Tarot is not a big deal...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 13 Dec 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Flavio	13 Dec 2004
Well actually it is :D but I needed a good title for this thread. Have you ever been in a situation were doing Tarot is seen as a very ordinary thing and carrying a deck with you is as common as seen people with walkman on the streets? What feelings did you experience? was it like heaven? did you re-evaluate the role of Tarot in your life? This Saturday I had the chance to spent a very enlightening and nice afternoon with a group of gay male neopagans, most of them Wicca, as a sub-beginner in paganism I felt a little bit out of place at the beginning :confused: during the meeting someone asked for a Tarot deck and almost everyone was carrying one! that was nice because only at the school I had been among many Tarot readers, there was a small discussion about major arcana as religious archetypes in ancient cultures, most of the guys spoke in "Robin Woodish" I felt grateful with the additional knowledge I had to accumulate in order to read Tarot because it helped me connect to the group and participate in the discussion :) I feel very happy at this moment because I discovered how Tarot can help me on the next steps of my spiritual journey and because I found this group of guys willing to help each other, I feel like studying a lot more in order to contribute in that wonderful knowledge exchange. Look for other members comments! :)

Cerulean	13 Dec 2004
...at conferences and in the U.S. there was a free internet site called "Meetup" that allowed people to sign up for topics in their local area. After a year or so, five people finally got their schedules together to meet locally and it turns out they do go to one or two of the same conferences and like tarot and oracle decks. That felt nice, to meet with them once a month and have coffee or tea and just talk about the tools. Regards Cerulean

ambermoon	13 Dec 2004
So far in my life, the largest group of tarot readers I've experienced in person has been three, at a MeetUp. It's the small synchronicities that give me pleasure, like mentioning the Baroque Bohemian Cats deck to a cat-lover in my office, and finding out that she has been reading tarot for years. Ultimately, we pooled resources and ordered our BBC decks together, saving on postage. Or finding out in the course of a conversation on something else altogether, that a former employee acquired the Faerie Oracle about the same time that I did, and while neither of us are exactly struggling with it, we are both experiencing the quirkiness of the fae. So, it's not finding tarot in expected places, but in the unexpected, everyday ones that feels so good.

Ace	13 Dec 2004
Good thread Flavio! I feel that way always when talking to my Tarot friends some of whom, like me, do tarot full time and others I know who work with tarot a lot-some of whom are on this forum! Other times? at Science Fiction conventions or when I was doing something with the Society for Creative Anachronism. People I met or knew there didn't ALL read tarot, but they respected it (with a few exceptions) and it was fun to talk to them.

Flavio	14 Dec 2004
Thank you all for the shared stories so far... you know what I'm talking about :D the internet site mentioned "Meetup" seemed like a good idea for meeting people but probably not to get money :( Loved ambermoon "small synchronicities" concept, made realize not everything was to be a life changing event, those small pleasure have a charm of its own. Ace... what do Society for Creative Anachronism does?

rosyelf	14 Dec 2004
Flavio, that group you've found sounds great :D However satisfying it is to spend time alone with one's favourite pieces of illustrated cardboard ;) it really is lovely to meet with similar folk once in a while to share your interest and pool your knowledge. I've been realizing this recently, now that I and 3 other members of the Forum have begun meeting up in Liverpool once a month. It's lovely to not have to explain, much less justify. It's fascinating to see other people's decks and hear about why they love them. On a deeper level, it's a spiritual gathering. Enjoy.

Keslynn	15 Dec 2004
I meet with a women's spirituality group about once a month. We explore different topics together, but many times it's been tarot-related. It is very fun to learn and explore together. Of course, you can gain insight by yourself and online, but there's something different and just as wonderful about group learning dynamics. :) Kes

Kiama	15 Dec 2004
I virtually LIVE in this kind of way. Running a Pagan Society means that most of my free time is spent in the Pagan Community, and most of the people I hang out with are Pagans or interested in Paganism in some way. Somebody asking me if I've got my Tarot deck on me is simply redundant these days, and most people will just reach into my bag and pull it out, start shuffling, and do readings... The only time things would be weird and unusual amongst my group of friends is if I didn't have my Tarot deck on me, or declined a reading. I guess being amongst a group of people who understand Tarot-speak, I can communicate more abstract ideas easily. Instead of trying to explain a difficult concept, I could simply say "It's like the Tower card..." and immediately everybody will understand. They also understand where I'm coming from more, and we've found that as a group we help each other with Tarot quite a lot, even with such simple things as just chatting about it, or adding insights into a reading somebody's doing for somebody else. So, instead of the Tarot being a mysterious occult tool, it has become for me a tool for spiritual progress, for group progress, and a means to an end as well as an end in itself. Kiama

CloeCat	18 Dec 2004
Back in Sept just after my Handfasting the store I was a reader for closed abruply do to things I had nothing to do with(landlord and owner). Anyway this not only cut me from my income but also from a Fantastic Women's circle that had become a community. We talked about many subjects, helped each other learn tarot and other things, plus shared reading. Oh I miss our circle, I have been looking for a new place to gather but no luck let. No purrrs, CloeCat

huredriel	18 Dec 2004
CloeCat wrote: Back in Sept just after my Handfasting the store I was a reader for closed abruply do to things I had nothing to do with(landlord and owner). Anyway this not only cut me from my income but also from a Fantastic Women's circle that had become a community. We talked about many subjects, helped each other learn tarot and other things, plus shared reading. Oh I miss our circle, I have been looking for a new place to gather but no luck let. No purrrs, CloeCat Excuse me for butting in (as usual) but it's just an idea, couldn't you all have get-togethers at each others houses? And take it in turns as to whose home? x Huredriel

CloeCat	18 Dec 2004
I do not mind at all huredurel, well I live with my huby and his family as in mormon mom. And a dog that gets up set when strangers are in the house. If it was just us I'd do it. But maybe I'll run it by some of the ladies. thanks again for your idea. many purrrs, CloeCat

huredriel	18 Dec 2004
Yr welcome, have fingers crossed for you x Huredriel

Alta	19 Dec 2004
CloeCat, I am sorry to hear that you have lost something as valuable as that resource group. I hope at least one of the members would let the others come to their house or you find someplace neutral. I feel this way about the Ottawa Tarot Club, it is so strengthening to speak with others who understand what you mean and then the whole becomes greater. Two of the four of us have houses, so we alternate between the houses. Works well for us, but circumstances dictate.

CloeCat	20 Dec 2004
Thanks for your kind thoughts and wishes, I am going to keep looking. Yah, I miss them but I figger there was a reason this all happen, like becoming more greatful for even having the plasure of knowing the ladies even if it was just for a while, though I'm working on trying not to be with out the circle for long. I think its adding fuel to my surch. Many purrrs, CloeCat

The Tarot is not a big deal... thread was originally posted on 13 Dec 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.