writing on cards

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

Jasminebr	25 Jan 2005
I'm beginner and I'm having trouble remembering things on a couple of cards and I was wondering if writing keywords on the margins of my cards would have any repercussions that I cant think of.

rainwolf	25 Jan 2005
I dont think so, except the aesthetic value which i prize. There are decks with meanings on them, but i think that takes away from personal meanings you see when you read each time. i would just make a journal and dedicate one page per card and buy books. I dont think there is really any space on the card either...but thats just my opinion, whatever u go for is fine-thats the joy of tarot.

Phoenix Rising	25 Jan 2005
I don't think it would take away or add any energy, if that's what you mean. You could get sticky labels on them and once you think you've got it memorised then peel them off. As a beginner, take more note of the picture, it well tell you the story.

Moonbow*	25 Jan 2005
Hi Jasminebr I can understand your frustration, but maybe you are trying a little too hard to remember someone else's meanings. You will remember your own far easier. Have your tried (and this is just a suggestion), just working with your cards and your own interpretation of them. Obviously, some of what you already know will come into what you now think of each card. Look at the picture, colours, symbols, expressions... all the detail you can think of, and try to associate the card with something or someone in your life. That way, each time you see the card you will remember the meaning. This comes with practice...... there is no hurry. Just something you may want to try before writing on your cards.

Sinner	25 Jan 2005
I saw pictures in a tarot book once of a deck that had small two-line meanings printed on both sides of each card for reversed and upright interpretation, it had the border of a normal playing card and even had playing card suits in a corner e.g. 7 of pentacles had a 7 and a diamond on the card. The border also had whether the card was minor or major arcana printed on it. The middle of the card was basically just RWS images. It didn't tell me the name of the deck and I can't find it anywhere, if anyone can clarify whether it exists I'm sure it would help.

Jewel-ry	25 Jan 2005
I personally would not write on my cards. I think you should give yourself time and eventually the meaning of the cards will come through to you. Don't put yourself under too much pressure to learn them, just go with the flow. As Phoenix says, little sticky labels may be a better way to go. You may regret writing on them IMO. :)

ivyrita	25 Jan 2005
i wrote on my RWS deck.. the astrological influence of each card.. i had trouble getting the ink to stay neat.. many smudges.. and i never got all of the cards finished. regret-o-meter.. about 50% now i have teh quest tarot.. which has all the info on the cards already..

SoulFlower	25 Jan 2005
I would never write on any of my cards. To begin with, think keywords are to restricting. I don't believe a card can mean only one thing and the meaning chance according to the time and the spread you use. But if you really want keywords, you might want to consider buying a deck that has keywords on it. Writing on it will end up in a mess I think.

bleuivy	25 Jan 2005
I agree with soulflower; writing on the cards would be too restricting for me. One of the things I enjoy about tarot are the flashes of inspiration that come in the middle of a reading. These are usually based upon the images within the cards, not some keywords I've memorized, or what's written on the card under or around the picture. I'm still a quasi-beginner myself, but I feel like writing on the cards would be tantamount to training wheels, and I doubt I'd have come so far if I'd done it way back when I was a real unskilled beginner. Also, the first deck I really started studying was the Universal Waite, so I guess that I would have been the deck I'd been writing on. The thought of the deck having writing on it now makes me shudder, like they'd be scarred or something. I like the deck just the way it is.

Fulgour	25 Jan 2005
Sinner wrote: I saw pictures in a tarot book once of a deck that had small two-line meanings printed on both sides of each card for reversed and upright interpretation, it had the border of a normal playing card and even had playing card suits in a corner e.g. 7 of pentacles had a 7 and a diamond on the card. The border also had whether the card was minor or major arcana printed on it. The middle of the card was basically just RWS images. It didn't tell me the name of the deck and I can't find it anywhere, if anyone can clarify whether it exists I'm sure it would help. Zolar's Astrological Fortune Telling Cards http://www.themysticeye.com/pics/zolars.htm Published by U. S. Games, Inc. under exclusive license from Zolar, Inc. © 1983 (56 cards total in the deck). On one side, 56 Minor Arcana cards, and on the reverse, 22 Major Arcana and 32 astrological fortune telling cards. * But for a real deck of 78 cards, there's the: Quick & Easy Tarot Deck http://www.themysticeye.com/pics/quick.htm "Based on the best-selling Universal Waite Tarot, this deck has both the divinatory and reversed interpretations printed right on each card, so it's perfect for beginners." USGames blurb...

ros	25 Jan 2005
I have a deck to read with and a deck to study with. I have written or circled on the study deck. When the readings are done, I use my good deck & remember ideas from the study deck when I'm stuck. I agree sometimes we try too hard to learn. What the heck, I'm not perfect! lol I write on study decks!

Jasminebr	25 Jan 2005
Thanks you all, I'm glad I didnt just start writing, come to think of it it, I would have probally got annoyed with the deck I wrote on after a whilel

RedMaple	25 Jan 2005
I won't go so far as to say I wouldn't write on a deck -- but I haven't up to now. On the contrary, I often trim off the words and borders on my decks because they are distracting and I read better without them. I studied a lot from books, and I think it's enriched my reading ability, but my readings became much freer, more fun, and more accurate, when I let myself rely on the images on the cards. The pictures really do tell the story. I found it helpful when studying, to put the cards into different kinds of groupings. Sometimes I'd look at them by suit, and see what they had in common. Sometimes I looked at them by number, and again, asked what they had in common. All the Queens, all the Aces, obviously, the Majors. Sometimes I'd just pull out my favorites (in fact this is still what I do with new decks.) Or the ones I didn't like. Or the ones that I just didn't connect with - that were a blur (these are the hardest ones for me to read.) I think if you play with them like that, it's much easier than trying to memorize stuff about each card. Little by little each card becomes known to you, you recognize them -- oh, yeah, there's that guy carrrying all those poles again. Or the Lady and the Lion (one of my faves), the old man with a lamp looking for something.... Also, think about how you might have learned stories as a child -- like the Three Little Pigs, or Little Red Riding Hood. Probably you could tell some childhood story right now, if asked. But you probably didn't memorize it. You probably learned it "by heart," that is, you know the essence of the story, so you can tell it in your own words, differently each time. I think reading Tarot is like that.

tarotbear	26 Jan 2005
I have a suggestion or two - the first is have a deck to write on and a clean one to use when reading for others. My second suggestion is not to write on the faces of the cards but on the reverse side so you are not distracted by the words. Most cards have a plastic laminate, so you may have to try a couple of different permanent marking pens to find one that will write on the plastic and not smear off.

magpie9	26 Jan 2005
Use pencil, it erases.

Fulgour	26 Jan 2005
magpie9 wrote: Use pencil, it erases. My downfall was using :* red lipstick... but they were some really great notes.

Kit	26 Jan 2005
Red lipstick, eh Fulgour? :laugh: I think there has been a thread about this before. Off to find it! ... ......Found it! http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=30519 As usual, I think it's all down to personal opinion- if you think it will work, do it! (though you may regret it later) Kit :)

SunChariot	30 Jan 2005
Jasminebr wrote: I'm beginner and I'm having trouble remembering things on a couple of cards and I was wondering if writing keywords on the margins of my cards would have any repercussions that I cant think of. The only repercussions I can think of is that as you grow inexperience, both in Tarot and with your deck, what you see in the cards will change. Our perceptions deepen with experience. And the words you right on your cards now may seem quite inaccurate to you later on, and you may find it annoying to have this visual reminder when the cards no longer mean that to you. Bar

SunChariot	30 Jan 2005
Jasminebr wrote: I'm beginner and I'm having trouble remembering things on a couple of cards and I was wondering if writing keywords on the margins of my cards would have any repercussions that I cant think of. The only repercussions I can think of is that as you grow inexperience, both in Tarot and with your deck, what you see in the cards will change. Our perceptions deepen with experience. And the words you write on your cards now may seem very inaccurate to you later on, and you may find it annoying to have this visual reminder when the cards no longer mean that to you. Tarot meanings are not static, they are very fluid, and change according to your mood, the question, the spread, where the card is located in a spread, what cards surround it... Bar

The writing on cards 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.