Tarot dreams

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 Jan 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Stacie Doll	25 Jan 2005
i know some people like to sleep with tarot cards under their pillow. have you ever felt the cards made you have certain dreams when doing so?

bleuivy	25 Jan 2005
Well, I don't sleep with cards under my pillow, but I do keep decks on my bedside table for late night and early morning readings. When I got my first deck, I tried sleeping with it under my pillow, and I woke up with a stiff neck. So I don't do that anymore just out of self preservation. Right now, my bedside table decks are the Gilded Tarot and the Secret Tarot. I have been finding myself dreaming about certain cards, or finding elements of some of the card artwork incorporating itself into my dreams. Lately, the setting for the Secret's 4 of wands has been working itself into my dreams alot. No one's there, though (unlike the card), it's just an empty place, perhaps for me to inhabit. Also, I find myself dreaming of card back alot lately, which at first struck me as very strange. In my dreams, they usually show up as windows or doors, and I've come to see this as appropriate. It gives me the idea that I don't know what's happening on the other side - what card the window or door represents, that I have to go and find out. To me, tarot really is a series of windows and doors into other realms, other parts of ourselves, that we feel compelled to investigate. And so dreaming of the backs of cards, while it at first struck me as strange, is now starting to make a good deal of sense.

gargoyle_guarded	25 Jan 2005
The first week I ever slept with my tarot cards under my pillow, I had much interrupted sleep and the most bizarre dreams. I figured this was a result of my mind and the cards trying to come together. This eventually passed. However, when I do a reading for myself and I am not clear on the interpretations or I am too tired to devote anymore energy to the spread, I simply gather all the cards together, put them back in my tarot pouch, and then place the entire deck under my pillow. Almost always, I will dream of the cards and interpret their meanings. There is something to be said about the expression "go to bed and sleep on it".

MoonMaiden	25 Jan 2005
Darn! You guys just reminded me that I dreamt about a specific tarot card the other night and remembered it when I first awoke, then forgot it. It might have been a made-up card, but it was supposed to be a tarot card - and someone was teaching me something about it. Perhaps if I set up to dream about it, or like you say, sleep with my deck under the pillow. :) btw bleuivy, that windows and doors thing is nifty. Cheers!

ros	25 Jan 2005
I use to put the decks under my pillow. My dreams were o.k. until.... I tried it with the "Thoth"! I just didn't sleep well. There is a thread somewhere, someone had posted. Beware of putting the Thoth Deck under your pillow. You may have bad dreams.

bleuivy	25 Jan 2005
gargoyle_guarded wrote: when I do a reading for myself and I am not clear on the interpretations or I am too tired to devote anymore energy to the spread, I simply gather all the cards together, put them back in my tarot pouch, and then place the entire deck under my pillow. Almost always, I will dream of the cards and interpret their meanings. There is something to be said about the expression "go to bed and sleep on it". That sounds like an interesting idea. I think I might snatch it from you the next time I do a reading and am too tired to really interpret it, or just not satisfied with my level of reading. I hope it works! I love having dreams about tarot!

Stacie Doll	25 Jan 2005
i had nightmares the first time i slept with my deck. in the morning i realized the devil card was right on top. the next night i slept with the star card under my pillow. i had good dreams.

tinkerbell	26 Jan 2005
wow- i wouldn't dare....... i'd be way too scared of spoiling them and i have 2 little girls who like to play "musical beds" in the dead of night- i dread to think of the damage if they found them whilst tossing and turning!!!!! however, i do find that the tarot induces vivid dreams, nothing i can remember in any kind of specific detail but if i start hankering after a particular deck on my wishlist, it does appear in my dreams. this happened last night. i spent about 20 minutes updating my wishlist. i.m really taken with the sacred rose, having seen the deck here on aeclectic and the card images just kept popping up in my dream! i guess this means i'll just have to give in and order it then!!! these cards really DO get inside your head,don't they!!! love tink xx

bleuivy	26 Jan 2005
tinkerbell wrote: if i start hankering after a particular deck on my wishlist, it does appear in my dreams. You know, tinkerbell, the same thing happens to me now that you mention it. Some decks that I don't have yet, but dearly want to get, have been showing up in my dreams lately. This happened with the Fey just a few nights ago. A clear sign I should go ahead and order the darn thing, instead of pussyfooting around as I've been doing ever since I saw the deck online. I think it's amazing how much these cards can get into your head, even the ones we don't own yet, and so don't know so well.

Athara	26 Jan 2005
bleuivy wrote: This happened with the Fey just a few nights ago. A clear sign I should go ahead and order the darn thing, instead of pussyfooting around as I've been doing ever since I saw the deck online. That's the Fey's way of calling you, alright. You should definately get them, I promise you they won't dissappoint you! :)

Emily	26 Jan 2005
I slept with the DruidCraft next to my bed when I first took delivery of it - I was reading the book before going to sleep and the deck was there too. I had some amazing dreams but they seemed to be more like Vikings than anything else, even though they were dressed like the people in the DruidCraft and they didn't have the big Viking helmets on. Strange dream lol :D

Sophie-David	26 Jan 2005
Hi Stacie Doll Stacie Doll wrote: i know some people like to sleep with tarot cards under their pillow. have you ever felt the cards made you have certain dreams when doing so? I am currently working through each card of Legend: The Arthurian Tarot this way. Each night just before sleep I study the card of the night and the accompanying story from the deck's book, A Keeper of Words. I put the new card at the top of the deck and place the pack in a ziplock plastic bag under the pillow, but inside the pillowslip - this keeps them safe from damage. Once the Majors were done I separated them from the rest so I could read with them. I do not always remember dreams of the card, but I often do. Last night was the Queen of Swords - we went on a walk together. :) More details of this process are posted here, on page 2: [thread=35514]Legend: The Priestess Nimue[/thread] and a recent occurence which resulted in me ordering a new deck here: [thread=36231]Dreaming About The Lover's Path[/thread] Cheers David

Fudugazi	26 Jan 2005
ros wrote: Beware of putting the Thoth Deck under your pillow. You may have bad dreams. That's true. The big edition is so bulky! You wake up with a crick in the neck and a headache. The Mini Tarot de Marseille on the other hand, you don't feel, but make sure it doesn't stick into your ear.

Stacie Doll	26 Jan 2005
Thanks for linking those threads. :)

Kit	26 Jan 2005
I've slept with decks under my pillow before. Actually, I've slept with a deck under my pillow twice before switching over to just sleeping with it next to me in the bed (it was uncomfortable under the pillow). No squashed decks yet. I recall having a few very strange tarot induced dreams. One included me hiking down a mountain and reading for friends at 'tarot reading stations' (flimsy tables which I invented in the dream). I've also had dreams where I've seen cards that weren't in the tarot. Often, they pertained to current events/issues/advice or I associated them in the dream with certain real-life people. Then again, I've had tarot dreams with out sleeping with a deck, usually when I've been reading just before going to sleep or thinking tarot thoughts, writing journal, notes, etc. Good fun :laugh: Kit

bleuivy	28 Jan 2005
Athara wrote: That's the Fey's way of calling you, alright. You should definately get them, I promise you they won't dissappoint you! :) Just ordered it with the tail end of my Christmas money. Can't wait for it to arrive! Maybe it'll now stop bugging me in my dreams. :) Nah. Based on past experience, I can deffinately say that they'll start showing up in my dreams even more. Excellent...

The Tarot dreams thread was originally posted on 25 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.