Splungeman
Okay...
So I've been looking around a lot at how people learn Tarot. There are people who think that books are a waste of time and people who think books are essential, there are people who think LWBs are a waste of time while some other books are okay...there are all sorts of opinions about using books vs not using books...Memorizing meanings to the cards from research vs using only your intuition as you guide...etc.
First off I mut say the reason I'm posting this is because of something I remember Umbrae posting. It was in the thread about gypsies and how we need to try to get the word out that gypsies are not the only ones who read Tarot...yada yada....ANYWAY....
Umbrae said "There can be times when Regular Joe walk by and espy us with our Tarot Cards – and Regular Joe doesn’t see the years of work we put into our craft, he don’t see us staying awake reading Qabalistic tomes until dawn, learning decks, learning reading..."
Then he also said "We are not (by and large) cold readers – we actually learn to read the cards! You’ve got to grasp this – this alone puts us at a minority!"
Okay...so my question...What does it mean to "learn" to read the cards if we are encouraged to not use meanings in books and rely solely on our intuition? What kind of books DO we read if we are worried they will influence out intuitive flashes and interfere with our reading? Surely reading Qabalistic tomes will influence our readings, even if he books aren't about Tarot specifically. Many Tarot decks include Qabalistic symbols and themes. If I turn over a card that has a tree on it shaped like the Tree of Life, wouldn't all the research done on this pop into your head and mess up your intuition? If I research Alchemy because I like to read with the Alchemical Tarot, wouldn't doing that kind of be similar to memorizing card meanings, since anything I learn about alchemy will from then on effect the way I interpret the symbols I see on my cards? "Oh that alchemical symbol was used by the alchemists to represent lizards" Before I studied I didn't know that and interpreted it my own way, now that I have studied, I will have a harder time doing that.
So....what do we do? Are we so protective of out precious intuition that we try to avoid learning anything ever written about Tarot? Do we rely solely on research?
I suspect that the answer lies (as usual in these cases) in the middle. I think a healthy dose of scholarship and actually reading the cards for yourself and others is the best way. A Middle Way. Buddha would approve.
So I've been looking around a lot at how people learn Tarot. There are people who think that books are a waste of time and people who think books are essential, there are people who think LWBs are a waste of time while some other books are okay...there are all sorts of opinions about using books vs not using books...Memorizing meanings to the cards from research vs using only your intuition as you guide...etc.
First off I mut say the reason I'm posting this is because of something I remember Umbrae posting. It was in the thread about gypsies and how we need to try to get the word out that gypsies are not the only ones who read Tarot...yada yada....ANYWAY....
Umbrae said "There can be times when Regular Joe walk by and espy us with our Tarot Cards – and Regular Joe doesn’t see the years of work we put into our craft, he don’t see us staying awake reading Qabalistic tomes until dawn, learning decks, learning reading..."
Then he also said "We are not (by and large) cold readers – we actually learn to read the cards! You’ve got to grasp this – this alone puts us at a minority!"
Okay...so my question...What does it mean to "learn" to read the cards if we are encouraged to not use meanings in books and rely solely on our intuition? What kind of books DO we read if we are worried they will influence out intuitive flashes and interfere with our reading? Surely reading Qabalistic tomes will influence our readings, even if he books aren't about Tarot specifically. Many Tarot decks include Qabalistic symbols and themes. If I turn over a card that has a tree on it shaped like the Tree of Life, wouldn't all the research done on this pop into your head and mess up your intuition? If I research Alchemy because I like to read with the Alchemical Tarot, wouldn't doing that kind of be similar to memorizing card meanings, since anything I learn about alchemy will from then on effect the way I interpret the symbols I see on my cards? "Oh that alchemical symbol was used by the alchemists to represent lizards" Before I studied I didn't know that and interpreted it my own way, now that I have studied, I will have a harder time doing that.
So....what do we do? Are we so protective of out precious intuition that we try to avoid learning anything ever written about Tarot? Do we rely solely on research?
I suspect that the answer lies (as usual in these cases) in the middle. I think a healthy dose of scholarship and actually reading the cards for yourself and others is the best way. A Middle Way. Buddha would approve.