Card (over)analysis and seeking opinions – is it a good thing?

[Chronata]

My two cents...
the way I learned to read tarot...way back when, before the internet was around...was to compile meanings. As many different meanings as I could for the same card.
Some meanings came from books...most came from just sitting with a card and writing down everything i could see in it...and some meanings came out of a reading, and what other people saw.

After writing down all these meanings...I now had this big fat book filled with source material...

And at the very beginning I learned a way to read...where I would look at a card...and in my head I could see the whole list of meanings...I would then choose the most appropriate for the situation...and later, I would just go with the one that popped in my head first.(and sometimes it was a meaning from the list...and sometimes something new...)

So I did...and still do... trust my instincts and intuition...but I am still glad that I have so many interpretations for my instincts to sift through!

 

[rosesred]

Isn't it a good thing to accept that you might have blind spots?

Like Umbrea says: Readers have ego's. Now, Buddha might not have had one, Christ might not have had one, but I definitely do, and probably, so does almost everybody else on this board. Ego's cast blindspots. Big ego's cause people to walk around as if they're in the dark, and small ego's make people not see certain things. When you draw a total blank on a card, or hear a niggling, doubting voice in the back of your head, chances are that you've hit one of your blind spots.

Excellent, now you have a wonderful opportunity to break through that spot, and other people can help you with it. If they tell you what they see behind the blind spot, this can help you slowly to see first contours, then colours, and eventually you'll see everything that was covered by your blind spot. If you'd have to figure it all out on your own, you might have given up, or trust the false information of the Ego once again.

I'm all in favour of discussion, and I'm also very much in favour of forming your own opinion.

Rose

 

[HOLMES]

there is one thing to be considered.

even the best are wrong..
syvlia browne, jeanne dixion,

even the best instinct can be wrong "my instincts about him was wrong. "
and the first thing that comes up isnt' alwasy instinct.. it could be first thoughts based on what we think about the subject..
this could even be based on our own person issues such as culture, , class issues.

i am not guilty of seeking opnions about cards.. (i got my own strong ideas eheh)
but i am guility sometiems of card analysis but not over analysis.
I dont' go pull out one of my 25 plus books and cross reference it with five others..

there is a differnce for me between instinct and flashes..
flashes is a flash of insight i have no way of knowing..
and instinct is looking at the card,, and saying this is wrong or this is right.
and going from there.

what i do is, sometimes my flashes dont' come,, and my intincts are not working that day..
i go over every thing i remember quickly as i look at the card imagery..
this card means this,, the numerology system that goes with it means that.
and in this positions it could mean this or that..
and while i do this some instinct or shades of flashes happen.

why does it go like that ?
my own mind could be blocking the income.. the old idea "your not supposed to know " i use the blank card that used to come with certain tarots for that.
and I could be just having an off day.
so the quality of reading isnt' as good as a good day.

for a newbie learning the tarot
i would ask them to analysis every card, not so much to seek opnions,, for the books themselves are opnions..
like thirteen says i get bored seeing what does ace of cups means,, or five of pentacles.
but that doenst' mean it has value..
for other people may like that..
and there is a differnce..
the book is static writing , and having people post to an question about that involves moving writing.. a flow of ideas, information, tailor made to your quesition itself.

one must find a happy medium between instinct and analyzis and inuition for there will be days that one by itself will fail us..
and days that all of these fail us.

we know when that happens too.. yet many posts i just posted not expecting any good feedback(for the clouds didnt' spread and the music didnt' come from the angels trumpets and so forth)
and it comes really good..

and once in a while i thought i give the reading of a lifetime..
and the feedback been .. bleh.. oh thanks but not really.

I do feel this is because they are not there to say you are off track here or there. and it reveals the limitation of giving readings online to people.
while the first example of just posting the reading not expecting any good feedback for it was just an ok reading..
and you get awesome feedback .. reveals the strenght of online reading.

 

[darkiscross]

Hi, I've been reading for over four months so I'm a tarot newbie campared to experienced readers here. My first deck is the Gothic tarot by Mr Joseph Vargo. With Ms Christine Filipak's assistance, he had put together a wonderful LWB to go with the deck, It lists the many attributes connected to all the cards. With this trusty LWB to refer to, I would read for myself my cousins, as well as my friends. The LWB gives many meanings, and my intuition picks out one or more that seems "right". Sometimes, the results would be so spot-on the querants would cry out about how accurate the readings were. Sometimes, people do not grasp the meaning (and neither do I, the reader) until later, when the cards' messages suddenly make sense and hits them on the head like a rock. aha!

I can't help thinking that was the right direction. So as you can see, my confidence on Vargo's LWB seems to work very well for me. My view on LWB was, "yes! without a doubt, I am right!" My ego probably didn't get in the way because I was counting on the LWB to point me in the right direction. The confidence cannot be described! Of course, I could be wrong.

When I found AT, many people advised me to let my intuition guide me. I think I already am, when I remember a card's traditional meanings and let my intuition tell me which meaning is the one I ought to give. Basically, I gel traditional meaning with my own interpretation of the picture to get the end product.

This is a transition. If I grow better at interpreting the cards, maybe I could finally become a tarot master. Able to read all the cards fully intuitively.

Already, I agree with people who've said complicated spreads may get in the way of reading with intuition because the more cards there are, the harder it is to weave a story out of the spread. A simple three card spread much more fucntional in most scenarios.

Most importantly, some members on AT have given insights on some cards that I never thought of before. Without a doubt, I have much to learn.

 

[Northwind]

Sometimes, the third eye is open and a person can see as far as they can see into the mysteries--or into anything else for that matter. Their instincts are alive and they need not rely on anyone or anything. Other times, the eye is shut and we need a little brainstorming with others, a little give and take and chatting and input to get it to open up and give us that insight. A bit of the Hermit's light if you will.

No human being seeking anything can find that thing in a vaccum. Leave the mind unstimulated, cut it off from knowledge, from the counter and contrary thoughts of others, from gathering information so that it can see new and different perspectives...and you leave that mind in the dark. Like the Hermit without a lantern. You starve those instincts you so value. Starve them to death.

Just my humble opinion.

That is so right, Thirteen. Thank you.

Sometimes people argue that intuition and gut instinct are enough to read the cards but people understand different things by those terms, and there is a lot of confusion. Most of us use intuition and other skills when reading tarot cards. True psychics are very few as well .

People who know the cards in depth, who can see the story they tell all together and who have good communication skills, can deliver brilliant readings. I trust them more because their readings are grounded in a natural, age old system of symbols .

 

[Nimbus]

MercyMe, I really like your analogy of how learning the tarot is like learning to dance. It really struck a cord with me.

Thanks for sharing your insights.

~Nimbus

 

[cosmic_bubble]

I'm still in the newbie stage - having been reading for less than a year. At first I bought some books and tried to read up on other peoples' interpretations of cards etc. However, things have changed and as my confidence has grown, I've realised that I work better by putting the books aside and concentrating on the cards themselves e.g. I love the Cosmic Tarot and find that the imagery on the card provides me with everything I need to know

Having said that, I find that if I'm stuck it's always nice to have something/someone else to refer to - sometimes it helps trigger things and I can get going again

 

[Elven]

When I first started with Tarot, I had a teacher. I was blessed in this regard, as I was given a great grounding from where I could springboard for each card - something for which I am very greatful. I was then taught about intuition after I had grasped the core meaning of the card, then I was able to work on my intution from any angle.
Both aspects enabled me to then learn how to move onto other decks, because basically I still use the same method by which to learn.

I am from the same school as Chronata - no internet, not many books, gathering information where it was availble, asking others opinions, researching readings, jounalling, wondering, pondering, having a bank of symbols and a well of meanings from which to draw from.

I like the idea of people starting a thread and asking for an opinion. I, as a poster and a contributor to that thread, am the student once more. I can post my initial feelings or intuitive prompts which come from just reading their thread and the cards they've posted. Ive learnt not to baulk as much as I used to, just write, get it down and then see what I think afterwards.

There are times when not alot of thought about the card flows, and there are times when I cant type fast enough - but I enjoy 'looking at the cards and thinking about them' - I'm not sure that is the same as analysing them - theres a subtle difference.

...and I have been looking and thinking about cards for a long time ... and when Im 90 I'll still possibly be asking someone ... so what do you think about the Magician ... and hopefully I'll hear something Ive never heard before about the card ... cause I suppose thats what Im looking for ... those gems which spark to light a new way of seeing something new in something old.

Blessings
Elven x

 

[SunChariot]

Not wishing to offend anyone (especially newbies), but is it really a good thing to seek other opinions on what ‘this card means’ in relation to ‘blah, blah, blah’?
When I read, I go by my first instinct – i.e as soon as I turn over a card, I go by what pops in my head straight away. For me, I kind of feel this is where intuition really comes from (that quick flash of inspiration you get when you first see the image).

I used to ponder over the cards, but ultimately felt that ‘the message’ starts slipping away as soon as you start thinking what else it could mean (or in the case of this forum, start asking what other people think). Like I said I’m not trying to offend anyone (and I know newbies are just trying to learn) but I kind of feel that focusing on the moment – when it’s just you and the cards, and what springs to YOUR mind – is when you’re really clicking with the cards and your intuition. Perhaps this is what 'intuitive reading' is all about?

Anyone else feel the same?

I feel exactly the same way, and no I don't want to offend anyone else either of course. These are just my feelings. Maybe it is because I seem to read the same way as you do, and I know it is the most accurate way for me.

And yes, that's true. In intuitive reading, as soon as you start thinking and pondering your intuition turns off. It is a process that is unconsious and wordless. As soon as the words come, the intuition turns off.

To me, each of us is so different inside. We are each of us made up of unique personalities, different upbringings, different life experiences....all of which combine to make up the unique beings that we are.

Tarot will send the right asnwers to the reader in the form that is best suited to his unique way of thinking, feeling, experiencing and understanding the world around him/her. That means that if two reader were to get exactly the same message from the cards, one reader may get one card, while the same message may come up in the form of a very very different card for the next reader.

Since the answers that come up in a reading were tailored to a speciific reader, I have never seen the point of asking someone else what they thought the cards that came up meant. Only what the reader feels they mean has relevance. To me, quite simply, whatever someone else thinks they mean, if it differs from the reader's opinions and feelings is wrong and inaccurate.

I never answer posts where the reader says they got these cards in relation to this question and what does it mean. How can I know what it was supposed to mean for them??? It just means whatever they think it means, no more no less. And when unsure, pull some clarifying cards.

I'm not saying we should act in a vaccuum either of course. That is why AT is here. But to me it more helpful to ask tips on how you can find the answers within yourself that to ask others what a card means. Kindof like the "teach a man to fish" thing.

Then again that is how I see it. And it is likely mainly because I am an intuitive reader. For those who do read mostly from book meanings that are set...it could be useful to ask what a meaning is...if one feels that the meanings are set and unchanging.



Babs

 

[MercyMe]

Well, just the other day another reader mentioned something about the 5 of cups, RWS, that I hadn't paid attention to. Sure, I'd seen it there on the card, but lookee there! There's a bridge across the water. And just her mentioning that bridge set off all kinds of connections in my own mind about how the way across is often right in front of our noses, but we don't see it because we are too preoccupied in our own misery.

Ok, one could argue that I could have made that observation on my own one day. Maybe I would have, maybe I wouldn't, but the fact that she pointed it out right then helped me see in that moment. It's not about "book meanings" or "other people's meanings" it's about the interaction of others triggering your own mental processes and connections.