How to Choose from the Multiple Meanings of the Cards

page of ghosts

A card has many meanings so it depends very much on the circumstances and I like it like that, even if I sometimes don't understand it all. It helps to keep in mind the question (and try to ask a good one in the first place), so I have some idea about what would make more sense, and look at any surrounding cards for any patterns like more of one suit or courts or 5's. Maybe there are people and they are facing a specific way so they're looking at something in another card. I also think it gets a little easier with practice and expanding my knowledge by reading books, blogs, this forum etc.

Some people work better with mostly or just their intuition but I don't work like that at all, so when I first started out and tried doing that I didn't get much out of it. To me the beginners mind that isn't filled with what you've read is kinda overrated because I try to question everything anyway, if that makes sense. Well that and the fact that my beginners mind was the unfortunate kind of empty! I didn't have any knowledge of any kind of symbolism (except for a little about colours) but if I did it might have fared better. So my view is that there's nothing wrong with studying the tarot in a more structured way if you struggle.

That all being said, sometimes I pick up a card and I just know that this is what's going on here, or read something in a book I'm consulting with when I'm at a loss and something just clicks and it makes sense. It doesn't always translate into words, which is something I'm working on, but I guess I do have some intuition/that spark in your belly that feels right.
 

Barleywine

I try to strike a balance between intuitive interpretation and a more analytical approach (which is what using correspondences really is). One supports the other very nicely, often stepping in where the other fails to produce insight. I consider it the "best of both worlds." Eventually, anything you retain from books will merge seamlessly into your consciousness and you won't even think about it when it surfaces in your readings. Learning from our predecessors is a time-tested way to gain mastery as long as we don't "swallow everything whole," but instead chew on it thoroughly first (and spit some of it out).
 

vrye

That's true, all cards have many different meanings, layers and nuances. They also might differ from deck to deck. In fact some people only use their intuition!
I personally like to read about tarot a lot, so I retain bits of information from many sources along the way.
But I still have a main source to which I always go back when I need some clarification. This source still proposes quite a few different meanings for each card and it's up to the reader to decide which one would apply to a particular reading. That's not easy at first! But tarot has a richness it wouldn't have if everyone sticked with one meaning per card! :)

In case you'd wonder, I use an app called Galaxy Tarot (I believe it's only offered on Android though!) as my main source.

I agree with the part that says choose which one that applies to a particular reading. The way the cards unfold matters so the meanings can be more specific.
 

vrye

The "book meanings" are basically training wheels that you have to weigh and sift through your own experience to see what rises to the top. Separating the gold from the dross is a lifetime proposition that is basically a moving target, requiring you to master your ambitions to some extent or you will wind up with a head full of chaotic fragments. For example, I started with the Thoth deck and the Book of Thoth a very long time ago, and those meanings - long since thoroughly internalized to the extent that they can be - color most of the interpretations I make today. Saying "just follow your intuition" is all well and good, but if your intuition has no frame of reference other than what you see in the images, and you have absolutely no grounding in the history and literature of tarot, it would seem to be an anemic kind of inspiration. Some people are natural intuitives; most aren't. "Just winging it" seems like a fast track to frustration to me.

Your explanation is one of the ones that I agree more with and this is how I approached learning and using the meanings. There has to be a foundation just like the majority of things if not all in order to be formidable.
 

vrye

A card has many meanings so it depends very much on the circumstances and I like it like that, even if I sometimes don't understand it all. It helps to keep in mind the question (and try to ask a good one in the first place), so I have some idea about what would make more sense, and look at any surrounding cards for any patterns like more of one suit or courts or 5's. Maybe there are people and they are facing a specific way so they're looking at something in another card. I also think it gets a little easier with practice and expanding my knowledge by reading books, blogs, this forum etc.

Some people work better with mostly or just their intuition but I don't work like that at all, so when I first started out and tried doing that I didn't get much out of it. To me the beginners mind that isn't filled with what you've read is kinda overrated because I try to question everything anyway, if that makes sense. Well that and the fact that my beginners mind was the unfortunate kind of empty! I didn't have any knowledge of any kind of symbolism (except for a little about colours) but if I did it might have fared better. So my view is that there's nothing wrong with studying the tarot in a more structured way if you struggle.

That all being said, sometimes I pick up a card and I just know that this is what's going on here, or read something in a book I'm consulting with when I'm at a loss and something just clicks and it makes sense. It doesn't always translate into words, which is something I'm working on, but I guess I do have some intuition/that spark in your belly that feels right.

THIS.
 

vrye

I try to strike a balance between intuitive interpretation and a more analytical approach (which is what using correspondences really is). One supports the other very nicely, often stepping in where the other fails to produce insight. I consider it the "best of both worlds." Eventually, anything you retain from books will merge seamlessly into your consciousness and you won't even think about it when it surfaces in your readings. Learning from our predecessors is a time-tested way to gain mastery as long as we don't "swallow everything whole," but instead chew on it thoroughly first (and spit some of it out).

AND THIS. I believe that there should be a balance to all things and that is how I have approached reading the tarot.
 

page of ghosts

I try to strike a balance between intuitive interpretation and a more analytical approach (which is what using correspondences really is). One supports the other very nicely, often stepping in where the other fails to produce insight. I consider it the "best of both worlds." Eventually, anything you retain from books will merge seamlessly into your consciousness and you won't even think about it when it surfaces in your readings. Learning from our predecessors is a time-tested way to gain mastery as long as we don't "swallow everything whole," but instead chew on it thoroughly first (and spit some of it out).

Your earlier post definetely inspired mine, that stuff about having some point of reference if we're to use our intuition resonnated well with me. It can be really, really hard if you aren't very intuitive already or are familiar with related subjects (and it's not like the characters in tarot have very dramatic, cartoon-like body language in all decks to help us out - to me they're usually very subtle and I'm not super good with reading people irl either). I think combining both knowledge from my studies (reading books and journaling) and developing some better intuition like you say is my goal as a tarot reader. Both skills are far from honed but I definetely do better with something to lean on so I'm not flailing in the dark as much as I would be without. I wish I was a little better at imagining the scenes in the cards though, and general story-telling, but that is something that will come with practice I hope.
 

Edward Tarot Hands

Saying "just follow your intuition" is all well and good, but if your intuition has no frame of reference other than what you see in the images, and you have absolutely no grounding in the history and literature of tarot, it would seem to be an anemic kind of inspiration. Some people are natural intuitives; most aren't. "Just winging it" seems like a fast track to frustration to me.

I agree to a point. The meanings in the books are the result of many years of experiences of many people so to totally ignore these would be like embarking on a philosophical journey without reading some of the 'classics' first,but also I do believe it is useful to interpret the cards in your own way first before you reach for the reference books otherwise you may find your 'intuition' (which is vital) influenced
I have studied Taijiquan for many years and when you start you have to learn complicated forms and teachers and masters are always correcting your postures but after you have repeated the forms so many times it becomes a natural series of movements that you slowly change and adjust until they become something wholly original. This is why it's referred to as a martial art.
I reckon Tarot is much the same.
most importantly enjoy what you do, find a book that you like and stick with that and don't bog yourself down with too many points of reference
 

Barleywine

I agree to a point. The meanings in the books are the result of many years of experiences of many people so to totally ignore these would be like embarking on a philosophical journey without reading some of the 'classics' first,but also I do believe it is useful to interpret the cards in your own way first before you reach for the reference books otherwise you may find your 'intuition' (which is vital) influenced
I have studied Taijiquan for many years and when you start you have to learn complicated forms and teachers and masters are always correcting your postures but after you have repeated the forms so many times it becomes a natural series of movements that you slowly change and adjust until they become something wholly original. This is why it's referred to as a martial art.
I reckon Tarot is much the same.
most importantly enjoy what you do, find a book that you like and stick with that and don't bog yourself down with too many points of reference

I think this goes without saying: direct observation and contemplation first, reach for the "crutch" only as needed, and as sparingly as possible. (Although I will say I sometimes pull out the Book of Thoth in the middle of a self-reading just for the pleasure of reacquainting myself with its ideas.) If all we do is absorb and apply rote meanings, we might as well be using an auto-repair manual. It's basically a "cookbook" approach that is bone-dry. The "juice" in tarot comes from the imaginative and inspired application of both our deeply-ingrained knowledge and our "in-the-moment" impression of the interactions between the cards. If there is no fluidity of expression that draws on both sources, there really isn't much of an engaging "story" to tell.
 

Edward Tarot Hands

(Although I will say I sometimes pull out the Book of Thoth in the middle of a self-reading just for the pleasure of reacquainting myself with its ideas.) .

ahh The Book of Thoth :)
have you read Book M that accompanies the Tabula Mundi?