Intuition or knowledge?

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

closrapexa	14 Mar 2004
I have a question. In Joan Bunning's course she says to treat the cards as kind of a Rorschach test and let the images let you feel or see whatever comes to mind. However isn't it also true that the artist of a deck has reason for putting a cetain element on a card? Basing readings on the omages themselves is fine for deck like the Rider or Morgan-Greer, but for decks like the Thoth everything has meaning. I've always based my readings on the images, but isn't tarot an ongoing education? I mean, shouldn't one at least aspire to study what the maker of the deck intended?

Kiama	14 Mar 2004
I agree with you on this one, closrapexa: in many decks, such as the Thoth, the symbolism is there for a very good reason, and I feel that studying the symbolism can really help you understand the card on a deeper level. What we have here I think is the difference between the 'intuitive' (just say what you see) method of learning the cards, and the book-learning method. The method I advocate is a mixture of the two however: book-learning can help you get down to the nitty-gritty and really understand each card not only on a divinatory scale but also on a more mystical scale. For instance, whilst the divinatory meaning of the Temperence card may be moderation, the mystical meaning which can be found through book-learning and study is about alchemy and the process of Solve e Coagulum (or, more precisely, the coagulum part of that formula) to create the Philosoper's stone. But on top of this, to make a reading personal to each querent, a little intuition that guides you to which aspect of the card is most important at this time can be useful... It's basically the interplay of the High Priestess and High Priest/Hierophant... Intuition/Tradition. They work best when they work together. :D Kiama

Astraea	14 Mar 2004
I view knowledge as a thrust-block or springboard for intuition -- the more we learn about a wide variety of subjects (especially symbol systems, psychology and metaphysics), the wider our intuitive vocabulary will be, and the more possibilities we will be able to spot -- whether consciously or not -- in the cards and other forms of divination.

Logiatrix	14 Mar 2004
Both.

The Intuition or knowledge? thread was originally posted on 14 Mar 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.