Help break my book dependency!!!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 18 Aug 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Pook	18 Aug 2004
Yesterday, I did a reading (for myself) and when I came to a card that didnt make sense right away, I immediately pulled out one of my favorite books from my tarot reference library. Then today, pretty much the same scenario, except that afterward I realized that I have grown very dependent upon these books for what the authors think the cards should mean, instead of figuring it out for myself. I then layed out another spread with a different question and vowed not to open a single book....that I would read this spread on my own. And all I could do was stare at the cards in front of me. It was like I couldn't see anything that made sense. I picked up the cards, put them away, and have been afraid to touch them since. Please, someone give me some advice on how to break this unhealthy dependency I have on oher people ideas and book definitions!!!

sassygirl3124	18 Aug 2004
I had pretty much that same thing happen to me then I started reading Tarot for yourself by Mary K. Greer and it helped me out alot. It is workbook format so you really learn to see the cards the way you want to see them. Then I started practicing doing readings on my own and I realized that I could now do it without looking at books for help. If you take sometime and just center yourself and not get stressed out about not being able to figure out a card meaning you should be able to do it. Look at the cards carefully and based on the pictures you can kinda figure out what the card is telling you. Also get a deck that you can connect with. If you are reading with a deck that you don't like or you just don't connect with then that well also make the readings harder and from my experience each deck has a little different meaning when you look at the different pictures. I also find that if I am really stumped on one of my cards then I look at my books and see what they mean but now instead of just looking at one book to get one persons meaning I look at a few different ones and see there ideas on the cards then that sometimes helps me figure out my own personal meaning to the card. It is ok to come up with your own ideas on how the cards should be read. If you notice when you look at different books each author has there own ideas as to what the basic meaning of the card is. Take some time with the cards and just look at the pictures and don't be afraid to come up with your own ideas to what the cards mean. The tarot should be something meaningful and personal to you. Well I hope this helps you alittle. Just my two cents on the matter. Best Julie

jema	18 Aug 2004
Do you write down all your readings? Just start with the first card and write down what you see. Describe the card as if you would to a blind person. this will often trigger your memory and you will find out what the card-meaning is. Also start your own book with card meanings and use that one rather then any authors. These are just a few advice to get you started.

Thirteen	18 Aug 2004
It sounds like you need to know your cards more intimately. Sit with them and study each card one by one. Meditate on each if you need to. Introduce yourself to them, one card at a time. When I do this, I think of the usual meaning of the card and see how the card's creator chose to depict that meaning (or not). I admire cool symbols and insights, unique depictions that I see. Alternately, I also decide how I'm going to handle the bits I might not like. Ignore them or get to appreciate them? Most of all, I get to know the personality of the deck. Because Decks really do have personalities. Some are warm, some crazy-wild, some fun-loving, some cool and elegant, some intellectual. Once you know the personality, you'll have an idea of how this deck will present its messages. Rider-Waite, for example, is a pretty sad deck. Even it's happiest cards have a pessimistic undercurrent. So when I use RW, I know that answers will likely be cautious; the deck will remind the querent of weaknesses and problems they need to take care of, things to watch out for. Thoth, on the other hand, is mystic-intellectual. It likes to give querents more than they bargained for, something to think about. Then again, you should consider that you might not be ready to leave the nest just yet, and that's fine. I'm not saying you should be dependent on the books, but so long as you're looking for answers in more than one book, you may be mistaking learning and research for "dependency." I still consult my books now and then. I hope I never stop consulting other masters in print or in places like this. It's a way to refresh the mind, get a new perspective and just learn.

skh	18 Aug 2004
Maybe I'm cheating. At a certain point I found that I got nowhere with looking up meanings in book, but also felt that purely intuitive reading is not for me - I'm not a visual person, I don't immediately see a story or meaning in an image. I have really little visual imagination for someone interested in Tarot ;) So I make up my own meanings and write those down. The rules, at the moment, are: not longer than one sentence (one word is better). I know the cards have deeper meanings, but I'll get back to them later. Right now, I'm reading tarot like a child learns speaking - single, easy words. There are cards where I have problems making up a meaning, for these I use books to get some ideas and then just pick a meaning I like, and forget the rest. I do like going through the deck card by card, "reciting" my meanings and thinking about what they could expand into in different situations. Another of my exercises is going through the whole deck in groups of three cards which I read in a quick, superficial past-present-future spread just to practise my card meanings in combinations, without a question - I just draw three cards: "from this... through this... to this..." and as soon as I see how the cards' meanings connect and complement each other, I go on to the next triplet. To me, letting go of the "right" card meanings and just using my own took the pressure out of my dealing with the cards. And I mostly picked rather traditional meanings anyway ;) Remember to have fun. Sonja

Savoyali	18 Aug 2004
I don't mean to seem facetious because obviously this is a serious issue, but how about putting the reference library in the basement for a while and doing readings in the attic? :D Have you tried reading where your references aren't available to you? Sometimes too many options just make you nervous instead of reassuring you. Other than that, I like Thirteen's advice. Spending some time with the cards while not doing a reading will take away the pressure of absolutely having to know what they're about this instant. Just relax and look at them as you would at a painting in a gallery, maybe write down what you like about them, and how they make you feel, or anything that comes to mind, really. That way, when they come up in a reading, you might not go immediately into "this card means..."-mode, but instead say hi to an old friend, open up a dialogue. Just take your time, you'll do it!

Little Baron	18 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Savoyali Just relax and look at them as you would at a painting in a gallery, maybe write down what you like about them, and how they make you feel, or anything that comes to mind, really. I like this idea and it is kind of how I do my daily draws. Had a thought that was inspired by Savoyali's idea though. Why not take a few paintings or photographs that have no connection to the tarot and muse over them in this way - just as an exercise. In the same way that an oracle works, look at the picture. There would be no standard meanings that go with it so what you come up with would be your ideas only. Once you have practiced with a few different art works, it may help in transfering that way of looking to the cards. If you have had success with the paintings and have had no reference books to go with them, it may be easier to look at the cards in a fresher way. Just an idea of a way to develop your intuition without relying on others interpretations. Yaboot

Thirteen	18 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by skh Maybe I'm cheating...I do like going through the deck card by card, "reciting" my meanings Not cheating at all. In fact, this is very close to the Keyword method which sometimes works really well for people who are stuck. You and others make a VERY good point. Meanings in books are sometimes long, in-depth and varied. It's no wonder that some folk have to keep going back to the book to remember meanings. It's like being given dossiers on 78 people, a stack of data on each detailing their every like and dislike and quirk! We don't work that way with people, checking a person's dossier each time we see them. When we first meet a person, we assign them a keyword--like "Smart" or "Nice" or "Distant." You stick with that first impression for a bit, then expand it as you get to know the person better. Like, "Distant with strangers, but funny and warm with friends." So...riffing on Skh's advise, why not give the Key Word method a try? You assign a one or few words meaning to each card and just well, memorize them. Like flash cards. When that one word meaning starts to pop into your head without effort--and your'e getting a little bored with it ;) --you expand and deepen, get more elaborate and varied with the meanings. Get to know the cards beyond that first impression. Here's a good site for Key Words: http://www.learntarot.com/chmaj.htm

Pook	18 Aug 2004
Thanks guys (and girls) for your suggestions. I did get my cards back out this morning and just looked through them for some fresh inspiration. I think I will try the keywords for a bit. And also, thanks for the link to Joan Bunnings website, Thirteen. I have heard good things about it, but never looked it up. I appreciate the advice, so thanks again.

contrascarpe	18 Aug 2004
I had the same problem for many many many years. Believe it or not, the turning point for me was reading Thirteen's tips found right here on AT. They finally made real sense to me. I then took those tips, along with several of my favorite books, and compiled a keyword list for all the cards. I began studying them one card at a time (up to five a day) until I felt comfortable with the different viewpoints. However, that was just the spark for me - since then I have developed an intuitive approach to reading and have strayed from the tried and true definitions. However, if I had only two resources, I would stick with Thirteen's meanings and Joan Bunning's book. Dan

Nitewindz	19 Aug 2004
Have you tried a systematic approach? I know it isn't fashionable right now, but it is an old method that works. This method is learning the simple framework of Tarot. You do not memorize individual keywords and meanings, or struggle for intuitive insight. Think of a card game, when you know the rules, you use the information printed on the cards in your hand to determine your score. Learn the "rules" of Tarot, and the card itself tells you what it means (it's "score"). I use a method based on divination with ordinary playing cards, and built on it using a similar framework for the Trumps that I got from The Magical World of the Tarot by Gareth Knight. Basically, the suit of a lower arcana or "house" of a Trump tells you what the subject is, and the number on the card describes the status of the situation. In my experience reading and teaching, those two clues are usually enough to trigger the intuitive aspects of Tarot. New readers using a systematic method are often surprised to find the intuitve images popping into their heads are virtually identical to the meanings and definitions provided in most reference books. That's because those definitions and meanings spring from the system of Tarot! By learning the system you learn the root. --Helen

Umbrae	01 Sep 2004
I think it was Firemaiden who said that Tarot is a book with 78 removable pages. What more do you need?

NeXoRiouS	01 Sep 2004
Assign keywords to each of the cards. You can also try to take one/three cards every night and play with their meanings. Find as many possible outcomes with these cards. Look at their pictures and think of anything that resembles them. Overall, you need to know them as your 'friends' to be able to let go of the book.

Umbrae	02 Sep 2004
...also...books (authors actually) tend to write in terms of suits. Aces through tens and then the courts. don't do that. learn them by numbers. Why are all the twos alike? How do they differ. do the same with threes and on and on...you'll find your keywords will expand...you'll begin to see why books can be so confining.

The Help break my book dependency!!! thread was originally posted on 18 Aug 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.