Intensive Deck Study Reboot!

Kimberlee

*deep breath*

Okay, I am ready to declare my IDS with the Druidcraft. :)

When I received this deck a few months back, I had an immediate connection with the deck, and the Celtic & Druid roots it has. I've been very busy, and haven't had the time to devote to it. Now is the time!

My Pledges:

I will:

* set all other tarot decks aside for the duration of the IDS. (I've already said goodbye to them this afternoon, and they will be there waiting for when I need them again.)

* use the related oracles to expand my depth of knowledge about the environment of the Druidcraft. I already have the Druid Animal and Druid Plant Oracle, and I believe a copy of the Green Man Tree Oracle is on its way. I want to be able to identify the animals and plants by sight in a reading, and understand their relevance.

* study the accompanying books, as well as other books about the Celts and Druids. I want to learn as much as I can about their way of life, and I'm ready to follow wherever it might lead.

* do daily draws, and create a notebook to keep track of my daily draws, insights, and research. (Yes, I love being online for dang near everything, but for the amount of information I'll be researching, I will likely need a notebook.)

* commit to this IDS through Dec. 31, 2010, without getting discouraged if I slip up.

Oh, and one thing that I've been considering, but is optional at this point: actually signing up for the deck creator's Druidry course. I keep finding myself drawn to do so, and I'm hoping that this IDS will help me decide if this is something I want to commit to.

That's all for now! Glad to be aboard! :D

~Kimberlee
 

RatQueen

I am studying the Druidcraft Tarot

I have felt a very strong pull to study this deck. It has set in my tarot chest several weeks now and the time has come to heed its call. My deck is The Druidcraft Tarot.

My pledges:

1. I commit to do this intensive deck study until January 1st.

2. I will put aside all my other tarot decks until this study is complete. (I've already put them aside and I was surprised to feel a real sense of loss at tucking them away. Like saying goodbye to old friends.)

3. I will attempt not to purchase any other decks during this time unless it is one of the related oracle decks. Surely I will receive gifted decks at Yule which I will allow myself to look through and then put them aside until the ending of this study.

4. I will handle my deck of cards each day and keep them as close to me as I can throughout my day. I will probably sleep with them tucked into my pillow each night.

5. I will go card by card through the minor arcana first, then through the major arcana. I will try to do a card each day but some days when I work I might not be able to do that. To make up for this, some days when I have more time I might study more than one card.

6. I will do at least one reading for myself each week with these cards and record the spread in my journal

7. I will use this deck to do a reading on Samhain to find out what themes and issues I can expect to experience in the coming year.

8. I will journal about my studies at least once per week. Hopefully more.

9. I will do my own personal cleansing, blessings and dedication ritual to help prepare the cards for my personal use and also to honor the deck as a companion, guide and teacher.

10. I will probably add more to this list.
 

Wendywu

I use the Ironwing daily draw thread for my daily draws, but actual card studies that I do, I post in the Ironwingt study group. I also keep them in my own computer so that I can flesh out my Ironwing folder. The folder has a readings section where I can copy/keep readings done with the deck for others.

I also have separate folders within the main folder for things like trees, the characteristics of the birds mentions ie. the predatory shrikes, and that wonderful hibernating (!) whipporwill.

I do back the folders up, and have a spare copy of it on a memorystick at work.
 

OctoberGwen

I'm really glad to see both veterans and newbies here. :)

zan, couldn't Le Fanu & Herzog hold their discussions here?
 

Nina*

Okay... I decided for the VR anyway. I simply NEED to get to know this deck better.

:)
 

zan_chan

OctoberGwen said:
I'm really glad to see both veterans and newbies here. :)

zan, couldn't Le Fanu & Herzog hold their discussions here?

Wow! I missed a lot yesterday. Very glad to see so many people joining in :)

Yes and no to holding the TdM discussion here. Yes of course you're welcome to hold the discussion here, but the trouble is that you'd have only us as input. I'm sure that Bee and Moonbow would be thrilled, however, to have you start a thread in the TdM/Historical sub-forum in which to discuss your TdM studies, and that way you'll have the TdM people around for further discussion.

This thread, though naturally the lines are blurred, is more about the process than the details. Does that make any sense?
 

Le Fanu

zan_chan said:
This thread, though naturally the lines are blurred, is more about the process than the details. Does that make any sense?
Yes.. we are just tweaking our pledge ;) Im just waiting to hear from Herzog on what he thinks of the pledge I sketched out. For some reason I think that it would be interesting in the historical decks forum but then as it is our IDS, does that mean it is exclusive? It is esentially us in an ongoing dialogue...
 

Nerys

I've been following the IDS threads for awhile now and have been thinking about joining in... I will be doing a working holiday in Ireland from January to August and am planning to bring only one deck with me (Classic Tarot, in order to learn to read with non-scenic pips), and so I'd consider that a solid eight-month IDS, but I've been wanting to do some project for the next three months before I go.

I've been meaning to spend some time with the Deviant Moon, and I'm considering getting exclusive for awhile. I've been working through 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card with it (3 of Wands in particular) and I might just extend that to an IDS, especially with the companion book coming out soonish.

I'll have to give some though to my rules, though. Typically I've found daily draws and individual card studies to be tedious. I find the thought of working my way through a deck card by card to be sort of unappealing and I don't think I would stick with it. So I'm thinking more a pledge to use only the DM, play games with it, take notes on it, look at it suit by suit maybe, in a more general way than individual cards. And trim it of course. :D

The only thing is, I'm not sure if it would involve a lot of actual STUDY. I could look at recurring symbols throughout the deck and the elemental associations of majors to minors with the coloured borders and explore the "world" of the deck, how it functions internally in relation to itself rather than to external facts and systems. And working through 21 Ways would be a good goal to aim for.

This post doesn't exactly have a point, I guess, just thinking out loud as it were. Hmm...
 

OctoberGwen

Nina* said:
Okay... I decided for the VR anyway. I simply NEED to get to know this deck better.:)

Yay! Nice to know there will be two of us working with it, Nina, in case we want to bounce ideas off each other. Are you going to be using the individual card Study threads? I haven't started over there yet, but will...still just easing in to my three card daily draws.

I need to figure out a course of study, too. I have 21 Ways and I'm sure it's a great tool, but I'd rather focus on the whole deck. Unless I just use one exercise per card, or something like that...hm. (Which I know is not the intent of the book, but I'd like to try and adapt it for my purposes with this IDS if I can.)
 

Nerys

I think 21 Ways is a good tool as part of an IDS. It might be interesting to try and use a different card for each exercise. You could even approach it from the opposite way and pick one of the 21 exercises for each card you study. Or you could work through them using the card you find the most interesting or richest or most problematic. Or the card you like the least! The exercises occasionally use the rest of the deck, especially in the adept level, and I think you could still get something out of it that way. Working through it with the DM Three of Wands has so far been really valuable. I've gotten so much out of this card and I feel like I've added lots of nuances to the way that I see it, I wish I had the time to go through the book with each card in the deck.