Card meditation

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 Jul 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Little Baron	09 Jul 2003
Apologies if I have posted in the incorrect thread. Since this subject revolves around the use of the cards, I thought that this would be the one. I have just been to see my doctor and she suggested that I needed to relax more and maybe meditate. I have tried to meditate using the cards before but am not sure just how I am supposed to do it. Does anybody here have any ideas or tips they have found succesful? I have considered trying to walk into the cards and talk to the characters. I have considered blowing some of the cards up bigger to try and absorb every detail. Do I pick a card randomly, or do I pick one with some relevance? How do I know which is the right one to pick? How do you meditate with the cards? Any personal experience would be a great help. These questions may seem a bit naive. Hopefully you can help as I feel I should try this this afternoon. Thanks Yaboot

Major Tom	09 Jul 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Yaboot001 I have considered trying to walk into the cards and talk to the characters. Just a suggestion: Why don't you try this with one of your key cards from the major arcana? Your soul, personality or shadow/teacher card for example. ;)

jmd	09 Jul 2003
As another similar suggestion, pick a card from the Major Arcana to which you have positive feelings about, and observe and imagine it in its very details. Find yourself a comfortable chair, turn any music which may jar off, light, maybe, a candle and burn some pleasant oil drops if you have an oil burner... Ask not to be disturbed under any circumstances for the next fifteen minutes, if this is possible. Sit comfortably, close your eyes and allow the image of the card to appear more or less clearly, or even only as a non-visual 'feel', and just observe what occurs for the next few minutes. Come back to your surroundings in your imagination, be thankful, open your eyes, extinguish the candle(s) and relax a little longer before getting up. ... and remember, the above is merely a suggestion.

LittleWing	09 Jul 2003
It is quite difficult - I have tried it. But true meditation free s the mind from thought / analysis etc - and as I am more used to this - I cannot achieve this feeling of meditation when looking at a card. Unless you could use it as a focus - like you would a flower or candle - but it is important not to start interpreting what you see. If a sudden thought of inspiration comes - then fine. - If your doc advised meditation - perhaps you would like to try some yoga - - - - as usual I am trying to convert .... :)

Little Baron	09 Jul 2003
Thank you all very much for your help and advice. My doctor did mention Yoga as well. I may have to try it. I did go to a class once but it stopped. I need to find a way of doing it at home. I have an old video somewhere. I'll have to dig it out and take a look. Just had a thought for this afternoon. I bought a book many years ago called 'Tarot Journeys - adventures in self-transformation', published by Llewellyn and written by Yasmine Galenorn. As well as describing the Major cards in some detail, there is a self meditation for each. The book comes with a CD which contains two of the meditations - for The Fool and The Magician. Each lasts about 30 mins on average. Maybe I will try that as my first. I could spend five minutes before hand looking at a conforting magician or fool. I'll let you know how it goes. Best wishes and thanks again. Yaboot

raeanne	09 Jul 2003
Hi Yaboot, I think learning to meditate is one of the best things anyone can do for their own health! Beginners sometime have problems because they don't know what it is suppose to feel like. When I first started I had problems with itches and twitches and all kinds of thoughts entering my head. I took some classes on intuition and the instructor let us use some tapes from: www.brainsync.com These tapes (or CDs) work wonders! If you have some stereo headphones, go to the web site and try the 10 minute brain tune up. The tones that are used on these tapes actually help your brain produce the necessary brain waves for a meditative state. I know there are other companies that offer similar products but this is the one I am familiar with. I have several of their CDs. Anyway, look around at different methods of meditation and pick one that you like. Enjoy your journey!

Inana	10 Jul 2003
This thread will be of your interest: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14186

Little Baron	18 Jul 2003
Thanks Inana. It was a very interesting thread and I will be trying this. yaboot

fairyhedgehog	18 Jul 2003
There's also a bit about meditating on my website if that is any help. (The relevant bits are relaxation, visualisation and the journey within.) It's not about using tarot cards, though. I hope you find a way of meditating that suits you - maybe you would like to tell us about it either way.

Little Baron	22 Jul 2003
Thanks for the links everybody. Will let you know what happens. yaboot

Trogon	23 Jul 2003
Howdy Yaboot, I've been thinking over this question of yours. I have been doing meditations for some years now and have found that as in many things, one should learn slowly. Performing a deep meditation on a Tarot card is not something I would necessarily recommend as an early step. Rather, I would suggest simply learning to meditate in the first place. I realize that this may sound rather obvious, maybe even condescending, but it isn't meant to be. Meditation is something which can be very difficult in our world of technology, noise and interruptions. Then too, some people find it an easier prospect than other people. Anyway... work on simply learning how to relax, center, clear your mind of the daily clutter and how to simply meditate. There are many good books, and the web sites linked to here also look quite helpful. Once you have gotten to a point where you feel you can meditate with a Tarot card, then will be the time to move on. I hope this made some sense...

Dallandra	24 Jul 2003
I was going to suggest Tarot Journeys, but you already have it! :) I really, really like guided meditations, although I admit to only doing a few of them out of that specific book. I think that maybe you should try doing different kinds of meditations, and don't try to pressure yourself into "seeing" something if you meditate on a card. Visualize, or ask yourself a question about a card lightly, and just wait and see. No pressure, just wait and relax. If you don't see anything at first, no big deal. But if you sit there and really *try* to get some great vision, you probably won't have much success, and it probably won't relax you. :) d

The Card meditation thread was originally posted on 09 Jul 2003 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.