I'm Just Not Getting It

The thing that really helped me was offering one-card readings in the Reading Exchange for feedback. My kind sitters even provided me with alternative interpretations. And, of course, reading up on the basics. Keep trying, and you'll eventually get it.

There's been lots of good ideas here. Another thing might be looking at the spreads you are using. Are they too structured, so you feel like you're having to force meaning? Do they lack positions, making it so you don't know which way to interpret the cards? Try something different than what you've done so far. My favorite way to read tarot is Comte de Mellet. It doesn't have positions, but the cards are paired, giving you a better idea of what they're referring to. Find what works for you.

werewolfmoon said:

It could be the deck, I've had a couple that just wouldn't read for me even after I'd blessed them and dedicated them to the service of the Lady, the Robin Wood is a case in point, the Marseille is another, I gave up in the end and sold them both.

Have you asked the cards how they are feeling and if they want to read for you? I also find a deck interview is very helpful.

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I have a few different decks, but I haven't done a deck interview. I will definitely try that. I have been told that I need a RWS deck, but I hate the images. I did find the Fenestra deck, which I am hoping works...but, I won't get that until Christmas.

Pam O said:

Hi Emberlyn,
What kind of questions are you asking?

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Well, for my daily spread....I just ask my deck what I need to know about that day.

Sit at cafes or on buses. Ask "What's with that person/people over there" and pull a card. DON'T ask for confirmation!!!

Watch a fictional show on TV. Pull a card or cards for individual characters.

Sooner or later it will all fall together. It took me years, YEARS.

What Nisaba said.

I rarely recommend books to people b/c everyone has their own personal taste, but try taking a look at The Tarot Playbook by Linda Cowles. It's chock full of a bunch of fun and painless exercises that are about connecting with your deck. No tarot card interpretations--just playful ways to make friends with your cards.

If that doesn't work, sometimes a new deck is the cure to this particular ill. Even though I have a bunch of decks, I always buy decks that I have a sudden interest in because that deck may be the one I need for that particular period in my life. For example, I avoided The Deviant Moon like the plague until, one day, my intuition said, "Yeah, you need that now." Now, we get along famously.

Good luck!

So much good advice here.

All I can say is that after a good thirty years studying the tarot, I am still studying it, and it continues to amaze, puzzle, and fascinate me. It is endless in its facets and depths and takes. It is like water - it seems to change whenever I look at it - no matter which of my thirty-odd decks I happen to be studying at the time. It is mysterious in the way all good arcane and magical things should be. Maybe it is a good thing you aren't immediately grasping it - you might be bored with it already if you did

Keep on it - and maybe along with losing the books for a while, lose the need to understand it all immediately - let it teach you. Let it speak to you. One of the things tarot makes you understand is that your mind must be flexible enough to look in any given direction or perspective - so having a rote or book-learned view may not be helping you.

I do agree having more than one or two decks really, really helps you understand the many faces and layers of tarot. Expect the learning to take a lifetime

Emberlyn said:

Well, for my daily spread....I just ask my deck what I need to know about that day.

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Is that your only question so far?

Have you tried any questions like:
How can I improve my chances of accomplishing X?
What advice do the cards have about Y?
What would be a good thing to know about Z?
What advice can help me with ______?

The spread you are using can also can impact the ease of how your reading goes. There is an interesting phenomenon with the cards. The more general the question, the more general the answer usually is. On the other hand, have you tried asking the cards any really specific questions? Typically, a specific questions results in specific answers. This phenomenon is uncanny. Have you experimented with this yet?

And what are your spread positions?

Do you have a positions like:
- Situation? (This is a great clarifier to help see how the cards view whatever your question is referring to?)
- Block?
- Advice to overcome Block?
- Is there a person who can help me with ______?
- Probable outcome if I follow this advice?
- Probable outcome if I don't follow this advice?

Pam O said:

Is that your only question so far?

Have you tried any questions like:
How can I improve my chances of accomplishing X?
What advice do the cards have about Y?
What would be a good thing to know about Z?
What advice can help me with ______?

The spread you are using can also can impact the ease of how your reading goes. There is an interesting phenomenon with the cards. The more general the question, the more general the answer usually is. On the other hand, have you tried asking the cards any really specific questions? Typically, a specific questions results in specific answers. This phenomenon is uncanny. Have you experimented with this yet?

And what are your spread positions?

Do you have a positions like:
- Situation? (This is a great clarifier to help see how the cards view whatever your question is referring to?)
- Block?
- Advice to overcome Block?
- Is there a person who can help me with ______?
- Probable outcome if I follow this advice?
- Probable outcome if I don't follow this advice?

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I have asked tons of specific questions. The answers I get never make sense, nor do they come to pass or have they come to pass in the past. I do use spreads with specific positions, but the positions confuse me even more.

Emberlyn said:

I have asked tons of specific questions. The answers I get never make sense, nor do they come to pass or have they come to pass in the past. I do use spreads with specific positions, but the positions confuse me even more.

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Are you trying to predict the future?

Or, are you trying to get advice in regards to a situation?

Have you posted any of your readings here in the "My Readings" section of AT? That is a great way to learn. First you post your interpretation, then you get to see how others would interpret your same cards...