Not getting it

[Scorpio]

This may be a very stupid question, but a lot of people are saying to read the cards and rely less on the book. Maybe its just because im so new at it, but i have no idea how to read the cards... Am I supposed to be getting feelings from the cards? Will I eventually learn how to get impressions from them? The pictures on them dont really help me with interpretation... Someone please help me!!! :)

[Myst]

Look at the pictures. What's happening? What do the pictures remind you of? Do the people in the pictures look happy or sad? Are they fighting, which might indicate conflict in the reading? Are they looking into the distance, which might indicate a journey in the reading? Are they surrounded by family, indicating possibility of new birth or the need to pay attention to family members? If you listen very quietly and ground and center before reading sometimes you will get impressions popping up in your mind, this is often the cards talking to you :)

[Scorpio]

That makes sense...(as i smack myself in the forehead) lol

Thanks. I will try it tonight and pay extra attention to trying to figure it out...
Its amazing hw friendly everyone is here. Thank you.

[Myst]

Hey no problem. I had the same questions when first starting out, as does everyone who is just starting out. Don't feel like you're asking stupid questions - the only stupid question is the one not asked, after all, especially here where so many people are friendly and willing to help you out.

Welcome to MW :)

[AnnaHawk]

When I first started reading Tarot (I was a teen of 16 and I'm 42 now), I remember reading that the cards themselves merely act as a mirror for my subconscious to project what I inherantly "know" outward onto. I wish I could remmember which book I read this in, so I could recommend it to you. The fact is, the cards are pretty printed cardboard. YOU are the one doing the reading.
ERGO :
If you listen to the quiet little voices that come into the edges of your consciousness as you view them - you will hear the BIG picture that these pretty little ones are trying to convey. They will be small, possibly, at first, but they will grow to a shout if you give them any heed. In my view, the cards themselves are only a prop for the training of ones ability to do just that - listen to your inner knowing.
In my religious order, we believe that all things are a part of ONE great Boundless Being - you, me, the rock, the govenor, a bird, the stars in the sky. That Being has a Consciousness, which we all share. If you allow yourself, you can hear it as clearly as your own portion. You can know the experience, see though the "mind and eyes" of everything or anything that is, was or will be. Most of the time, this is just plain inconvienent, so we wall ourselves off in order to have the experience of individuality, or uniqueness. This is a part of the Cosmic plan too. At the same time, we have always had the power to tap back into that awareness, and with time learn how to "navigate" its vastness.
The Tarot is one of those navigational tools we have made for oursselves, and a nifty one at that. It uses the language of the Cosmic mind - concept-symbol. Different artists over time have created these visual concept-symbol tools for you. You may create even more.
When I first started, every night before I went to sleep, I took a different card, studied it carefully, read about it and its "book definition". Then placing it under my pillow, I went to sleep with the intention of pondering these ideas while asleep - having a chat with my subconscious, so to speak. It worked for me, but it was not instantaneous.
Goals worth achieving, though, rarely are.

Hope this helps ! (In the mean time, don't feel bad about using the book - WE ALL HAVE ! 8O

AnnaHawk

[Mairwen]

Originally posted by Scorpio
This may be a very stupid question, but a lot of people are saying to read the cards and rely less on the book. Maybe its just because im so new at it, but i have no idea how to read the cards... Am I supposed to be getting feelings from the cards? Will I eventually learn how to get impressions from them? The pictures on them dont really help me with interpretation... Someone please help me!!! :)

When you're first starting out, I think it's best to get the most basic, most simplistic pack you can ~ and find a book which goes along with it; most packs have them. Some people recommend starting with the Rider Waite pack, but to be perfectly honest, I tell people to start with a pack they're drawn to. Why? Well, for one thing, the Rider Waite never made any sense to me (much), and I ened up giving my pack away, and for another, if you buy (or are given) a pack that you're drawn to, the images are going to mean something to you ~ ie, speak to you.

Using the book isn't a bad thing. It's always good to know what the artist was trying to capture/convey when the pack was painted. For me, nine times out of ten, the books helps convey something in a way which I am unable.

> The fact is, the cards are pretty printed cardboard.
> YOU are the one doing the reading.

I know people who refuse to shuffle their Tarot cards (you know, shuffle them like playing cards) because they're afraid of harming the spirit of the cards. IMHO, I have to agree with Anna on this one. The cards are nothing more than pretty cardboard. Did someone tell the big huge machine it was making a magical thing? I doubt that. In the long run, it's you who is going to inbibe those cards with energy, and it's going to be that energy you'll tap into as you read.

I let people touch my cards, too. Again, for some, this is a big no no ~ a major no no. However, to me, it helps the person you're reading [for] relax and adds a bit of their thought/feeling into the reading.

It all boils down to personal preference.

> If you listen to the quiet little voices that come into the edges
> of your consciousness as you view them - you will hear the BIG
> picture that these pretty little ones are trying to convey.

Yup. With practice, the voices [cards] will start screaming at you. "me first! me!! whooo hooo, over here!" ;)

> The Tarot is one of those navigational tools we have made for
> oursselves, and a nifty one at that.

Anna hit the nail on the head here. Tarot is just that, a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. But a good one, no doubt!

[Myst]

The Rider Waite deck is WAYY too simplistic for me, I could never use it. I prefer my Faerie Oracle deck, even the Unicorn Tarot is pretty simple. I like to find the mystery and secrets in the pictures...

[Scorpio]

Thanks guys. Your advice is really helpful. So I should study the cards first? I didnt know that. I just jumped right in! Typical of me. Ill wait until I study the cards for a few weeks before I get discouraged again (which I know will happen) but I'll stick with it. Are there any exercises to sharpen your instincts?