21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card

I don't know what it is but after trying to work though the exercises I'm stuck. Not that I cannot do them but that I don't see where they are going or what the purpose behind them are and this is making it very hard for me.

Maybe others can tell me more or not. Surely I'm not the only one who feels like this. Am I?

I would not worry too much about this. If you tried to take on board all 21 steps you may find you end up more confused than when you started.

I have read the book, and found that I did not resonate with all the exercises, so did a 'pick 'n' mix' exercise, using the ones I felt comfortable with.

I would also wait until you have done a couple of readings using whatever methods you did feel comfortable with. It might all make more sense then.

Good luck though

Davina

Hi Kenny...

I'm assuming you read the entire introduction to the book...it explains beautifully, Mary's purpose in giving the 21 exercises...I commented on the introduction in another thread...scroll down:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=61040

If, after reading Mary's introduction, you still feel that the exploration isn't helpful, maybe this book isn't for you right now or at all....

I believe she emphasizes that by exploring the various ways of reading, one may find that four or five ways are suitable to your own personal style......maybe at one time or another, some will find that they use most of the ways...

Core readings for example may include...Naming the card, describing the card, using a metaphor (impossible to read without this)...and a modification of the card (to suit a question or spread).

A Therapeutic style....might cover...reading for Emotions, Story, a Quert with Snapshots, interpretation of Symbols, Dialogs, Imagination....(organized around)...and Themes...

If you look at the appendices, you will see various style composites...also MUCH more.....

If you are just beginning to read Tarot and are not familiar with the cards, choosing just one to do all of the exercises might prove tedious...maybe you would benefit from another mode of exploration.

Mary's book, Tarot for YourSelf was my introduction to the cards....very helpful! Also, in the beginning, while I read books and learned some key meanings and correspondences, I also began laying out simple spreads with questions, for myself, for people I know.

I journaled these early readings.

Rickleff's book Tarot Tells the Tale is great fun, if you want to practice some three card spreads...He uses three cards and a question from someone fictional or deceased, someone known...e.g., Cinderella...and draws three cards.

I looked at the cards and jotted down my own quick reading on right in the book...then I read Rickleff's take on the reading. It was freeing, imaginative, empowering, and affirming to do my own readings and then compare them to his.

I just started the 21 Ways....and I may not use all of them, but, then, the whole purpose was to expose us to possibilities and select those that resonate with our own style. But using a single card, if you are not comfortable with exploring readings using a whole deck, could make someone feel "bogged" down and anxious to explore with the rest of the cards...

Now that I have the book, I can probably say with some certainty that I wouldn't have used it when I first started reading about 3 years ago...but now, the timing is right...I have the book, the card and my master journal in the office and will take each exercise as a "study" technique...no rush, pacing it, but using it as a study...which sometimes involves pushing my horizons a bit.

terri

playing

I just got this book and have done the first exercises about picking a card and using it throughout the book.

I happened to pick Death in the RWS and have been fascinated by what arose in the imagined commentary by Death as to who and what s/he is.

I was glad to have picked such a strong card, and look forward to doing more with the book. I've always been one to go with gut reactions to card images first, then to work out symbolism or standard meanings later.

And I'm glad to add a Greer book to my collection.

I had originally pulled one card, then saw, in the first exercise, that I should draw three and respond and then select the one that seemed best for the work....

Nine of Pentacles.

What I like is that my initial response was ...

"Oh I know what this card is telling me already in order to answer the question."

Of course, I hope to turn that whole idea upside down as I work through the exercises. Looking in Appendix I, I see that I use most of the ways of reading ...not all in the same reading, but most of them across readings....I am still looking forward to this expansion and opening up...Mary makes the point, that often reading for ourselves is the most difficult...because we think right off we know what the cards are saying to us....so this should be enlightening

...and fun.

terri