The learning curve...
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 19 Apr 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| ThePlayerOfGames |
19 Apr 2005 |
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Now this is a subject I've seen very few people willing to talk about as everyone likes to pretend they just picked up a deck of cards and suddenly they could read them perfectly (bar some deck-related idiosyncrasies). Of course we all know that isn't how it works and there's a very unusual period where you have worked hard on the basic meanings and you remember them all when not pressured but sometimes mid-reading you forget one. I got into a bit of an arguement with someone the other day when they called me a charletan for being unable to work all the definitions into their life purely from memory. My answer was "I never claimed to be anybody special, I've just found the cards have helped me with some important situations and I'm trying to learn how to share that with people". I would like to add I was doing this reading for free as I don't feel I should be charging money under any circumstances if I'm not 100% sure I can read the cards fluently. How do other people deal with this type of situation as these sorts of positions must arise fairly often (even if not with looking up a card I'm sure everyone's been accused of generalising).
My friend who is very into astrology and has dabbled with the cards explained the learning curve to me thus: 1. Unconcious incompetance, 2. Concious incompetance, 3. Concious competance, 4. Unconcious competance. I'm definately on stage two with live readings at the moment but when doing readings over e-mail I have time and an unpressured environment to read the cards. How did other people find their fluency with the cards developing and has anyone else recieved negativity early on in their learning?
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| snowy25 |
19 Apr 2005 |
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I only do live-readings for friends and here on AT.
In my early stage of learning to use the cards I explaned I was a beginner in need of practice and did the readings by using the book.
My first reading without using a book I found out thru the cards the person I did the reading for didn't trust my reading.
It turned out he wanted a reading just for me to fail and even laughed about it.
This because he had a question and the cards meanings where totally off.
I found out by looking at the cards without the meanings of position, just by exedent and he laughing at my effords for me trying something he was sure I would fail.
I would say, just hang in there.
There are always people who try to blame it all on you.
And if you did explane to the person you did the reading for you are new at it I think they should take this in consideration.
Did you do the reading for someone you knew or a stranger?
I can reccomend to try live-readings for others out on people you know and trust before going public.
Hang in there.
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| ThePlayerOfGames |
19 Apr 2005 |
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Well it was a friend of a friend and I don't feel discouraged by his ignorance as I use the cards as a tool for clarifying your thoughts and giving you direction and I've never told anyone I can read their thoughts. His comment just emphasised his lack of knowledge of where I was coming from but it has made me more wary of reading for hippies and other new age types who have their own ideas on what I should be doing.
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| snowy25 |
19 Apr 2005 |
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I think you are in a stage of learning which people you can and can't do a reading for.
Maybe if you had more experiance you would know how to wave him off.
Even experianced readers do readings where the cards don't make any sence to the querent.
I've done one last week and almost posted it for someone else.
But with time and effort you'll learn how to work with this.
Someone said once "Tarot isn't just working with cards but also with people" and I so agree with that.
You'll get a lot of comments and odd faces as long as people know you are working with tarot and what is easyer picking on someone when they've just started?
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| ThePlayerOfGames |
19 Apr 2005 |
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Thanks for the advice, I will bear it in mind before I spread the cards again for someone else :).
EDIT: As a side note the reading was fairly accurate up until the point where I had to look up the card and then it got sidetracked!
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| cybercat |
19 Apr 2005 |
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Thanks for the advice, I will bear it in mind before I spread the cards again for someone else :).
EDIT: As a side note the reading was fairly accurate up until the point where I had to look up the card and then it got sidetracked!
This is why most readers will not read for others untill they do have all the meanings or clues on the cards. If you make notes of each card without looking at the book this should help you out. It makes you Look at the cards and really See them.
Cat
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| Fudugazi |
19 Apr 2005 |
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Probably one of the key stages of the learning curve is internalising the cards. I am not saying "the meanings of the cards" - as though they were somehow outside us. I mean our own reaction to the imagery and symbolism, to how cards work together - absorbed slowly, digested and little by little reflected in our readings. The best way do do that is journalling without opening a book of meanings.
Oh and - the blank spot in live readings happens even if you've been doing tarot for years!
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| ThePlayerOfGames |
19 Apr 2005 |
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Interesting advice from everyone, thanks! I believe my course of action will be to continue studying with meditations rather than further memorising and I will just be more picky who I read for until my fluency improves. Nice to know I'll be plagued by blank spots for a long time to come anyways :p.
As an aside Umbrae's post was very well written and gives you a good feel of the situation! His description of the different schools of thought as regards tarot was paticularly relevent, in spite of my approach to the cards I have found study of the cards has improved my ability to read people which I will have to consider in the future. Looking back on the situation I was in then, there was something about the person I was reading for that didn't feel right despite his apparent keenness and neutral approach to the reading. Lots to consider anyways, thanks again!
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| ThePlayerOfGames |
20 Apr 2005 |
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Okay, so I now have another question! Two types of reading: 'mundane' and intuitive/psychic... even the best intuitive reader must start out not knowing anything about the cards yeah? On that premise, how would you develop your skills whilst still familiarising yourself with the meanings and where would you start to distinguish yourself from the 'mundane' readers as there must be an overlap somewhere whilst you learn card meanings. I bring this point up purely because I've never had a reading that wasn't pretty accurate (bar looking up cards :p) but I approach from more of a 'mundane' angle and I'm interested in how the intuitive side develops!
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| Sechat |
22 Apr 2005 |
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I highly recommend Mary Greer's Tarot Mirrors as she EXTENSIVELY explains four modes of interpretation ---
Analytic -- Analysis of correspondences between symbols and meanings
Psychic -- Intuitive user of inner "sight" and subtle sensory "feelings" to know things
Therapeutic -- Assisting the querent to discover personal meaning, options, and goals
Magical -- Affirming the querent's ability to create what is worthy and valuable
She also discusses methods to strengthen one's ability to use each mode.
peace,
sechat
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| Umbrae |
22 Apr 2005 |
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A pretty mundane (or formulaic) approach to Tarot would be to buy a book – memorize the paragraphs of ‘meaning’ for each card, and repeat it back like a parrot, “Ah yes, you’ve drawn the Two of Ladybugs, your bugs double, perhaps bringing more consternation than happiness. As the saying goes, “Bugs begets more bugs”, but only if kept in motions, continuously exchange for…”
Pretty mundane. No rapport with the sitter – just a ‘reader’ and a memorized spiel. Or really, 78 memorized spiels. What does this have to do with the very real life and life situations of the sitter? Most likely nothing – but by gawd you sure do know what those cards mean.
This is a cookbook, or schoolbook approach. There is nothing wrong with it IMO. However it also falls short IMNSHO.
When we journal, we often find that our meanings for the cards diverge – a subtle word or nuance makes a bit of difference here and there. When we journal, we discuss our own take on the cards, how they evolve and perhaps may move us individually away from bookish treatments for the cards…over time. Such a discipline, hopefully, may serve to move us away from the proscribed dogma of card ‘meanings’ and move you into something more fluid.
Tarot should reflect the volatility and nuance of life. Not the other way around.
The mundane, meaning-centered approach places emphasis on the deck, and the reader. And this IMO is dang near a hangin’ offence.
We are taught history, as a series of events – rarely do we hear about the little inconsequential events that occur between the major events that we are taught – the connective tissue of the events of mankind.
The deck is not important.
The reader is not important.
The sitter is the only thing that is important. The rapport you two build. If you’re busy spewing memorized kecken – you are not building rapport.
Journaling is one method to allow yourself to begin being creative with the cards, whether it’s numerological, pictorially…you have to open that non—analytical side of yourself, start feeling. Toss the books and the questions and begin to experience. Learn that its good to be wrong (if you learn), to error is human.
:smoker:
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| Fulgour |
22 Apr 2005 |
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Tarot should reflect the volatility and nuance of life.
Not the other way around. Given all of the options for becoming more familiar with each card
and how they relate to each other as an interactive whole, an entity,
clearing a table where you can lay out as many of whichever cards,
to group them howsoever you're feeling, provides an environment.
An environment where the cards can show you what they're about.
:) YOU are the BOOK
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| ThePlayerOfGames |
29 Apr 2005 |
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Rofl, two of ladybugs. You are my new hero(ine?) Umbrae :p. Thanks for answers and links everyone!!!
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The The learning curve... thread was originally posted on 19 Apr 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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