tarot tips and advice

[mahimaisme]

just putting up a thread for advice and tips for newbies (like me) and others alike. what are some things you'd reccommend to a reader? what are the ways you add depth to your readings? are there any 'tips' you discovered (like using wild cards)? must read books? must visit websites? advice on journalling?
share with us so we can all learn!

well, some of mine to start the ball rolling:

* visit bunning's website!! its a great resource and has something to think about for every card.

* for location questions (like where are my keys), instead of asking "where are my keys", try "what happends in the room where my keys are?"

* work with your decks. newsites and books are alright but you'll learn most about your decks if you work with them in as many ways as possible. make your own multi deck spreads. for daily spreads, draw a card from 2 decks- one for element/mood of the day and other for advice. shuffle face up with a deck you're not too familiar with...work, work work with them.

* if you keep a tarot journal, it doesn't have to be fancy. the purpose is to track progress and have records and learn and grow with practice. as long as it serves the purpose, you can use a fancy book, a word file, anything.

* surf AT!! run searched for interesting topics, puit up a post if a topic intrigues you, respond to people in your readings...no better place to learn!!

* my bestest thing so far is my year books. they are actually (originally) my tarot journal (its an A5 2-ring binder). its a record of my year. so, it has the general card for the year and related events/reflections, a personal year card section. and then a sectiuon for each month's personal card with my daily draws for that month.....etc etc etc.......... (there's too many more things in there to start describing!!) and at the end of the year, i print the best picture i can find of my year card and put it in the front, take it out of the binder and get it spiral bound. there! i have my own little book of the year! it makes for great reading and recording!!! (p.s. i don't have too many of these yat because i haven't been doing the tarot for many years, but the ones that are complete have been very satisfying to see!! )

well, i'm hoping to learn more from the post..please chip in!

mahima.

 

[Knightward]

Two books I would recommand are:

The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals by Mary K Greer - for those who want to learn more about reversals

and

Understanding the Tarot Court by Greer and Little

Both deal with what is for most people, two of the hardest aspects of Tarot, reversed cards and Court figures.

I also recommend picking a deck you like. Do not get the Rider deck if you dislike it unless you want it for studying purposes. Learn to see the deck you have. The artwork for your deck was drawn that way for a reason.

Likewise, trust what you see in the card, often times the first thing that flashes through your mind is the most accurate, even if it seems outlandish to you.

Learn symbolism, being able to understand possiable reasons a artist picked a certain color can provide interesting results.

-Fenier

 

[mahimaisme]

sometimes, when i'm doing a general "feel" of the spread before i gget into details, i look for colours.
eg:
blues at the top, yellows/oranges at the lower end.
bright colours on top, dark brooding colours to the bottom...
these help to add insight and depth to a reading.

on way to find symbolism for colours is to study your cards. see all the ones that have blues, for example, as the dominant colour. see what kind of cards they are. is the blue in the sky, the attire, or an object?
over time, i've found these become valuable cues to understand my cards.

 

[KaiMoonshadow]

* visit bunning's website!! its a great resource and has something to think about for every card.

I was really enjoying this but the website went down about a fortnight ago and I haven't been able to find out why? Does anyone know?

* for location questions (like where are my keys), instead of asking "where are my keys", try "what happends in the room where my keys are?"

That's really interesting! Thank you for the tip

 

[star-lover]

kalimoonshadow

do you mean this one?

http://www.learntarot.com

its working ok at the moment

some excellent tips there mahimaisme! thank you

 

[mahimaisme]

KMS,
no, the bunnings website is still working! infact, i checked on it today! maybe it was just a connection problem?

*edited to say*

nobody else has anything?
c'mon!
something great you read in a book?
a layout for a convenient spreadsheet?
a new take on a card/a reading?
something interesting!?

 

[kpurplerose]

Reply

Thank you so much for all of these great resources. I am a newbie and do need all the help I could possible receive.

Kpurplerose

 

[Quizeen]

Something that worked really well for me was disregarding set spreads for a little while and employing a method my friend uses. He shuffles and fans the cards, then he picks four. Next, he shuffles a bit again, fans, and picks four more. He places them in two rows according to how the cards were selected and after a bit of contemplation will start to reposition them into little informational/story scenarios as he sees fit. He draws more cards as needed for further explanation.

Using this method allowed me to really think about how the cards related to one another in a very basic, free-flowing manner. I feel that it's been a very useful learning tool.

 

[star-lover]

one thing i learned today to do was to ask the cards questions
and see if/what reply comes to you from inside yourself

it was illuminating
xx

 

[HarleyQuinnX]

Another thing is, don't be afraid to ask questions around here!

The AT forums are a great place to ask your questions about meaning of specific cards or (when you get enough posts) about an interpretation of an entire reading!