Fixed vs. Adaptable meanings when reading cards?

obeygravity

Seems to me as the tarot is a complete system, that's to say 78 cards with innumerable fixed interpretations for each card at play with the dynamics in the rest of the spread gives us billions of possible interpretations all within the traditional prescription, makes me dizzy without changing up the meanings or doubling up with interpretations of my own. There is a reason why these energies and meanings are grouped as they are, if you add your own interpretations the chances are they won't be in line with the energy of the card. I wonder if someone who doesn't apply rote meanings and just reads the images is actually practising the art of tarot at all, why not read the pages in a magazine or tea leaves?

This sounds like an awfully purist mentality. By this line of reasoning, that means that there'd be no point in there being varying kinds of tarot decks, and that any deck that at all strays from the traditional RWS meanings is likely an invalid tool to use.

So I guess my question here is - Do you only use one deck? Do you look down on people who have multiple decks that have meanings that stray from the traditional ones since they may not 100% adhere to the full traditional meanings of each card?
 

Maru

Seems to me as the tarot is a complete system, that's to say 78 cards with innumerable fixed interpretations for each card at play with the dynamics in the rest of the spread gives us billions of possible interpretations all within the traditional prescription, makes me dizzy without changing up the meanings or doubling up with interpretations of my own. There is a reason why these energies and meanings are grouped as they are, if you add your own interpretations the chances are they won't be in line with the energy of the card. I wonder if someone who doesn't apply rote meanings and just reads the images is actually practising the art of tarot at all, why not read the pages in a magazine or tea leaves?

What if I told you energy works differently for each person and their own independent conditions? Everything we "interpret" from observing that is technically relative. Our aura "adapts" to our environment because it can "chameleon" opposing (dissimilar) forces... (this creates a false sense of "universal" constructs)

You can do auric work on one person that is exactly the same and have two totally different interactions. Nature by definition is an uncontrolled environment. We can shape this environment to some degree by nurturing it and applying social constructs... but after a while, those bounds will loosen and break... nothing is truly permanent in nature.

Divination--if it is a reading of energy (which is what I think it is exactly), doesn't deal well with absolute constructs... just like people can't be "described" well in the absolute(s). It is all fluid.
 

DJP

I wonder if someone who doesn't apply rote meanings and just reads the images is actually practising the art of tarot at all, why not read the pages in a magazine or tea leaves?

Careful, you'll have the tea leaf crowd after you!

But seriously, aren't the meanings pretty much explicitly contained in the images? And haven't those meanings changed over time?

Life's fluid, and I reckon Tarot should be too.

Anyway, all the best.

P.S. No offence intended to tea leaf readers..... my great granny was one, apparently.
 

gregory

I don't do tealeaves.

But - it does sound like fair comment. I was called out, tears ago, on why did I have to use tarot cards.

So I tried oracles and even magazine pix - and got - nothing. Tarot works. Other things not. Don't ask me. I get results that seem to hit the spot for sitters. I think that yes, it's because the symbols are there. Not necessarily the ones that the creator intended, on the day you draw that card, whatever. I drew one once and what caught my eye was that a creature on the card looked as if it had a sore eye. Nothing to do with the "traditional" meaning. But it was very significant for the sitter, who did indeed - as it turned out - have a serious eye condition. And I recall seeing a snail on an HP card - take it slowly; snails clearly mean that. What has that to do with the rote meaning of HP ? It's all in what in the image hits you in the face when you turn over the card. And it does NOT work with magazine pictures. Or even - for me - with oracles.

To each their own. if you can only handle "rote" meanings - go for it. I cannot work that way.
 

Skysteel

I wonder if someone who doesn't apply rote meanings and just reads the images is actually practising the art of tarot at all, why not read the pages in a magazine or tea leaves?

Because neither the pages in a magazine nor tea leaves contain the same set of images as the Tarot. Tarot magazines and especially large teacups notwithstanding.
- ;)
 

headincloud

If it were worth it at this stage, I'd report that post for dissing another member. :mad:

But instead I will just say that I don't use rote meanings AT ALL, and I seem to get results, so...

Well you'd do well well to report the mod in the first instance!
 

headincloud

This sounds like an awfully purist mentality. By this line of reasoning, that means that there'd be no point in there being varying kinds of tarot decks, and that any deck that at all strays from the traditional RWS meanings is likely an invalid tool to use.

What is the point in reading varying decks then? I'm not trying to say there isn't one but I do struggle to see the reasons. I'm not saying that anything that strays from the traditional system is invalid, far from it but to master any one system in my eyes does not require us to study an alternative one.

So I guess my question here is - Do you only use one deck? Do you look down on people who have multiple decks that have meanings that stray from the traditional ones since they may not 100% adhere to the full traditional meanings of each card?

I've tried other decks but of course it slowed progress. I never look down on anyone unless it's to help them up. If we wish to create our own system with our own meanings then fine I guess I just have my doubts as to whether it would be accurate.
 

headincloud

Careful, you'll have the tea leaf crowd after you!

But seriously, aren't the meanings pretty much explicitly contained in the images? And haven't those meanings changed over time?

Life's fluid, and I reckon Tarot should be too.

Anyway, all the best.

P.S. No offence intended to tea leaf readers..... my great granny was one, apparently.

Tea leaves are a great method of divination, as is reading the pages in a magazine. I personally don't see that everything is contained in images and symbols because if you give a pack of cards to someone with no knowledge of the symbols and rote meanings they can't read them so I've concluded there's no innate magic in the imagery, it's all in what we pin on that imagery which is defined by tradition, tried and tested in my case personally. All the best.
 

headincloud

Because neither the pages in a magazine nor tea leaves contain the same set of images as the Tarot. Tarot magazines and especially large teacups notwithstanding.
- ;)

Seems to me it's divination/psychic ability not tarot if we're not basing the meanings on the tarot system, which is fine too I guess.