New schools of thought in Tarot- what's new? Trends?

Richard

closrapexa said:
......Using intuition and all that isn't new, I think people have always done that in connection with Tarot, but the methods used to be even more fluid, what with patterns of swords connecting to eyes and the like in the TdM......

Minor nitpick. I don't think the new methods of trying to extract meaning from decorative patterns in the TdM pips are traditional. Pre-GD/Waite readers probably used cartomantic-type interpretations based on number and suit, as in playing card divination. The new methods espoused by Enrique, Jodorowsky, Ben-Dov, etc., are especially attractive to those who are allergic to esotericism, because they may not wish to learn anything technical about Qabalah, astrology, or alchemy. This is okay, of course, but there is nothing especially 'authentic' or traditional about these new space-age reading methods.

Who knows for sure how TdM was traditionally read? I have a lingering suspicion that they used intuition and orally transmitted interpretations, often removing the minors (or at least the pips) from the deck.

Zephyros

Really? I didn't know that. I just assumed that lacking any formalized ordering, people did whatever. I guess there was always, as with anything else, the "high" usage, heavily symbolic, formal structure, and the "low" as in traditional, more direct usage. Like high and low magick.

But as you say, I suspect many things we take for granted today as having ancient lineage are new inventions. Gardner certainly proclaimed ancient knowledge, while freely borrowing from the GD.

Tanga

"Tarot Trends"

cardwitch said:
...Vanchica, at the moment the ideas of Enrique Enriquez, an artist living in New York who works with the Marseille Tarot, are highly popular and perhaps contributing to the trend towards Marseille decks. Sometimes he posts on this forum. He summarizes his ideas in this post.

Oh yay! Thankyou for drawing attention to this cardwitch. I have Enrique's "Tarology, the art of tarot" DVD and am thrilled to read a conversation and definition of Tarot by him.

closrapexa said:
Gardner certainly proclaimed ancient knowledge, while freely borrowing from the GD.

Yes. As well as inspiration from other sources.
The proclamation of 'ancient' somehow sits better with us (tried and tested for many years yada yada I suppose?). and on the other hand I sometimes suspect - nothing is ever really 'new'.

closrapexa said:
...But as you say, I suspect many things we take for granted today as having ancient lineage are new inventions.

If it works for you now - use it. Regardless of whether you just made it up from looking at patterns on the bottom of your shoe - or whether Great x25 grandfather decreed it.
And "The Truth" about the ancients can never been firm - because no-one here and now, was actually there to ask them (until we maybe invent a time-machine one-day. Lol.)

Zephyros

Quite the contrary, I think there is great worth both in new ideas and in admitting they are new. Cars get us places faster than horses do, magickal formulae can (and should) be updated and practices are constantly changed to fit modern times. That's partly why I admire Crowley so much; he flatly came out and said the old visions of the world didn't work anymore. Whether one agrees with that or not, at least no one is trying to pull a fast one on you, claiming an ancient pedigree, the choice is yours. Even when you're talking about "magickal technology," there's no real reason to claim antiquity unless you're unsure of what you have to say.

Tanga

"Tarot Trends"

closrapexa said:
... magickal formulae can (and should) be updated and practices are constantly changed to fit modern times.

Amen to that.

closrapexa said:
...Crowley...Whether one agrees with that or not, at least no one is trying to pull a fast one on you, claiming an ancient pedigree, the choice is yours.

Yup. The ancient bit was doubtful (Lol! - the Lol here from me remembering some people's reactions to me expressing this, as well as other ideas about where those ideas may have come from) - but I like some of the general format. So I use it.
Every individual will have some of their own agenda anyway conscious or unconscious.

And from LRichard:
"Who knows for sure how TdM was traditionally read? I have a lingering suspicion that they used intuition and orally transmitted interpretations, often removing the minors (or at least the pips) from the deck."

Indeed - who knows for sure?

tarotbear

The biggest, new, and most influential trend in Tarot is the INTERNET. Now instead of searching far and wide to find a reader hiding in a cave somewhere, millions of people come to the Internet - places like AT ... searching far and wide to find a reader hiding in a cave somewhere.

GlitterNova said:
Resources such as GameCrafter and Kickstarter have made it possible for us regular ol' folks to potentially create tarot decks, and I think we are only at the very beginning stages of seeing how that will affect tarot trends and publication. It is now possible for niche and unusual decks to be created and reach an audience, and eventually some will end up gaining popularity.

Self-publishing (again - the Internet) of decks and books has pushed Tarot out there farther than Crowley, Waite, or anyone could ever have dreamed. Tarot apps with eDecks are available for use anywhere at any time.

My comment that in this desire to 'put their spin on it' or 'make their name in the Tarot world' that make deck creators and writers keep adding more and more layers to the cards and one has to ask 'HOW MUCH INFORMATION DOES ONE REALLY NEED?' I read the cards as they are - sometimes I do a little numerology; but astrology is a whole 'nuther world of learning and I am not interested in becoming an astrologer just to be a better Tarot reader. Not interested in astrology, the inner sanctum of the GD, which plant, herb, animal, mineral, cupcake flavor of the month, when Lady Gaga had her period - or whatever other 'layer of meaning' has to be 'glommed on' (one of my favorite phrases!) to the cards in order to answer the question "Does he love me?"

Tanga

"Tarot Trends"

tarotbear said:
The biggest, new, and most influential trend in Tarot is the INTERNET. Now instead of searching far and wide to find a reader hiding in a cave somewhere, millions of people come to the Internet - places like AT

Yes.

tarotbear said:
Tarot apps with eDecks are available for use anywhere at any time.

The 1 thing that tempts me to 'catch up with everyone' and get an iphone.

Presently still resisting temptation.

tarotbear said:
...I read the cards as they are - sometimes I do a little numerology; but astrology is a whole 'nuther world of learning and I am not interested in becoming an astrologer just to be a better Tarot reader. Not interested in astrology, the inner sanctum of the GD, which plant, herb, animal, mineral, cupcake flavor of the month, when Lady Gaga had her period - or whatever other 'layer of meaning' has to be 'glommed on' (one of my favorite phrases!) to the cards in order to answer the question "Does he love me?"

Bwahahahahahah!! Thankyou tarotbear. Well said.
Some like further detail. And some do not.

tarotbear

Tanga said:
Some like further detail. And some do not.

Yes - but as the OP said - they are new to this stuff and when a beginner is looking to learn the basics of Tarot it is quite overwhelming at any point, much less with someone 'glomming on' a whole lot of extraneous stuff - which a beginner might not know is extraneous; they might think we all know this stuff when in fact it could just be a lot of trivia.

Remember - 100 years ago if a writer wrote 'The Grass is Blue; the Sky is green' possibly very few people read it. Now - with the plethora of BS knowledge flying around the Internet every nanosecond if someone writes 'The Grass is blue; the Sky is green' half the planet (and the men on the moons of Jupiter) have read it and that night 5 new books on the subject will be selling on Amazon ... when if you look out any window you can see the sky is (usually) blue and the grass (for the most part) is green.

Zephyros

tarotbear said:
Yes - but as the OP said - they are new to this stuff and when a beginner is looking to learn the basics of Tarot it is quite overwhelming at any point, much less with someone 'glomming on' a whole lot of extraneous stuff - which a beginner might not know is extraneous; they might think we all know this stuff when in fact it could just be a lot of trivia.

Do you really think so? From my experience at AT new readers are encouraged not to explore further. In any thread (I'll find a good example a bit later, I'm in the middle of lifting) the voices clamoring "you don't need this" drown out any others. Sometimes I feel the "intuitives" try to "save" new readers from me before I "poison" them with my own views. Seems underwhelming actually.

ETA: Classic example, someone asks a specific question, and instantly gets voices defending an entirely different approach. Actually that thread is odd in how blatant it is.

http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=226687

Tanga

"Tarot Trends"

tarotbear said:
Yes - but as the OP said - they are new to this stuff and when a beginner is looking to learn the basics of Tarot it is quite overwhelming at any point, much less with someone 'glomming on' a whole lot of extraneous stuff - which a beginner might not know is extraneous; they might think we all know this stuff when in fact it could just be a lot of trivia.

Yes ofcourse. And so it's up to the person answering the 'newbie' to recognise this and give what is hopefully appropriate guidance for them.
And - each individual's journey is their own. So it remains for them to stumble about finding things out - if that is what will happen for them. As this is one form or how we learn and what moulds our individuality.

New schools of thought in Tarot- what's new? Trends?

Richard

Zephyros

Tanga

Zephyros

Tanga

tarotbear

Tanga

tarotbear

Zephyros

Tanga