How do you keep yourself 'seeing' the cards?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 14 Nov 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

lawguy51	14 Nov 2003
This must be a habit we all get into. You use your favourite(s) deck over and over until you get to the point where you're doing a spread and the 10 of Swords comes up and you think, 'oh yeah, 10 of Swords, blah blah blah' and you don't really look at the card, you don't really 'see' it anymore. I try not to do that but often, like in the morning when I do a three card draw, I can see in an instant without thinking, what the spread means to me but have I really looked at that 8 of Cups and seen the swampy water (Thoth) and the stagnation etc...no, I just think, oh great, 8 of Cups, better pull myself out of this funk I'm in. But what's the point of all those pretty pictures if you don't really study them each and every time you lay them out? Comments....... Lawguy51

knowledge	14 Nov 2003
I don't see the card as a card but as a living pictur story. I look at them and every time see samthing difrent and focus on that in the reading. And every spread is difrent to me

Astraea	14 Nov 2003
Hi, Lawguy. I use several decks, and alternate between them for my draws; this seems to help with the situation you describe. Sometimes, the same card drawn from a different deck and placed next to the first one will help to expand and elaborate on meanings, as well.

dadsnook2000	14 Nov 2003
For me the cards tend to stay fresh because I utilize several spreads, each having its own applications. A card within one spread, depending upon its position, will "read" differently than when it is in another spread and position within that spread. This keeps me more flexible. Using different spreads may mean that you should seek to answer different questions or discover differing perspectives. That can be helpful also, getting you out of a narrow way of thinking. Instead of just using a three card spread why not use Juliet Sharman-Burke's Triangle Spread. Each side of the triangle is made up of two cards; a 7th card is placed in the middle. This has the merit of helping you practice two-card combinations which can provide a richer meaning than a single card. Triangle Spread: Bottom of triangle, left to right: Card 1, Card 2. Right side of triangle, bottom to top: Card 3, Card 4. Left side of triangle, top to bottom: Card 5, Card 6. Middle of triangle: Card 7. ** Present position is signified by 1 and 2. ** Immediate future is signified by 3 and 4. ** Long term future is signified by 5 and 6. ** Overview influence is signified by 7. Good luck. Dave.

gloria	14 Nov 2003
That sounds okay Lawguy, to get initial overview of the cards. But you could then go further and study each card in depth. Question the pictures, symbols etc. and maybe go down a different road with what the cards are saying to you. ‘Lose’ yourself in the cards, and maybe you’ll find their message easier to take on board. I did like your interpretation of the eight/cups, swampy waters and stagnation. Great! Thoth you say....... Gloria.

Star Spirit	14 Nov 2003
There are some good points here. I only have one deck and the cards never stop 'speaking' to me. Then again I am still a novice, so it's not like I've really been doing this long enough to get sick of my deck. But hopefully that won't happen :)

WolfSpirit	14 Nov 2003
Lawguy, I also do a daily draw and I think it is impossible not to turn it into a "quickie" , unless you have a lot of time on your hands or expect an important day... I think the best thing for me right now would be to stop doing a daily draw and start in a few weeks refreshed. My other draws I take more time for and then I really look at the cards, I also have different reading decks to choose from which also helps.

Lee	14 Nov 2003
I'm having a lot of fun with the Orphalese Tarot program. You can do a spread with a specific deck, then, you can simply choose a different deck and it will lay out that deck with the same cards, in the same positions as the first layout, so you can immediately see how the same spread looks with different decks, thus seeing immediately the subtle differences in meaning. -- Lee

Jenny-Li	14 Nov 2003
I have never had this problem - studying the pictures is the reason I do tarot-work at all...! Perhaps switching to a deck you're less comfortable with would do the trick? Or maybe that would have the opposite effect...? I usually start out by describing the cards, what's in the picture - even if it's a card that I draw often. I write down the description, EVERY time. Could that be a solution for you? Maybe the trick is to give it more time, so that you don't lay out the card, sum them up in 3 minutes, and then you're done. Tell yourself that you are going to spend 15 minutes with the cards, or more. Or tell yourself that you're going to write 3 pages about the cards, or whatever works for you... I guess it all boils down to how much time we have to spend with it, but quickies are rarely as thorough as the "real" thing... ;) Cuz I agree with you: if you don't see the beautiful pictures you're working with, what is the point? I hope you find some way (I see you have got plenty of advice and suggestions already) of finding your way back to truely SEEING your cards again! Jenny :)

Chronata	14 Nov 2003
When I run into this problem (and I have) I switch to a different deck for a while. New deck. Fresh perspective.

Nevada	14 Nov 2003
This is one reason I like having more than one deck that I read well with. Yes, you can get to know certain interpretations so well that they become stale and rote, almost as if you were reading them out of the LWB. When I'm about to pull my daily cards and I reach automatically for Thoth, sometimes Universal de Angelis will pop into my mind, or Tarot of the Old Path. It's as if that other deck is calling, saying, "Use me!" Or more likely it's my guides or Spirit informing me of a better choice. I'm learning to listen to that when it happens, and I find these readings much more satisfying and somehow communicative than if I just stick to the same deck out of habit. A different deck gives me a fresh perspective--and perhaps the artwork in the alternative deck is just the right image to help me get the message. Nevada

lawguy51	14 Nov 2003
These are all wonderful responses but I think my post was a little misleading. I wasn't seeking advice as much as I was just curious as to how others keep their decks fresh for them. Although I must admit, I sometimes just don't have the time to mull over a spread, especially that morning one. I look at it just long enough to 'get' it. But I'm always on the alert for that, "oh the 10 of swords, right' kind of thought. But, to respond to your many suggestions...I use many varied spreads, most notably Umbrae's 14 card horseshoe...I too use Orphalese...I don't think you can use a more complicated deck than the Thoth which I use most often but do use many others...I often leave a spread on the cloth for 48 hours as I study and study it...and I keep a journal....whewww. Lawguy51

rubricat	14 Nov 2003
Great thread. Interesting to hear what others are doing. The term "Orphalese" came up a couple times -- would someone please give a brief explanation? thanks

lawguy51	14 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by rubricat Great thread. Interesting to hear what others are doing. The term "Orphalese" came up a couple times -- would someone please give a brief explanation? thanks http://www.orphalese.net/tarot/tarot.htm Orphalese is a great desktop virtual tarot program. Very versatile and fun to use. Check it out.

Alex	15 Nov 2003
much. Never did. Figures distract me. Everything distracts me: I have attention deficit disorder. I fast-scan the cards and let the the idea sit in my mind for awhile. When I read for people, I avoid the illustrated pips, because there are people who goes hysteric at the sight of cards such as the 10 of swords, and I don't blame them. Alex.

lawguy51	15 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Alex I avoid the illustrated pips, because there are people who goes hysteric at the sight of cards such as the 10 of swords, and I don't blame them. Alex. Really!? I just say, 'oh, look at all of those beautiful swords' ;) . LG51

Alex	15 Nov 2003
Lawguy Most people ain't that excited about swords... much less on their backs. ;) I find this particular detail leads most of us astray from the most obvious meaning of that card, the end of a cycle, and is a short-cut to inferences involving betrayal, not so obvious, and as I see it, not the first choice for interpreting that card (without a context) That's why I often don't concentrate on the figures, but abstract ideas. Rachel Pollack and M.Greer, for example, use the pips during the readings, making the sitter look at them and associate ideas. I never read cards asking the sitter what they think, feel or associate from the pips. May be I should try it out, to see how it goes. Alex.

Alex	15 Nov 2003
moderator please delete

celeste	15 Nov 2003
I am taking a tarot course currently, and when we all discuss the individual cards one or two of us will point out details that we've never seen before. Also the woman teaching the course knows alot of little-known original meanings for symbols-like swords for instance are not neccesarily negative,but over the years its become common to see them in that light. That keeps it fresh and interesting for me.

Majecot	16 Nov 2003
Alot of people have preconcived ideas about the pictures on the cards, like the Death card and the sword suit. I think when giving readings, it is o to the reader to dispell those myths. I have a favorite deck too but to keep from being too automated, I switch off as well. It is good to have a little variety I think. :)

firestorm	17 Nov 2003
It "is" a habit we all get into. I also think its part of the human condition to begin to "not see" things in something we've seen so often, no matter how much we actually love it. I keep things "new" by limiting the number of readings I do. In this case, I really think it can be too much of a good thing. I do alot of studying without actually doing a reading. The other day I realized that certain cards just NEVER come up in a reading for me, so I pulled them out to get to know them more. Or I'll take cards that always come up for me and pair them with cards that I never seem to get with them and study them together. It generates different twists on cards that I always seem to read the same way. edited to add: I share your love for the Thoth. That and the Hermetic are the decks I primarily use for my personal readings.

Indigo Rose	18 Nov 2003
I agree with the concept of switching decks to see a new vision. Sometimes that is all it takes. Many times after leaving a deck for a time and then coming back to it, I see things I hadn't noticed before. Also, I will sometimes just postpone reading if I am not in the right frame of mind. If I am not ready to receive the truth, no deck in the world will bring me there.

The How do you keep yourself 'seeing' the cards? thread was originally posted on 14 Nov 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.