Getting Familiar...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 Mar 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Airial	17 Mar 2005
Just new to Tarot, and trying to get to know my Deck. I`ve been doing a one card draw each day. I have also started a journal. I thought it would be interesting to try and not depend on Book Interpretations for the moment... As I thought it would be interesting to see what I interperate from my cards on my own first. Then compare the results.. Then probably back to the drawing board .. Did anyone else do that when they first began or even do it now with a new Deck?

Deana	17 Mar 2005
You know, the one deck I tried that on was probably the worst possible deck I could have done that with: the Shining Tribe Tarot. I loved the deck immediately and sat down and journalled my impressions of the Major Arcana in one evening (major hand cramp!). The next morning I picked up her book and WOW! Because her artwork was so primitive (which I found inspiring and thought it was loosening my intuition) I was actually seeing it all wrong. In other words, the things I was seeing, like ferris wheels and bees and stuff, weren't even there and those items were actually poorly drawn representations of other things entirely. Very jolting. I keep meaning to get back to that deck but I've put it aside for awhile. I'd love to do it with another deck, though. A deck on which I can actually tell what the drawings are of and then form my own impressions of them.

RedMaple	17 Mar 2005
I agree that it depends entirely on the deck. I think it is really useful to start with a Rider-Waite-Smith type deck, as it is the basis for so many decks. There is a system to Tarot, and it's good to have some knowledge of the basics. Then your intuition can take off. I liken it to learning a language or style of music. That said, I usually work in exactly the way you describe with new decks. The variations in imagery add to the depth of my understanding of Tarot, and during readings, all those images and meanings and nuances are there to draw on. I hope this is helpful. Deana, your story about the Shining Tribe struck my funnybone, although I'm sure it was very frustrating for you. I also had problems with that deck because of the very primitive images that were jumbled together from different parts of the world and Pollack's own private imagery. But your story is a good lesson on relying on intuition when the imagery is unclear or garbled to begin with. Thanks.

souljourney	17 Mar 2005
I do what you are doing basically with every new deck. You seem a bit more organized than I was... I never did it for every card like I intended. I think getting your own feel is great and then see what insights the book has. If it has a companion book that explains some of the symbolism that is really great. Good luck and have fun.

psychic sue	18 Mar 2005
I'm so glad you are taking this approach - I think it is the best way to do intuitive readings. Of course, the book meanings have to be taken into account, but I always see them as just a pointer to the real meaning for that particular person. If you read the book meanings first, I think it can hold you back in a way. For example, you will do a reading and intuitively interpret the card - then you check in the book and the book meaning doesn't seem to tie up - then you have a conflict in your mind over which one is right. I tend to think your intuitive interpretation is the correct one, and this is usually borne out by the querant. Others may disagree, but I say go with your intuition every time - it has always worked for me. Good luck and have fun learning, Sue x

Milfoil	18 Mar 2005
I have to agree - when you stick to your gut instinct it always seems to be closer than simply doing a 'recipe book style' reading. I found it very useful to separate my readings from more formal learning of the tarot. Reading the Authors comments on a card or a general book meaning to the cards is a good way to get a general grasp of the tarot but when you actually read a spread so much more comes into it and usually that immediate spark of understanding as each card appears is correct. You can elaborate on it, of course, with the conjunction of other cards, positions, number of same type cards etc but your gut instinct will usually turn out to be the most reliable guide.

Grizabella	18 Mar 2005
Quoting RedMaple: "I agree that it depends entirely on the deck. I think it is really useful to start with a Rider-Waite-Smith type deck, as it is the basis for so many decks. There is a system to Tarot, and it's good to have some knowledge of the basics. Then your intuition can take off. I liken it to learning a language or style of music." Like so many others, I ignored this when I first started out with learning Tarot. I intensely disliked the Rider Waite deck. But after wasting time and money, I finally got a RW deck and started over, and that's been the most productive thing I could have done. RedMaple puts it so well in the quote I used here. That system is the key, and once you learn it, then it's much easier to branch out into other decks. If you don't like the RW, the Universal Waite colored by Mary Hanson-Roberts might appeal to you more. I have both of those decks now and like the Hanson-Roberts much, much better of the two.

The Getting Familiar... thread was originally posted on 17 Mar 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.