Tarot Speak- Keywords vs Dialect

[Kosjitov]

I've often seen keywords listed for several cards, some "universally accepted" attributes to each. However, do you feel that these key meanings can take a back seat to some illustration on the card/based on the deck, a dialect of sorts?

 

[KMilliron]

Most definitely. Hence not all decks reading the same.

 

[Kosjitov]

How do you differentiate *when* that becomes appropriate for you?

 

[GryffinSong]

How do you differentiate *when* that becomes appropriate for you?

For me, always. I always, always, always trust my intuitive read of the image over any keyword or book meaning. The keywords are so very limiting when compared to the wealth of possibilities inherent in the image.

 

[tarotcognito]

For me, always. I always, always, always trust my intuitive read of the image over any keyword or book meaning. The keywords are so very limiting when compared to the wealth of possibilities inherent in the image.

Totally, absolutely and in every other way ditto.

I think I remember reading in a thread a couple of months ago that keywords eventually become automatic springboards towards other, more nuanced and richer meanings. I would venture to guess that many, if not most of us, learned the Tarot with a book or two (or two hundred). Most books offer keyword associations. At some point, when we become comfortable enough with the deck we use and the basic meanings of the cards, our minds gradually start accepting, rejecting or tweaking the meanings as we see fit, depending on the reading. For me this process happened unconsciously.

As for under which circumstances exactly the "universal" meanings end up taking an appropriate back seat to intuition is anyone's guess and prerogative. Everyone is different and will relate to the same deck in a different way. After enough practise and readings with the same deck, you will get to know your cards so well that new meanings will just pop into your head, seemingly out of nowhere. The hard part is learning to TRUST what pops into your head.

Practise makes perfect. The more you read and work with your deck, the more confidence you will gain in your instincts, the more open your mind will be to your own unique interpretations.

 

[Aerin]

I think I remember reading in a thread a couple of months ago that keywords eventually become automatic springboards towards other, more nuanced and richer meanings. I would venture to guess that many, if not most of us, learned the Tarot with a book or two (or two hundred). Most books offer keyword associations. At some point, when we become comfortable enough with the deck we use and the basic meanings of the cards, our minds gradually start accepting, rejecting or tweaking the meanings as we see fit, depending on the reading. For me this process happened unconsciously.
.

Yes, this is how I learned. I think that the more you practise and the more you read, the better your brain becomes at making links. It's like you aquire a cluster of interpretations around a card which associate with the question.

Well, for me anyhow. I go off my first instinct more now, although I do think there's a balance between getting stuck in a rut of a particular interpretation and striking out somewhere else. To combat the "rut" I usually look up other ways of interpreting things after I have done the reading.

ps and then, of course, every card has a spectrum from positive to negative ways of thinking about it as well

 

[Barleywine]

For me the "canned" meanings (from keywords to detailed written descriptions and the books both came from) were the basic vocabulary and intellectual "training wheels" that formed the nucleus of my early learning. But the imagery and its encoded symbolism called to my intuition and imagination right from the start and gradually I melded the verbal with the non-verbal by synthesizing them in a more holistic way, ready to be instantly (at least it is hoped ) evoked by the fall of a card in the spread. This was imperative since I have always read face-to-face, and it's gauche to drag out a text or other crutch and pore over it while the sitter wonders. I once had a doctor do that while I was sitting on the examining table. She went to her office and brought back a medical text to describe to me some symptom or other (I swear I could almost see her index finger tracking along the text and her lips moving silently as she reviewed it!). Needless to say, my confidence evaporated and I found another doctor.

 

[Kosjitov]

For me the "canned" meanings (from keywords to detailed written descriptions and the books both came from) were the basic vocabulary and intellectual "training wheels" that formed the nucleus of my early learning. But the imagery and its encoded symbolism called to my intuition and imagination right from the start and gradually I melded the verbal with the non-verbal by synthesizing them in a more holistic way, ready to be instantly (at least it is hoped ) evoked by the fall of a card in the spread. This was imperative since I have always read face-to-face, and it's gauche to drag out a text or other crutch and pore over it while the sitter wonders. I once had a doctor do that while I was sitting on the examining table. She went to her office and brought back a medical text to describe to me some symptom or other (I swear I could almost see her index finger tracking along the text and her lips moving silently as she reviewed it!). Needless to say, my confidence evaporated and I found another doctor.

0_0;;

Dude! Okay, yeah, I'd be looking for another professional myself in that instance x.o Cree-py! I hope you counted your fingers and toes before you left the office.

 

[MareSaturni]

For me the "canned" meanings (from keywords to detailed written descriptions and the books both came from) were the basic vocabulary and intellectual "training wheels" that formed the nucleus of my early learning. But the imagery and its encoded symbolism called to my intuition and imagination right from the start and gradually I melded the verbal with the non-verbal by synthesizing them in a more holistic way, ready to be instantly (at least it is hoped ) evoked by the fall of a card in the spread.

I agree with him!

I think that keywords and 'basic meanings' are very important in your first learning stages. I know many people believe you can read intuitively out of the box, but I don't buy it. For me, an intuitive knowledge is the one that has become so ingrained in your mind that you no longer need to consciously access it - it comes to you when you need it.

Your knowledge is intuitive when you no longer need to remember what "The Fool" means in this position, in this context etc. You look at the card and you can sense the message, the Fool talks directly to you. But to get to this stage, you need solid knowledge.

Once your knowledge is solid enough, all memorized keywords can take the back seat, because from now on your own mind will bring to you the exact word and meaning you need for that moment. You will not remember what the card means - you'll know.

Using the example of the doctor, it's when an experienced doctor looks at you and knows what you have. They no longer need to remember all possible symptoms and classic signs - they have seen it mean times before. The knowledge simply comes when it's needed.

 

[lilangel09]

I echo Gryffinsong.

It has been my experience that the image on the card can resonate very well, even when it has nothing to do with the key words or original meaning. That has been the reason why I would discard the traditional meaning for one seen in the card. On the other hand, I've had readings where the traditional meaning fit better than the image on the card. So, it depends on which one you feel is more significant at the time.