Memorizing The Cards
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 28 Jan 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| cardreaper |
28 Jan 2005 |
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How did you guys memorize these cards. I just started about a week ago and wanted to know if there if there is any easy way to do it. :)
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| FaeryGodmother |
28 Jan 2005 |
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I guess it depends on whether you have a pictorial deck, like the Rider Waite or a deck like the Marseilles which shows say five wands or five coins etc.
For a pictorial deck I look at the pictures and get the meaning from those, for example the five of coins might show two beggars huddled in the snow. I associate this in my mind with being poor. Of course a picture tells a thousand words so you can develop the meanings from there. That same picture of two beggars in the snow might say to you two people sticking together despite the odds.
As for decks without pictures, I memorised the meanings of the ten numbers (ace being beginnings, two's being balance etc) and then adjusted those to the suit, (cups being emotions, wands being action or creativity etc). So ace of cups is an emotional begining, two of cups is emotional balance etc.
Mostly it just takes practice. And the best practice is drawing a daily card and paying attention to what happens to you that day.
Good luck, I'm sure you'll get there in the end memorising it all. :)
FGM
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| huredriel |
28 Jan 2005 |
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Well I've only been here 9 weeks (yes I can see you looking at the post count - I talk a hellavu lot :) ). All I can suggest is practice. Try drawing a daily card, writing down what you feel about that card, look up the meanings in the LWB. I did this for the first week, but have been so hectic I haven't really done it since :( . Bad girl, bad girl!!! Look at them, play with them, practice. I've also found the keyword and opposites game on here very very helpful, especially since I try to do it from memory and not look at my cards at all. Depending on what deck you use as well, pentacles - earth, materiality, health, finance etc; cups - emotions, love, feelings; rods - fire, passion, creativity; swords - thoughts, mental, clarity etc. Post your readings, see what other interpretations members here can come up, re-examine the spread and see if you can connect anything new. Most decks I believe have Ace through to Ten, then Page, Knight, Queen and King, and the Majors. I still have difficulty remembering some of the majors to be honest. But I find the main thing - what does the card say to you?? Sorry I've rambled on, but hope you find some of it helpful at least.
Best of luck
x Huredriel
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| dadsnook2000 |
28 Jan 2005 |
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Its not overly easy, but it may not be as tough as you think. I believe it comes from just handling and working with the cards. You have to get very familiar with them. There are several ways to do this, and you might consider doing two or more of them together:
1) Draw a daily card from you deck. Study it, meditate on what role it might play in your life, stay aware of how it might play out before you that very day.
2) Start a journal in which you keep notes about what you learn about each card. Repitition and writing things down helps many of us remember.
3) Find others with an interest in Tarot and talk with them. Do readings for each other.
4) Be active on this site and choose several of its forums or talk/sharing areas to explore each day. There is likely a study group for your favorite deck -- go there and participate and review past threads. Check out Thirteens great deliniations and copy down portions of them into your new journal. Go to the reading exchange and swap practice readings with someone.
Soon you'll be so imersed into Tarot that you'll surprise yourself -- you will not only have remembered all the cards in your deck and what they mean, you'll probably have ten other decks and be working with them equally well. Time, involvement, sharing, using the cards -- it all comes together. Dave.
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| cSpaceDiva |
28 Jan 2005 |
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I don't think there is an easy way to memorize them, so that's why I didn't bother. I just used the book until I was familiar/comfortable enough that I felt I didn't need it anymore. It took me several years, but I don't read all that often. Another thing that helped me was making my own deck. You know how they tell you the percentages you remember of what you hear vs. what you read vs. what you do?
Good luck, and welcome to the Forum!
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| cardreaper |
28 Jan 2005 |
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Thanks guys i am using a Dragon Tarot Deck if any one else is. So i should just draw a card and look at the picture and see what i feel correct. BY createing a deck you mean mix matching cards like some rider some vampire some dragon correct. Thank you guys.
CardReaper
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| Thirteen |
29 Jan 2005 |
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anted to know if there if there is any easy way to do it.
There is an "easy" way, so long as what you mean is memorizing the meaning--not just memorizing what cards there are in the deck (like, magician, high priestess, empress....).
Just use the Key Word system. It's all about easy memorization. HOWEVER, be aware that certain decks may have different meaning for the suits--that is, some decks equate Air with Swords/Fire with Wands, and others have Air with Wands/Fire with Swords. Make sure of the meanings of your particular deck before going for Key Word.
Key word works one of two ways:
1) You assign a key word to each card and remember that key word (or two or three). Here's a keyword chart for that method:
http://www.learntarot.com/chmaj.htm
2) You assign a key word to a major card, like the magician, and assign that same word to all the aces. Then you assign a key word to the High Priestess and assign that same word to all the two's--and so on up to the Wheel of Fortune at 10. This the Sylvia Abraham method--you can get her book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1567180019/ref=nosim/aeclectic/
The keyword method is simplistic, but it works and it's fast. The only caution is that you will outgrow it and need to expand on your own. It's fine for beginners, for getting to know the deck, but it is limited.
Good luck!
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| tarotbear |
29 Jan 2005 |
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How did you guys memorize these cards. I just started about a week ago and wanted to know if there if there is any easy way to do it. :)
Sure - buy my book! LOL!!! (not exactly kidding.)
O.K. - this question pops up again and again on these kinds of forums and it is a legitimate question, but the answer is what works for one person does not always work for the next person. It depends on how you learn things. Do you get your best understanding from reading things over and over? Then that is the best way for you to go, no matter what anyone says. Do you learn better hearing someone 'talk' it to you? Perhaps you should try to find a tarot lecture/class and take notes.
Some people find it is best to write their thoughts down; what does the image say to you, what impressions you have viewing it, etc. Learning is interactive that way. Sometimes the best way is to work with the cards (almost) every day, doing a reading and seeing what you feel and come up with and checking with a source or two and seeing what comparisons you can make.
The worst possible thing I can think of is trying to memorise 'five easy pieces' about each card - absolutely the worst way to go! Tarot is fluid. You could memorize all the 100s of entries in "Tarot Plain and Simple" (a book I dislike, by the way) and find out that although the author listed 75 words for a particular card that not one of them applies to the reading in front of you! Learning things by rote is the bane of tarot.
Yes, there are a lot of us here with a lot of experience and we can make things look deceptively simple at times. We all struggled and worried and wondered just as you are now. One fine day ( good line for a song~!) everything will suddenly gel and you will be shocked. That day can happen quickly and it can take years, but it can and will happen. The thing is not to let it discourage but rather encourage you to keep going.
So ~ you've been doing this all of a week? Don't expect miracles, kiddo. Many a person has picked up a deck and thought it would be a snap of the fingers or twitch of the nose kind of thing ... and it isn't. I 'do' tarot every single day and learn something new every single day. The learning experience never stops.
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| cardreaper |
29 Jan 2005 |
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Hey guys thank you for all the advice. I will start working on it.
Thanks CardReaper
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| Sinner |
29 Jan 2005 |
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The first deck I started with was the Mythic Deck and one of the main reasons I had such a sudden interest in tarot was how quickly I was able to memorise the meaning of each card. With the Mythic Deck you get the book that not only describes what each card represents but also tells a short story from ancient greek mythology for every single card.
I have a strong interest in greek mythology so I was able to know what all the cards meant very quickly, as soon as I see the picture on the card I can remember the story and know what its supposed to mean. This was a tremendous help and even now when I'm stuck with a meaning of a less descriptive deck like the RWS, I think back to the picture on the mythic deck and think about the story behind it which always helps me remember the meaning.
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| spoonbender |
29 Jan 2005 |
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I don't see any need to memorise the meanings of the cards - why would you want to do that? It would just result in these kind of dogmatic and fixed keywords. Imagine memorising that the 5 of Coins always means poverty :eek:!!
If you do a reading, I would just look at the images on the cards and see what kind of feeling and meaning it evokes in that specific context... Just start from the image and allow your intuition to kick in :).
And by the way, I'm afraid there's NEVER an easy way to get to know Tarot.
Spoon
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| Thirteen |
29 Jan 2005 |
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I don't see any need to memorise the meanings of the cards - why would you want to do that? It would just result in these kind of dogmatic and fixed keywords. Imagine memorising that the 5 of Coins always means poverty
This is not the way the keyword system works if it works. I really have to take exception to the way people toss this method right out the window as if the results are going to be a reader with flash-card memories and nothing more.
People learn, grow and adapt, they're not computers (the only information you get out of them is what you put into them). So, keyword "poverty" yes, but poverty of what? Money, time, spirit? Clearly, the mutable aspects of that word allow our keyword student to grow and develop and learn the card beyond that single word. That's if it works for them, of course. As was said, not every system works for every person, we each have our own method of absorbing the tarot. I can tell you this, however, I know plenty of people who've used this system. They all learned the cards within a month (yes, they learn it THAT fast and are onto spreads by the 2nd month), and not one was stuck with a single, dogmatic word. They very quickly learned to branch out from those single words to other possible meanings.
The worst possible thing I can think of is trying to memorise 'five easy pieces' about each card - absolutely the worst way to go!
Are you saying that it's the worst thing you can do in your experience as a tarot teacher? That you've used this method and gotten rotten results, or that when YOU, yourself used this system it didn't work for you? Frankly, I'm always amazed at how quick people are to disrespect and disregard the keyword system out of hand--I've met classes of people who learned tarot with this system and each and every one of them, in my experience, learned to read as well as any pro on this forum, and MOST usually went on to studying tarot history, Qabala, etc. Many would assert that it was the best system for learning the tarot, as several failed to learn it by other method.
The reason tarot is never "easy" or simple, is because you never stop learning it. No matter what method you use in the beginning, this is just the beginning. There's always more to it, always new things to discover. This is why no one is ever able to become an instant tarot reader. HOWEVER, if you find the right method for you then the basic meaning can be learned quickly. If one method isn't working try another, until you have that break through and the feel of the cards begins to stick.
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| Sulis |
29 Jan 2005 |
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It's different strokes for different folks isn't it?
I tried doing Joan Bunnings' course both alone and with TABI but I just couldn't get on with the keyword system - there just seemed to be nothing to relate each keyword to.
I think I'd probably be able to make more sense of Sylvia Abrahams' keywords as they relate to each Major Arcana card, much like Thirteens' Basic meanings which are excellent and a very good way of learning.
I think that if you do want to try keywords then it's best to link your keywords to some other system; numerology or relating each one to a major card for example.
What I'd definately advise you to do, whether you want to learn keywords or not is to get yourself a journal and start doing a daily card draw.
Just one card a day - look at it, notice the number, the element and then write down what you see in the card and what you think it means to you. Look out for the cards' meaning as you go about your daily routine then at the end of the day look up the meaning in a good book. One of my favorites for both upright and reversed meanings is 'Tarot Reversals' by Mary K Greer. You can then compare your own thoughts about the card with the more 'traditional' meaning; see how similar they are and how different.
By journaling like this you can gradually build up your own meanings. Remember though, when doing a reading the question and the spread all play their part.
The most important thing to remember, in my opinion, when you first start is not to rush. This is the only time on your tarot journey when you won't have any pre-conceived ideas about what the cards mean. You have the rest of your life to work out what each card means to you.
Umbrae says 'Take it slowly unless you strive for mediochrity' - Very wise words, I think.
Love
Sulis xx
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| rainwolf |
29 Jan 2005 |
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I think it is good to memorize 2-3 book meanings you find especially true, and then go from there by making meanings based on what the symbols, numbers, suits...mean to YOU. Before you get to far, i think it would be helpful to think that every card has several meanings of different LEVELS...like spiritual, mental, physical...(ie 5 pentacles may mean hardships mentally, physically, spiritually, etc). the best way to 'memorize' them, or understand them to put it better, would to just make a notebook containing meanings for each card. As other ppl have said, tarot is fluid and in any reading they may have other interpretations...but dont give up! Along the way (notice no end :)) you will have many personal insights. Remember to have fun!
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| Fulgour |
29 Jan 2005 |
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How did you guys memorize these cards. I just started about a week ago and wanted to know if there if there is any easy way to do it. :) At least once a day, shuffle your deck (it's good practice too),
and then carefully put all the cards back in their original order.
If you don't think this'll work, try it for a week and you'll see :)
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| Rosanne |
29 Jan 2005 |
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Hi- When I started I used the saturation method.(or at least I call it that). I would draw a card, place it where I could see it, in my book or on the table etc etc, and then as the day went by I would try and relate things to the card. best example is 3 of Cups - oh look three for coffee- they look happy, two at a bus stop, here comes the third- Mum baby and pram,that makes three,two guys pushing car with driver- car jump starts thats a 3 of cups happening.Then at the end of the day I would put the card back in order with the other cards ready for tomorrows shuffle and draw. If I had trouble with what the card meant for me, I would go and look up the meaning. Only if I had trouble. It did not take long to see Tarot all over the place, in people and situations. But as Fulgour said -After a shuffle re order your cards. Then you will have it stick in your head with your associations of the card. Regards Rosanne
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| SunChariot |
29 Jan 2005 |
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How did you guys memorize these cards. I just started about a week ago and wanted to know if there if there is any easy way to do it. :)
My opinion of this is don't. I don't think it is a good idea to memorize anything.
The book meanings, are the least important part of the meaning. Reading Tarot should be about accessing your instincts. Memorizing things is going to bore you to tears and diminish your instincts. The images are visual poetry. You read them like poetry and look for the symbolism behind them. And what it could mean in relation to the question.
If you clutter up your mind with all the book meanings, it will affect what you see when you look at the images and you will start to get less original and useful answers, and start to reach your intution less. one of Tarot's purposes is to help our intuition grow.
You never have to look at the book meanings at all, but if you must do it only after you have "deciphered" the images yourself first. And if there is a conflict between the two meanings, drop the book meaning.
The answers depend a lot on the question being asked, where the card falls in the spread, if it is reversed....and your mood...No book can hope to cover more than the smallest portion of what a card can mean. Each has infinite meanings. And you will see if you look in different books that the same card can have very diffferent and sometimes even opposite meanings.
The book meanings are definitely not written in stone adn there is no need to memroize anything. And I find trying to do so can cause more harm than good. That is why I have 8 decks, so I can alternate and do not get too stuck on teh meanings of a card in any one deck.:-) You just feel what it means, the rest is secondary.:-)
Hope this helps,
Bar
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| cardreaper |
29 Jan 2005 |
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Wow i only expected a few people to post but thanks to everyone for their tips. I just got one more question alot of you said basicly look at the picture and make a meaing of that for example the ace of coins i see a dragon standing by a cave which means new doorway. Is that anyway correct.
Cardreaper
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| SunChariot |
30 Jan 2005 |
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Wow i only expected a few people to post but thanks to everyone for their tips. I just got one more question alot of you said basicly look at the picture and make a meaing of that for example the ace of coins i see a dragon standing by a cave which means new doorway. Is that anyway correct.
Cardreaper
You are asking a few different questions:
1) If you're asking us to validate what you see, no one can to that but yourself. Tarot is about accessing your intuition. If what you see it a dragon standing by a cave, that is what it is to you. Someone else can see something else in the card and that is what it would mean to them. If you feel it means a new doorway, then that is what it means to you, but you just need to learn to really listen to what your feelings are telling you and trust them. Tarot is a tool to teach us just that. A new doorway could mean a new opportunity coming your way.
2) Two that being said, if all you saw in the whole image was a dragon near a cave, that would not give you a very deep answer. There is much more you can do with the imagery. I don't know your deck, but you need to look more deeply at the imagery and see what it could mean in relation to your question.
First of all what does a dragon mean to you: fears, childhood fairy tales, something mythical? Think of as many as you can then think of what they mean to you right now in your life and in relation to the question. What do you fear on the topic of the question, what childhood experiences are related to teh situatiuon of the question, how can these help you deal with it, what myths do you hold about this topic, should you let go of them?
By the way, what you feel an image means is very much related to your mood as well, and will likely change somewhat from reading to reading adn that is fine. The Tarot will give you the info you need in the form that will be easiest for you to get on that particular day.
What does a cave mean to you, darkness, birth or rebirth, ancient peoples and rites, our roots....What do you feel is dark (hidden) from you, what is being born and why, .....you see what I mean.
And there is a lot more than a dragon and a cave in the image, trust me. There is a mood, how does the card make you feel, that is important. What colours are in it....What do they mean to you in relation to the question? Green could mean life and health (summer greenery) or it could mean jealousy, yellow could be warmth like the sunshine....
Whichever symbols you find and that you get that "AHA" feeling, when you feel it in your gut that they are part of your answer, then they are.:-)
Hope this helps.
Bar
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| tarotbear |
30 Jan 2005 |
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Are you saying that it's the worst thing you can do in your experience as a tarot teacher ? That you've used this method and gotten rotten results, or that when YOU, yourself used this system it didn't work for you?
I am saying that if you believe that learning Tarot is to sit down and simply learn five things about each card, such as "Ace of Cups - happiness, kindness, friendship, peace, poetry; Two of Cups - conflict, dilemma, partnership, duality, balance , etc." that you will be wasting your time, because in the rest of the post I explain that no matter how many words you may learn, not one of them may apply to the spread you are reading.
Memorizing a card meaning, like memorizing the Pledge of Alliegiance or Frost's 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' will end up in an empty recital of someone else's ideas, and all readings for the card will be the five things you memorized. Tarot is fluid; it grows and growns and you learn and you learn. The 'Be-all and end all' of understanding Tarot is taking something you know or learned and running with it, tweaking it, putting a spin on it and expanding your mind. Even learning one Keyword for each card - which may work for you or may not - is too limiting if all you are going to do is memorise a Keyword.
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| Umbrae |
30 Jan 2005 |
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Memorizing a card meaning, like memorizing the Pledge of Alliegiance or Frost's 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' will end up in an empty recital of someone else's ideas, and all readings for the card will be the five things you memorized. Tarot is fluid; it grows and growns and you learn and you learn. The 'Be-all and end all' of understanding Tarot is taking something you know or learned and running with it, tweaking it, putting a spin on it and expanding your mind. Even learning one Keyword for each card - which may work for you or may not - is too limiting if all you are going to do is memorise a Keyword.
Yeah...Beautifully spoken, and true.
As usual, I must agree with tarotbear.
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| Fulgour |
30 Jan 2005 |
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I just got one more question alot of you said basicly look at the picture and make a meaing of that for example the ace of coins i see a dragon standing by a cave which means new doorway. Is that anyway correct. Looking at the "Dragon" Ace of Coins we see a flower,
now in fresh bloom, just in front of the dark entrance
to a small cave from which a Dragon may have come.
http://tarot.com/images/decks/dragon/full_size/64.jpg
Rather than the cave being a "new doorway" look at the
maze and star design above the Dragon. It is being called
forth from the depths, emerging into a new life of power.
The old confines are past, and yet what mysteries wait..?
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| Fulgour |
30 Jan 2005 |
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I've been looking at the rest of the cards in the Dragon Tarot,
online since it's not a deck I have (yet), and now maybe I see
better what you're asking about ~ the frame or border of the
card actually forms a cave entrance, and it's only on this card.
So part of the image is as if we are standing inside the cave
and looking out at the Dragon, who is looking back at us...
This is pretty cool, and I'm still trying to figure out how to
"feel" the concept. Why do you think this card shows that?
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| SunChariot |
30 Jan 2005 |
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I am saying that if you believe that learning Tarot is to sit down and simply learn five things about each card, such as "Ace of Cups - happiness, kindness, friendship, peace, poetry; Two of Cups - conflict, dilemma, partnership, duality, balance , etc." that you will be wasting your time, because in the rest of the post I explain that no matter how many words you may learn, not one of them may apply to the spread you are reading.
Memorizing a card meaning, like memorizing the Pledge of Alliegiance or Frost's 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' will end up in an empty recital of someone else's ideas, and all readings for the card will be the five things you memorized. Tarot is fluid; it grows and growns and you learn and you learn. The 'Be-all and end all' of understanding Tarot is taking something you know or learned and running with it, tweaking it, putting a spin on it and expanding your mind. Even learning one Keyword for each card - which may work for you or may not - is too limiting if all you are going to do is memorise a Keyword.
I couldn't agree more. :-)
Bar
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| SunChariot |
30 Jan 2005 |
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I've been looking at the rest of the cards in the Dragon Tarot,
online since it's not a deck I have (yet), and now maybe I see
better what you're asking about ~ the frame or border of the
card actually forms a cave entrance, and it's only on this card.
So part of the image is as if we are standing inside the cave
and looking out at the Dragon, who is looking back at us...
This is pretty cool, and I'm still trying to figure out how to
"feel" the concept. Why do you think this card shows that?
Thanks for supplying the image Fulgour. :-)
I have never seen that deck, but I think the card is really cool too. The cave is like an optical illusion and can be seen two ways. You can imagine yourself inside the cave looking out at the dragon (who is outside of it). Or if you look at it another way, the dragon is inside the cave looking out.
I think it was brilliant of the artist to do it this way. That gives the card much more depth, flexiblility and potential meaning. And for cardreaper, in my opinion, the meaning is not limited to one or the other. One day, in answer to one question, the dragon can be inside the cave. Another day, in answer to a different question, it can be outside the cave. It means what you FEEL it means at the time of the reading, and that can change from reading to reading. It's about your feelings and intuitions and accessing them.:-)
Bar
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| LadyMedusa |
30 Jan 2005 |
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Wow i only expected a few people to post but thanks to everyone for their tips. I just got one more question alot of you said basicly look at the picture and make a meaing of that for example the ace of coins i see a dragon standing by a cave which means new doorway. Is that anyway correct.
Cardreaper
That is a very good example.
LadyMedusa
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| Fulgour |
30 Jan 2005 |
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I think it was brilliant of the artist to do it this way. I've never had a chance to handle this deck, but it is popular.
Lots of times when I'm talking to people, they like this one.
from "Browse Tarot.com's Tarot Decks"
The Dragon Tarot
The images have an immediate and vivid impact, like with
The Page of Wands
And you know, we dragons love finding new treasures ;)
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| Emily |
30 Jan 2005 |
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I think keyword systems work too, for some people. I loved using keywords when I first started with the RWS. A Keyword would jog my memory and bring the card alive. I used Sylvia Abrahams keywords but liked the sheets of Joan Bunnings tarot course even better. I still have copies of the Joan Bunnings sheets that I refer to when I need a kick on a particular card and I use her book too.
Its still a method I use in my journal (my new fully functioning journal :D) when I take notes on a card I'm studying. But I don't think its a system that would work with everyone.
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| Thirteen |
30 Jan 2005 |
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Memorizing a card meaning, like memorizing the Pledge of Alliegiance or Frost's 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' will end up in an empty recital of someone else's ideas, and all readings for the card will be the five things you memorized. Tarot is fluid; it grows and growns and you learn and you learn...Even learning one Keyword for each card - which may work for you or may not - is too limiting if all you are going to do is memorise a Keyword.
It is certainly true that memorizing by rote is an empty recital. And I'm sure many folk will agree with all you say. I emphasize, once again, that Keyword isn't for everyone--just like daily cards, meditation, etc, isn't for everyone--you yourself said this. If "keyword" becomes an "empty recital" then it's not the right method for that person.
HOWEVER, my point is simply that Keyword, doesn't have to result in an empty recital. Empty recitals are things you memorize to repeat, and that's all. You learn what vocabulary words mean so you can get a good grade on a test, you learn a poem so you can say it in a speech, and that's it. You say the pledge of allegience because you head it daily. But you don't usually intend to do anything more with your recital than get it overwith and move on.
WHEN you want to learn the tarot, and I mean really WANT to learn it, really want to do readings, then what you do with Keywords is more like flash cards for learning a language. You learn what basic words in the language mean. Now you'll be able to recite these back as "empty recital" if you're tested--but that's not what matters. There is, after all, no test. What matters to you is to go on, to learn how to READ with those words. To do that, you're going to have to figure out how change them to fit into sentences, you're going to have to manage them when you hear them altered, so you can understand what you're hearing, and you're going to have to know how to string them together, how to adjust them so they make sense.
You may have started with simple memorization, but now you have to take it a step further, develop what you've learned, not just repeat it back.
All Keyword systems do are get you started. They introduce you to the vocabulary. Rather like a med student learning all the bones in the skeleton, they're not going to teach you to fix a fracture--but they do open the door and let students see the connections. What is connected to what, what goes where, and how to communicate with other doctors--how to say, "This bone is where the trouble is" so other doctors understand what you're looking at, what you're thinking. This doesn't work for all students, but then, nothing does. What I object to, however, is that I think is the unfair bias against it; the mistaken belief that it is the "worst...absolute worst" way to learn tarot. It isn't.
Empty recital is what any person will end up with if they're not serious about really learning the tarot. A person can do it all on their own by looking at a card, making up a meaning, and just repeating that parrot-like. They don't need the keyword system to make them do that, though certainly, it makes it easier for them if they're so inclined. But if they're so inclined, they're not ready to learn Tarot by any method. If they're ready to learn, and Keyword is right way for them, it will by no means lead to empty recital. Like any other method, it will simply open the door.
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| tmgrl2 |
30 Jan 2005 |
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Good discussion and good advice...
I only started a year ago and I wanted to have it all right away, too.
I think the "keyword" used by Dave was "familiar."
You must work with the images and the cards and do some readings...make sure to do some readings for "live" people and ....
Go to a reader yourself. Having someone else reading for you from time to time can be a wonderful learning experience. You can get good guidance. You can also learn what you don't want Tarot to become for you.
Over time, the deck or decks you choose to read with will become familiar.
There is no way to rush this process unless you take shortcuts (which I don't think Thirteen is suggesting at all).
I tried the keyword thing at the very beginning.
Know what? When I actually did a reading, I
1) Couldn't remember most of them anyhow
2) Saw things that I didn't at all expect
3) Began to build a base of inner knowledge about the Tarot.
Again, I recommend reading the articles at the beginning of AT and, by all means, read a lot here, discussions of cards and decks, readings done by people here.
There isn't some magical point at which we know all we need to know about the Tarot or about card meanings.
If someone feels they have that knowledge, then they have limited the scope of their interpretations of the cards given a certain person, with a particular deck, a spread, the positions of the cards, the appearance or not of Trumps, multiple appearances of minors or of certain suits, lack of suits or majors....it's all about the
whole THING...not about individual card meanings.
Here is the link for the articles.
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/
Become "familiar" with all that surrounds the Tarot, not just with meanings of individual cards...sometimes, my sitter winds up sharing so much with me during a reading and even giving impressions of cards that show up.
The interactive process, the event of reading is quite magical. Dip your toes in those waters a bit at a time. Merely studying will not take you where you want to go.
Be patient, there's no rush. A "beginner" whose spirit and intent are right can give a magnificent reading, by keeping the spread simple, quietly reflecting on the cards and starting to tell the story.
terri
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| Fudugazi |
30 Jan 2005 |
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Just use the Key Word system. It's all about easy memorization. HOWEVER, be aware that certain decks may have different meaning for the suits--that is, some decks equate Air with Swords/Fire with Wands, and others have Air with Wands/Fire with Swords. Make sure of the meanings of your particular deck before going for Key Word.
I know the keyword system works very well for some people, but not for everyone - I was never able to learn them, and I found it very limiting too. Recently I have started to work with Waking the Wild Spirit. It's a very different deck from the others - hardly a tarot at all in fact (I'd call it a wonderful friend and oracle). With the pack comes a book of stories - and it's amazing how quickly I'm connecting with the cards thanks to these stories. It's a personal thing - I know I respond to stories and poetry the way some people respond to lists (I don't respond to lists at all). I find the same thing helps me with the Marseille Majors when I read Jodo's first person monologues in the voice of each Major Arcana. I've also started writing my own stories and monologues around various cards. I want to expand that and create dialogues between cards.
So what you could do, cardreaper, if you like stories, or poetry, or drama and film, is write stories, or poems or monologues that will help you get into the cards. Look at them very carefully, leave the LWB and other books closed while you are doing this excercise, and let the card speak to you. Or describe it, or enter into it and speak in its voice. You could associate that with your card-a-day reading.
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| Fudugazi |
30 Jan 2005 |
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Memorizing a card meaning, like memorizing the Pledge of Alliegiance or Frost's 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' will end up in an empty recital of someone else's ideas, and all readings for the card will be the five things you memorized. Tarot is fluid; it grows and growns and you learn and you learn.
I couldn't disagree with you more. Have you never been to the theatre? have you never seen King Lear, Hamlet or The Crucible on stage? Unless you were unfortunate in the actors and production, would you say that what you saw and heard were "empty recitals" of Shakespeare's or Miller's ideas and words? Learning a poem by heart, reciting it with zest and love, brings it alive. If you've never seen the Earl of Harewood's wonderful anthology "Other Men's Flowers" - I recommend it. He made it during the Second World War, in the desert, from poems he knew by heart.
Of course you have to put your heart, your guts, your love and your intuition into the learning and the telling. No two theatre performances are ever the same. No two retellings of a story, either (bards knew this). Where would literature be without either learning by heart and intuition? (The answer is - nowhere - since literature comes from oral literature originally).
Tarot works the same. No two readings are the same. Intuition comes into play in a big way, you will see some correspondences in one reading, and only then. But without the rich and long and sometimes difficult process of learning, intuition has nothing to hold onto, and the reader is clueless. Or would you like to go to the theatre and have an actor say to you - "I'm going to play Hamlet. I've not learnt the role but I'm going to feel what Shakespeare was trying to say". As for improv, any half-decent actor will tell you that even this difficult art is built on training.
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| tarotbear |
30 Jan 2005 |
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I spent twenty-five years on stage as an actor and a set, lighting, and costume designer.
I takes a really good actor to not get bored with what they are doing eight times a week, sometimes for two years under contract. No two theatre performances ARE ever the same because the audiences are different. People who see the show three years' into a run expect to see Carol Channing do 'Dolly' the same way she did it on opening night. What makes an actor truely great (Harvey Fierstein springs to mind - 4 Tony Awards) is that they trandscend merely 'doing their part.' Tonight the audience applaudes wildly; tonight they don't react at all. Tonight the Swan Boat doesn't get onstage for the opera singer to fly into the wings .. not the same as doing a Tarot reading. John Guilgood will tell you that during Hamlet's big speeches he used to count the aufdience in the balcony because he could do the role blindfolded - and no one in the audience was the wiser because he knew how to make it work.
The thrust of this thread began because a super-newbie to Tarot asked how you memorise all the cards. Those of us with experience are telling them a truth - that if you think you can find the easiest way to learn them and become Super Cardreader overnight, that they are going to be radically disappointed.
BTW - I have seen shows that were over-rehearsed so much that the actors were bored because the spontaneity had been rehearsed out of them. If all you do is learn easy keywords and never make the quantum leap - all you will give is a tired, hackneyed reading.
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| Fudugazi |
30 Jan 2005 |
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BTW - I have seen shows that were over-rehearsed so much that the actors were bored because the spontaneity had been rehearsed out of them. If all you do is learn easy keywords and never make the quantum leap - all you will give is a tired, hackneyed reading.
Absolutely agree with you there :) That's why I said - learning and intuition. But we always get back to these twins, don't we?
I'm not a great fan of keywords either (see my post about stories and monologues).
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| Umbrae |
30 Jan 2005 |
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Here’s my take…
If you memorize little sayings for each card – you will become a parrot – and not a reader of cards.
“Polly wants four of wands”
Think in terms of number and suit meanings.
What does a 4 mean?
What do the Wands mean.
Memorize a speech…
But not a reading.
(You cannot compare the two – one is informative or entertaining – the other is about another person’s life…when you read for yourself or another person – it’s serious business – let’s not cheapen it – just my opinion, so don’t get too excited)
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| Sinner |
30 Jan 2005 |
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After looking at all the Dragon Tarot cards (online),
I wanted to ask you, could you tell me what "name"
is on card XII (usually The Hanged Man)? I can't tell
from my computer screen, even using enlargement.
It says "XII The Hanging Dragon".
This is my favourite deck by the way, each card looks awesome its very close to me.
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| cardreaper |
30 Jan 2005 |
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thanks again for all the tips. I would love to keep this thread going. I know i am getting alot out of this. I have been drawing cards then been looking at the card and see what is really in the picture and then from what i see out of the picture is what i use. It is going good so far. Thank you all
Cardreaper
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| SunChariot |
30 Jan 2005 |
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thanks again for all the tips. I would love to keep this thread going. I know i am getting alot out of this. I have been drawing cards then been looking at the card and see what is really in the picture and then from what i see out of the picture is what i use. It is going good so far. Thank you all
Cardreaper
I am really really happy for you to hear it's going well. :-) I wish you lots of joy and inspiration with your cards
Bar
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| Katja |
07 Feb 2005 |
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Hello! ;) Here's how I'm learning....
I bought the Thoth years ago, but the booklet you get with the cards is so hard to understand, I didn't understand anything. So I went to the library, grabbed all the books on Tarot there were (that was few actually, I guess ppl here are not yet that into it to have it translated :rolleyes: I didn't look for english books though...). There was no way for me to remember key words, I tried, it didn't work....
I made my own journal, I collected all the meanings of the cards.... it took me some time.... and still the only ones I remembered were the Majors, thanks to Arcus Arcanum Tarot and it's booklet (it describes the symbols before the meanings of the card). So it was really looking at the card and trying to connect the picture with the meaning...
Then I found this page, Aeclectic Tarot... I was amazed of how many informations I can get here.... So, since I "knew" the meanings of Majors, I had to learn about Minors. So I read the Thirteen's explanations on Minors..... (Here is where I have to thank Thirteen for making this, since it was more efficient than all of the books I collected in the library. :)) Then of course could not not read (:D) her explanations on Majors as well.... So I think that only now I know the basics of Tarot. So it is time for me to deepen my knowledge... again, thanks Thirteen! You wrote it like a story, I was able to remember the key words. :smoker:
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| Red Kite |
08 Feb 2005 |
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Hi, I'm new to tarot (about 3 months in). I had actually had a Hanson Roberts deck for 17 years tucked away in a wooden trunk waiting for me to do something with it!
I got a sudden urge to pick it up and try. So, I started by having a go at Joan Bunnings on line course, which was great for starting me off, BUT, I couldn't remember any of the keywords, and when I tried to do a reading my mind went blank. I just found it hard to get the Hanson Roberts pictures to speak to me. Then I found Aeclectic. First time in I saw a deck featured on the homepage. It was The Housewives Tarot, and the card was The Devil. Boy did that card speak. I investigated further and all the cards I saw had something to say. So I bought the deck, and started to follow Umbraes advice;
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10772
and also had a good read of Thirteen's excellent descriptions. I feel comfortable now, doing my own thing. For me, tarot is a personal journey, and I no longer want to rush it.
So, for me, it wasn't right to keep flogging a dead horse with what is perceived to be the ideal starting material. Once I found a deck that I could connect to, it was like somebody switching on a light. I have learnt, so much off this site, and with so many experts on hand to discuss queries and stumbling blocks, why buy a book?
So, perhaps you would fare better with a different deck?
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| Vincent |
08 Feb 2005 |
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My opinion of this is don't. I don't think it is a good idea to memorize anything.
You don't have a choice. That is the way that memory works. You will remember things, whether you make a conscious effort to do so, or not.
The book meanings, are the least important part of the meaning. Reading Tarot should be about accessing your instincts.
Why?
What if my instincts tell me that it shouldn't be about that at all?
Why shouldn't Tarot be about investigating ideas? And why shouldn't logic, skepticism, and memory play some part in it?
Memorizing things is going to bore you to tears and diminish your instincts.
It may bore you, but then again it might not. But is someones boredom threshold a valid criterion for judging the effectiveness of a teaching method. Could we not reach the conclusion that someone who gets that bored, so easily, might be better off potholing, or maybe learning how to pole vault?
And. exactly how does memorising anything, "diminish instincts"? What is the neurological process involved here? Do you mean if a tennis player were to memorise all previous winners at Wimbledon, they would no longer be able to make instinctive returns of serve?
I have to say I have never understood this idea of study and intuition being mutually exclusive. "Don't read that... it will stunt your intuition" has become the New Age equivalent of "...it makes you go blind, you know".
The images are visual poetry. You read them like poetry and look for the symbolism behind them. And what it could mean in relation to the question.
If you clutter up your mind with all the book meanings, it will affect what you see when you look at the images and you will start to get less original and useful answers, and start to reach your intution less. one of Tarot's purposes is to help our intuition grow.
Learning and memorising meanings need not "clutter up your mind". Why can't this information be stored as neatly and orderly as any other information? It would the seem the limiting factor is the receptacle, not the contents.
Is originality something that should be actively sought after? That is, should we drop one meaning in favour of another, more original meaning, simply because it is original? What are the inherent benefits of originality? Should we conflate "less original" with less "useful"?
You never have to look at the book meanings at all, but if you must do it only after you have "deciphered" the images yourself first. And if there is a conflict between the two meanings, drop the book meaning.
This raises an interesting question... to me at least.
Can any meaning for any card ever be wrong?
For example, if I take your advice and never read any books, and decide that the Three of Swords means a steak dinner, or possibly a hatstand when reversed, is it possible for me to be incorrect?
Lastly;
Are some people more knowlegeable about Tarot than others; are some card readers better than others? My personal opinion is that, yes some are. I'd also like to know what these people think, or thought, about Tarot, in the same way that military men like to read Sun Tzu, or economists like to read Keynes. Economics and warfare are both inexact sciences, and in a similar vein to Tarot, experience has taught us that what has gone before should not be ignored, if only to be able to have a firm base on which to disagree.
So, I say, learn as many book meanings, systems, and keywords as you can, but be skeptical. Don't be afraid to disagree, but do so from a position of knowledge, not ignorance.
Vincent
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| SunChariot |
08 Feb 2005 |
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Sorry Vincent,
I must have explained myself quite badly. You seem to have been left thinking I think a lot of things that I do not. From what I can see we both use the word "memorization" to mean very different things.
I feel the same way as you do on a lot of points. And I certainly would never say my way is right and someone else's isn't. For me Tarot is all about our spiirtuality, and there are infinite paths to reach there, each of us are on our own path. I have infinite respect for that, and I always will.
But, of course, when someone asks opinions on something here, I can only tell them what I have tried and what has worked for me. I am not familiar with other people's path. That is for other people to answer.
As for memory, of course you will remember many things you read in your Tarot studies. I am sure I have read over 30 books now on the topic since I started less than a year ago. And I would want to remember these things, they affect what I understand about Tarot. If I could not remember anything of them now, it would have been a waste of time. But I mean I do not see any purpose to sitting down and consciously rereading the card meanings over and over and over and over and over until you can recite the book word for word.:-) The question was originally about memorization, and that is what memorization means to me.
Again if your instincts tell you Tarot is something different to you than it is to me,then than that is what it is to you. It is not static. Tarot means something different to each of us. Yes I agree that Tarot should be about investigating ideas, and yes logic and skepticism can play a part in that. Part of that to me is skepticism of the book meanings. I will use them when I feel they apply, but not always.
Again all I can add to these forums is my exeriences, and what I have learnt. But no, of course originality is not right just because it is original. That is not my purpose in analysing the images. Of course the purpose of Tarot is to get to the truth. Analysing the images as I do is my way of finding my personal truth.
In the way I learnt Tarot, accessing the images intuitively is not so much a matter of being original as a method for finding answers from you inside yourself.
I suppose this depends on where one thinks Tarot answers come from. In the way I was taught, from the books I read, the answers come from our unconsicouses. That our unsconsiouses have all this wisdom in them, but can only speak in images and feelings, not words. So they cannot normally actively tell us what they know. In the way I was taught, it is in our unconsciouses that we are able to truly connect to the universe, including the past and future...
The images are archetypal images that are understood by the unconsious...it's a bit like one of those inkblot tests...different people will see different things sometimes, because of our past experiences and who they currently are. That is their current reality.
So the point in this method is to let your unconscious see the images and let it feel what the message is, and then the feeling can be translated into words.
So no, I would not drop one meaning for another because it is original. I would only drop it if it felt wrong and keep it if it felt right. And yes I do check the book meanings after and add in what is relevant. I did not say they were useless, just not necessarily the most important part. :-) That is not my advice to never read any Tarot books, I am always reading. I have read 30 by now in 8 months, and I have 4-5 more in the mail on the way to me. I am quite addicted to Tarot books. :-) But I would not sit down and consicously memorize any of them word for word, which in the end was the original question of this thread.
And of course if I asked a question about if I would pass an exam in school, and I saw a steak dinner, it would be non-sensical. But I would not see a steak dinner, I would be looking for answers related to the question, from inside my heart and soul.
In the end, I may not be explaining myself well enough, but my method has been amazing for me since I started, and I truly wish you all the best in your Tarot too. :-)
Bar
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| souljourney |
08 Feb 2005 |
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I think in general you need to find what works for you.
If all you ever do is memorize and then rely on and use only a few keywords for each card without ever expanding more...that to me is limiting. Limiting for tarot itself and for your growth individually and as a reader.
Some of the early suggestions in this thread I found very helpful also. I too am pretty new at this. I didn't start off learning with keywords, I interpreted the images then would look at the book that came with my deck. I liked knowing what symbols the artist had in mind for a card, but that certainly didn't limit what that card could be to only those confines.
I think with this Dragon deck...for me...I would certainly need to keep in mind the suits and numerology since the minors don't have the amount of imagry I prefer. I use the Gilded mostly and it has very scene-oriented minors. If the Dragon deck or similar has been my first deck I'm sure I would have studied the numerology quite a bit more also.
I will say the only cards where I did tend to use more of a keyword system has been the Court cards. But I have found in decks like Housewives and Fey, the images on the court cards speak to me more than in the Gilded.
Enjoy learning, do readings...it makes learning so much more fun and practical.
SJ
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| Vincent |
08 Feb 2005 |
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Sorry Vincent,
I must have explained myself quite badly.
Thank you for being so charitable.
I thought some of those questions were quite tough, and I want to thank you for taking the time to answer.
Vincent
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| SunChariot |
08 Feb 2005 |
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Thank you for being so charitable.
I thought some of those questions were quite tough, and I want to thank you for taking the time to answer.
Vincent
Don't worry about it. I'm on your side and everyone else's here. It's like one big Tarot family. :-)
I'm only here trying to do my best to help in whatever way I can. :-)
Bar
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| ravynrain |
09 Feb 2005 |
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i usually take a card a day and look it over and whatever comes to my mind is its meaning
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| AmberWolf |
09 Feb 2005 |
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I agree with Thirteen that no method work for everyone. We all learn differently, some of us are more analytical, some more intuitive. Something about ballance, using our strenghts, working on our weaknesses. I think, and that's only my personal view, that someone being purely analytical on their reading would be very dry, inpersonal. While someone entirely intuitive might be a little out there, not grounded.
Vincent, I love your answer btw. Knowledge is good, not dangerous. No to book burning! hehehe (ok that last sentence was meant as goofy, I doubt very much anybody here is a book burner! lol)
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| NewWithCards |
12 Feb 2005 |
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does it really matter?? i honestly think it doesnt matter...you only need to know the main idea, and study the pictures, sometimes the meanings some ppl tell you, can be totally different from what the cards are trying to tell you, let the cards tell you
i only know the main idea, and slowly build up the main idea to something more specific, or look at the cards around it
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| kittydust |
15 Feb 2005 |
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i started by memorizing just the majors. i would write down about 3 keywords for each card, by hand so it would sink in more, and then look away and say it outloud. my husband would test me on each one. it took me about two weeks [sooner if i hadn't been lazy] and i learned all 22. i now know them like th back of my hand. but knowledge of the cards is only half the battle. you gotta apply your own gift as well. i almost gave up on using the cards as my tool, but when a friend asked me to read cards for her party, it was just the inspiration i needed to realize that i love the cards and look forward to learning more about them all.
good luck!!
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| Fudugazi |
15 Feb 2005 |
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I'd also like to know what these people think, or thought, about Tarot, in the same way that military men like to read Sun Tzu, or economists like to read Keynes. Economics and warfare are both inexact sciences, and in a similar vein to Tarot, experience has taught us that what has gone before should not be ignored, if only to be able to have a firm base on which to disagree.
If all you ever did to learn warfare and economics was read books you'd get licked at the first battle or Doha round. It's even arguable that starting with books is not that useful for warfare (did William the Conqueror ever read a book on battles? He couldn't even read. He must have heard a few epic poems from his bards, but he learnt his trade in the field), or economics for that matter, unless you have a week to go from cluelessness to running the Bank of England. Nothing like a dose of reality to teach what you really need to know.
Books are useful in all these arts to refine knowledge and illuminate experience (hell, I love books!), but nothing beats going up the ranks...
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| Vincent |
15 Feb 2005 |
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If all you ever did to learn warfare and economics was read books you'd get licked at the first battle or Doha round.
Obviously that is not the view of the colleges and universities where these people are taught by the masters of those professions. That is why it is usually generals who direct the battle, rather than cake decorators.
Military men and economists read about what has gone before in their professions. (As do philosophers like Santayana.) I think they are wise to do so. I have no idea why you wish them to cease the practice.
It's even arguable that starting with books is not that useful for warfare (did William the Conqueror ever read a book on battles? He couldn't even read. He must have heard a few epic poems from his bards, but he learnt his trade in the field)...
I admire your spirited defence, and celebration, of ignorance, but you seem to have your cause and effect muddled. Are you claiming that it was William's illiteracy that won the day?
And even if this was the case, what does it prove when we contrast this example against Alexander the Great who was very literate, and did study warfare from an early age, and did a little better than William in the conquering game?
Anyway, all of this is a strawman. I have never claimed that it is impossible for an illiterate person to win a battle. I claimed that just as military men like to read what their forebears had accomplished, so too do I like to read what the great writers on Tarot have to say.
It really doesn't seem that controversial to me.
Vincent
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| Little Baron |
15 Feb 2005 |
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This seems to be a hot topic on these boards right now; whether we read books, memorise keywords, use our intuition, or pretty much make it up as we go along ...
I have to say, I can't speak for all, and I don't know the answer.
Personally, I don't think that memorising has ever helped me; in my experience, it gives me a stale feeling for the cards; I do, however, think that reading literature about the tarot is useful though. The more involved you get with the cards, the more you want to learn. I have especially found the historical threads here to be of great use.
One of my main decks is a Marseille. The originals, of course, never came with a little white book, so I have to look for hints via numerology, read up about the suits, research into symbols found within the deck, find out about the costumes worn by the Cavaliers and Valets of the time.
If you have a deck such as the RWS, I would think that the best place to go looking would be the book that Waite wrote to accompany the deck. The same with Crowley. I think that intuition is a great thing for reading but only after the foundations have been explored. Otherwise, why read 'tarot'? If the meanings asigned to the cards are going to be different everytime you read them, why not read 78 seaside postcards?
In short, I think that both aquiring knowledge through reading and using intuition serve well for the reader in balance. I also believe that it is a shame to not make use of all of the great knowledge that has already been discovered. Of course, there is a lot of rubbish written as well, lol, but further into your journey, I think you can work out what that is and disregard it.
Still not sure if I have answered this question correctly. It is a hot topic and a difficult one to explain my feelings for. Hopefully, I have explained myself kind of okay.
LB
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| graylensman |
16 Feb 2005 |
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I'm personally finding it easier to start from reading short material like Thirteen's excellent descriptions. Then, with that data in mind, study the card to associate the images with the meanings. For example, I've been working on The Chariot. At first glance, it seems very confusing to me, but with what I've read about that card since, the images fall into place.
So it's not so much rote memorization for me, but associations and links. And i depend upon the knowledge of those wiser and more experienced for this.
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| skh |
17 Feb 2005 |
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I am saying that if you believe that learning Tarot is to sit down and simply learn five things about each card, such as "Ace of Cups - happiness, kindness, friendship, peace, poetry; Two of Cups - conflict, dilemma, partnership, duality, balance , etc." that you will be wasting your time, because in the rest of the post I explain that no matter how many words you may learn, not one of them may apply to the spread you are reading.
You seem to assume that using keywords means limiting the cards to these keywords later on. In my experience, quite the opposite happens.
When I re-started tarot after never getting anywhere with it for a long time, I made up my own keywords. The rules I set myself were simple:
1. Only one keyword per card, which meant I had to find a word that carried as much of what I saw in the card as possible. If it couldn't be condensed to one word, I concentrated on the one aspect that was most important for me at the time and saved the rest for later. (Note, "saving for later". Not "forgetting forever".)
I think restricting myself to the very essence with the one-aspect rule was the most important thing to handle the complexity of the system.
2. I used the Thoth, and the keyword had to be different from the one printed on the card. Why? It felt better to use my own, and they tended to complement each other anyway.
3. I was explicitly allowed to use books, but had to decide on one aspect, one keyword nevertheless.
And then I sat down and learned the cards just like words of a foreign language I learn. Very uncool, but very helpful.
To understand a poem, you must first have the words it consists of. To learn a language, even if you invent it yourself, you have to learn the words first. To be able to read Tarot, unless you're not interested in card meanings anyway, you have to know the cards first, in order to even start making connections between the cards, their positions, and what they stand for.
I know this may meet instant disapproval or even sneering from the more vocal and respected tarot gurus on the board, but one has to chose between pleasing others and being whole at many points in life.
Tarot was invented by people, and every tarot reader reinvents it for him- or herself. Use and do what works for you.
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The Memorizing The Cards thread was originally posted on 28 Jan 2005 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.
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