My 11 year old and the Five of Cups

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 24 Apr 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Diana	24 Apr 2002
deleted.

Kaz	24 Apr 2002
kids are great diana, they see things we can't even dream about. kaz

january	24 Apr 2002
Diana - How perfect! There's nothing like a child's view. There's a quote from a movie (can't remember the title) that reads, "The first day a kid falls off his bike is the first day he learns about the laws of physics in school." Its bliss to not be so obstructed with experience and knowledge! ~ january

Jenny-Li	24 Apr 2002
Hi! I read your post with a biiiiiig smile :D - and it's true, most of the times I misinterpret my cards it's because I choose a more complicated meaning than I need too...! Wasn't it in the Movie "Contact" they mentioned a scientific law that was about this...? That if you have two possible answers, the simpler one is usually true? I'm not sure I believe that to be true at ALL times, but in some cases I think it might be a good thing to keep in the back of the head...! (Does anyone remember the name of the law?) (Part from that I just wish my mom had got me into Tarot when I was that little... Now I'm thinking of getting her a deck for Mother's day instead! :) ) Light and love (and thanks for the story!), Jenny :)

StormCloud	24 Apr 2002
Occam's Razor

Jenny-Li	24 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by StormCloud Occam's Razor Ahh - that's the one! Thanks! /one who obviously weren't always awake during science class... :D

Mermaid	24 Apr 2002
I don't think it's really a law - more of a general guideline...

Diana	25 Apr 2002
edited

Jenny-Li	25 Apr 2002
Diana --> True, very true. I didn't mean it as any criticism against my mom or anything, I think she did a great job (I mean - just look at the result...! :) ). My comment was more a wish to have been able to experience this as a child, because I think their view of the world is very different than grown-ups. I never thought it would happen to me when I was a kid, that I'd be thinking like an adult - but gee, I thing I already do...! And your definitely right. Eternity is a pretty long time...! :D Love and light, Jenny :)

skytwig	01 Jan 2004
I was purusing the threads for meanings of the 5 Cups, via Firemaiden's wonderful Table of Contents, and found this delightful perspective! Beginner's Mind is always the best! ;)

TemperanceAngel	01 Jan 2004
Children are fantastic readers! My friends' son who is about 11, did a reading for me recently and I gained a new insight on the Seven of Pentacles. My fave part was the huge pause before he read, I was just going to say that he didn't have to read if he didn't want to! The pause added great suspense ;) XTAX

Indigo Rose	01 Jan 2004
...through the eyes of child the world is new, filled with hope and wonder. Thank you for sharing Diana! :)

Diana	02 Jan 2004
Quote: Originally posted by TemperanceAngel My friends' son who is about 11, did a reading for me recently and I gained a new insight on the Seven of Pentacles. Would you care to share this insight? (A lot of very old threads are being bumped up lately - it's fun to have a stroll in the past.... and to link the past to the present.)

Moonbow*	02 Jan 2004
Diana Now you may never talk to me again after I ask this - but I have to know. Does your son use ( I'll just whisper it)....... marseilles? I suppose the answer is obvious really but this may be useful for young people or new people to tarot, to know - if you get me! The reason I ask is because my daughter reads Tarot and oracles. She is 12 and has been reading as long as me - but she's far better and spends less time at it!! She has two decks with un-illustrated pips but not a marseilles yet. I have been thinking of getting her one because her immagination and eye are so good. Moonbow*

Diana	02 Jan 2004
Moonbow*: My son is now twelve and a half. He is only now beginning to slowly grasp what the Tarot of Marseilles is all about, but he is still too young to realise all the implications. (I am also too young to realise all the implications. :laugh: ). When I wrote this thread originally, I was attempting at the time to learn the Rider Waite decks - I joined Aeclectic with a very open mind and used these decks for quite a long time (I only became disillusioned with them after having used them extensively). So if I remember correctly, the deck used in this thread was the RWS deck. I would definitely buy your daughter a Tarot of Marseilles if she is interested in Tarot. But don't push her to use it if she does not want to. Just tell her that it's a very important deck in the Tarot world and leave it at that, unless she herself asks questions. Let it sit in a drawer collecting dust....... until such time that she is ready to blow off the dust and study the cards. My son is not interested anymore in his daily cards. He prefers, he says "not to know". I am very happy about this - it shows that he is living only for the present, in his 12 year old world. I prefer to see him playing on his computer, or skateboarding with his friends than reading Tarot. However, he often comes over and looks at my spreads and always comments on them. He is only now starting to try and read the pips and is doing remarkably well, I must say.

TemperanceAngel	02 Jan 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Diana Would you care to share this insight? (A lot of very old threads are being bumped up lately - it's fun to have a stroll in the past.... and to link the past to the present.) Of course! It was so simple and beautiful (RWS), he said, " You are going to have to work very hard for what you want." There were 2 other cards, can't remember them. After the wonderful pause he did when I thought he was stumped (silly, silly me) I felt myself *gasp*. Do you know why? Well, because he was so right!!! XTAX

Diana	02 Jan 2004
Quote: Originally posted by TemperanceAngel Of course! It was so simple and beautiful (RWS), he said, " You are going to have to work very hard for what you want." Okay! All the people with children! Get them over to the Your Readings and Reading Exchange immediately. We need some childhood wisdom on Aeclectic.

Jewel-ry	02 Jan 2004
Diana, I often ask my son Jake, what he can see in various cards and he always sees something that I dont, always!! Children see things so black and white dont they?? J :)

skytwig	02 Jan 2004
I'm so glad i 'bumped' this thread because I think we need to refresh our innate ability to read.... that is what Child Mind or, as they more formally call it, Beginner's Mind is all about! My curiosity is really piqued here...... i would love to see how a child would interpret the Marseilles without any adult influence....... As adults, it's easy for us to get locked into interpretations. I'm not saying we do that, but the temptation is always there. It is far easier to go with the standard than the 'gut' <.... my observation! I know, at least, that I could trust my gut more.... and i have been trying to do that here.... adding my 'see' in Your Readings' requests, rather than editing myself because I fear i will look 'wrong' to the 'old timers' here.... I liked being the mouthy little child that i was.... I never hesitated to give my 2 cents ('course it got me in a lot of trouble) but what is most special, to me now, is that I really didn't worry about what others thought of me..... I was just me! A very bright, intuitive, no nonsense, scrappy kid! I wonder what we lose when we edit ourselves.... that is a scary thought.... I am trying to honor that little girl; i am trying to see how she would do it today, how she would be me.... whether I am still she!! I love the input in AETarot, I love the essence of 'brain storming' that arises. I learned long ago with my TV Producer mother that brain storming is very close to a spiritual awakening :) When we pull away from that into disagreement, we lose that magick.... we are up in our heads again, away from our gut! So the child teaches us to just SAY IT. To TRUST OUR FIRST INSIGHT..... to go with the flow that is our spiritual rhythm, that part of ourselves that is keenly intune with the Universe. The child teaches us what we have too often forgotten..... the skill of JUST BEING WHO WE ARE....... That is what I read in the above posts about children reading cards..... It is delightful... I found myself envying that freshness. Truth is, we have that freshness.... we talk ourselves out of it alot.... at least, I do.....

Moonbow*	03 Jan 2004
I did a reading for myself a few days ago and the three Marseilles cards that came out were: Ace Cups, Devil, 3 batons. First I looked and looked at the cards myself, I researched them here and read everthing I could find. Then I went to the Hadar site to see what he had to say. Well, this morning, I asked my daughter. What she saw in the Ace Cups. I could have saved myself alot of time. This is what she had to say: Cups means water and emotions......its a very ornate cup so it must be important........ there is water flowing out of it.....on the base there are two lines of zig-zag which is the Egyptian sign for water (? never knew that?).....it is also the aquarious sign.....you can't actually drink out of this cup because of the castle so its a cups where love and emotions flow out............ here's a pic for those that aren't familiar: ( go into configuaration of a deck and scroll down to the Ace Cups) http://www.krishadar.com/A/index1A.asp?na=n&pa=p Children have a wonderful sense of immagination and adventure and this is why they are so good at Tarot. As adults we can lose this - what a shame. Moonbow* :)

Dexter	04 Jan 2004
Children are so free with their thoughts and emotions and tend not to complicate things. As adults we are so afraid of looking stupid that we really curb our creative impulses. I know that when reading the posts here on the forum I'll have a quick flacsh of insight but instead of posting it I start to evaluate it and think Oh can't be right, sounds stupid etc and go on to just reading instead of sharing. It would be wonderful to be able to have that freedom of expression without the nagging little worry of what other people think. Maybe that should have been one of my things to work on for this year.

Star Spirit	04 Jan 2004
Diana, that was great. This is why I'm going to teach tarot to my children. Unfortunately they'll probably end up reading a lot better than I do :D

skytwig	05 Jan 2004
My children were grown by the time i figured out why I had been handling playing cards obsessively all my life!! But a friend of mine had yound, magickal children and we simply bought them tiny playing cards or even Go Fish type cards to use..... then let them come up with whatever they see..... I think starting them with a basic, simple spread can be helpful, but I would recommend 'teaching' as little as possible to them.... let their own innate ability arise and teach them later WHEN THEY ASK........... :)

The My 11 year old and the Five of Cups thread was originally posted on 24 Apr 2002 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.