Reading with a Limited Deck

[Barleywine]

I usually avoid making simple "yes/no'" inquiries with tarot. It seems too much like trying to swat a gnat with a sledgehammer (and there are divination tools better suited to the purpose). That includes "should I/shouldn't I" questions like "Should I go out tonight or stay home?" which would be better asked as "What can I expect tonight when I go out?" The latter will provide intuitive input on whether I should go out while not trying to shoehorn an elaborate system of abstract symbolism into a purely mechanistic verdict. I sometimes think the Cosmos should be offended.

But many people do read that way, and the many threads here showing them struggling mightily with the appearance of Major Arcana cards in the "outcome" position shows that it's like trying to open a tin can with a scalpel. My personal opinion is that the Major Arcana are subtle, multi-faceted metaphysical instruments that are not well suited for "brute force" applications. Also, not everyone likes hearing "The Universe is stacked against you tonight; you could be run over by a bus as soon as you step out the door," so there can be a tendency to over-think and thereby dilute or "sanitize" the conclusion, to the detriment of the decision-making process (not to mention the reader's sanity).

Which leads me to the thought that it might be better in such cases to simply avoid all of that angst by removing the Major Arcana from the deck when going after a straightforward "yes/no" answer. The Minor Arcana are perfectly capable of speaking eloquently to both the practical and theoretical dimensions of such questions while not demanding that readers put their interpretive faculties into overdrive. In that regard, reading with a 56-card pack of a more prosaic bent would be similar to reading with a 52-card deck of playing cards, while still retaining the familiar symbolic underpinnings.

Dose anyone do this? Are there any published discussions of its merits and drawbacks?

ETA: I wanted to add a quote of closrapexa's that I lifted from another thread. It's entirely pertinent here: "The Trumps don't show mundane things, they're far too big for that.":

 

[Grizabella]

Some of our queries are bigger than just Minors can answer. They sometimes have profound effects on one's life that just a Minor can't really address emphatically. I use the whole deck and if Major cards show up, then that means that the outcome of whatever was asked carries more than just everyday consequences in the long run.

I think everyone who uses the cards needs to just figure out how they interact with the cards the best and go with it. If using only the Minors makes more sense to you, then go with that. We all develop our relationships to the cards in our own way.

 

[dancing_moon]

For me, there are really three questions here: the question of Tarot's effectiveness with yes/no questions, the question of should do/shouldn't do questions, and the question of applicability of Majors to what you call 'mundane' situations.

For the first question, I don't think it changes much when you remove the Majors from the deck. Tarot isn't well-suited for yes/no questions for the reasons discussed in great detail around AT, and removing the Majors doesn't really make it more effective.

The second kind of questions ('should I choose X or Y?') actually calls for Tarot to make a decision for you and is something I try to avoid altogether.

For the third question, I still don't see any need to remove the Majors because I like to keep the options open. What if the question that seems 'mundane' at the moment of the inquiry has, in fact, much deeper implications? And what kinds of questions should I deem 'worthy' of the sophisticated metaphysical machine of the Majors, anyway? I'm not sure I can even make a proper distinction between the 'mundane' and the 'lofty'. To me, everything in the world is both (or neither), and while deciphering the Majors for questions like 'what happens if I cook pasta tonight instead of steak?' might seem like a lot of unnecessary brain work, it also rounds up and grounds one's knowledge of the deep connections between the Arcana. Because, for me, all that knowledge is close to worthless if you can't apply it to everyday situations.

As usual, my opinion isn't any better or worse than anyone's else. Everyone ought to do what works best for them.

 

[Zephyros]

As was said, the Trumps are multifaceted. Going by the Tree of Life, Minors show states of being, while the Majors show the energy flowing between states. They show the causes or effects of the Minors.

Now, Majors are actually four cards in one, and can be broken down and somewhat and their scope can be simplified. Since there are four suits of Minors with the Majors going between them as paths, one can draw another card, a Minor, in order to see which world the Major is referring to.

A Tower of Pentacles an could indicate surprising monetary affairs. A Tower of Swords could indicate revelatory information. One of Wands could suggest projects being given a boost, or great sex. Cups then, could mean great changes in affairs of the heart.

 

[Barleywine]

Fair enough. If I ask "Should I bake chicken for dinner?" the Tower as the outcome card (and perhaps especially the "Tower of Wands") might be telling me "If you run the oven you'll burn the house down," which should compel me to go look for a gas leak. I might not get that visceral an insight if it wasn't in the deck.

I wasn't thinking mainly about experienced readers who can fluidly shift gears between the gross and the subtle dimensions of a reading. I was more interested in whether there is any way to systematically help the novices who are more locked into a keyword-bound reality. For them the Tower connected with something as mundane as "What's for dinner?" can be truly baffling*. We see it all the time in this forum.

When I see a Trump in a spread I automatically look for what may be coming at me from outside the frame of the picture, usually something unexpected and perhaps difficult to assimilate or deflect. I certainly wouldn't take them out of the deck, but then I'm used to dealing with them.

* Unless, of course, it just means "We're going to White Castle for dinner tonight and tomorrow we'll all have diarrhea."

 

[Padma]

Many Gypsy tribes/peoples removed the Minors from the Majors for fortune telling purposes. Majors were kept apart for important or grand scheme questions, while Minors were just for day to day draws on the mundane. I myself will remove Majors if the querant is merely seeking infotainment on stuff that happens on a quotidian basis. Why waste Majors on that...?

 

[Barleywine]

Many Gypsy tribes/peoples removed the Minors from the Majors for fortune telling purposes. Majors were kept apart for important or grand scheme questions, while Minors were just for day to day draws on the mundane. I myself will remove Majors if the querant is merely seeking infotainment on stuff that happens on a quotidian basis. Why waste Majors on that...?

Precisely the sort of input I was looking for. Thanks!

 

[Padma]

I have a really good and useful Gypsy spread for that, should you want it It separates the two decks, and gives a great Minors reading.

 

[Barleywine]

I have a really good and useful Gypsy spread for that, should you want it It separates the two decks, and gives a great Minors reading.

I would appreciate that. Perhaps you can post it here in the usual way so others can try it too. Thanks!

 

[Padma]

Sure. And of course I meant to share it here, lol! Where else?

This can be done two ways - this is the first way, for maximum information:

-Remove all the Majors from the deck, and place to one side. Shuffle and cut the Minors.

-take the Minors out three at a time, and pull out the highest value card in the trio. (you need to decide if the Ace is higher than the rest, or not, before beginning!) Place the high value card aside, and discard the rest off to the side. Keep doing this till you have 21 cards.

-If you get a pair, (i.e. 2 Sevens) keep the pair and discard the middle card.

-If you get a trio (i.e. 3 Aces or three Fours) keep all three.

-Now that you have 21 cards, make a horseshoe shape with them, or a semi-circle. Read every third card for info about the querent, what is going on in general for them. Once you have done this, pair the cards, two at a time, pairing them from either side of the circle. Build upwards with the pairs, until you have what looks like a wheat sheaf, with the odd card out on the top.

-Read all the pairs, using both cards in the pair to sum up information. The crowning card is like the final outcome card, if you will.

After you have done this, gather up and shuffle the 21 cards, while focusing on a wish. Cut the cards in two, then lay them out into the following piles, one card at a time (so you repeat the action of laying the cards into piles three times) In the end, each pack or fan should have 3 cards in it:

Pack or fan #1: This is you.

Pack or fan#2: This is what surrounds you.

Pack or fan #3: This is what you expect.

Pack or fan #4: This is what you don't expect.

Pack or fan #5: This is a great surprise.

Pack or fan #6: This is what is sure to come true.

Pack or fan #7: This is the state of the wish (if it will come true or not).

-The second way to do this spread is to only do the last part, shuffling the whole deck of cards and laying them into packs, till you have three cards in each pack, for a total of seven packs. You can do that with or without the majors, up to you!

I have attached pics of all the processes, hope it helps.