On learning

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 29 Jul 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Indigo_lady	29 Jul 2003
Hello everyone I just felt like sharing something with you guys I bought the Witches Tarot back in March. Before that I've had the cards read for me maybe two or three times. The first one especially was to a level of accuracy and honesty that really blew me off my feet. That was probably 2 years ago I think. So ever since I have been very curious about the tarot and fairly attracted to the whole thing. I've always been very sensitive to the things happening in the environment around me, so after some investigating I found that to be one of the most comfortable methods to focus these experiences and truly learn and develop from them (this last paragraph doesn't really have much to do in the story, but it's just that I never did the whole "newcomers introduction post" and felt that this was a good opportunity to do so ;) ... and along the same lines to thank everyone in Aeclectic for sharing your knowledge - Don't worry moderator, this thread DOES have to do with the Forum, read on ;)) So, coming back to what I was saying: I purchased the Witches Tarot. I did so because I felt very connected to the artwork. Besides that I felt completely appalled by the other choices I had back then (sadly enough it seems there is not much of a market for tarot cards around here) And must I say it took me quite some time to grasp the deck since it is, well, lets call it challenging. At times I would get frustrated with the abscence of connection I would find between the cards and the traditional meaning. Or sometimes they were so not "direct and concise" that it took me quite some time to begin to understand them. ALAS, I don't understand them fully yet, furthermore I doubt I'll ever be able to fully understand tarot card in general no matter which deck it is... it is a proven fact that everyday you can learn something new ;) (especially with aeclectic around ;) I did tons of researching online, brought myself a couple of books, studied the cards on my own, been doing the whole daily card, journal, my own card reference booklet and all, and did a lot of reading here in the forums. Day before yesterday I decided it was about time I bought myself a new deck since I am begining to open up to other people and for the sake of my own bizarre and eccentric attitude I would like to keep my first deck to myself. So I bought the Robin Wood I felt so relieved because the interpretations through the artwork seemed so easy right away, it was so straighforward, flowed so easily from the begining (only thing I don't like are the white borders, they distract me) So going over the cards I came across the 4 of wands. In the Robin Wood it a scene from a hebrew marriage underneath the tent (sorry, but I don't know if it has a specific name) and I said to myself "ohhhhhhhhhhh now I finally understand why everyone thinks of marriage when they see this card!!! DUHHHHHHH" See, in the Witches Tarot it is very different: It's an intersection of several roads, four human figures standing in the center, wearing robes and their backs towards you, they're looking into 4 rays of lights shining on them from the sky. For me this was them being illuminated and deciding whether or not to go into a path of some sort of enlightment or personal development After the overwhelming 4 of wands = marriage thing I decided to put 2 and 2 together and came to terms with the fact that marriage can be conceived as enlightment and personal development... thus helping me understand not only the card but life itself much more What I want to get to is the importance of thinking outside the box. How we don't need to limit ourselves to traditional meanings of cards, or on the same way limit ourselves to exclusively our own interpratation of matters. There will always be a middle ground PS, by the way, I would like to add that despite initial frustrations I'm very glad I started with a somewhat challenging deck, because otherwise I wouldn't have really made myself work and think ;)

jog1118	29 Jul 2003
"thinking outside the box" i agree with what indigo said and i really liked her story...i just would like to share mine: i started off with Tarot Nova (miniature). most people may see it as a novelty item and not a true tarot but let me tell you...it is a true tarot patterned after RWS (just slightly simplified to fit into a small sized card). I learned from Joan Bunning's Learning the Tarot - An Online Course (http://www.learntarot.com/course.htm) and, of course, Thirteen's Tarot Basics and the forums. Having learned the basics, I decided to purchase another deck (Tarot of the Hidden Folk) since i myself see the nova slightly "kiddie". However, with me it was the other way around, nova was easier to read than hidden folk. like indigo, i had been enlightened by matching basic card meanings, my old cards and my new cards. An example would be the 2 of cups: nova presented it as a couple entwined by vines holding each a cup; hidden folk presented it as a naked lady carelessly swimming (its a backstroke actually) in water. joan bunning's keywords for the card: attraction, truce, connection the sum of the above: when you are into or getting into any kind of relationship (nova's entwined couple), you must show your true self (hidden folk's naked lady), but know what is right and what is wrong, know your limits or you may be heading on blindly (backstroke of naked lady) 2 of cups was plain positive when i started but "THINKING OUT OF THE BOX" (with the help of my new deck) gave me a more down to earth perspective of the card...and of life :smoker:

carrielynnsim	29 Jul 2003
Thinking "outside the box" is a really good way to read I believe. When we get hung up on only what a certain book says and memerize it, the reading really isn't coming from you, it's coming from something you memerized. It's great that you found another deck you connected and found new meaning with. Carrie

Little Baron	29 Jul 2003
Absolutely. Had the same kind of experience. As much as the Rohrig is a wonderful deck, it was too complicated for me as a first deck so it had to sit around for a few years while I got to grips with the RWS. It is not that the RWS is simple in anyway, it just opened doors that I didn't know how to open initially in Tarot, and now, even though I still consider myself as a beginner after 8 years, I am able to open up to most decks that I have. Go with it, thats what it is all about. Enjoy it. Yaboot

Trogon	29 Jul 2003
Yes... very similar for me. I'd studied the RWS (kind of off and on) for 10 years and was doing "okay" with it. But I finally started really "getting" Tarot - thinking outside the box - when I purchased my second deck as well. I was the opposite of Yaboot, I had the RWS first and got the Röhrig as my second deck. When I began doing a comparitive study - revisiting the RWS in light of what I was seeing in the Röhrig and vice-versay - things really opened up for me. Darn... and here I thought I had a new idea... LOL :D

Indigo_lady	31 Jul 2003
Thanks guys ;) It's nice to know I'm not the only one haivng these experiences ohh btw, Today I was thinking about the differences between the two decks, and one that immediately came to mind was the amount of animals.. there are so many more animals in the Robin Wood compared to the Withces... So I started going through the two decks, writing down the animals that I would see on each card, and comparing the amount and nature of the animals between the two decks It proved to be an excellent excercise for studying the cards ;)

The On learning thread was originally posted on 29 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.