Withholding the Majors

[ghost271]

I've decided to read without the Majors for awhile. Not everyone wants to know the deeper spiritual reasons or influences effecting their lives. Most want to know about those around them and the mundane aspects of life. This is why i love the Lenormand and playing cards so much. Is there anyone else here that just read with the Minors and if so what kinda spreads do you use ? I am tempted to use playing card layouts but im not sure if i should remove the Pages or not so i have a standard 52 card deck. Or should i leave them in to represent younger females/children ?

 

[Moonbow]

Hi ghost

I haven't done this but I think it's an excellent exercise to get familiar with either a Marseilles deck or reading with playing cards. I have a friend who can read anything, and he takes out the Majors and the Valets (Pages) of Tarot decks to read in a cartomancy method, which makes complete sense.

Reading with the Majors is easier than reading pips so if you can practice and master a pip only reading then I'm sure it will enhance all of your readings.

 

[Chiriku]

I think people can and should use tools in whatever way benefits and suits them. So, I have no ideological objection to withholding the Majors because you want to divine, playing-card style, but happen to prefer the artwork in a given tarot deck. I would leave all the Minors, including Pages, and modify whatever playing card spreads you use accordingly. I don't mentally equate women with children, so I would not assign that dual meaning to the Page.

However, from a utility-focused perspective, I think the Majors can still help you achieve the insight you want into other people and events. They might shed some light into the 'Whys' of the mundane elements you are exploring. For instance, if the Minors suggest someone is engaging in theft and deception, The Devil could give a bigger picture view of those small occurrences, suggesting that person's spiritual/mental struggle is one of addiction and enslavement to personal desires. Or perhaps it's the Star, indicating a weakness in or lack of vision. Etc, etc.

ETA: Speaking as one who has always been more attracted to the Minor Arcana and views them as the heart of MY tarot experience, I still think the Majors are the defining characteristic of tarot and that not using them is somewhat like buying a convertible car and only ever driving it, 100% of the time, with the top up. It seems an amputation of the built-in potential of the device or tool.

However, as I said above, tools are what you want to make of them, and if for whatever reason you want to use a tarot deck in lieu of playing cards, you by all means should.

 

[Alamaris]

This is a great idea for practicing! I find that the majors are terribly easy to learn, but the minors are a little more challenging, so this would be a great way to learn them more efficiently. I'm tempted to try using Mel's Marseilles Method with only minors, since sometimes seeing a major in one of those arrangements throws me for a loop.

Now I'm wishing I kept that deck in which I hated the majors and loved the minors.

 

[poivre]

Is there anyone else here that just read with the Minors and if so what kinda spreads do you use ? I am tempted to use playing card layouts but im not sure if i should remove the Pages or not so i have a standard 52 card deck. Or should i leave them in to represent younger females/children ?

When I read with the playing cards, I usually use 5-7 cards, straight line OR
any spread from Tarot.

Pages for me go as
messages or wild cards
with this, draw an extra card to see what the message or extra info is.
Pages = bonus card & sometimes children depending on the question

.02

 

[ghost271]

Thx for that !

 

[hunter]

I'm thinking of doing this with the Angel Tarot Cards. It is impossible to shuffle the whole deck, but I can shuffle the minors alone.

Also the overlapping archangels in the majors is throwing me off.

When I read for myself, sometimes I play solitaire, and pay attention to which cards play key roles in the game, and what those roles are. It's easier to play solitaire without the majors.

 

[Chiriku]

Nice to see you back, hunter.

 

[hunter]

Nice to see you back, hunter.

Thanks Chiriku, it's good to be back!

I have never really connected to the majors. I think the teachers in the Wizard's Tarot are the only majors I ever remember feeling just a little and quickly passing something for. I hoped for a minute, I might like the archangels, but alas it's too spotty and inconsistent for me. I've connected with an individual major card here and there for a bit, when I drew it on an eventful day, but usually there is a minor card that would have covered the same situation almost as well.

Every time I come back from a tarot break I buy a new deck. Often I quickly go back to the RW or a deck of playing cards. I'm already feeling the pull back towards playing cards.

Does anyone know of a list that compares the majors to similar cards in the minors. People have different ideas of what separates the majors for the minors, like they are more spiritual or are things out of the sitter's control. I wonder if that difference can be included by the placement in a spread?