memorizing meanings, etc

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 03 Apr 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

cormac	03 Apr 2005
do you (any and all of you :) ) think it is necessary for a beginner to memorize all the card meanings or know them very very well i suppose before moving on to a more in-depth book or is being familiar with them and having ready-reference at hand ok? i was thinking of moving on to the '78 degrees' -- seems to be a universally admired text

mnemosyne7	03 Apr 2005
Hi Cormac, You know your personal learning style better than anyone. Do what feels right to you. 78 Degrees is a spectacular resource, and will certainly enhance your perception of the cards. What deck(s) are you using right now? Mnem

Little Baron	03 Apr 2005
Just my opinion of course ... I think that an all round of the cards is needed to begin with. However, if you are using a RWS, then I think that a lot of that foundation information can be found there. The author goes into quite a lot of detail about what she thinks those images mean. I don't think you would need much more knowledge before reading 78DoW. LB

Fulgour	03 Apr 2005
Memorizing isn't as important as Experiencing... Write down the meanings that resonate for you, making one page each for the 4 suits and Majors. Make each phrase or keyword those that click, be true to your feelings, rather than "correct". Of course you'll revise this, almost daily, then just every once in a while, and later not at all. They will be "keepsakes" of your experience. :)

Fudugazi	03 Apr 2005
I agree with Fulgour - your own experience of the symbols of Tarot will be fresher if you approach them "naked". Once you have some familiarity, you might want to go onto reading tarot books. You can also use books of symbols, or other esoteric resource, which will help you form your own idea for each card (that is - it doesn't all have to come from off the top of your head ;)) But as someone else said - it really depends on your learning style. I used 78 Degrees after a while, because of the depth the Rachel Pollack's study - but I take it as a personal trip through the Tarot, not a Bible. She's strong on symbolism, which I like, but not very practical. A better practical learning book is "It's All In the Cards".

Little Baron	03 Apr 2005
Even though it helped me to have a little idea of the cards (elements of suits and the rest), I agree with Fulgour and Helvetica that 'your own personal' trip is important; if not the most important. I have done exactly what Fulgour suggested for the Marseille tarot and now, those meanings I have developed have become my own and the cards feel like 'my own' as well. Wishing you the best on your travels. LB

cormac	03 Apr 2005
i am using the deck that came with the book "basic tarot" by evelin burger and johannes fiebig -- i thought it was a rider-waite but perhaps it is not -- it is not as detailed -- below is a link to some samples from the deck http://www.tarotgarden.com/database/images/b-decks/basicscards.gif i have read completely and re-read the majority of this book and another ("the little black book of tarot" by nannette stone) -- this is my first week of tarot and i have drawn a day card and started a journal ... i am a good study i think -- i am a student of history and read as often as i can so i hope i have the basics down ... but i couldn't give you an off-the-cuff definition of the 3 of pentacle for example i feel eager to move on but i've always been eager for more on an interesting subject -- i just wondered what the feelings of others were as whether they thought it was a good point to move on or to go back and continue over the cards meanings more :) btw thank you all for so much help -- it's so nice to be recieved and aided as you have :)

peridot	03 Apr 2005
Hi Cormac, I’m a novice as well and I agree that 78 Degrees is a great book. It's very helpful for me. I'm getting a clearer understanding of what the cards could mean. I recently bought “The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals” by Mary Greer. I really like this one as well. There are so many books out there and sometimes the meanings don’t seem to be the same from one book to another. So, Like Fulgour and Helvetica mentioned, it is what makes best sense to you and how you like to study. I want the overall picture because I have a hard time taking a keyword and really understanding how it applies to that card. For example: Seven of Wands – keyword: Conflict Ok, what about it though? Eek! I just don’t get it. So I review the meanings from a few books and I can deduce that faced with conflict the man is holding his own and prevailing. He expects to win and fights to overcome obstacles. He is defending what he believes to be right and is persistent in the face of adversity. Then once I have a basic understanding I can delve a little deeper but without those books with conflicting meanings and the ones that elaborate more on symbolism I’d have nothing to go on. I think I’d be a little clueless and frustrated to say the least. :) There are keyword games in this forum too that have been helping me to remember meanings.

Umbrae	03 Apr 2005
My advice. Begin at the beginning. Go slow, unless you strive for mediocrity. Begin with one or two-card spreads. Do them forever. Do a lot of them. There is no need to advance to a three or five-card spread until you have at least six months of reading under your belt. It is the lessons and the discipline you learn with working with the little spreads that helps later in day-to-day situations. Throw out the LWB. Don’t read books. Instead, buy a spiral notebook. Use it as a Journal (very important). Write down every reading (both cards and your interpretation). Learning the cards, and how you relate to the cards is part of your learning process. Buying a book will be to subordinate your relationship with the cards and their images to the author’s relationship with the cards and their images. Most of the questions you will ask, you will find the answers in your own journal, written by your own hand.

Emily	03 Apr 2005
Hi Cormac, The deck you are using seems to have un-illustrated pip cards - If you move onto a book like 78 Degrees, it uses the Rider Waite deck which has illustrated Minors (pip cards) . The Marseille has unillustrated pip Minors like the deck you are using. If you don't much like the artwork of the Rider Waite then there are many clone decks out there - the Morgan Greer is one of my favourites. On the other hand if you wanted to stay with the unillustrated pip Minors then the Marseille decks might interest you. I love the style of the Marseille decks and the Italian Soprafino decks but I can't read with them at all - I'm very heavily influenced by the RWS symbolism.

Fulgour	03 Apr 2005
Emily wrote: I love the style of the Marseille decks and the Italian Soprafino decks but I can't read with them at all - I'm very heavily influenced by the RWS symbolism. This is where things get interesting, and with this topic, very much so. The "meanings" of the cards is within you. The deck you choose is your personal choice for you, and this is just the same as the meanings you discover. We all have our core beliefs, our hard earned knowledge, and this is the challenge and the pleasure we experience.

Tabby	03 Apr 2005
I do agree with Umbrae on her advice. 78 Degrees was a little bit too soon for me as far as understanding it all. But, it is a worthwhile book to still have in your library. I plan on going back to it after some more experience with the tarot. I just recently bought The Complete Tarot Reader by Teresa Michelsen. I am right now on the first lesson in the book. And it has you go through the cards at first and right down your first impression of them. Then go back and look at the cards more closely write down what details the cards have in them and how it relates to the card and if it supports your first idea of the card. What emotions do you feel by looking at the card and how the card relates to you. Then once you have done that and if you have a book that comes with your deck go back through and compare your journal meanings with it. It is a lot of work...lol But, I do feel like I'm learning more about the tarot this way. I wish the Tarot Reader was out last year when I was fumbling through trying to figure out how to read the cards. Because I can tell I'm going to learn more this way than any other way I've tried.

Nevada	03 Apr 2005
It might be better to establish what you consider the theme of each card, rather than specific interpretations. Nevada

Fudugazi	03 Apr 2005
I think the point Umbrae made was that you will have a better and more intimate understanding of your cards if you do without the tarot books for a while. If you learn to know them by looking at them and by noting what they mean to you. Then - only then - go to books. It's good advice from a very savvy Tarot reader! Do a search here and look for his Process series. Well worth the time spent.

Rusty Neon	03 Apr 2005
Helvetica wrote: I think the point Umbrae made was that you will have a better and more intimate understanding of your cards if you do without the tarot books for a while. If you learn to know them by looking at them and by noting what they mean to you . Then - only then - go to books. It's good advice from a very savvy Tarot reader! Do a search here and look for his Process series. Well worth the time spent. That may work for some. However, it depends on one's style to learning and one's style to the tarot. For me, what attracted and still attracts me to tarot is its history, tradition, symbolism and lore. Thus, tarot books that took that approach were attractive to me from the outset. For me personally, nothing would have been gained from spiral-notebooking before looking at books on tarot history, tradition, symbolism and lore. But that's me.

cormac	03 Apr 2005
i appreciate all your input -- it's very helpful i'm a book-learner i suppose -- if i want to learn about soemthing i get a book -- i think perhaps gardening may be a good parallel for this -- there are many theories and beliefs on gardening but you need to practice it and work out what is best for your soil and climate :) -- i'll take all your advice and work from ther -- i think i'll go thru everything again and then go back thru my day cards and re-read them so to speak and see where i am then :)

Khatruman	03 Apr 2005
I am a wonderful book learner myself. However, my advice is to listen to Umbrae in regards to the most important part of learning: using the cards, journaling, etc. I cringed when I saw the thread title on "memorizing meanings." That doesn't work, even for basic vocabulary, though my students think it will. They memorize vocabulary book meanings, spit them back for tests, then never get to really understand the words until they use them, see them in relation to other words, getting context. This is what you need to do to learn the cards too. Those in the teaching profession are quite familiar with Bloom's Taxonomy, the scale of learning and the levels of understanding. Lowest on the scale is comprehension, including memorization. Intuition can be developed without books; however, it is helped along by the information held in books. By all means, read Rachel Pollack's 78 Degrees, but read it for the information she tells you about the card and its associations, history, etc. Do not try to memorize reading, but read it, and see what comes to your mind next time you use the cards. It is a slower process to use and journal, but it is the only way to reach true understanding.

Nevada	03 Apr 2005
Khatruman wrote: I am a wonderful book learner myself. So am I. I learned to knit from a book. I learned Tarot from books. But . . . Khatruman wrote: However, my advice is to listen to Umbrae in regards to the most important part of learning: using the cards, journaling, etc. I often wish I'd trusted myself more and just started jumping into the intuitive side of reading sooner. Umbrae's method works. I've used it with new decks, getting the feel of them before turning to the book (which is in some cases rather useless, though there are some gems). Nevada

cormac	03 Apr 2005
thank you both Khatruman and Nevada (and Umbrae) -- i will certainly takethis advice to heart and work with the the deck as suggested :) -- thanks for putting up with a newb's searching for a path :)

Emeraldgirl	04 Apr 2005
Hi Cormac, I have just finished reading 78 degrees of Wisdom and I think that it is a book that will help you no matter what level of experience you have. The book revolves around the RWS decks and it may not be as helpful if you are using a Toth deck at the moment but I highly recommend it. I don't think it is important to memorise the cards cause you can always refer to the books if you are having huge blanks on a card. The main thing I have learnt is that it's not so much the meanings in the books as what the cards tell you. Your intuition is probably the second most important part of the reading (the deck is the first)

Fudugazi	04 Apr 2005
Rusty Neon wrote: For me, what attracted and still attracts me to tarot is its history, tradition, symbolism and lore. Thus, tarot books that took that approach were attractive to me from the outset. For me personally, nothing would have been gained from spiral-notebooking before looking at books on tarot history, tradition, symbolism and lore. But that's me. I think both are necessary. What I don't like is a full dependence on tarot books that just regurgitate the same old same old. That's very different from going to look for symbols, tradition, history, etc. from a vast array of sources, the way you did (and are doing) - including in specialised tarot books - and feeding ones knowledge into a notebook alongside one's own observations and personal thoughts on the cards as a whole, the numbers, the symbols, etc. Well, as I do in fact!! One thing I've noticed on this thread and others is people who regret that they can't read Soprafino, or Marseille or any other system other than the RWS. Well, that comes - strange as it may seem - from insufficent ownership of the RWS symbolism. Once you make symbolism your own, you can approach different symbol systems with a much freer mind. It becomes like learning a new language.

Fulgour	04 Apr 2005
Rusty Neon wrote: For me, what attracted and still attracts me to tarot is its history, tradition, symbolism and lore. Thus, tarot books that took that approach were attractive to me from the outset. I would like to add my support to the points Rusty Neon is making, because there is an important amount of very valuable information that is available on the areas noted that should also be considered. Objective information, such as history, tradition, symbolism and lore, provides a provably essential reference, creating a strong background for the subjective interpretations we arrive at through personal efforts. Imagine reading a book for pleasure, without concern for retaining the many particular details, compared to also preparing for an examination on the literary significance, and its broader merits within the full genre. * Subjectively, a book may have lasting personal meaning and significance, but if also read from an objective perspective, detailed insights are gained. Study is work, but if done with purpose and intensity, it's time well spent.

rainwolf	04 Apr 2005
I read an introductory book to tarot first, memorizing some keywords and themes and didnt limit spreads-i did Celtic crosses as one of my first spreads. I wasnt able to read it very well (and i prolly wouldnt have read a small one well either), but i thought about it and it helped. The thing that made me read better was studying the cards themselves and studying books and what it all means. I usually buy books that have interpretations in line with my own, or ones that really agree with me. I dont put down memorizing or book studying like some others because that is what i actually enjoy-seeing others interpretations from it. Good luck in readings.

Fudugazi	04 Apr 2005
rainwolf wrote: I dont put down memorizing or book studying like some others because that is what i actually enjoy-seeing others interpretations from it. Good luck in readings. Well, re-reading the thread, I don't think anyone has put down reading books (well, apart from those flimsy little LWBs...) ! I think we are all rather blue-stocking-ish here :) It is how we use books in our personal exploration of the Tarot that counts.

Red Emma	04 Apr 2005
Umbrae wrote: My advice. ... Throw out the LWB. Don’t read books. Instead, buy a spiral notebook. Use it as a Journal (very important). Write down every reading (both cards and your interpretation). Learning the cards, and how you relate to the cards is part of your learning process. Buying a book will be to subordinate your relationship with the cards and their images to the author’s relationship with the cards and their images. Discarding the LWB which came with a deck, not using other books, seems to work well for quite a few Aeclectic Tarot people. It works less well for others. Actually, instead of a book subordinating my relationship with the cards to that of an author's, I find my mind expanded with ideas and concepts which wouldn't have occurred to me. Using/not using books seems to be a recurring discussion on these boards. The best suggestion you've received in answer to your question is to try all the ideas which appeal to you. Use those which work for you.

psychic sue	04 Apr 2005
Of course, I had to learn on my own, and I had no pictures on the pips, so I think people learning today are very lucky, in that they have the support of people on this forum, countless books and nice picture pips! I agree that it depends on your preferred learning style. I just dove straight in and read the celtic cross about a hundred times for friends and family, referring to the book all the way through! But if I was learning today, I think I would take each card individually, read about it, ask questions about it and I am an advocate of sleeping with it under the pillow (some people don't like this - it's personal preference). Good luck in your tarot travels! Sue :)

Emily	04 Apr 2005
Also I think it's interesting to read an authors take on a card - especially if its a companion book to the deck you are using - but there are some really bad tarot books out there, bad as in the authors' descriptions don't add to your meaning of the cards or the information is just a rehash of what you've read before. I do believe that its important to journal spreads and to keep records of your own ideas. But for me book learning is important - I'm a reader by nature so its natural for me to read tarot books.

muteswan	04 Apr 2005
I think the strangest thing is that, when a card dosen't ring true to the querent, if I read the card's pamphlet definition with the deck, it usually will. I have a lot of faith, because of so many such experiences, that the written meaning of a card holds a lot of water.

MercyMe	04 Apr 2005
I think it's really helpful to read the companion books to decks. The LWB's are just sketchy, so I'm not really talking about those, but the bigger, more indepth books the deck creator or collaborator wrote to talk about why this or that color, symbol, image was used and what prevailing message the artist was trying to communicate. However, that doesn't mean that's the only message or even the primary one for that card in any reading. In the Victoria Regina deck, for example, the court cards would be somewhat difficult to intuitively read because a lot of their inherent meaning is based on the historical character on the card, that person's personality, characteristics, experiences, and methods of dealing with life. One almost has to read the companion book to get the history lesson for the deeper nuanced meanings of the court cards in that deck. I'm an avid reader and researcher and so book reading always goes with whatever subject or area of interest I am pursuing. I enjoy reading all kinds of topics about Tarot, so book meanings tend to enhance rather than restrict my readings. I understand at the outset that there are almost limitless possibilities to interpreting the cards and I find it facinating now (though I admit it was confusing at first) to read the various ways others see the cards. ~Mercy

The memorizing meanings, etc thread was originally posted on 03 Apr 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.