and that there is so much more. Your journey is just beginning…and it is where the fun is…

firemaiden	24 Aug 2003
Perhaps it is a little bit like those opera arias I learned before I understood the languages I was singing. When I began to understand the language itself, the memorized syllables got erased. Why? Perhaps because now your brain can speak the language and think of all kinds of other possibilities.

Elle	24 Aug 2003
Thanks to everyone for the most excellent suggestions! Now Diana, don't fret, just like me you must just relax and let the cards overall pattern and layout speak to you. We are focusing too intently, I think. You'll get it back, I promise. Warmest, Elle

Aerin	25 Aug 2003
Just wanted to add something, a story I heard from a trainer I once had. I was reminded of it when reading this thread, so here it is pretty much as it was told to me. ......... Once upon a time, there was a Professor who had learnt everything he could find to learn about a certain type of Tea Ceremony. He heard tell of a Master of this ceremony, the acknowledged Master in all the world and knew that he must find him and learn from him. Finally, after much travel, he discovered the village where the Master lived and to his delight the Master agreed to see him. While the Master was performing the ceremony, the Professor talked and talked and talked about all that he knew on the Tea Ceremony. He was almost oblivious to the Master, that is until he noticed that the cups into which the Master was pouring tea were overflowing yet the Master just kept pouring. 'What are you doing?' said the Professor, aghast. 'I am am trying to work out how to impart knowledge to a mind that is already full' said the Master. ............ Sometimes it is good not to know for a while. Aerin

The Stumped By Card Meanings Formerly Taken for Granted thread was originally posted on 24 Aug 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.