need advice

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 18 Jan 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

loveinspirit	18 Jan 2005
hi i have been teaching a tarot class and have 4 weeks to go, not sure what to teach them now.... we have gone through the major and minor cards,and different readings.. and a refresher class after christmas.. next class is 20th jan, would like them to do psychic readings of each other as a bit of fun, if they get it wrong it doesnt matter. can anyone help with what else i can do please thanks.

Fudugazi	18 Jan 2005
have you done a class on numbers yet?

contradiction	18 Jan 2005
how about, different spreads, making up spreads to fit the reading. you could also spend some time on learning to trust intuition. hope this helps.

Kiama	18 Jan 2005
Maybe something on symbolism - colour symbolism, astrological symbols, Runes, animal symbolism, etc? How about the Fool's Journey? History of Tarot? How Tarot works? The nature of the future, freewill, and Tarot? How to create your own spread? Tarot journalling... Or even, how to teach Tarot! Blessings, Kiama

loveinspirit	19 Jan 2005
i have done all of the above thats why ive run out of ideas, any other suggestions more than welcome

huredriel	19 Jan 2005
How about having them do a draw for the following days, until the next class, then they can come back and discuss what happened in their lives and how the cards they drew connected to certain events? x Huredriel

Fudugazi	19 Jan 2005
A while ago in the Let's Marseille section there were some readings done on fairy tales, and others (later) on proverbs. They were great excercise, stretched even quite experienced readers and fun. Have a look to see what I mean. That could be an idea to experiment with -to read for people in myths and fairytales, or to explain a proverbs, etc. You can imagine others of the same type. Then get the class to talk about the relation between symbol and myth (roughly: symbol= as above so below; myth= as before so now); or symbol and fairytale from an archetypal perpective, or a psychological perspective, or an aethetic perspective. You can have them explore old sayings, Shakespeare quotes, or even advertising slogans, from a symbolic point to view. These are excercises in intuition, use of symbol, flexibility of the Tarot, and it does wonders for self-confidence.

HudsonGray	19 Jan 2005
Have you tried having them pull 'cause and effect' cards to help reinforce the card meanings, or similarities yet differences? Like the Tower & 10 of Wands (breakdown then the long rebuilding). Hanged man and the 8 of Swords. Temperance and 2 of Pentacles. Queen of Pents and the Empress. 8 of Wands and the Chariot. Put up 2 cards and ask why they're similar yet not the same--to get thier minds going. I'd also have them do one, two or three card pulls. If they're not up to doing a reading on themselves or for each other then have them pull 2 cards that represent the strongest things about a tv character they know. It'll start them making connections or seeing connections. See what they pull for Mulder from the X-Files, or for the characters in the Lost show, etc. Some characters that the whole class would be familiar with. Have them pull 2 cards for their pets. Or a card for themselves with the thought 'what hinders me most' so they can get a benefit from it.

Kiama	20 Jan 2005
How about Tarot Games? Or creating your own deck...? You could have a fun session where you all choose a theme amongst you (e.g. Greek myths, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc) and create a Tarot deck in theory. Decide which characters and events in the theme relate to what cards. Best to do Majors only, or you'll be there all night. Out of interest - how many people are you teaching? Kiama

wildchilde	20 Jan 2005
Hi Loveinspirit! I'm so glad you have hung in there with the class and that things have progressed so well! Brava!!! Sounds like you have some great suggestions here! I think your idea about practicing the more "psychic" readings--sans books and notes about specific meanings--is a great idea!! I think your students would really benefit from being guided in how to just let go and feel the cards! Way to go, Loveinspirit!!! Congratulations on a job well done! :)

Scion	20 Jan 2005
Hey Don't know if you know a novel by Italo Calvino called The Castle of Crossed Destinies, but it might prove useful as a model for at least one class. Amazon's Synopsis: "The novel concerns two groups of travelers through a forest, both of which have lost the power to speak as the result of traumatic events. One group is spending the night in a tavern, the other in a castle. In each place, the travelers tell the stories of their lives, using tarot cards instead of words. A narrator at each place interprets the cards for the reader, but since the tarot cards are subject to multiple interpretations, the stories the narrators offer are not necessarily the stories intended by the mute storytellers." What about doing some storytelling in pairs using only cards? Have each tell a story in cards while their partner writes it down, then trade, then compare. To get even friskier, break up pairs, trade partners and tell your old partners's story to your new partner. Often the story read by a different person will elicit a new spread of cards from the new listener. I used this a few years back and it was wildly successful. Great exercise for noticing details and for finding the flow of meaning in the cards in a spread. You REALLY get to knwow a deck when you have to relate a story without speaking. Scion

The need advice thread was originally posted on 18 Jan 2005 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.