Newbie seeks advice from the experts on card meanings from different decks

[jcwirish]

I am struggling to understand the idea of subtle differences in a particular card from different decks. In other words, if I am looking at a five of pentacles from a Rider Waite deck, and a Five of pentacles from another deck with the same basic set up, then wouldn't the meaning be the same for both cards? I'm working with my Druidcraft deck now pretty exclusively, because I am focussing now on studying and learning the meanings. I bought the Tarot of the Sweet Twilight, but think I need to stick to learning the meanings of one deck before I try to interpret an 'unconventional' deck like the Sweet Twilight. I read through the LWB after I studied all the cards, but ended up wondering why the meanings were so different than the traditional meanings for the same cards in other decks.

If I study and feel that I have a working knowledge of the traditional meanings of the 78 cards, can I then move to a deck like the Sweet Twilight using my knowledge, but also allowing the unconventional images to enhance, add, or alter the meanings based on my interpretation and intuition? Or, should I look at a deck like the Sweet Twilight as completely separate from the traditional meanings, and view it from a purely intuitive perspective? Granted, I have to admit that the more I learn here on the forum, I realize that I need a stronger understanding of the cards before I will be comfortable relying solely on my intuition.

I hope that I have clarified my question adequately, because I really would like insights from the more experienced on this.

My basic question is this;
Is the King of Cups the King of Cups across the board, or is he a slightly different guy from deck to deck?

 

[Sinduction]

You are going to get so many different responses. For me, pretty much every card is different every day, even from the same deck. It depends on what it tells me.

In my opinion, you don't need those lwbs, the little white booklet that comes with every deck. Sometimes you don't even need a companion book. I know the Druidcraft comes with one, I can't recall if I thought it was worth it or not.

Really, all that gives you is what other people think it means. And before I get chewed out about how tarot has a system, etc, I have an idea. My idea is that the tarot works to communicate with you, just as the tarot tries to communicate with me. We both have different feelings and thoughts for each card. For instance, most people hate seeing the Tower in their readings. I love it! I know I'm in for a big lesson that will help me grow. It's all in how you see it.

I don't think one needs books. All you need is a deck. And you need to use it and really look at. Say what you see, hear, taste, smell, feel, etc. Keep track of your readings to check your accuracy, this will give you many A-Ha moments. "So that's what that card was trying to tell me!"

That's all you need. Find your own meanings.

Now, after I've said that. It may helpful to study the archtypes found in the Major Arcana. And then make up your own mind about those too. There is no right or wrong really. I hope that helps.

 

[jcwirish]

Thanks Sinduction,

I appreciate all your thoughts. I struggle with trusting or even identifying my own feelings about the cards sometimes, and that makes me feel that I need to study in order to gain insights that will eventually lead to a stronger faith in my intuition. I often feel blocked because I think I'm trying too hard. I am hopeful that I will be able to work through all the muck in my brain so that I am more open to my subconscious and trust in my gut instincts.

 

[AprilFool]

I am hopeful that I will be able to work through all the muck in my brain so that I am more open to my subconscious and trust in my gut instincts.

I'm with you on that! I tend to overanalyze everything, and sometimes information overload does just that...it "overloads" your ability to truly see, hear and feel what the cards are trying to say to you.

I don't have a solution for you, but over the past several years of exploring Tarot, I'm learning that reading the companion books and studying what others' say are both great, but just looking at the images in your cards is quite revealing on a different level. No matter what, don't pressure yourself - just enjoy the experience!

But, to answer your question about the variations on the meaning of each card from deck-to-deck, the way I dealt with that when I first started exploring the Tarot, was to purchase a blank journal and take time to label each of the pages for one card. I devoted a full leaf (ie 2 pages) for the majors and the court cards, but only used one page for each minor card. The logic was simple - that's how many pages were in my book!

Then, I selected from one of my decks a "Card of the Day" (my deck choice was the Voyager - he has a random card-of-the-day generator on his website). I spent about a half-hour to 45-minutes reading all of the card-specific pages from the various companion books I owned at the time. I made notes in my journal about the things that jumped out at me, and spoke to me about each card, from each deck (making sure to reference which deck, if it was an unusual viewpoint).

Anyhow, it took me 3-4 months to fill the journal and three years later, that particular "book" is still one of my favorite "go to" Tarot references - because it's the one that speaks the loudest to me! It combines, contrasts and melds the meanings of the cards into something that helps me every time I look in its pages. Although it's not "neat" and it has occasional scratched out sections, and things written sideways in the margins, it's a personal treasure - give it a try. At the very least, it's a great way to connect with your cards!

 

[Enchanted Dale]

Hi jcwirish
I'm a newbe as well and have found the different meanings confusing.

I have decided to study the Rider-Waite, Rider (what most people think of when tarot is mentioned) for general meanings many decks are "based" on this deck.
I look at the card, recall what I learned to see if it fits.
Then I use what I have learned to put my own spin on the decks that appeal to me.
Hope this is helpful.
DaleMarie

 

[jcwirish]

Thanks AprilFool,

I've actually started a system similar to what you suggested and I think you're right, it will be a very useful tool. I'm glad to know that this method was helpful to you, because It makes me feel that I am on the right track myself. I think I need to be a bit more patient with myself and let the information get internalized over time. I want to be able to rely on my intuition, but don't feel that I am at a place where I can be useful to someone without some basic background knowledge. Thanks for taking the time to give me your thoughts.

Johanna

 

[jcwirish]

Hi EnchantedDale,

Your input was very helpful. Thanks. It's very enlightening to hear what has worked for others, and now I feel I am on the right track doing what feels right for me.

Thanks, Johanna

 

[SunChariot]

Thanks Sinduction,

I appreciate all your thoughts. I struggle with trusting or even identifying my own feelings about the cards sometimes, and that makes me feel that I need to study in order to gain insights that will eventually lead to a stronger faith in my intuition. I often feel blocked because I think I'm trying too hard. I am hopeful that I will be able to work through all the muck in my brain so that I am more open to my subconscious and trust in my gut instincts.

I agree completely with Sinduction. Very well said. Actually studying card meanings is more likely to turn your intuition off than to turn it on. intuition is what happens when we turn off thought and just feel. Studying meanigns is likely to make you think more...Ie is it this meaning of than meaning? In effect, you'd be studing meanings that are someone else's intuitions, not your own. And each person't intuitions are meant to lead to different answers.

You can only get a stronger faith in your intuition by using it. And you need to turn off your thoughts to use it. The more you use it and the more you see you are accurate using yoru intuition, the more faith you will have. And btw, the answers we get through intuition are basically usually nothing to do with any set or book meanings. Answers by book meanings are answers from intuition are usually very different.

Yes I think you are trying too hard too. You can't learn to indentify your own feelings by reading books on what others think cards mean. That is counterproductive. Books are a necessary part of learning, but you can't find your own intuition of feelings in a book.You can only feel them for and within yourself. You're not going to find access to them from an outside source.

It's like trying to learn what love is from a book. You can read all kinds of books by different people about what it is, But you won't really know until you feel it for yourself. And when you do you might find that your experience of it differs from what the books said. Which is natural, as we are all individuals.

It's not so much getting through the muck in your brain as turning it all off. Going through it is thinking about it. Intuition is turning off all thought and listening to what remains in the absense of thought. Studying is not going to help you feel your feelings any better. Studying is of the mind, and to me you need to turn the mind of to hear your intuition. You can't gain faith in your intuition in that way.

Just a thought, but meditation can be good to help turn off thoughts and feel what is underneath...

Babs

 

[Sinduction]

Yes, one is left-brain and the other is right-brain.

But I know what you mean. When I was first starting I read every book I could get my hands on. I wanted to know all I could. For years I did this. And I kept looking for something more to add to my readings because I felt they were lacking. I'm not sure how to describe that. I just didn't feel like a reader. So then I began reading books on intuition and meditation.

And then I got the Transparent tarot and began stacking the images to make a whole new picture. Suddenly, all my book learning went out the window. I had to actually read the cards. What did it mean that this person is turned towards this? Or that this image was above that one? That's really when I was forced to look at it. Now that's how I read all my decks.

I look at the card, I pay attention to what I feel, if there are any words in my head, anything out of the ordinary. That is what my intuition feels like. I also see things as well.

 

[Aerin]

The way I tend to think of it is that a specific card (e.g. 5 of Cups) has a whole spectrum of possible meanings, whichever system it is based on. It's like taking a scene from a whole film. When I'm looking through a deck, and studying cards in isolation, then one of the things I'm trying to work out is what makes this card a 3 of Pentacles, or a 5 of Swords, or whatever. After all, the deck designer was trying to capture this specific card and not just somethng at random. At that point, all that I've read, all that I've seen of other decks, and all that I have experienced about this card before is brought to bear. Sometmes it seems obvious to me, sometimes it takes me a while to figure out how it is connected. If you take Sweet Twilight, to me the cards are pretty strongly connected with RWS meanings which probably says something about me and the books/ decks I've used in the past.

That's when I'm studying a deck.

When I'm reading, all that still comes into play but I'm not especially conscious of it. That's because I'm focusing on the context of the card and the question and other stuff regarding details I notice in the picture. The previous learning goes more into the background but it is still there and still important - it's just not something I deliberately draw on.

So I would personally draw a distinction between my studying and my reading. I believe that they feed off each other and support each other but I am in a more intuitive relaxed frame of mind when I am reading than when I am studying on the whole. If I'm studying, my intuition supports that but doesn't lead it. When I'm reading, it's my intuition that leads and which grabs whatever it wants from my studies without my intervening consciously.

I wouldn't ever want to just junk one mode in favour of the other because for me, it is when they come together that it all happens. Whatever 'it' is.