need some brainstorming ....

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 Apr 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

celeste	09 Apr 2004
I am taking a level 2 tarot class this year. All the participants need to do a short presentation on a tarot topic (picked by the teacher). Mine is "Personal Use of the Tarot". So far all I can come up with is : * Divination (obviously) * Meditation * Affirmations * Spellwork I am also working on a rudimentary set of my own cards (consisting mostly of cuttings from magazines-nothing so sophisticated as computer generated). These cards are mainly used as an exercise to open up to the images of archetypes that surround us. This exercise has helped me do that-once I started I had trouble stopping too! Anyway, I plan to use this idea for a little experiment/hands on demonstration of this idea. What do you think? What else can I do? What other things do you use your cards for? Any suggestions?

ncefafn	09 Apr 2004
Coasters, doorstops, bookmarks . . . But seriously, all your suggestions are excellent. The only thing I could add, which may sound a little odd but I promise I'm serious, is using a card a day as a journal prompt. Not to study the Tarot, but to examine how these archetypes work in your life, or merely as sparks to call down the writer's muse. Pick a card and start telling a story. Alternatively, if your preferences run to the graphic arts, as prompts for artistic exploration through the medium of your choice. Kim

celeste	09 Apr 2004
Hmmm.... that's a good idea, thanks!

CreativeFire	09 Apr 2004
Hi celeste Another concept you might like to consider for "Personal Use of Tarot" is creative inspiration. I also find tarot a great inspiration for photographs, drawings and other creative projects. Also I have friend who is a writer, and recently gave her a deck for her birthday so she can try it for story and character inspiration for her novels and poems. :) CreativeFire

Kiama	09 Apr 2004
Games! Not just the gambling games that were created for the Tarot (e.g. Tarocchi, Scarto, etc) but the ones that also serve a divinatory or sacred purpose. For this, I suggest you read Tarot Games by Maura D. Shaw and Caitlin Johnson. I've used so many of the games in there for myself, and in a group of others (there are games for solitaries, games for partners, and games for groups, oh, and games for kids which are still fun!) and they always bring up some interesting ideas. Another one is story-creating. If you're a writer, and don't quite know where next your story could go, you could pull a few cards to inspire you. Or, you could create a bunch of Tarot spreads specifically for this purpose e.g. Character Creation spreads, Basic Plot Outline spreads... Another use is 'Map of the Universe' (don't know quite how else to describe it.) This is basically exploring something, e.g. Norse myths, through the archetypes of the Tarot. Asking yourself, 'What Norse myth would go well with the Moon card?' really helps you learn about the Norse myths! Along the lines of spellwork, have you thought about Character Development? You choose a card to signify where you are now, and then choose another card to signify where you want to be, and incorporate them into some sort of spellwork/ritual to aim towards that goal. (My friend did this when he wanted to move from his shy Knight of Cups to a more confident Knight of Wands.) I hope this helps, Kiama

celeste	09 Apr 2004
Thankyou for your ideas. They are all good ones-and I would not have thought of them myself.

WalesWoman	10 Apr 2004
These are really great ideas. The psychology in these cards is pretty amazing too, why do we do what we do, what's behind our motivations, what makes us tick? The Tarot is an incredible tool for Self Awareness and Understanding as well as Personal Development. Another is the Symbology used and how so much of it comes from all around the world, in everyday common things, to symbols from time beyond memory, that have been around forever, like the spiral, for one. What are the common threads of knowledge that have passed the tests of time. Motivation (which would sort of go with Affirmation and Personal Development) But I could see this as a daily card draw, what motivates, how to get motivated and what to do to stay that way. OH OH OH Social Interaction!!! The many forms that Tarot gets us to socialise, be it classes, forms of giving and recieving readings, forums and conventions. I have made so many friends from different parts of the world that would have never happened with out Tarot.

celeste	10 Apr 2004
Thankyou. I was also thinking that the tarot could stimulate a dialogue-like between two partners who weren't getting along. I know creating my cards stimulated a dialogue of a different kind between my daughter and I . I started to explain what these images meant and how they were all around us as well as in our history, books ect. and she got into it too and started drawing a few cards of her own,based on what she thought they meant. Keep the good ideas coming!

The need some brainstorming .... thread was originally posted on 09 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.