Can a card require divinatory meanings you aren't aware of?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 26 Oct 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Rusty Neon	26 Oct 2003
Discussion question: Can a card drawn in a spread require a divinatory meaning that you aren't aware of? I'll use a hypothetical example to illustrate my question. Hypothetically, assume that one is an intermediate-to-advanced level tarot reader (rather than a beginner who is still learning to do readings and still relies on a book.) Assume that one has a full grasp of his or her own system of divinatory meanings and realizes that cards must be read not only with regard to the card but also with regard to the surrounding cards, the question, the spread positions, etc., etc. Assume further that one is using a RWS deck. Assume further that one is vaguely aware that Etteilla meanings (or obscure meanings from Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot) exist but hasn't memorized them if they aren't reflected in GD meanings or RWS pictures. Assume further that one has decided in advance that he or she will use only his or her own system of divinatory meanings for the reading. Could Etteilla (or obscure Waite) meanings for the cards still come up that aren't reflected in the GD meanings, the RWS pictures or the reader's system of divinatory meanings? I would think No. Etteilla (or obscure Waite) meanings could only come up if one intentionally decided in advance to have the cards include Etteilla (or obsure Waite) meanings that require looking up.

Astra	26 Oct 2003
Certainly. One of the great pleasures of reading is that from time to time a card will step up and present a totally new meaning - either from a feature you weren't normally aware of, or a connection to a part of life that simply wasn't THERE a few years ago. For instance, suppose you're doing a reading for someone whose main interest in in computers and whose question impacts that interest. All of a sudden you're looking at meanings connected with aspects of computers and technology, which simply didn't exist at all before the 1980's. One of the wonderful things about the Tarot is that the cards aren't stuck reading only the "eternal" concepts (assuming the reader also isn't).

Rusty Neon	26 Oct 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Astra For instance, suppose you're doing a reading for someone whose main interest in in computers and whose question impacts that interest. All of a sudden you're looking at meanings connected with aspects of computers and technology, which simply didn't exist at all before the 1980's. Wouldn't such new meanings for the context of computers and technology often be logical extensions of existing cards meanings in your existing system?

lark	26 Oct 2003
I have often wondered the same thing. I've never said something in a reading that didn't relate to the picture or GD meaning and said "where did that come from." Then gone to a book later such as Etteilla or Waite and saw that indeed it was an obscure meaning from one of those sources. But I have had the experiance that Astra describes. An example : I did a career reading for a girl but I didn't know what she did for a living right now. In the present position was 8 of pentacles. I was using the Universal Rider Waite Smith. The table stood out very strongly on the card. It reminded me of a massage table. I asked her if she was a massage therapist and she was. I don't think pixie had that in mind when she was drawing the card. But in our world today it's a valuable insight. Nameste

jmd	26 Oct 2003
Maybe an even simpler way of phrasing the same question is whether the divinatory meaning is one to which the reader is blind to at the time - whether through lack of knowledge (eg, future developments of things not yet in existence), one's relative lack of life experience or maturity (irrespective of physical age), or current 'block'. In this sense, it may certainly be the case, in my view, that a card in a specific situation may require an interpretation which the reader is unable to provide. Hence part of the reason for ongoing research, meditation and discussions...

Astra	27 Oct 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Rusty Neon Wouldn't such new meanings for the context of computers and technology often be logical extensions of existing cards meanings in your existing system? Sometimes, sometimes not. But, once calculus was created, it was a "logical extension" of previous mathematics. You can always use hindsight to say that a new meaning is "only" an extension of an old one - but not before the fact.

The Can a card require divinatory meanings you aren't aware of? thread was originally posted on 26 Oct 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.