Emotions and Tarot

[gregory]

Well, in my case..... (I might keep a link to this post as I have posted this so many times )

I had several decks, as they interested me, and had no idea about any of it - I was primarily a collector - guess I still am more a collector than a reader - and a friend persuaded me to read, so we crawled around on the floor together, with the book.

Suffice it to say that the result put me off reading for over 30 years.

Then I came here and after some time was persuaded into the ISG - where book meanings are not used at all. I had read a fair bit, I guess, but not absorbed it, I think - I forget what I read a lot which is a pain in the butt, but that's life.

I go into the pictures, become something in them, on the whole, and look at what's there from that standpoint. I don't think my emotions, as such, had anything to do with it, and I certainly never felt that I "had to" do anything in particular before I "could go in and read." Sometimes I will get emotional WHILE reading - but that is a whole different thing.

As to what you say about experience - all any of us can be is what we have lived. I suppose if I hadn't lived in a way that made me want to read, it wouldn't have happened to me. (and if I hadn't hit on this place and the individual member who booted me into it !)

ETA I don't think I have ever "learned" tarot as such, either. I have read books, but I have never consciously made that effort. OK, Proper Readers - you may now hit me.

But I think we all learn all the time and for ever. I think there are about a zillion posts here that say exactly that.

 

[Always Wondering]

Maybe you all are too far ahead or something... when you were learning tarot did you just read a book and apply it to the card, or did you read a book and think, 'I've felt that way before!'? Where did your card meanings get their start with you, before you could just go in and read the cards? I know for myself, that my emotions and personal experiences helped shape the way that I learned the cards... and when a certain card came up, it could make me feel a certain way to know what to say to a sitter.

It has to mean something, explain something about myself to have any meaning for me. So I would do a reading one to three cards and swim through the sea of information until something made sense to me. Something that I could apply to my issue. The meanings that helped I kept.

I think there is a difference between intuition and emotion. But in a confusing way for me they are intertwined because my personality works from an emotional and empathic base. I am learning how detach from that to a degree where I don't project and bounce off others as much as I used to, but it is simply my nature.

I am not a professional reader and I do read mostly for myself, so I can't even imagine doing a reading for someone I could not relate to on some level.
On the other hand it usually doesn't take much for me to relate to another.

And I wouldn't know this much about myself if it wasn't for my relationship with my cards. My view and goal is to know myself first, one of the rewards of this is that I am in a better place to help others.

I don't think there is any "to far ahead" or a better way to read, or right or wrong. There are just as many different styles as there are people with cards.

I can relate to your desire to help people. I often feel a very strong urge also. Sometimes it feels something akin to an emergency. I try to take the first aid approach, "do no further harm".


AW

 

[Amanda]

It has to mean something, explain something about myself to have any meaning for me. So I would do a reading one to three cards and swim through the sea of information until something made sense to me. Something that I could apply to my issue. The meanings that helped I kept.

I think there is a difference between intuition and emotion. But in a confusing way for me they are intertwined because my personality works from an emotional and empathic base. I am learning how detach from that to a degree where I don't project and bounce off others as much as I used to, but it is simply my nature.

I really agree about the emotion and intuition thing. I have a slight issue over the computer because I feel the energy behind the words. So, unless someone is really good at keeping a tight reign on their emotions, I can usually tell what is really being directed at me. But in all seriousness, it's kind of annoying and it messes with my own feelings, and I really wish I could turn it off sometimes- and stay blissfully unaware, in that way. In person, it's a little easier for me to handle how I react, but I haven't fully thought out why... (already starting to think on that)... lol

I am not a professional reader and I do read mostly for myself, so I can't even imagine doing a reading for someone I could not relate to on some level.
On the other hand it usually doesn't take much for me to relate to another.

I must say, I haven't seen you much around here except posting in one of my other threads and now, but you make me feel very calm and balanced... you seem objective and 'simple' if you know what I mean- that's not meant to be degrading in any way... so it makes me wonder why you don't read for others, because I'm sure people could really use someone like you... there is something kind of detached, yet very soothing about you.

And I wouldn't know this much about myself if it wasn't for my relationship with my cards. My view and goal is to know myself first, one of the rewards of this is that I am in a better place to help others.

I agree completely.

I don't think there is any "too far ahead" or a better way to read, or right or wrong. There are just as many different styles as there are people with cards.

I can relate to your desire to help people. I often feel a very strong urge also. Sometimes it feels something akin to an emergency. I try to take the first aid approach, "do no further harm".

AW

No you're right. I should have worded that differently. The first aid approach sounds like a good one. If I can turn off the emotional connection, maybe I can do a better job. I've found that lifting my mood or energy with upbeat music beforehand helps for me to not be so connected to the sitter and better able to just read the cards. Also, I found that messing with my brainwaves (that is to say, listening to sounds to stimulate certain brainwaves) helped to stop the distracting empathy and improve the intuition. It's just so hard for me not to 'connect' with them, and then take on their feelings, and then want to react in my way, and then give them advice as I would deal with it... so, this is good, you've got me thinking; I know how it feels to get totally empathically engrossed in a reading, and I know how it feels to not get so engrossed when I've just listened to uplifting music or brainwave stuff, so now maybe I can figure out how to temper this issue... wow, I asked the question and didn't even fully realize how the emotions (mine and theirs, or theirs as mine) were messing everything up. Thank you! I need less of that empathic connection... wow, lightbulb moment! Thank you again

I feel like I just grew up a little. LOL