Hopeless tarot reader - got no vision!!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 15 Apr 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Aure	15 Apr 2004
Sheesh Louise, I need your help! I've been trying to learn to interpret the cards intuitively and trying to read books but I guess I'm a hopeless beginner... I still have to look up the meanings as I don't get mostly anything when I try to look at a card and think about what it might mean. Especially the court cards puzzle me constantly. Like for instance the knights. Yup, there's a guy. On a horse. I'm not a guy. I don't own a horse. I feel utterly stupid. What should I do to get going with this thing?

miss_apples	15 Apr 2004
The court cards are confusing to me too. However Im learning that you have to associate them with the personalities of the symbols that they carry. Like the Queen of cups for instance...think of what the feminine energy of cups (water) represents? What do you see in yourself or others that can be involved of these personalities. Or...they can also be telling you of things that you should try to manifest. Yeah I know...sounds complicated. Maybe you should try and strengthen your intuition through spiritual growth. Try meditating or something that will help you connect to your higher self.

Dragons_Wing	15 Apr 2004
i'm having similar problems! i got the book tarot for yourself and there are some exercises in there where your suposed to do intuitive readings and i just sit there and look at the cards and go...derrrrr....star pretty...shes looking into a cup...derrrr

mercenary30	15 Apr 2004
..like it is time to start another Reading Work Group similar to the Redwood Circle, or something like that. I am currently running the Dream Circle, but when it is done, I can start something from scratch and if you all are interested, you can participate. In the mean time, might I suggest the Comparative AT Study Group and giving that a try. Plus I think I will push back a little right here and now……… Dragons_Wing, Miss Apples, Aure…… Do all of you have the Rider Waite Deck or a clone? I want you to take a look at the Queen of Cups. What is the one thing in the picture that attracts your eye the most? Post that answer here.......

Dragons_Wing	15 Apr 2004
for me its the cup itself. it looks like some kind of meciancal device that the two arms that jut out w/ the angels? on top would spin and spin and spin and something would open up above it... or i've seen to many sci-fi movies as i re-read what i just wrote. edited: oh and she looks rather pissed at the cup. maybe its not twirling for her. shes not the right person to make it twirl

Moongold	15 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Aure Sheesh Louise, I need your help! I've been trying to learn to interpret the cards intuitively and trying to read books but I guess I'm a hopeless beginner... I still have to look up the meanings as I don't get mostly anything when I try to look at a card and think about what it might mean. Especially the court cards puzzle me constantly. Like for instance the knights. Yup, there's a guy. On a horse. I'm not a guy. I don't own a horse. I feel utterly stupid. What should I do to get going with this thing? Hello Aure :) Do you have a journal? If you did a search of the Aeclectic Forums you'd find lots of suggestions about how to keep one (check the search function at the top right hand corner of this page). Perhaps study a card a day or every few days. Pull the card out, and describe it in your journal. Say what you see and what it means to you. What questions do you have about it? In your own words. This way you quietly get to know your cards. A step at a time, keep on doing this and then go back to those reading exercises. I still do something like this. I actually draw three cards for the week. Write something about them and try to relate them to my daily experience during the week. By doing this you are feeding your subconscious mind with images, ideas and feelings. Eventually this will come together and you will spontaneouly find yourself reading effortlessly at times. Try it and see but don't be hard on yourself. Moongold

mercenary30	15 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Dragons_Wing for me its the cup itself. it looks like some kind of meciancal device that the two arms that jut out w/ the angels? on top would spin and spin and spin and something would open up above it... or i've seen to many sci-fi movies as i re-read what i just wrote. edited: oh and she looks rather pissed at the cup. maybe its not twirling for her. shes not the right person to make it twirl One of the main meanings for this card is Intuition and Psychic abilities.....maybe this is her scrying device. Maybe what opens up is a window to a potential future. So here YOU ARE as the Queen of Cups holding your scrying cup (tarot cards) and wondering why they won't work for you. What advise would you give her to make it work?

Aure	15 Apr 2004
I am sort of undecided between decks. I have Radiant RWS, Hanson-Roberts and Golden Tarot. Maybe I should try the Radiant first and then move on to the Golden as it is in some ways a bit different? So, Queen of Cups... I notice the weird looking cup at first. The queen seems sad for some reason, maybe the cup reminds her of some one or some incident in the past. Maybe she doesn't know how to make that cup open or maybe she is scared of opening it because she might find something she possibly doesn't like.

Dragons_Wing	15 Apr 2004
a big red botton! i'm sorry it sounds like i'm joking but thats the first thing that poped into my mind and now no other thought of what to give her will come in.

Jewel-ry	15 Apr 2004
Aure, Of course you have vision! Perhaps you should just concentrate on one deck to begin with. I use to find that having so many different decks confused me because I wanted to 'play' with them all. I would continually be thinking about the other decks! I would suggest concentrating on one of the comparative studies and write down all your thoughts on one card without reading what has already been posted, and then move onto another card. I participate in a few of these study groups and I really find them useful. They really add depth to my understanding. Once you have done that you could move onto telling stories with more than one card. I really think that the intuition thing comes in better with cards and decks that I know really well. Good luck! J :)

September Pixie	15 Apr 2004
My trouble learning was because I was using a deck I didn't really "connect" with... because I was so inexperienced at the time .. I didn't know that was the reason.. I wanted to use it because the artwork was so pretty.. while I can use this deck now, in the beginning I couldn't. Once I bought the Robin Wood tarot.. everything clicked into place for me. I'd advise using the RW deck and then move up to any other once you are comfortable picking out symbols in cards.. practice, practice, practice is the only thing I can suggest.. if you aren't currently keeping a journal.. you should start.. and then write stories about what you see happening in the cards.. no matter how boring or funny they are.. they all seem to help :) If you are looking for a decent book.. think about picking up "How To: Read The Tarot" by Sylvia Abraham.. she teaches a 'key word' system.. which at first might not seem to make sense.. but once you start using it.. it actually helps it all fall into place.. :) Good luck!

mercenary30	15 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Dragons_Wing a big red botton! i'm sorry it sounds like i'm joking but thats the first thing that poped into my mind and now no other thought of what to give her will come in. So a quick and easy way to get it started and perform the function that she is asking of it. So my next question is what is she going to do with that cup after we the big red button working?

miss_apples	15 Apr 2004
The deck I connect with the most is The Gendron Tarot which is a rider-waite clone. The Queen of cups is not holding a cup, she is sitting with a golden arch over her head that has a cup in it. The cup that is above her head has light coming down from it, like she is being blessed. The colour purple predominates this card, she is wearing purple and she is sitting in a bed of purple and pink flowers. I associate this with pure positive energy and feminine matters of the heart. She looks more like a mother figure than the other queens do.

Dragons_Wing	15 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by mercenary30 So a quick and easy way to get it started and perform the function that she is asking of it. So my next question is what is she going to do with that cup after we the big red button working? maybe nothing..the more i look at it the less she looks pissed and the more she looks like she is trying to figure out the puzzle that is the cup. kind of like the rubix cup. there is nothing in the cup except the statisfaction of figureing out the puzzle to open it and possibly use it as a drinking glass. maybe some red wine instead of a red botton.

ncefafn	15 Apr 2004
Someone may have said this already, but trying to learn the intuitive approach with the courts is like trying to learn to speak Swahili with a French dictionary. Start off with the majors or minors -- I don't think it matters which -- and save the court cards to the last. Until then, go ahead, use that book. I'm still trying to get a feel for those derned people. Once you're ready to start figuring the courts, one thing that might help you is to try and compare the court cards to fictional characters in books, movies or TV shows. For instance, I always think of Granny Weatherwax when I see one of the court cards (hint, hint to anyone playing the lit clue for April 15). For the Knight of Wands, I see Errol Flynn as Robin Hood. Little things like these are sort of visual mnemonics. You turn over the Queen of Cups and say, oh, it's Julianna Margulies from ER! Instant recognition. FWIW, Kim

mercenary30	15 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Dragons_Wing maybe nothing..the more i look at it the less she looks pissed and the more she looks like she is trying to figure out the puzzle that is the cup. kind of like the rubix cup. there is nothing in the cup except the statisfaction of figureing out the puzzle to open it and possibly use it as a drinking glass. maybe some red wine instead of a red botton. So we can keep going with this.......but you are reading this card right now. Yeah, it isn't a direct book translation, but you are starting to build a personal translation for this card and understand this card more in the context we are discussing. The things you have brought up are not very far away from some of the book translations. To me right now, based on YOUR answers, she is representing you and that cup is your tarot cards, and you are looking at different angles of the problem you mentioned earlier in this thread. You have listed already two completely different things she is feeling, and perceiving this cup to be..... If this card were pulled in conjunction with two others, you may very well be noticing something very different on this card that may yet again change the way you perceive the Queen of Cups. Do you want to go further, or do you see what I am aiming at here?

mercenary30	15 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Aure So, Queen of Cups... I notice the weird looking cup at first. The queen seems sad for some reason, maybe the cup reminds her of some one or some incident in the past. Maybe she doesn't know how to make that cup open or maybe she is scared of opening it because she might find something she possibly doesn't like. One of the terms found in books for the Queen of Cups is TENDERHEARTED. That sounds like a good match to what you just described. So is opening this cup an option or can she decided to just put it away? Explain the reasonings for your answer, please.

Dragons_Wing	15 Apr 2004
there is a little light bulb above my head. now i must run to my coffee shop and study my cards maybe try to do an intutive reading and actually get a reading down in my shiny new journal. edit: umm intutitive reading for myself not for other people..i wouldn't subject people to my half hasard readings yet

mercenary30	15 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by miss_apples The deck I connect with the most is The Gendron Tarot which is a rider-waite clone. The Queen of cups is not holding a cup, she is sitting with a golden arch over her head that has a cup in it. The cup that is above her head has light coming down from it, like she is being blessed. The colour purple predominates this card, she is wearing purple and she is sitting in a bed of purple and pink flowers. I associate this with pure positive energy and feminine matters of the heart. She looks more like a mother figure than the other queens do. You have very accurately described the Queen of Cups and what she represents in the card. So now I wonder why you don’t think you understand them so well, or is it you have a connection with this one, and not so much the others?

Aure	15 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by mercenary30 One of the terms found in books for the Queen of Cups is TENDERHEARTED. That sounds like a good match to what you just described. So is opening this cup an option or can she decided to just put it away? Explain the reasonings for your answer, please. I think she holds the cup as if she is keeper of it, like she guards it. It might be that she has filled it with water taken from the sea or something. So it might have been opened before and now it is closed. The queen seems to be more of a dreamer than someone who is actively doing things. I don't know if this makes any sense, but let me know!

miss_apples	15 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by mercenary30 You have very accurately described the Queen of Cups and what she represents in the card. So now I wonder why you don’t think you understand them so well, or is it you have a connection with this one, and not so much the others? What I was actually trying to say in my first post was that I didnt understand the courts until I stopped seeing them as just people but also started to understand that they are aspects, ideas, and personality traits also. So they dont confuse me as much as they did before...however Im still learning :)

miss_apples	15 Apr 2004
I would like to add that the only court cards I have trouble with are the pentacles...but thats because I have trouble understanding pentacles in general. I'll get it eventually though.

mercenary30	15 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Aure I think she holds the cup as if she is keeper of it, like she guards it. It might be that she has filled it with water taken from the sea or something. So it might have been opened before and now it is closed. The queen seems to be more of a dreamer than someone who is actively doing things. I don't know if this makes any sense, but let me know! You are making perfect sense. Who is she guarding the contents of this cup from, or is it the cup itself that she protects?

Dexter	18 Apr 2004
Personally I found that the court cards were the most difficult for me to read intuitively. But some one here at AT and I'm sorry I can't remember who, had a wonderful way of learning them. It was to assign each court card the name of a person that you know very well by that person's personality, etc. So that's what I did. I sat down with my numerous books with definitions and wrote the list for each court card in my journal. After writing the list I read through them again and thought Wow! that's just like my mother or my sister or an uncle etc. So each time a court card comes up this person's name pops into my head and I think Okay that's it. It even hleps when the court card dosen't represent a person in the spread but an event. It was a really helpful exercise. Dexter

bluediva	18 Apr 2004
Hi Azure and Dragons_Wing! I really like the ideas in this thread. I have found that keeping a journal of readings and Tarot study is excellent for developing a sense of card meanings. And court cards are tough for me, too. I have gained understanding by doing readings for an open-minded friend who is able to engage in an exploratory discussion/debate about the cards that come up. We have explored court cards by discussing situations and metaphors that relate to a specific court card. I look at the court cards as they relate to the rest of the card spread. What character traits does this figure possess that would guide/influence a decision in this situation? For example, in a reading involving relationship uncertainty or conflict, a Queen of Cups might suggest that the querent should look within him/herself for the ability to love intensely, but without sacrificing wisdom or sense-of-self. Perhaps this is a trait the querent already possesses that will serve them well in this situation. Perhaps it is a trait they must work on developing in order to move forward. Especially with the court cards, I try not to give advice, but just to suggest ideas/perspectives that would benefit the querent to contemplate. If the position of a court card in the spread makes it confusing, I refer to my book. And then I deal with court cards like putting that character into a storyline and imagining how they would react/cope, and what aspects of that personality seem relevant. Often, my querent will latch onto something in that storyline and relate it to their own life. ("I remember my dad used to act like that, and maybe it still hits a nerve for me when I get that from other people.") Also, I would like to add my support to the suggestion that you explore decks until you find one that really speaks to you. I am studying the RW-style decks on my own, but when I read for others, I use my beloved Vertigo deck. It's an unconventional deck, but I get so much information from the imagery. I think much of the imagery and symbolism in older-style decks falls flat for me b/c it's based on centuries-old cultural references. This is just how I find things, and many folks would disagree. Hope my rambling is helpful.

Phoenix Rising	21 Apr 2004
The only way that I can learn the cards now is by taking one at a time and write down what it means to me in my journal. I had books coming out of my ears, and the more I read and studied the more confused I got. Only the other day I got a message from a very well-known medium who passed a message on from my grandfather he said "that I'm all in the mind, that I think, analyse and that I study too much. He said that I needed to feel or listen to my feelings rather than my head" I knew it was to do with the study of tarot, because it's the only thing that I'm studying.

lark	21 Apr 2004
To me the Queen of Cups upright is confidant and compassion. She is someone I can go to and talk with openly. She is tender hearted and sympathetic to my situation. She always speaks the truth to me not just what I might "want " to hear. Her cup is covered because she has the ability to keep a confidence. I can trust her she has a truthful heart. And is a true friend. If she represents me this is my ability to do the same for another.

WalesWoman	21 Apr 2004
I started with Morgan-Greer, due to the LWB and the companion book (vague at best), had no other choice than to wing it as much as possible and felt very much like you do. So around Christmas I got the Radiant RWS and since I also had books that dealt with RWS meanings and could finally see the images I kept hearing about, as well as "Using Tarot Cards" and the RWS Study Group, have learned tons. It was as if a light bulb finally lit up and I could make more sense from the cards in my readings. The biggest help so far has been the RWS study group, because of all the different ideas about what the symbols might mean, how the court cards can either be real people, personality traits or energies to use. Don't be discouraged, it's like everything else, the more you do this, the more you get into it, the more things begin to flow. I think Tarot is one of those places where you don't really notice how much you have learned or improved because you are part of the process. Learn to trust yourself and your intuition, it may not seem to make any sense at the time, but it will. I think it's sort of training the brain, allowing the right brain to puzzle the pictures out and resend it to the left brain to communicate it. There's nothing wrong with your thinking, it just need to learn how to process the info you are recieving. Queen of Cups is a pretty good choice for what you are dealing with. She is steeped in intuitive emotion, rather than logic, almost like Pandora looking at the box, once she opens the cup, what will fly out? OR did she just stuff all these emotions in and close the lid to maintain some control? Don't you just love mysteries? I'll bet you can look at this card deeply in another six months and find she means something much more than she does now, and you will still be finding more meanings. I don't think we ever can say we know everything about Tarot, it just seems to change with every question.

Moonbow*	21 Apr 2004
Merc, you're really good at this - I had to go and get my Universal Waite and Gendron decks out to follow along with you all. I'm just going to repeat what I think most people have said - know you cards - it's not easy remembering someone else meaning so really look at each card and write down what it means to you. You will remember meanings if they are your own. Aure and Dragon_wings, I bet you wont forget the Queen of Cups now? It's because you have spent some time with it. You can do the same with all your cards through the comparative study (already mentioned by Merc) Moonbow*

Dark Eyes	13 May 2004
Aure, Hi there. I don't know if you have ever delved into the tarot games and fun section of this forum, but I find it super valuable information on the meanings of the cards. The games... literature clues, what card am I, twenty questions and just the other continuous threads are such a fun way to learn others interpretations and ideas on the meanings of the cards. Sometimes it is just one point that you pick up and remember and keep with you forever. i suggest you go and give it a try if you havn't already. Best wishes... D....:)

Kissa	14 May 2004
Ok, a few advices from a forever beginner and glad to be so ;) 1) Thirteen's Basics (available here on AT as a $5 e-book) 2) Tarot Special Topics: "Understanding the Tarot Court" by Mary Greer and Tom Little 3) The Radiant felt very soul-less to me. No expressions on ppl faces, awful physical contact to the cards. If you like the Hanson-Roberts, try to stick to this one, it is fairly faithful to the traditional RWS imagery, easy to handle and IMHO pleasant to look at (even if ppl have big hair ;) ) You might also want to consider the Universal Waite by the very same Mary Hanson-Roberts? Gorgeous colours, recoloring of the RWS so it is as close as it gets and if i remember properly you have Joan's book and that's the deck she personnally uses -no comparison to the Radiant, again IMHO only. 4) Sometimes it is just good to forget the books. I don't believe in tarot for fortune telling, i use cards as a tool to concentrate on myself and listen carefully to the little voice inside. That's why whatever reads on the LWB or the best tarot books ever is fine, but it's not me. So if i see a card in a complete different way, i'm not wrong, i'm not hopeless, neither is any of the authors or deck creators, it's just how my intuition relates to this card at this very moment (might be very different tomorrow and then again it wouldn't be right or wrong). When i first joined AT, i started to collect a lot of decks and got lost in many different ways to relate/interact with them. Now i know exactly what i am looking for in a reading deck (and i'm still collecting others for the pleasure of the wonderful artwork!) but it took me some time. Tarot takes time to learn and i sometimes feel i spent too much time here instead of with the cards and that got me confused. Hopes that helps... Kissa

Tabby	15 May 2004
The thing that stands out for me about the Queen of Cups is the strange looking cup that she is looking at. Because when I think of a cup I'm thinking of a regular drinking cup, or like some of the cups that are the other cards of this suit. In that way, I have to look at this card more carefully when I look at it. I am a novice at reading cards too. Which is why I'm so happy I found this forum. Because I have already learnt alot just from reading the posts.

The Hopeless tarot reader - got no vision!! thread was originally posted on 15 Apr 2004 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.