Cards that dont make Sense

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 14 Feb 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Snuggle_69217	14 Feb 2004
When i do a reading most of the time my cards are very confusing to read..They dont make sense at all..Is there an explanation for this??

ol_crazy_Legs	14 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Snuggle_69217 When i do a reading most of the time my cards are very confusing to read..They dont make sense at all..Is there an explanation for this?? Well first I dont understand why no body has responed to this post. There could be many resons for this. *Ahem* Try this excersise... Draw a random card from the deck, and study its picture. Does the picture speak to you? Meaning do you feel like there is a story behind the card. Whats going on in the card that give you that idea for that paticular story? It is crusial that the cards tell you a story. Or there is a sence of this going on. You see I believe that the pictures in the cards speak to your subconsious mind. Example, Say you saw a picture of a litte girl with her face tucked away in her hand. Some ppl may say she looks like shes crying, Others may say she looks like shes praying or hiding. This is how a picture can speak to us. Your subconscious mind Automaticaly asumes what is going on in a picture which realates to your Unconsiousness or "Inner-Self" "Inner-Guide" "Soul" what ever. Find a deck that does this for you. What Deck do you have any how? Aecletic.net has hundreds of cards you can brows through. If you see a deck you like that "speaks" to you then think about purchasing it. Also... what is it about the card do you find confusing. I would like to know what deck you have. Good Luck.

HudsonGray	14 Feb 2004
It could be that the meanings in the little white booklet don't apply because it's the picture itself that's trying to tell you something. Really LOOK at the cards, and see what it says to you. Does one part jump out? Does that make a connection with something else in your mind? Is it this that applies to the card instead of the standard meaning? I did a one card draw for someone recently that he wanted 'just for fun' and got the 2 of Swords. He got all grim. I knew the meaning wasn't the standard one because it WAS drawn just for fun, took a good hard look at the card & burst out laughing--turned it to let him see & asked if the lady on the card was wearing any shoes? She isn't (at least not on the Robin Wood deck). He'd been out that day spending 4 HOURS looking for tennis shoes in every major mall on this side of the city, trying to find one pair that would fit his feet & not hurt. The crossed swords stood for the stabbing 'pain' he gets with most shoes, she was shoeless, and it basically was a good comment on his whole afternoon.

contrascarpe	14 Feb 2004
Tarot has been an intense learning experience for me over the past few months. I have been around Tarot all my life but always felt that I had to memorize the cards. Over the past few years, I have acquired a good many books on the subject. Last fall I weeded out the books and sat with a stack of the ones I thought were intelligently written. Then I went about the task of writing down key comments and phrases and how they applied to the Rider-Waite. So how does this apply to your question? Well, after a few months of doing this, I found that I could take these meanings and pretty much throw them out the window. But I found it an important exercise to get to know the cards. So my suggestion to you is to learn the card in its basic sense but always pay attention to the card as it is laid out in front of you. Here is an example of a reading I recently did online - the five of wands came up in a reading in a "where you are at now" position. Now the typical image of the five of wands is five men, holding five wands and locked in a combat where no one seemingly has the upper hand. Even without learning the base meaning of the card, my first instinct would be a struggle of some sort. However, the deck I used I was the Tarot of Prague. When I turned it over, I REALLY looked at it and right away it hit me. The card had 5 wands on it, of course, but it also had six figures. It was not entirely clear to me who was holding which wand. But right away it came to me that one of these guys was the odd man out - someone who is caught in an intense struggle but is ill-equipped to handle it. So, learn the cards, but learn from the pictures. As you acquire different decks, new meanings will come to you. For example, the Phantasmagoric Theater deck I recently purchased has non-traditional figures so your imagination and intuition are key. I bought the Bruegel deck the other day and the imagary on it is so abundant, I know I am going to have fun reading with it because I am sure something different will come out every time. It will come to you - Tarot is a lifelong study. Dan

Mojo	14 Feb 2004
Any card can be appropriate to any question. If you can't work out a meaning, you're just not trying hard enough.

full deck	14 Feb 2004
You question is like asking a Jazz musician what swing is. Count Basie's reply, roughly, was "if you have to ask, then you'll never know". You should be working on the cards and developing your skills at intuition (for lack of a better word). It either happens or it does not and, even with good readers, they hit moments where it is much better for them to go get a cup of tea and look at the moon.

Star Spirit	14 Feb 2004
You're just impatient, like I was :D Tarot is one of those things where you just can't expect instant results. It takes a long time to learn. I've been at it for years and although I am much better now, I am still learning every day. I never agreed with book meanings, because they are very limiting. If you want to, you can try Thirteen's Tarot Basics: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/ They are very helpful when it comes to getting your footing. But never let someone else's meanings rule your studies--tarot is different for everyone, and the cards speak different messages in every reading. The best thing you can do is keep practicing, stick to small readings at first (around 1-3 cards), and just really LISTEN to what the cards seem to be telling you. It sometimes helps to be relaxed when you are reading so that you can be more patient and receptive--meditating might help. Also, if you do a reading and don't understand the cards right away, don't give up--keep trying to interpret those cards, and keep listening to them. Doing more readings will just make things more confusing.

Samweiz	15 Feb 2004
Hi Snuggles, Your question is a very important question to ask. All of us using tarot have had that question ... wondering why a particular tarot card came up which seemed to make no sense. Don't be discouraged ... and, continue to ask questions. There is alot of wisdom, understanding and knowledge you can glean here. The above comments from the wise ones offered some good advice, especially the encouragement to depend more upon your intuition, feelings and impressions and not just rote memorization of the meanings defined in the accompanying books(booklets). The accompanying book(let)s can be a good start, but as you read more on the card meanings from various authors, practice your card readings and express your own impressions you will see how much easier and exciting it will be to apply your thoughts and feelings to ANY card that shows up in a card reading. You are young, but don't let that hinder you by thinking that you lack experience. Your intuition will connect you to your higher consciousness where you will tap into the infinite Source of wisdom, knowledge and understanding. The more you practice intuitively the stronger you are connected to this Source. I wish you the best, and that you will apply this important tool out of love and concern for all. Samweiz

skytwig	15 Feb 2004
I would also suggest starting with very small spreads.... no more than 3 cards...... :)

Snuggle_69217	15 Feb 2004
thanks everyone for the advice..I will Concentrate a lot more on the cards..I guess i am impatient but if it takes being patient to make things work then ill do it :)

Phoenyx*	15 Feb 2004
Snuggles, also, sometimes cards need to have other cards drawn to sort of clarify what they mean.

Kiama	15 Feb 2004
As well as everything people have said above, I would add something... Sometimes I often get a card in a reading that just doesn't fit in with the rest of the reading. It's like a non-sequiter... (Spelled right?!) It's just there and I don't quite know why. I also nearly always find that this card is in a 'Future' position. I'm not psychic, so how am I going to know the future well enough to be able to apply this card to the reading and querent? Often I can, but every now and then it just seems as though the 'Future' is totally non-sequitering (is that even a word?) if you get what I mean. It's just the nature of the future, and it is one of the reasons for me why sometimes there are cards that just don't make any sense. Blessings, Kiama

Frequency	15 Feb 2004
Kiama: I recommend that instead of viewing that card as something you cannot forsee, you should relate it to your current conditions etc... If you don't know what the card could mean it defeats the purpose doesn't it? Whenever I do tarot, when imagining a future outcome I can usualy trace it to how I act etc... so it's easier to forsee just what exactly will happen. I hope I make sense.

crystal cove	15 Feb 2004
There is a lot of wisdom in the advice to stick to small 3 or 5 card readings in the beginning. It takes a while to get a basic, working knowledge of the cards and by having a large spread in front of you, takes away from the fact that the cards are supposed to be read TOGETHER. Hard to do when one is just learning. Also, do you really know what each card means to you, or are you just using the LWB? Believe me, I'm not passing judgement. I read for 2 years without really knowing what cards mean. I just laid the cards out and read from my LWB. I was able to turn the corner on the day I decided that I wanted to be able to read with ANY deck, in any circumstance, and with any spread. (Or with no organized spread at all.) :) Really get to know your cards. Take all the wands and lay them out in order. What makes all these cards wands? What is the progression? Do that with all the suits. Then, take out all your 2s. What is similar with the 2's? Continue with all the numbers. After that, start drawing two or three random cards, lay them in front of you and think about what all three together would mean. Switch them around. How does that change anything?.....The point is, you have to get to know your cards so well, that you can come up with a meaning in any position, with any card before, after, above it, below it........you get my meaning. :)

Imagemaker	15 Feb 2004
Many times, the full message of a spread doesn't come through until after time has passed and you see how things turned out. Looking back at a reading and connecting it to an event provides a lot of "hindsight" learning--which is frustrating but valuable. Life is an infinite surprise. It takes a lot of acceptance to embrace that, tarot skill or not, unexpected things come constantly in unpredictable ways. No one, even the most gifted, experienced psychics, know it ALL.

Kiama	15 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Frequency Kiama: I recommend that instead of viewing that card as something you cannot forsee, you should relate it to your current conditions etc... If you don't know what the card could mean it defeats the purpose doesn't it? Whenever I do tarot, when imagining a future outcome I can usualy trace it to how I act etc... so it's easier to forsee just what exactly will happen. I hope I make sense. Yep, you make sense. And this is what I usually do when it comes to 'Future' cards, as I mentioned in my post (though not very eloquently at all!) But every now and then, the future does not go by what my present actions dictate, and thus it is very difficult to understand the card representing that future. For instance, a reading about love: Past: 2 Cups Present: 4 Wands Future: Ace Swords Now, I could very adequately read the Past and Present cards, but with the Ace of Swords I'd be at a loss... What does it relate to in the reading? Sometimes the future is very surprising, and we cannot always predict it based loosely on our present actions. Sometimes, no matter what we do in the present, the future goes its own way. And thus a card representing such an 'independent Future' can be difficult to fit into the overall picture of the reading. Ah, I see Imagemaker has expressed what I'm trying to say most eloquently! Hindsight gives us abilities to read cards wonderfully, but there is always that element of surprise and unpredictability. :D Blessings, Kiama

Imagemaker	15 Feb 2004
Quote: but with the Ace of Swords I'd be at a loss... What does it relate to in the reading? Thanks, Kiama, for your kind remark--I love stumbling into eloquence :) I always see the Ace of Swords as "new train of thought coming"--and will it carry you along or smash you flat? Might want a clarifying card . . .

ncefafn	15 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by HudsonGray It could be that the meanings in the little white booklet don't apply because it's the picture itself that's trying to tell you something. Really LOOK at the cards, and see what it says to you. Does one part jump out? Does that make a connection with something else in your mind? Is it this that applies to the card instead of the standard meaning? I did a reading recently using HudsonGray's Ferret Tarot, and got the Three of Cups. In it, three ferrets were dancing, two of them waving scarves, two playing finger cymbals. At the end of the reading, I just threw in, "Maybe consider taking a belly-dancing class." The querent told me she'd been considering this for a while! Just goes to show, those pictures are there for a reason. :) Kim

The Cards that dont make Sense thread was originally posted on 14 Feb 2004 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.