Jeannette
Howdy!
After souljourney posted some info about my article in Timeless Spirit eMag, Moonbow PM'd me to ask if I would include my Rosetta Stone process here in the "Spreads" forum. This is the first time I've posted to this forum, so I hope the info I've provided here will suffice.
In fact, it is not a spread, but a method that can be used with any spread. Its goal is to facilitate communication by providing insight into someone else's perspective on an issue. The basic process involves using two different decks for the reading... one representing yourself, and one representing the other person. Any spread can theoretically be used; the idea is to do a reading for yourself, and then to use the same cards from the other deck to gain insight into how the other person views the same issue.
Lest there be any confusion, I don't mean to lay claim to the idea of using multiple decks for a reading. So-called "comparative tarot" reading methods have been around for years. What I have tried to do with the "Rosetta Stone" process is to suggest a particular multi-deck approach specifically designed for overcoming communication barriers that are, in fact, often at the heart of many of our personal and relationship quandries.
Moonbow suggested that I post the five steps I've outlined for implementing this process. If you want to read the whole article (which gives the full rationale for the method and provides detailed examples), I've posted a copy at a moderator-approved link, given below:
http://www.tarotgarden.com/library/articles/rosettastone.html
If anyone reading this has any questions about this method, please feel free to PM me anytime.
-- Jeannette
The Tarot Garden
THE ROSETTA STONE METHOD: BASIC STEPS
(Excerpted verbatim from the Timeless Spirit article)
1) Begin by securing your most "comfortable" deck – the one with which you are most experienced and feel most confident in the results. This deck will be used to represent your "world view."
2) Carefully select a second deck, which will be used to represent the world view of the other party. This step shows that this process is admittedly biased toward practitioners with a larger deck library, but it can still be used effectively by a motivated "single-deck purist." The good news is that the second deck need not be physically present during the reading. As long as images of the second deck's cards can be referenced by some means – through illustrations in a book, for example, or via an Internet website – that should prove sufficient.
When selecting the second deck, care should be taken to do the best possible job of choosing one that accurately reflects the general character of the other person. In an ideal situation, where several decks are actually available and you can feel comfortable with directly approaching the other person, you might actually let him or her choose the second deck themselves. If you own few decks, but will be using this process with some frequency to examine communication issues arising between yourself and a particular individual – a spouse or closely collaborating coworker, for example – you may wish to research the "best match" for that person, and then invest in an actual copy of that deck for such readings. In any event, the effectiveness of this technique will rest largely on how well this second deck functions as an accurate metaphor of this second person's perceptions.
3) Decide on the spread to be used, and lay out the cards for the spread from deck #1. Take some time to reflect on what the results say about you, and about your perceptions and behaviors in regard to the situation in question.
4) Next, find and pull the matching cards in deck #2, and lay them next to or above the corresponding cards in the spread from deck #1. If the second deck is not physically present, use your reference materials to access the illustrations of the corresponding cards.
This second set of cards is, of course, intended to represent the world view of the other person in regard to the same question. Explore how the same metaphors and archetypes are executed in the second deck. Find the interesting aspects of how they differ from those of the first deck, and how they are similar. Don't be afraid to make associations based on surface attributes – it isn't essential to delve into all the minutiae of any esoteric symbolism that may be present. Keep in mind that our perceptions are not always based on logic or profound truths.
Remember: the goal is to come to an understanding of the other's views, not to judge them. While it is certainly okay to disagree with what you are seeing, keep in mind that there is no "right" or "wrong" at this stage. For the moment, your only concern should be to establish the metaphorical groundwork for future communication on the matter.
5) Once you have finished reflecting on the spread results, use your conclusions to guide your future communications on the issue. Whenever possible, you will want to build on elements of the situation when your perceptions overlap, and propose alternatives from within the metaphor of the other's world view when they don't.
For specific examples, refer to the full article link provided earlier in this post.
After souljourney posted some info about my article in Timeless Spirit eMag, Moonbow PM'd me to ask if I would include my Rosetta Stone process here in the "Spreads" forum. This is the first time I've posted to this forum, so I hope the info I've provided here will suffice.
In fact, it is not a spread, but a method that can be used with any spread. Its goal is to facilitate communication by providing insight into someone else's perspective on an issue. The basic process involves using two different decks for the reading... one representing yourself, and one representing the other person. Any spread can theoretically be used; the idea is to do a reading for yourself, and then to use the same cards from the other deck to gain insight into how the other person views the same issue.
Lest there be any confusion, I don't mean to lay claim to the idea of using multiple decks for a reading. So-called "comparative tarot" reading methods have been around for years. What I have tried to do with the "Rosetta Stone" process is to suggest a particular multi-deck approach specifically designed for overcoming communication barriers that are, in fact, often at the heart of many of our personal and relationship quandries.
Moonbow suggested that I post the five steps I've outlined for implementing this process. If you want to read the whole article (which gives the full rationale for the method and provides detailed examples), I've posted a copy at a moderator-approved link, given below:
http://www.tarotgarden.com/library/articles/rosettastone.html
If anyone reading this has any questions about this method, please feel free to PM me anytime.
-- Jeannette
The Tarot Garden
THE ROSETTA STONE METHOD: BASIC STEPS
(Excerpted verbatim from the Timeless Spirit article)
1) Begin by securing your most "comfortable" deck – the one with which you are most experienced and feel most confident in the results. This deck will be used to represent your "world view."
2) Carefully select a second deck, which will be used to represent the world view of the other party. This step shows that this process is admittedly biased toward practitioners with a larger deck library, but it can still be used effectively by a motivated "single-deck purist." The good news is that the second deck need not be physically present during the reading. As long as images of the second deck's cards can be referenced by some means – through illustrations in a book, for example, or via an Internet website – that should prove sufficient.
When selecting the second deck, care should be taken to do the best possible job of choosing one that accurately reflects the general character of the other person. In an ideal situation, where several decks are actually available and you can feel comfortable with directly approaching the other person, you might actually let him or her choose the second deck themselves. If you own few decks, but will be using this process with some frequency to examine communication issues arising between yourself and a particular individual – a spouse or closely collaborating coworker, for example – you may wish to research the "best match" for that person, and then invest in an actual copy of that deck for such readings. In any event, the effectiveness of this technique will rest largely on how well this second deck functions as an accurate metaphor of this second person's perceptions.
3) Decide on the spread to be used, and lay out the cards for the spread from deck #1. Take some time to reflect on what the results say about you, and about your perceptions and behaviors in regard to the situation in question.
4) Next, find and pull the matching cards in deck #2, and lay them next to or above the corresponding cards in the spread from deck #1. If the second deck is not physically present, use your reference materials to access the illustrations of the corresponding cards.
This second set of cards is, of course, intended to represent the world view of the other person in regard to the same question. Explore how the same metaphors and archetypes are executed in the second deck. Find the interesting aspects of how they differ from those of the first deck, and how they are similar. Don't be afraid to make associations based on surface attributes – it isn't essential to delve into all the minutiae of any esoteric symbolism that may be present. Keep in mind that our perceptions are not always based on logic or profound truths.
Remember: the goal is to come to an understanding of the other's views, not to judge them. While it is certainly okay to disagree with what you are seeing, keep in mind that there is no "right" or "wrong" at this stage. For the moment, your only concern should be to establish the metaphorical groundwork for future communication on the matter.
5) Once you have finished reflecting on the spread results, use your conclusions to guide your future communications on the issue. Whenever possible, you will want to build on elements of the situation when your perceptions overlap, and propose alternatives from within the metaphor of the other's world view when they don't.
For specific examples, refer to the full article link provided earlier in this post.
