Should beginners' emphasis be on book or cards?

[The crowned one]

I am a strong supporter of reading. but I find so many people just read, they do not understand. If you read something and do not get it read more. research, do not just trust what you read and memorize it. Understand it. Work it back-wards, find out how they came to that conclusion by following them back to their source, whether it was someone else's or their own idea. Then when you have derived their meaning you can assess it with some understanding, then either accept it, reject it or respect it.

And do step into the cards as two or three of us suggested, it is very relaxing and very eye opening. Visualization involving all 6 easily accessed senses is a great tool for understanding. I can not stress enough that just using "sight" is not good enough, listen smell feel and empathize when you enter the card.

Just a couple more thoughts.

 

[Aerin]

I think it depends on the beginner.

In several 100% agreement here.

When I started, all the advice I got was to avoid the books and use my intuition. Well, I got nowhere fast except depressed at my complete incompetence and stupidity. Might work for some but not for me.

My appropriate balance (and I'm an avid book reader) turned out to be:

read a small and simple book alongside a deck (read = do the exercises too and memorise/ record what seems useful)
do a free online course based on Joan Bunning with Barnes and Noble - lots of discussion with a professional tarot reader here including practicing reading and getting feedback, so a kind of journalling online
work through Mary Greer and Rachel Pollack while practicing
practice some more including on Aeclectic
read Tarot Reversals
etc etc etc. I also kept a journal throughout, but am not organised enough to keep a page for each card etc, I prepped one but it didn't work, I just record my readings and thoughts and go back over them every so often.

I learnt the Majors first, then minors and then courts and read with each on their own for a while and then together (Hallowquest has a great daily draw for this, experience = minor, guide = court, teacher = major, I still use this if I'm on a course or somethng and want a daily spread).

So I would say, try out a couple of ways and see what helps you. Listen to everyone but if their way doesn't help just discard it.

I would imagine that different people will find different decks and books helpful/ not helpful as well. I know what I like but that's me.

Aerin

ps Mary Greer and the Hallowquest book do a lot of stepping into the card and having conversations with the character, so I did/ do a lot of it as well. I found it helpful. Hallowquest also has some good guided visualisations.

 

[Grizabella]

Aerin and I have a lot in common!

When I started, all the advice I got was to avoid the books and use my intuition. Well, I got nowhere fast except depressed at my complete incompetence and stupidity. Might work for some but not for me.

That's the same that was true for me.

work through Mary Greer and Rachel Pollack

This didn't work for me. I've got a lot of dumb spots and these books just had too much other "stuff" and were too deep for me. They still are somewhat.

I also kept a journal throughout, but am not organised enough to keep a page for each card etc, I prepped one but it didn't work, I just record my readings and thoughts and go back over them every so often.

I didn't keep a journal throughout, but just here and there. I regret that I didn't keep a journal in the beginning and then when I did start to make notes, I'd keep a notebook, lose the notebook, start another one, find that that one was too cumbersome and go again to a small one that I'd then either lose again or give up on because I thought it wasn't organized enough. Now I have a little slim, bonded leather notebook that I'm keeping. Easy to keep in my purse, I don't quibble about whether it's organized, and I sometimes jot other information in the back that I don't want to lose. It's working great for me.

So I would say, try out a couple of ways and see what helps you. Listen to everyone but if their way doesn't help just discard it.

I agree with this. You know how you learn best. Just do it that way. But above all---above all---don't approach it like you're doing homework or cramming for an exam! Forget what you learned in school about how you "have to" learn! Do what works for you and happy learning!

Just a final word on being organized---some folks have everything just perfect and that's the common picture the world has of "organized". Others are organized if they know which pile of stuff something is in. I'm that kind of organized. If I put something away for safekeeping, it's only safe from me. If I leave it somewhere that I'm often working, then I can find it again almost instantly, even if my stuff looks all in a shuffle to someone else. Just do what works for you, because if you look to others for what's the "right way" to do it, you'll never get it "right".

 

[stefficus]

quotes!

One of the most appealing things about esoterica is that there is always more to study.

ain't it the truth? you said a mouthful there.

If I put something away for safekeeping, it's only safe from me.

*L* that's great! i'm not sure if it's quite the way you meant it, but if i put something in "a safe place", it's certainly safe from me.

i need t-shirts with both of these sayings on them.

 

[Grizabella]

Yep, that's the way I meant it. If I put stuff in a "safe place", I'll never find it again.

 

[Jourdain]

Haha, well I'm glad you feel that way, Stefficus

 

[Ligator]

Let me clarify what I meant by "read, read, read"... Many are afraid to read for oneself or for others... They think they have to be perfect in order to read... That they have to know so much... That is why I say, read, read, read, and have fun!!!

It is better to try than never to dare to try!

)

 

[Nevada]

I agree that a balance is good, and I think that balance depends on what books and what deck the beginner is starting with. There are also beginners who start with a good basis in symbolism, and others who haven't really thought about it or read about it much -- though symbols are to some extent universal and part of our lives from birth on.

When I started, I found a book absolutely crucial to get me going, but I'm also a book oriented person to begin with. For some I can see that imagery alone could take them a long ways.

It's definitely an individual thing.

When a beginner is feeling uncertain, and just works with the cards for a while, maybe with a journal (which I also found invaluable at the start), then if they still feel uncomfortable or uncertain, it's probably time to look around and see what else can help.

There are no set answers with Tarot, that's for sure.

Nevada

 

[SunChariot]

My initial experiences in learning about Tarot have shown that the emphasis should be on the cards, although I think that books have their place. For example, a few good books provide strictly basic information that all beginners need to know before they work with the cards. For beginners with no previous Tarot knowledge or instruction, just working with the cards alone, I believe, is not very productive.

I don't believe you can apply the word "should" to Tarot reading. Imho, learning to read and reading itself are personal journeys and it is not for someone else to dictate your path for you. There are many different ways to read and there is no right or wrong way, only what works for the individual, which will vary to some extent from person to person. Learning to read is a voyage, but there are certainly more than one path to get to the same place.

My best advice is learn as much as you can: read, ask questions and then when something calls to you try it. If it works well for you and you enjoy doing it, then it's part of your path and continue doing it. If something does not work as well (or if it is not enjoyable or stresses you) you need to adjust or drop it altogether. To me the only way to know what works for you is to try.

For myself, for example, there are many here who use Yes/No questions. I read up on them and tried them for a while until I learnt that they do not work for me. The cards actually told me they will not work for me, if you can believe that. So I personally had to drop them and I no longer ask yes/no questions. It would be no use in someone telling me I should do them a certain way, they just are not part of my path.

And no, I don't think you can just pick up a deck of Tarot cards with no knowledge of how Tarot works at all and expect to do a good reading. It takes some studying and reading and trying out of techniques until you perfect what works for you. On the other hand memorizing meanings is not essential. It is to the way some readers read. but not to others.

My best asnwer, after all that, is that the emphasis should be on finding what works best for you personally as the individual that you are through experimentation. And reading and talking to others give you ideas to experiment with.

Babs

 

[Penny Dreadfuls]

I don't see that Libra was saying any kind of "should" advice. She was just giving her opinion based on her experience as everyone else has done.