Splungeman
A problem that many have when reading is using fixed meanings for the cards. Some memorize their meanings from books and get stuck that way, others tend to get trapped using meanings they themselves developed over time and use. It's hard not to get stuck like that, it's the way our brains are wired. We remember useful and pleasing information. The more we use or mull over a particular meaning or idea, the more of an impression it creates in our mind.
It's kind of like walking the same route over a grassy field every day consistently-- eventually a worn, defined path appears. The more it becomes defined, the more likely you are to continue using it.
...Such is the way of our minds.
However, I personally feel that it is good to remember that when reading cards, taking one route and getting comfortable can hinder you. While your intuition/subconscious/magickal awareness/psychic voice/etc might be trying to pull you to another part of the field, you, being a creature of habit, instead opt for the well worn path rather than the unwalkedupon grass.
I think it is good for us to try to get off the path from time to time. A path need not necessarily mean a single meaning. For some, it may represent several meanings used for a single card, or it may even represent the "feeling" of the card used as a jump off point. Could the card convey another feeling you never considered before?
Take the RWS Ten of Cups. Here is a beautiful family frolicking about in a field outside their home. The parents gesture in a way as if to say, "Look at the wonderful life we have!" It's easy to believe this card is a good one usually. The feeling it conveys is a positive one. I have mentioned this long ago on another thread, but once I looked at it and tried to think of a way it might NOT be a good card. I thought that nobody in that family seems to notice "me" or "us", that is, the observer of this family from the perspective the card gives us. "We" might be raiders watching them just before the charge. "We" might be planning on killing all of them. They are too absorbed in their bliss to even notice us.
So...I think as readers we need to give our brain some practice in deviating from well worn paths. I'll suggest one method. I am certain I did not think of this first, so it might be suggested elsewhere on the forum, but no matter! It is worth bringing up again. Get some flashcards for preschoolers that have the letters of the alphabet on them, or make some. Shuffle and lay them out as you would a deck of Tarot cards. Force yourself to read them as if the letters were simply artsy doodles. Our ability to recognize letters is a deep path, and it is uncomfortable to deviate from it. We begin our spread and see an "a" and immediately recall the sounds it can make and it jumps instantly into our minds. It's hard to get away from that and just see it as a rounded thing with a protuberance on top. Hey...makes me think of a pumpkin...something will happen on the day of the pumpkin...hmm...next letter..."u" a tongue hanging down, a disgusting feeling, illness...uh oh...maybe too much candy...(etc)
It's kind of like walking the same route over a grassy field every day consistently-- eventually a worn, defined path appears. The more it becomes defined, the more likely you are to continue using it.
...Such is the way of our minds.
However, I personally feel that it is good to remember that when reading cards, taking one route and getting comfortable can hinder you. While your intuition/subconscious/magickal awareness/psychic voice/etc might be trying to pull you to another part of the field, you, being a creature of habit, instead opt for the well worn path rather than the unwalkedupon grass.
I think it is good for us to try to get off the path from time to time. A path need not necessarily mean a single meaning. For some, it may represent several meanings used for a single card, or it may even represent the "feeling" of the card used as a jump off point. Could the card convey another feeling you never considered before?
Take the RWS Ten of Cups. Here is a beautiful family frolicking about in a field outside their home. The parents gesture in a way as if to say, "Look at the wonderful life we have!" It's easy to believe this card is a good one usually. The feeling it conveys is a positive one. I have mentioned this long ago on another thread, but once I looked at it and tried to think of a way it might NOT be a good card. I thought that nobody in that family seems to notice "me" or "us", that is, the observer of this family from the perspective the card gives us. "We" might be raiders watching them just before the charge. "We" might be planning on killing all of them. They are too absorbed in their bliss to even notice us.
So...I think as readers we need to give our brain some practice in deviating from well worn paths. I'll suggest one method. I am certain I did not think of this first, so it might be suggested elsewhere on the forum, but no matter! It is worth bringing up again. Get some flashcards for preschoolers that have the letters of the alphabet on them, or make some. Shuffle and lay them out as you would a deck of Tarot cards. Force yourself to read them as if the letters were simply artsy doodles. Our ability to recognize letters is a deep path, and it is uncomfortable to deviate from it. We begin our spread and see an "a" and immediately recall the sounds it can make and it jumps instantly into our minds. It's hard to get away from that and just see it as a rounded thing with a protuberance on top. Hey...makes me think of a pumpkin...something will happen on the day of the pumpkin...hmm...next letter..."u" a tongue hanging down, a disgusting feeling, illness...uh oh...maybe too much candy...(etc)
