Goodbye to Tarot .. for a while.

[HearthCricket]

LittleBuddha~

I think it is quite normal to get overwhelmed by all the food and thought that can go into taroting, and it takes a wise person to step away, once in a while, and see what happens. It is like brain overload! Too many images, symbols, all floating about in your head and nothing coming out clearly. Been there! Taking a break is a good idea, letting the decks call out to you when you are ready. You will know because a part of you will crave doing a reading or even just sifting through a beloved deck. Maybe starting out with simple 1 or 3 card readings for yourself with a favourite deck, or light-hearted deck, will be the way you will return. It is different for everyone, but I have found that is the way I return when I have been overwhelmed by tarot! Best of luck to you. All will be well!

 

[Umbrae]

Pssst...Hey littlebuddha...do ya really wanna read for others?

Wanna lose the pressure? Want more out of your tool? Wanna start over?

Are you willing to do an assignment or two?

I'll be here...

 

[HellzBelle]

I am so glad to read this Little Buddha, only because it makes me feel that this is probably something we may all face at some time.
I don't have as much experience with tarot as yourself and have only been studying for 2 and a half years now, but I made a similar decision for myself too recently.
I'm not going to walk away completely from my tarot, just step back a little. My head was being clouded with what others were expecting me to gain from it, and I came to see that what their expectations were were completely different to mine. Actually I should clarify that, it was how one person was making me feel about tarot at another site.
The foggy feeling cleared by demonstration of their actions that with 20 odd years of experience, they really hadn't learnt anything about how to apply the lessons of tarot to life and their interactions with and consideration of others.
So here I am finding myself exploring other tarot worlds and simplifying my approach to tarot study, back to how I wanted it to be. Gone is the pressure to have to have many decks in my collection, to be an 'expert' in the history of tarot and all that goes with it. Gone is the pressure to be an expert in all areas, EDs, numerolgy, astrology to be able to see the messages within cards I may draw. Gone is the pressure I felt that my own thoughts and opinions on and about tarot are without merit.
I've felt a lightness return to me, a renewed enjoyment of my tarot study at my pace, my way, getting to know the decks I have more intimately.
I wish you well and that you find the renewed pleasure and enjoyment of tarot for yourself.
A change can indeed be as good as a holiday.

 

[witzipoo]

**Hi Little Buddha**

Hi. I am very new here. But I feel that I have to suggest Brian Froud's Fairies' Oracle. I don't know if you are into fairies or not & I'm not sure if it matters. It's an incredible Oracle that doesn't come across as stuctured at all to me. The accompanying book is amazing & explains about how to come up with YOUR own meanings & insight. It just FEELS very different from the Tarot to me. (again, I am very new to Tarot) You may already know about these but I just felt the need to throw it out there. You might really love them. I hope you check them out! I hope you find what you're looking for.
Blessings.

 

[Satori]

Hi LB,
I have the Soul Cards 1&2.

I have one bit of advice about this system.

Feel free to remove cards you don't like and use the ones you do. I hated the set I had until I did this. Because there were a few that positively unnerved me. I hated them. Particularly in the second set. They were strange and seemed pointless....

Interesting to note;
Some oracles I have morph into Tarocles to borrow Elven's phrase. They begin to take on the themes or specifically the archetypes of the majors. Note every deck, but with some, I'll find myself thinking, "Oh, this is a Tower time for you." And I'm looking at an Oracle card that isn't even a Tower.

I did a Beanpod divination once for a brave soul here on AT.
It was very freeing. I picked the beanpod from the garden. And in the moment that I walked out of the door to go get the bean, the world had somehow shifted.

I love these shifts, I come to expect them now, even tho they still surprise me, or take me by surprise. So maybe you need the rest from Tarot because your brain, your mind needs to catalog and order the wonderful stretching you've done with your intuition. Like with a prescription for glasses. You can still see, you just need to adjust the lens a bit.

You have been active on these boards and on the exchange for a long time. Probably without even realizing it you have grown a whole new style and a whole new toolbox of info, but you didn't allow yourself to integrate it. I'm actually seeing this with another ATer right now!! So there could be a shift in our community here, an ascension to borrow a very overused word right now.

Good luck to you as you find your way thru this time.
You are very talented. You did a reading for me that was profound.

 

[geministar]

Hi LB,

Im also quite new here, but I just wanted to let you know I have enjoyed reading your posts and more importantly your online tarot journal. I used to think "I wish I could read like this". I have noticed that you havent been posting to the online journal as often as you originally did.

I dont have the soul cards but do have some oracles and I also enjoy going into the oracles section so I hope you enjoy it too.

Dont be so hard on yourself Little Buddha and you will find your way!

 

[Sophie]

Enjoy your break, LB. I hope you find your way through. I've taken tarot breaks in the past, and have come back to it revived and re-committed. It's not a bad idea - especially if you are going to be working with another form of oracle.

But Umbrae's right - and during your break you might want to consider what led to this feeling of "something missing". Is it something in Tarot, or something in you? And - what is it?

 

[Little Baron]

Thankyou everyone.

I will try and answer the questions, but I am not sure that I am 'saying it right', if you get my meaning.

I think that I was almost 'cramming' like a person does before an exam so that I would 'know' a certain deck or system well. My mind finds it hard to remember what I have just read a lot of the time, so I would need to really concentrate. Maybe understanding 'at the moment', whether I remembered or not, would have been more beneficial. For example, after reading about a certain card for years, if you asked me what it meant, I might look at you blankly - it is quite frustrating and is something that happens in other areas of my life, as well as tarot.

Geministar, I am glad you like the journal. I have relaxed from it a bit of late because I have been busy with work and also because my laptop has been acting up a bit. I am sure I will return to it at some point, but I am not sure, in what way.

Elf - yes, I was considering losing a couple of the soul cards. The art just didn't feel right in a few. I looked through them this morning and even though they are nice, I didn't get much from them - maybe because they seem so alike to one another. Or because not much is going on in some of them. I don't know. I was considering getting the first pack to mix in but irritatingly, the backs are different colours. With all of this new and unstructured approach, maybe that doesn't matter.

Witzipoo - I have had the Fairies Oracle for many years but have done very little with it. I worked with it a bit when I got it but lost interest quickly. Maybe I shall try it again sometime but I am not that struck with faeries. I also have the Answer Deck and the Russian Fortune Telling cards. I think the latter is my favourite.

Umbrae - I am always up for an assignment. Are you up for assigning?

Thankyou all for your very helpful comments. They are much appreciated.

Best, LB

 

[Elven]

Hi LittleBuddah

Take a break - its a wonderful thing to do! as Tarot doesnt leave you - you may walk away for a while - but in doing that you may find the answers you seek in life (as Umbrae and Helvetica mention) and you may even find your self experiencing and approaching life in a different way - then come back to the Tarot refreshed and relieved. That 'time-out' maybe the best Tarot related study you could immerse yourself in. It is all relative!
Grow and search! .. and have a great time doing what you feel is right. Follow your intuition on this one too - and dont feel as if you have to justify your actions, not even to yourself - let the journey take you and show you - be as a child - new eyes and wonder

You will learn much with Oracles too ... and for a giggle ... just to mention that were were debating on calling them Testoracles

It would be great to see you in the Oracle section, and as well as the Intuitive Oracle readings with huredriel there is the SOUL Gatherings as well - I'll pm you when the next sign up comes around and see how you feel.
Take your time and take care.

Blessings
Elven x

 

[gregory]

I hate books (tarot deck "explaining" books, that is.) I see these posts about "has anyone got the book that goes with the deck, and I wince (there are notable exceptions that don't have this effect, of course - Fantastical Menagerie is one...) But those ones that say "what I was saying in this card", or "what this card means is" leave me cold and rather alarmed. It's interesting to know, but doesn't help at all with reading, IMVHO.

I do read some, but I don't use them AT ALL to read. I get very knotted up inside when I read about "this is a seven of cups situation" and stuff. Maybe too much learning clogs the system ? Just go with the cards - which will work whatever you use - oracles, tarot toothpicks or (Umbrae forgot to mention) sugar packets. But everyone needs a rest from anything once in a while; I shall miss your tarot posts, as I have learned more from them than from most people's - but I feel sure you will be back with it all.....