Using Tarot to Learn New Things

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

Paradox	14 Nov 2004
My question is: Is it possible to use the tarot as a tool to learn how to do something that you don't know how to do? What about to learn how to do something that nobody knows? If so, how? What spread?

dadsnook2000	14 Nov 2004
Paradox. The question is the answer. By that, I mean that you have to be very precise about the question you ask. Not that the question has to be a literary masterpiece of grammer and syntax -- but you, YOU, have to know every thing that the question is supposed to ask. The question seeks an answer but the answer often has several components to it. For example, you want to know how to put buttonholes in a pretzel. (Nobody knows how to do that, right?) So, you ask that. But what will the answer have to tell you? What kind of a pretzel? How big a pretzel? What kind of button hole? How big a button? Etc., etc. Now that you are aware of what the question and answer has to show you, you can design a spread that has a position for each component of the anwer: the kind of pretzel, the size of pretzel, the type of button hole, the type and size of button, what the challenge will be, what you need to know, what kind of resource is there to help you? At this point there will be card in each position for each part of the question-answer. Simple. Dave.

joya250	14 Nov 2004
haha, "simple", eh Dave? :P Paradox, as you know, it would totally depend WHAT you were trying to learn what to do. I think the more technical the endeavour, the less tarot would work. Would you ask the tarot, for example, how to repair your car engine, stitch a wound, etc? Uh, probably not. But, you might use it for suggestions on how to get a date, connect with a long-lost friend, etc. I aplogize if this response seems condescending in any way. It is not meant to be. I simply just want to say that it is important to use the right tool for the job -- and tarot is not always the answer. Of course this question gets more interesting when you consider the belief that WE have all the answers "inside" us anyway -- or at least in theory we have access to all the information in the world (via tapping into the universal consciousness, akasic (sp?) records, etc.). And, if THAT is the case, the it would follow that we COULD use tarot to learn anything we wanted... I guess. Anyway, what exactly are you asking about learning? Or is this just a general question. To open this up more... Let me ask, does anybody have any stories about using the tarot to learn [an unusual] thing??? peace, joya

Lee	15 Nov 2004
I'm not sure if this addresses the question, but I remember reading somewhere in Mary Greer's writings that she used the tarot as sort of a mental filing cabinet. As she reads something, whether it be fiction or nonfiction, she'll categorize what she's reading (it seemed to have become pretty much an automatic process for her) into its appropriate tarot card, and she would draw or write a quick shorthand indication of which card it was in the margin of the book. I imagine if you're wanting to learn from what you're reading, this would be a way to help do that. -- Lee

Fulgour	15 Nov 2004
Paradox wrote: My question is: Is it possible to use the tarot as a tool to learn how to do something that you don't know how to do? What about to learn how to do something that nobody knows? If so, how? What spread? You should get The Tarot of the Animal-Lords: this is all covered in the book!

Paradox	15 Nov 2004
Fulgour wrote: You should get The Tarot of the Animal-Lords: this is all covered in the book! Whoa! Seriously? I have that one. I don't remember the LWB saying, where did it?

Vincent	15 Nov 2004
Paradox wrote: My question is: Is it possible to use the tarot as a tool to learn how to do something that you don't know how to do? What about to learn how to do something that nobody knows? If so, how? What spread? If that was possible, don't you would think that someone would have consulted the Tarot to get you a definitive answer by now? Vincent

rosesred	15 Nov 2004
For me, tarot is very often showing me what to strive for, not how to achieve it. The first step is outlined, but the rest is up to me. If you're planning to build a moon rocket, I think it is easier to just study for 12 years and then join NASA. This will probably take less time than asking such precise questions. In my experience, tarot only tells you what to learn, or what to do. It doesn't tell you how to connect the dots.

The Using Tarot to Learn New Things thread was originally posted on 14 Nov 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.