Inaugural Intensive Deck Study (IDS) Support Thread

I'm struggling with daily draws. I draw a card in the morning to see if it has any bearing on the day ahead of me, and I keep it in mind all day and that evening I review my day, try and see how the card fits, and draw another card to look at the day from the other end. They're not working.

In fact, that approach has never worked for me. I rarely do a daily draw any more as I just don't get anything out of it, and unfortunately this seems to be the same. The shame of it is, I think that approach is very sensible and I should be getting something out of it, but the cards just don't make any sense. Also, I get the distinct sense that each card I draw has a huger implication, like it applies to my life in a more stretched-out way, over more time, but I don't see any reason that the Tarot in general and this deck in particular shouldn't have a more immediate application to my life.

For those of you who have done daily draws for ages, and those whose daily draws *work*, what am I doing wrong? I had hoped that this would be a great way to work with my deck in an immediate, intimate way, and that it would help me understand it better and bond with it, but I seriously think it's driving me away from it. Help!

\m/ Kat

thorhammer said:

I'm struggling with daily draws. I draw a card in the morning to see if it has any bearing on the day ahead of me, and I keep it in mind all day and that evening I review my day, try and see how the card fits, and draw another card to look at the day from the other end. They're not working.

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Nitpicky English here. You say you're drawing a card to see if it has any bearing on your day. If that's the mindset you're using when you pick your card, the tarot's giving you what you asked for. I ask, "What do I need to know about my day tomorrow?" cause I draw the night before for the next day. If you're not already asking a specific question or if your specific question isn't working, you could try, "What do I need to know about the day ahead of me?" and "Please recap my day for me" (or something to that effect).

Rodney

Thorhammer, I to have just decided to do my daily draws the night before (I dont really get time now on a morning with a toddler to get breakfast for), and I am just going to forget about it until the evening and then see what relevance it had and what it could have (I see this as a way of getting to know the card) eg. I might look at the card and think well that didn't really apply to my day, but then I will try and take a closer look at the card and see how it could apply to a part of it.

I have already decided how I think the card will fit tomorrow, but if it doesn't then I will have to try and see the card in a different light and see how it did have relevance for the day.

BTW I have just ordered another Bosch tarot as I have decided to trim my current edition, but I am so frightened that something will go wrong that I need another deck as backup. Also I have ordered a book on Boschs' art so that I can look more closely at his work.

Fluff
xx

Every one does their personal Daily Draws differently~
I like to keep it simple~

by hand

I am journalling my daily draws in a notebook, by hand. Part of my aim during this time is to re-access the more flowing, natural, non-mechanical part of me - the one that doesn't sit at a computer and organise everything in a left-brained manner.

So I journal by hand. I don't organised my daily draws, I let them rise - with a question, which might lead to another question, to be explored the next day, perhaps. There are so many questions, so many conversations to be had. I let them come out. I mix them with other stuff, reflections, contemplations, moments of realisation or confusion, poems, quotes, synchronicities. I throw it all into the cauldron of my reporter's notebook, and I've called it "Transformation". On days I don't have much time or energy, it might be a paragraph, a line. Last night I wrote 4 pages.

I am trying to let the Sidhe guide me into their world. Appropriately, the first card I drew was The Fool...

I'm doing mine by hand too. I draw two cards, and journal each of them on separate pages and put them in a binder. Then I look at the two cards together and write what I see about their interactions. That's the fun part for me, the stories that come out of that. I'm not sure what to do about the fact that, since I'm not going through the deck systematically, I won't necessarily get through all the cards.

I love this thread! Stay away for a few days and there's so much to catch up on!

I'd like to share a story that made me just so glad I am taking part in the IDS. Last week I was really struggling with the Magician in the Shining Tribe. Here's what I posted about it...

bleuivy said:

Today was the Magician, and ugh, ugh, ugh. Got nothing. I was studying it this morning, and I thought about it on and off throughout the day, but it still just doesn't speak to me the way the first couple of cards did. I'm going to try working on it again tomorrow morning, and if I still get nothing, I'll move on to two cards I respond to much better, the High Priestess and the Empress. Perhaps when I'm more familiar with the deck the Magician will resonate with me more.

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Well, the Magician didn't resonate with me much at all until Sunday. For the past year, I've been attending Quaker Meeting for Worship. I'm almost to the point where I'm ready to call myself a Quaker and start thinking about joining the Meeting. Anyway, this past month or so, I haven't gone to Meeting at all. Very bad, but I've been busy, working three jobs, going through a rough patch with my boyfriend, etc etc etc. So many excuses not to go to Meeting!

One of the meanings of the Magician in the Shining Tribe is how ignoring the spirit world can make the material world begin to whither and eventually die. This is a meaning I had alot of trouble wrapping my head around. I understood it in principle, but struggled with it in practice. This Sunday (Easter!), once again I made excuses not go to Meeting. And when the time came for Meeting to start, and I was home doing other things, I started thinking about how much my life has felt unfocussed since I stopped going to Meeting and started ignoring what had become an important part of my spiritual life.

And right there, I got the message of the Magician in the Shining Tribe. If I hadn't been studying this one deck, I would have moved on and looked at a different deck's Magician and gotten muddled between the two, or just forgotten all about how I was struggling for the meaning and moved on. Focussing on one deck helped me learn a very valuable lesson.

I just wanted to share.

Fudugazi said:

So I journal by hand. I don't organised my daily draws, I let them rise - with a question, which might lead to another question, to be explored the next day, perhaps. There are so many questions, so many conversations to be had. I let them come out. I mix them with other stuff, reflections, contemplations, moments of realisation or confusion, poems, quotes, synchronicities. I throw it all into the cauldron of my reporter's notebook, and I've called it "Transformation". On days I don't have much time or energy, it might be a paragraph, a line. Last night I wrote 4 pages.

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That is such a wonderful way of discribing daily draws. I think I might try it out, if you don't mind. I love the thought of daily draws, but in practice, they never last more than a few weeks because they're too structured. I'd love to try letting the daily draws evolve organically with them, one question leading to another, leading to another.

Hi Bleuivy - you've chosen one of my all-time favourite decks! I will be reading your entries with interest. My one little cheat

bleuivy said:

One of the meanings of the Magician in the Shining Tribe is how ignoring the spirit world can make the material world begin to whither and eventually die. This is a meaning I had alot of trouble wrapping my head around. I understood it in principle, but struggled with it in practice. This Sunday (Easter!), once again I made excuses not go to Meeting. And when the time came for Meeting to start, and I was home doing other things, I started thinking about how much my life has felt unfocussed since I stopped going to Meeting and started ignoring what had become an important part of my spiritual life.

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It's so true, Bleuivy! You've put your finger on it - and so has Rachel Pollack . The material world is infused with spirit, which must oxygenate it the way air oxygenates our lungs and all the cells in our body. Forgetting spirit is like forgetting to breathe, in a way.

What a great reminder you had - and thanks for sharing, because it's certainly something I need to be reminded of at regular intervals

bleuivy said:

That is such a wonderful way of discribing daily draws. I think I might try it out, if you don't mind. I love the thought of daily draws, but in practice, they never last more than a few weeks because they're too structured. I'd love to try letting the daily draws evolve organically with them, one question leading to another, leading to another.

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Of course I don't mind - it's on offer for anyone who feels they might benefit from working in an unstructured, more taoist way.

Alongside it, I might start a more structured study/meditation programme, but it will be different. I am limited as to time at the moment, with exams approaching.

Fudugazi said:

Hi Bleuivy - you've chosen one of my all-time favourite decks! I will be reading your entries with interest. My one little cheat

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The Shining Tribe is quickly becoming one of my favorite decks too. Who'd have thunk it? Before I couldn't stand the illustrations, and now they just draw me in. I'm learning so much from it.

Fudugazi said:

It's so true, Bleuivy! You've put your finger on it - and so has Rachel Pollack . The material world is infused with spirit, which must oxygenate it the way air oxygenates our lungs and all the cells in our body. Forgetting spirit is like forgetting to breathe, in a way.

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That is definately a lesson I won't be forgetting any time soon, I hope. But no, I won't forget. The realization of it came with such a resounding certainty that it is one lesson I've learned from the tarot that will stick with me. I like what you said as well: "Forgetting spirit is like forgetting to breathe." I think I agree with you.

If I try the more unstructured reading style of organic daily draws with each one growing out of the last, I'll post about it. Because I really like that idea!