Inaugural Intensive Deck Study (IDS) Support Thread

I also journal by hand. I love writing, and I love to draw, cross-reference, and colour-code what I write.

So far, done 5 exercises with my LS, very pleased with myself!

I also realized how much I'm actually using other decks. The most difficult part for me so far is fighting the urge of pulling them out on whim to check something...

Fudugazi said:

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...

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Fudugazi, this is a lovely post! The idea of "going with the flow" so to speak is very near and dear to my heart right now in both Tarot and my writing, and you've summed up the feeling of what I've been trying to get at beautifully. So much of learning for me is just opening myself up so I can really listen--it's been mentioned before, but for me part of the goal is getting out of my own way, and your method is a perfect example of that
By the way folks, if you haven't seen it there's an excellent thread in the Decks forum called "how do you de-enable yourself"--many thoughtful responses there that might help anyone feeling tempted

I'm journalling by hand too. I'm using a spiral notebook now, the kind that has the perforations along the edge of the paper. This way I can journal, record spreads, daily draws, etc., all in the same notebook, and later tear out the sheets and organize them in a binder.

So far I'm resisting the temptation to fondle any of my other decks, but its early days yet!

I always journal anything by hand - always have, because I love writing.

Haven't had any problems sticking to my Sidhe. Yet. And I don't feel the need for buying other decks at all either.

I still do want that Sidhe book though, but haven't got it ordered.

thorhammer said:

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!

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I have done a lot of daily draws, and I am now using a different kind. I don't know if this will be useful for you in any way, but you never know. I like it because it is something different from the same old, same old daily draws and it gives me something to reflect on.
I draw two cards in the evening, reflecting on the day that has passed:

card 1: what did I do well today
card 2: what could I have handled better today.

I always do journaling by hand, and I write it on paper that I can incorporate in my binders that already have lots of other notes.
At the moment though, I do more storytelling with the cards, and as the story evolves the card meaning *hopefully* becomes clearer as well. I do the storytelling as I type because I simply do not have the time to write all that by hand. I find this a fun way to explore the cards in a different way.

Nina* said:

I still do want that Sidhe book though, but haven't got it ordered.

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I enjoyed it -and am looking forward to it arriving with all my boxes from Switzerland! It's a dreamy, meditative book, but well focussed too. It does give a certain angle to start from in your study of the Tarot of the Sidhe, or a new way of seeing them if you've walked with them a while.

'Tis time to get myself into this thread.

OK, I fell off the wagon over the weekend ... but then ... I always do when it's my boyfriend-weekend. We only get to see each other every fortnight ... so, no time ... it's pretty hard for me that my life somehow pauses when we're together and everything we want to do we have to squeeze into those 24h ... it's been more this weekend, 72h+ ... but still. Doesn't do my IDS no good!!!

But thankfully I'm over those cravings for the Favole. I haven't thought about it for a couple of days and now I don't find it interesting any more. So THIS side of the IDS is going well.

The next thing is: my studies don't go as fluently as I would like them to go. In the first two months I was doing one-carders and it was a huge success. I felt I really connected to the cards. Now I'm doing two-carders but they don't click, not at all! Arggh. I'm doing them by drawing two cards with oppositional meanings. --> Has any one done something similar? How where you going? Is it worth it? Any help? <-- See, I'm doubting that I'll continue the two-carders for the same two months that I took for the one-carders.

Astraea Aurora

Nina* said:

I always journal anything by hand - always have, because I love writing.

Haven't had any problems sticking to my Sidhe. Yet. And I don't feel the need for buying other decks at all either.

I still do want that Sidhe book though, but haven't got it ordered.

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I know John has some copies available: http://www.hallowquest.org.uk/ordermainframe.htm

I'm sure you'll find it inspiring!

Blessings,

Em xx

Astraea Aurora said:

In the first two months I was doing one-carders and it was a huge success. I felt I really connected to the cards. Now I'm doing two-carders but they don't click, not at all! Arggh.

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Interesting you should say that... I'm having a bit of the opposite effect. So far, I've only done "full" readings with the Lo Scarabeo (prior to IDS), three cards and up. It always went brilliantly. Now I've tried some one-card variations and it really was uphill work. Hmmmmm.

Astraea Aurora said:

I'm doing them by drawing two cards with oppositional meanings.

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How do you draw them? Select them? By visual or structural criteria? And what is the goal of this exercise? Sorry, I'm a bit slow on the uptake today...

kisou said:

So finally I have time to report on my studies so far X)

I'm happy to say that I'm finally breaking in the Amano deck enough to the point to where I can finally shuffle all the cards at once! ((riffle style, baby~))

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Oooh kisou I'm jealous! I've always wanted to be able to riffle shuffle, but I never got the hang of it.