Bunnings "Learning the Tarot"--why doesn't it make sense to me?

Sophie

catdoc said:
I probably do have a rather strong "left brain", analysis being the basis for my approach to most pursuits. However, I find that I learn by pattern recognition rather than memorization , so that "right brain" must be getting in on the action as well. For me Joan Bunning provided a well organized presentation of the structure, the "system" of the Tarot if you will. Based upon this framework I was then able to broaden my study of the Tarot, which continues to this day.

That's what is important, in the end - not how you got there!
But I think I might have overstated the "left-brain" appeal of Bunning. It think it's there - but there is some right-brain dimension to it - you mentioned one which I would see as a hybrid - what she does is knit "left-brain" and "right-brain" characteristics together (pattern recognition/association but within a structure). One thing she does which I found useful is her grouping of reinforcing or opposing cards, which pulls us away from concentrating on one card only - that method, though again suffering from a certain lack of flexibility (to my taste) nevertheless is useful in teaching how to weave cards together in a reading: and if we take it further and relax into that method, we can extend it, and start seeing correspondences in a more fluid and intuitive way.
 

Webwitch

couldn't get anything out of Joan Bunnings' book either. I've tried to do the TABI course which uses her material twice and both times I've had to drop out.

Ahh. See I tried reading the book before doing the course, but nothing was gelling. It was the TABI course itself and its structure and feedback that showed me how to use the course.

I believe it is the same for those doing the course with Joan herself, too.


For me it was the fact that there didn't seem to be any 'system' which the keywords she uses are based on.

I did note the lack of system on the key words. However, looking at the cards themselves often showed me where that impression might be coming from, albeit I had to use several websites on symbols and meanings of symbols in tarot to discern from where those keywords were coming.

I found it far more useful to see what I could in the card and then decide for myself what I might mean. Often her keywords could be integrated into what I thought, but sometimes they did not. That said, when checking my work I did not rely on JB's words, but took on board what was said by my tutors and in other books, taking what I felt to be true and putting that in my workbook/journal.

They aren't based on numerology and they aren't linked to the corresponding Major Arcana card. I just couldn't see where she'd got the ideas for the keywords from (apart from the images on the cards) and so found them very difficult to learn.

Actually, some are based on numerology from what I can gather.

I didn't like the fact that the only spread she uses is the Celtic Cross either because I really don't consider it to be a beginners spread.

Its not the only spread she uses. If you follow the exercises, there are spreads that you have to do yourself. To do this, I had to do research on various spreads, again using the net and this gave me great insight into how they are designed and why.

Many people get an awful lot from her stuff but it just isn't for me.

Well, I have to say that I am one of those. Had it not been for someone guiding me through that book, I would have tossed it to one side.

Cheers,
Webwitch :)
 

hdarpini

Take the Best and Discard the Rest

If you cut out Bunning's amorphous descriptions of card meanings, the rest of her course is pretty decent. I started studying the Tarot a week and a half ago, and I'm using the online version as a resource in my studies, along with the three books that came with my Rider Waite deck.

In my very short experience, I've found that no one resource provides everything I need to know to for learning the Tarot. All of them provide much the same information on certain topics, but each provides something that the others don't, whether it be a different perspective on interpreting a card, a new spread, or a unique step in the process of doing a reading. Because of this, I consult my three books and Bunning's course in equal measure in my studies (except when it comes to card meanings, of course!) and take from each what I see as valid, useful, and meaningful.

In Bunning's course, for example, I ignore her card meanings but I do her Daily Reading, I find her method of framing the question to be the most conducive to a valid reading, and the procedures she lays out for doing readings are well-structured and thorough. I've even adopted a shuffling method she suggests that I've not read about elsewhere -- the Cowie Push/Put Method -- as part of my deck clearing routine.

I could go on but I think I've made my point. Card meanings are at the very core of Tarot knowledge but they're only a starting point, even in interpreting the cards during a reading, so dwelling on Bunning's weakness in this area and ignoring the great information she provides on other aspects of Tarot reading is like throwing out the baby with the bathwater (please forgive the hackneyed simile -- it's late). I don't throw away the banana because the peel is inedible (wait -- that's even worse!).

This is my first post to this forum, to the first thread I've read here, and so far I've enjoyed the variety and depth of everyone's comments. I've decided to make this my fifth resource for studying the Tarot!
 

tarobones

One of the Best

I found the online course one of the best for beginners. It helped me immensely, and I never felt trapped by it. Rather the opposite. True, there's no numerology or attachment to a corresponding Major, but that is not the only legitimate way to view the cards. Her keywords/phrases being "based on the images themselves" seems to me to make perfect sense. It kept me *looking at the images* which helped me move beyond the course into deeper books. I also have had dealings via the internet with Joan and she is indeed one of the kindest persons to deal with. I recommend her course to any beginner looking for a place to start, but not a place to stay forever. A wonderful "first step." BB, Michael
 

Stregaverde

Thanks to this thread, I've revisited this book, and am actually getting something out of it this time. I'm basically ignoring her lists of meanings for the cards--this is what really threw me in the beginning when I was still learning the fundamental meanings, and ruined the book for me. Now I'm just doing the lessons, even though they are basic, and I'm getting much more out of it. So my advice is, if you're frustrated with this book, only use the first half of it. Then go check out "Tarot for Yourself". :D

And I DO wish she'd use something other than the Celtic Cross. :(
 

Fulgour

Before & After

Sometimes, after I've done a reading and I'm settling down,
I'll get an urge to take a peek at Joan's divinatory meanings
for the same cards... her insights help me understand mine.

It's a lot of fun, and I think of it as: What would Joanie say?

I've never actually read a Tarot book through like a manual,
but prefer to put them to the test, bring them into the play.
What a book says before is interesting, but after, it's a fact.