The Tinker's Tarot.....

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 07 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

ming	07 Aug 2002
Tarophelia, this is all your fault !!! You told me to do this-----and if i get millions of Irish/travelling folk coming on here yelling at me, I'll just curl up & die. Also, I'm an awful lot better at the tarot than I am at computers...this thing is takin years off my life ! The way I was taught, first is to use only the most basic spreads. the cross was for when you were bored or filling in time. For our own use we would use the Three. The Trinity, the past,present, & future. Or also, just cut & ask, cut & ask. One & one. Always talkin out loud to the cards, always ginvin them time to answer.This probably sounds mad to most of you. But all the fancy words, the long-drawn out stories of the traveller, we would have no time for, and personally i still dont. I'm always too keen to get in there & see whats what ! The next thing--it doesnt matter what deck you use; if youve got the gift the could read them off cigarette cards. Practise does help certainly, but some people are born with the gift, and the tarot is an intuition, not a taught lesson. Am I making sense here??- We would always pick the meaning we felt, not read out all of the meanings and discuss them with the person. Just give the one you feel is right. And always, always, take heed of a warning. --If you got the moon, death, ten swords, three swords,--ALL the swords---whatever--in one reading, it doesnt necesarily mean death destructiuon, ruin, defeat, etc. It can be taken as a warning--telling you its there so you can avoid it. It does mean you're in for a bad spell ! But if you're getting a warnin, you gettin it for a reason. To give you time to avoid it. Now I've no doubt this is so different from many people's ideas that we not evwen on the same planet--that Ill seem old, plain, & boring. But that's how it is ! mary.

Dark Inquisitor	07 Aug 2002
Thank you so much for posting this thread ! Makes perfect sense to me- if you know what you're doing I don't suppose fancy spreads are necessary. I think all of us talk to the cards, if only in our heads. Let's see if I can form some questions: Exactly what are "travelling folk"? I have an idea, but better you define it correctly. Why is it called Tinkers Tarot? In this tradition, how do you tell if someone is "born with the gift"? How far back in your family does the gift go? What kind of deck would your grandmother use? Do you read professionally? What is the attitude towards tarot in Ireland & Scotland - now & in the time of your grandmother ? Was there an accepted time frame for a warning to be manifesting? Were there certain ways to keep the cards? Special wraps or boxes, etc. Are there any rituals involved or ways to ground oneself? What is the belief about what's running the tarot itself? Would the Irish travelling folk be angry with you for discussing this- and why? Hope this is not too much for you- answer what you feel comfortable with. Soon , the computer will be your friend! Thanks again, Tarotphelia

ming	07 Aug 2002
OH ! right...Emm. OK--Travellers/tinkers are the gypsy-type people who travel around, but they are dying out now.Used to be common in scotland & ireland, not so many now.My grandmother was good, my mother had no time for it--"silly nonsense" & "rubbish"....As far as I remember she always had Marseilles cards, although they used to read ordinary playing cards.I cant do this, I never learned. You say a child is born with the gift if they see or hear things from a very early age--you knw how some kids seem to do this ??Tell you things before they happen, see people who arent there. It s quite common in young children.I dont know how far it goes, I only knew my grandmother.not anyone before her.No Im not a professional, i think you shoulnt take money for it, its a gift.I mainly do for family,workmates, friends. I think the attitude is changed a lot now, its very trendy to do the tarot now-- Used to be mumbo-jumbo & odd. Now, everybody is into new age stuff & suddenly we fashionable again ! But I notice a lot of nonsense talked-NOT in here, this is a good site, people far more knowledgeable than me here. But some of the rubbish you read....13 year-olds overdosing on buffy & seeing auras round the furniture...godssakes !My granny kept her cards in the kitchen drawer, & hid them at the back when the priest came to visit!! I always used to laugh at this.In a cigar box...(The cards were, not the priest!) Always have a lucky charm always. for luck & to keep your readings true. i have 3 wee lucky stones I keep in my purse. Always ask politely & thank the cards when you finished---although I say that I think, personally, the spirits/a spirit picks the cards. I dont think we do. And, finally (!) no, nobody would be angry for talking, why should they? Its a free world ! But separate from all this, Ive had a lot of experiences, & my family see me as psychic--but this latest carry-on with my daughters house has really got me. I cant get over it, at all. Pleased that my cards worked, though.

Dark Inquisitor	07 Aug 2002
I am so glad you could stand to answer so many questions! I don't mean to be nosy, but here in America is hard sometimes to dig up the information by oneself, and some things are not published. That's so humorous about keeping the cards at the back of the drawer when the priest came !! No wonder you have trouble with the High Priest card! (Would be cool if you could get a priest into a cigar box ,though.) Your seance thread was quite thrilling! I don't blame you for not being over it. (I have used the cards for similar purposes with very interesting results.) One doesn't like to think all that is going on in a house that you have to visit regularly. Love that lucky charm idea- I will have to think on it. Thanks so much, Tarotphelia

Starfish	07 Aug 2002
I'm with Tarotphelia, Ming. Thanks so much for the wonderful information. I had a giggle myself over the Tarot cards in the cigar box. Blessings - :THERM Starfish

Sullanciri2002	08 Aug 2002
Hmmm - the gift or "the sight" - how many of 'us' out there believe that is the issue: you've either got it or you don't ?

The The Tinker's Tarot..... thread was originally posted on 07 Aug 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.