Daily pip practice

[Merrick]

Probably the main reason the TdM is considered so challenging compared to RWS and its descendants is because of the style of the pip cards. Some TdM readers don’t even bother with the pips, sticking just to readings with the major arcana. And I’ll admit that getting into the TdM, while I didn’t ignore the pips, I did tend to focus on the easier to read trumps. Recently I began watching this series of YouTube tutorials on the TdM, which focuses heavily on the pips:

While I had already taken the Rune Soup tarot course, which does have an entire module on the pips of the TdM, I found this YouTube series really opened me up to the possibilities of the pips. And while I think I’ve gotten good at reading the majors, I want to push myself and do a daily pip only reading. To start I’m just going to do three card draws with my trusty Noblet deck and see what narratives pop out at me. In time I may move to bigger or more elaborate spreads, but the three card draw is my main method for a standard reading.

Today I began with a question that’s really been bugging me: Why am I not making headway in my magical practice?

Here is what I drew:


The first, most obvious thing to note is these are all swords. That made me laugh a little, as I had thoroughly riffle shuffled the deck and even then I cut the deck for each individual draw of the card, so it wasn’t that the swords were bundled. Sometimes the tarot just be like that.

The next thing that caught my eye were the center icons: Small flower, penetrating sword, large flower. I also noticed that the cards are going from high to low, most complex to least complex.

Without bringing in any predetermined meanings or associations, my initial reading was “Your potential is trapped by too much complexity. Cut through the confusion and simplify in order that you may grow and flourish.”

After that, additional thoughts that came to mind were if swords represent the mind, then maybe I’ve got too much going on in my head. I also see the progression of the parabola created by the swords as a developing of space. Right now I’m too in my head and there are all these layers between me and the outside world. I need to thin these out, be closer to connecting to things outside myself, in order to thrive.

This is one of those readings where the tarot just cuts straight through to the heart of the matter (and with so many swords I mean that literally!). I have been jumping from topic to topic within my practice, not letting any one thing breathe and develop and grow organically. The one thing I have given that space to is the tarot, and the TdM specifically, and so far I feel the tarot has rewarded me for my focus. I need to pause, take a breather, and realize I’m not going to become a master of anything if I keep flitting from one subject to the next. For now the TdM is taking a lot of my time and energy and this I feel is a good thing. It’s opening up my creative and intuitive faculties, and I’m learning how to read visual language in a deeper way. I’m not sure what other practices I will retain but I’m going to be far more careful about what I choose to take on from here on out.

If anyone has any additional thoughts on this reading, please let me know! Also if anyone else wants to join in and do their own daily pip practice, I’d love some compatriots in this endeavor.

[Charlie Brown]

I would come to a similar conclusion. My reading might differ in emphasizing the 5 breaking up the 8, so more like breaking up your established habits of mind in order to give yourself space to grow.

[Merrick]

Ooh, I hadn’t considered it that way! Yes, I could see that being important as well. Very important actually. I do think I have a lot of lingering malignant materialism floating around in my head from my time as a militant atheist in my youth. I’ve been working on shifting my beliefs and perspective to enchant my mind. Thank you!

[Diana]

I do think I have a lot of lingering malignant materialism floating around in my head from my time as a militant atheist in my youth.

- lol -. I used to have a t-shirt which said "Atheist Army - Radical Non-Believers" with all the symbols of the main religions crossed out. It used to lead to interesting discussions with complete strangers.

There are too many swords in your reading. The last card would have been better if it were the Cups element. Air doesn't hold very well with a 2. (I assume that Swords=Air for you?). It can't find any foothold. Too much duality for it. Air works better with odd numbers.

Maybe you're trying too hard.

[Merrick]

I do think I have a lot of lingering malignant materialism floating around in my head from my time as a militant atheist in my youth.

- lol -. I used to have a t-shirt which said "Atheist Army - Radical Non-Believers" with all the symbols of the main religions crossed out. It used to lead to interesting discussions with complete strangers.

There are too many swords in your reading. The last card would have been better if it were the Cups element. Air doesn't hold very well with a 2. (I assume that Swords=Air for you?). It can't find any foothold. Too much duality for it. Air works better with odd numbers.

Maybe you're trying too hard.

I am trying too hard. I definitely have a lust for results.

I personally associate swords with fire for three reasons. One, like swords, fire can be both aggressive and defensive. Two, like swords, fire is a useful tool that if mishandled will hurt you badly. Third, you need fire to make swords. I associate batons with air, because batons grow high on trees, where the wind blows, and they tend to be held in the air (marching bands, scepters, magic wands, conductor’s batons, etc).

Regardless I agree there are too many swords. I’m glad to see that the number of them are decreasing though.

[Diana]

I personally associate swords with fire for three reasons. One, like swords, fire can be both aggressive and defensive. Two, like swords, fire is a useful tool that if mishandled will hurt you badly. Third, you need fire to make swords. I associate batons with air, because batons grow high on trees, where the wind blows, and they tend to be held in the air (marching bands, scepters, magic wands, conductor’s batons, etc).

Regardless I agree there are too many swords. I’m glad to see that the number of them are decreasing though.

Very recently, after twenty years, I made the Air/Fire switch. And now consider Swords also as Fire. I came round to this at last with the argument that an element cannot hold within itself the seed of its own destruction. And Batons are made of wood, and fire burns wood. And also because Swords are forged in fire.

I don't think as a general matter one can say that it's a good sign that the Swords are decreasing, but in your reading, it would seem so. Perhaps a coincidence. I wouldn't take this as a given though. This is a very Enriquez way of interpreting the cards. I have often recommended Enriquez to people who want to switch from the RWS to the TdM, but I wouldn't use his method myself. Except peripherally.

I hesitated to say this though, because I don't think you opened this thread to discuss reading techniques and practices. But I would like to mention that Fire is even more detrimental than Air when it interacts with a 2. They really don't get on at all.

I assumed that you associated Air with Swords, because you mentioned the mental aspect to your interpretation. That swords represent the "mind" you said. But again, I hesitate to question it. I don't want to cause polemics and controversy and mess up someone's thread.

But there, I've said it. Now that I see that you associate Air with Fire, your reading I see completely differently. If Air isn't the "mental", then what aspect does it refer to for you ?

[Merrick]

Truth be told, elemental associations mean very little to me. In this case I used swords to represent mind because I feel a lot of these issues are in my head, not specifically the physical/metaphysical world. I wouldn’t always equate swords to mind. It would depend on the question being asked and the other cards I’ve pulled.

I am heavily influenced by Enriquez and Camelia Elias. For the TdM most especially, I try to do away with preconceived notions of what the cards mean in advance so I can read the visual story they’re telling. This is one of the major reasons I’ve focused so heavily on the TdM, because I think that style lends itself more to that type of reading. When I read RWS/Thoth the baked in meanings are hard for me to avoid.

I appreciate other styles of reading and other interpretations, so feel free to provide alternatives! It’s all part of the tapestry of tarot.

[Merrick]

Here’s a reading I did today for a friend, the question was “How will this epidemic affect my husband’s job?”



My reading was: Prior to the pandemic, your husband’s job was straightforward and thriving. Due to this situation, it’s about to become incredibly complicated, and will take a lot of hard work to weave through it. Eventually he may have to leave in order to escape all the complications.

[Merrick]

For my own question today, I asked what would the consequences be if I left my current job for a new one at the moment. This is what I got:



Apparently swords are all around me right now. Again, I am shuffling thoroughly so this isn’t a case of poor shuffling (plus two of these cards didn’t show up in the prior readings anyway). That five of swords just can’t get enough of me!

My reading on this is I would initially feel triumphant, like I’ve cut through the problems I’m facing with my current job, but my new job would be filled with endless confrontations.

I had a secondary question on my mind that I did not ask out loud but was in my head as I shuffled. The question was how do I deal with my current work situation. I work for a company that is considered an essential service in the face of these lockdowns happening. Many of us working for the company have asked the executives to temporarily shift the way we deliver our services to increase employee safety. Today we were told that making such a shift wasn’t feasible and attempting it could put us out of business. A lot of us feel like the executives are not in touch with our needs and concerns as they’re not facing the public every day.

Normally I wouldn’t use a single reading to answer two separate questions, especially when I didn’t even ask the second one aloud. However I cannot help but feel like the cards are indeed answering both questions with one spread. I had been considering directly calling out the executives in an internal communication. What I see here is a sword striking through a crown, a symbol of authority, and that taking such an action would in the moment feel emancipatory and ecstatic. Then my strike would cause strife, and more strife on top of it. If I made a grand gesture now and spoke out against the executives, it might make me feel good in the moment, but the fallout could be disastrous, and not just for me.

I decided to ask a follow up question, what would the consequences be if I stayed with my current job and became enthusiastic about it? Here is what I got (and this was with me returning the first cards to the deck prior to the shuffle):



I’m seeing coins, I’m seeing cups, no swords or even batons in sight!

My reading is “Prosperity awaits you if you get into sync with your leaders”. The coins are surrounded by vibrant, lush foliage. There’s a sense of growth and balance as the two halves of the card revolve around the fulcrum of the center coin. The middle card might be my favorite, symbolizing balance as well, plus harmony with the two rows of neatly arranged cups on either side of a blossoming set of flowers. Given that a lot of what we’re doing at work involves social distancing, I can’t help but also see the space between the cups on either side of the card. The final card also has balance, and even more growth besides. We have two CEOs at my company and I can’t help but see this card as them. Their pools of knowledge and experience help the company grow.

I was really torn on how to handle this work situation. I was planning to find another job. I was planning to say something strongly against our executives. Based on these readings, I’m going to take a very different approach. I’m going to get behind these decisions even though they weren’t necessarily the ones I would have made. Pretty wild how the tarot can tell you what you need to hear even when you don’t know you need to hear it.

[dodalisque]

To start I’m just going to do three card draws with my trusty Noblet deck

I just wanted to say how beautiful the pips cards are in the Noblet. I've always been a Dodal fan and I still prefer the facial expressions and raggedness of the Dodal majors and courts. But the minors are so much nicer, so precise, in the Noblet. The MOST precise minors are in Wilfried Houdouin's Millenium TdM, and I like those best of all, so maybe there is something about precision itself that suits that part of the deck.

[Merrick]

To start I’m just going to do three card draws with my trusty Noblet deck

I just wanted to say how beautiful the pips cards are in the Noblet. I've always been a Dodal fan and I still prefer the facial expressions and raggedness of the Dodal majors and courts. But the minors are so much nicer, so precise, in the Noblet. The MOST precise minors are in Wilfried Houdouin's Millenium TdM, and I like those best of all, so maybe there is something about precision itself that suits that part of the deck.

Yes, I love the Noblet minors too! So satisfying to read with them. I also very much love the Noblet majors but appreciate the unique take Dodal brings to it. I’m planning on getting the Tarot Sheet Revival Dodal deck at some point.

[Merrick]

I did a pips only reading for my wife earlier and she had a more fitting interpretation than I did, heh. I thanked her for the chance to practice and the feedback.

For my reading I asked the cards is it worthwhile for me to continue working on spirit contact? And I’ll say my reading on this is feeling shaky, I would love some input:



First thing that struck me was this was all coins, which surprised me because I generally view coins as being heavily material and pertaining to the physical world. The ace at the end feels so prominent, like a reunification of the pieces that have broken off, seeing the 7 become the 4 become the 1. That ace card doesn’t feel like a coin at all, but like a mandala. The general feeing I’m getting from these cards is that yes, it is a worthwhile endeavor, but I’m struggling to get more from it than a general sense of “yes.”

[Diana]

For my reading I asked the cards is it worthwhile for me to continue working on spirit contact? And I’ll say my reading on this is feeling shaky, I would love some input:



First thing that struck me was this was all coins, which surprised me because I generally view coins as being heavily material and pertaining to the physical world. The ace at the end feels so prominent, like a reunification of the pieces that have broken off, seeing the 7 become the 4 become the 1. That ace card doesn’t feel like a coin at all, but like a mandala. The general feeing I’m getting from these cards is that yes, it is a worthwhile endeavor, but I’m struggling to get more from it than a general sense of “yes.”

Well, I don't know if my input will be useful, as I don't use Enriquez' method which I see you have, and also you mentioned you do. But from my perspective, the Tarot is encouraging you to pursue this. But that you should also keep one foot firmly on the ground. I use a lot the number/element aspect amongst other things) for my readings, and I know you don't so whether this is helpful or not I don't know. That 7 of Coins is a tricky one. And that's where any obstacles you feel you may be facing lies. It's the 4 of Coins stage you should be aiming for. Something more structured in that case. Very structured in fact.

[Merrick]

For my reading I asked the cards is it worthwhile for me to continue working on spirit contact? And I’ll say my reading on this is feeling shaky, I would love some input:



First thing that struck me was this was all coins, which surprised me because I generally view coins as being heavily material and pertaining to the physical world. The ace at the end feels so prominent, like a reunification of the pieces that have broken off, seeing the 7 become the 4 become the 1. That ace card doesn’t feel like a coin at all, but like a mandala. The general feeing I’m getting from these cards is that yes, it is a worthwhile endeavor, but I’m struggling to get more from it than a general sense of “yes.”

Well, I don't know if my input will be useful, as I don't use Enriquez' method which I see you have, and also you mentioned you do. But from my perspective, the Tarot is encouraging you to pursue this. But that you should also keep one foot firmly on the ground. I use a lot the number/element aspect amongst other things) for my readings, and I know you don't so whether this is helpful or not I don't know. That 7 of Coins is a tricky one. And that's where any obstacles you feel you may be facing lies. It's the 4 of Coins stage you should be aiming for. Something more structured in that case. Very structured in fact.

That’s very helpful. I don’t exclusively use the Enriquez method, it’s may main go to, but in a case like this I agree the numerology aspects are important, and I agree that an unstable seven is a precarious place to be, especially if the trend is toward a 4 and a 1.

As for structure, I’m currently doing the free modules of Quareia which is highly structured. I’ll have to do some more readings to see if that particular course is the best path or if I should try to find an in person teacher or another option.

As far as method goes, I’m open to using whatever methods are most useful for understanding a given reading. I think the EE style is most useful for me with the majority of readings, but I’m not as strict about it as he is. In the case of a reading like this someone like Yoav Ben-Dov’s views of the pips seem more helpful for example. Anyway thank you for the additional insight, I greatly appreciate it!

[Diana]

I went to look what Quareia was. (I know nothing about magic). Looks pretty intense. I had to smile at one of their chapters because I used their introduction once when I was designing a card for an Aeclectic collective tarot deck.

Although Divinity did make use of the relevant auxiliary
causes, it was he himself who gave their fair design to all
that comes to be. That is why we must distinguish two forms
of cause, the divine and the necessary. First, the divine, for
which we must search in all things if we are to gain a life of
happiness to the extent that our nature allows, and second,
the necessary, for which we must search for the sake of the
divine. Our reason is that without the necessary, those other
objects, about which we are serious, cannot on their own be
discerned, and hence cannot be comprehended or partaken of
in any other way.
—Timaeus, Plato, 68 E.

And just like I did, they speak of octahedrons. The card in question was the 8 of Swords. And it had lots of octahedrons on it.

I don't know how one can interpret the cards without using numbers and elements. I suppose it's possible as some people claim to do very good readings without them, but if I didn't have these two tools, I wouldn't even know where to begin. They're the basis for my readings. There is a perfect structure in the Tarot. From my perspective, if we discard numbers and elements, we're missing half of the message or more. Like with your 7 of Deniers. I figure first whether a 7 and an Earth element work well together or not. Taking into account the other cards of course. A 7 of Deniers followed by a 4 of Deniers - cool. At least the 7 has found a resting place - a place to contemplate and breathe. But if you stay too long in the 4 of Deniers stage, you'll stagnate. But the Ace indicates that you won't.

[Merrick]

I went to look what Quareia was. (I know nothing about magic). Looks pretty intense. I had to smile at one of their chapters because I used their introduction once when I was designing a card for an Aeclectic collective tarot deck.

Although Divinity did make use of the relevant auxiliary
causes, it was he himself who gave their fair design to all
that comes to be. That is why we must distinguish two forms
of cause, the divine and the necessary. First, the divine, for
which we must search in all things if we are to gain a life of
happiness to the extent that our nature allows, and second,
the necessary, for which we must search for the sake of the
divine. Our reason is that without the necessary, those other
objects, about which we are serious, cannot on their own be
discerned, and hence cannot be comprehended or partaken of
in any other way.
—Timaeus, Plato, 68 E.

And just like I did, they speak of octahedrons. The card in question was the 8 of Swords. And it had lots of octahedrons on it.

I don't know how one can interpret the cards without using numbers and elements. I suppose it's possible as some people claim to do very good readings without them, but if I didn't have these two tools, I wouldn't even know where to begin. They're the basis for my readings. There is a perfect structure in the Tarot. From my perspective, if we discard numbers and elements, we're missing half of the message or more. Like with your 7 of Deniers. I figure first whether a 7 and an Earth element work well together or not. Taking into account the other cards of course. A 7 of Deniers followed by a 4 of Deniers - cool. At least the 7 has found a resting place - a place to contemplate and breathe. But if you stay too long in the 4 of Deniers stage, you'll stagnate. But the Ace indicates that you won't.

I’m always open to learn more, are there good resources you would recommend on the numerology of the Marseille pips and elemental associations?

[Diana]

I’m always open to learn more, are there good resources you would recommend on the numerology of the Marseille pips and elemental associations?

Unfortunately not. I've never found anything either in French tarot literature that covers this properly. I studied them by myself actually. Sort of logically. In a sort of study group on how to read the Pips which I initiated some time ago on the respective sub-forum on CoT, I was planning to get to this. But the study group never really took off. Probably too basic for some people or dry and not so colourful - but I refuse to join or initiate any study group if we don't start out with the basics. Because if we start out on a wrong basis, or just assume things, then we're going to build a house that falls down.

Everyone wants to learn to read the pips - but it takes a really good and solid foundation to do this. Even if one covers the 2+2=4. Just in case someone thinks 2+2=5.

What fascinates me is how the elements interact with each other. In the threads that are in that study group I mentioned, I realised for the first time (thanks to the basic and foundational work done there) that actually the four elements are not all equal. There is a kind of hierarchy. This surprised me.

[Diana]

I just want to point out that there's only so much one can get out of a book. A lot of people seem to think that they'll receive the answers to their questions in books. But the Tarot is the only book we need. 78 pages of it. Each page is a book in itself.

Books are nice to get some insights we wouldn't have thought of. And to read some literature if the book is well written. But the proper work is done when we study the cards ourselves. I get a bit tired (please don't take this personally!!! - you didn't talk books but resources) of people thinking they'll learn to read the Tarot with books. We have all the answers staring at us in the face. In the Arcana of the Tarot. The person who wrote their books hopefully and I would expect also went through the same process.

The Tarot is a path that lies within us. Not out there somewhere.

The reason Moses wasn't allowed to enter the Promised Land with the Hebrews after 40 years of wandering around the desert was because no-one can enter the Promised Land but alone. (And not because he had sinned in his youth.)

I'll see if I can find some nice resources though.

[Papageno]

The MOST precise minors are in Wilfried Houdouin's Millenium TdM, and I like those best of all, so maybe there is something about precision itself that suits that part of the deck.

I can't speak as to how precise the minors are, but IMHO, Wilfried Houdouin's/Yves Reynaud's Millenium TdM is one of the most aesthetically pleasing.

They talk a lot about basing the designs on "sacred geometry", the esoteric aspects of which I can't address.
Wilfried Houdouin is a professional graphics designer, so he already has a firm understanding of the importance of basic geometry and this is evidenced in the Millennium TdM.

The color palette is well-chosen and beautifully balanced and of course, his technique is superlative.

[Merrick]

I just want to point out that there's only so much one can get out of a book. A lot of people seem to think that they'll receive the answers to their questions in books. But the Tarot is the only book we need. 78 pages of it. Each page is a book in itself.

Books are nice to get some insights we wouldn't have thought of. And to read some literature if the book is well written. But the proper work is done when we study the cards ourselves. I get a bit tired (please don't take this personally!!! - you didn't talk books but resources) of people thinking they'll learn to read the Tarot with books. We have all the answers staring at us in the face. In the Arcana of the Tarot. The person who wrote their books hopefully and I would expect also went through the same process.

The Tarot is a path that lies within us. Not out there somewhere.

The reason Moses wasn't allowed to enter the Promised Land with the Hebrews after 40 years of wandering around the desert was because no-one can enter the Promised Land but alone. (And not because he had sinned in his youth.)

I'll see if I can find some nice resources though.

Oh, I agree. That’s why I’m doing this practice. I’m learning the language of the cards from the cards. I tend to take research outside the deck as a frame of reference, not as the content itself if that makes sense.

For those discussing the Millennium TdM, I agree that it is very aesthetically pleasing. However it’s a Type II deck which I’m less interested in than the Type I. I do have a CBD already which I keep at work to read with there, so I already have a Type II in my library, but if I were to get another it would be Pablo Robledo’s, which is just gorgeous and does incorporate a few elements from Type I decks like the face on the Devil’s stomach.

[dodalisque]

I already have a Type II in my library, but if I were to get another it would be Pablo Robledo’s, which is just gorgeous and does incorporate a few elements from Type I decks like the face on the Devil’s stomach.

This might be taking the discussion off sideways, but do you have any ideas about the eyes on the Devil's knees? Diana and I talked about them briefly in another thread, but I have never come across a convincing explanation for them, even as symbols.

[Merrick]

I already have a Type II in my library, but if I were to get another it would be Pablo Robledo’s, which is just gorgeous and does incorporate a few elements from Type I decks like the face on the Devil’s stomach.

This might be taking the discussion off sideways, but do you have any ideas about the eyes on the Devil's knees? Diana and I talked about them briefly in another thread, but I have never come across a convincing explanation for them, even as symbols.

At first I thought it was a way to enhance the otherworldliness of the figure in the card. It certainly seems like a motif in the decks where the stomach also features only an eye and the bound lower figures have eyes on their knees too. Interestingly in the Noblet the knees have what looked like closed eyes on them.

For fun, I decided to make that my reading for tonight. “What is the significance of the eyes on the Devil’s knees?”



Sometimes I feel like the deck is having fun at my expense. Obviously the curves of the swords create openings that look like eyes. The two swords in the 10 that are woven into the pattern of the curved swords make me think of an abstraction of the Devil card, with the head of the Devil being the tips of the two swords and the handles being the bound figures at the bottom of the card. The interlocking of the swords in all the cards make me think of the tangled web the Devil weaves and how easy it is to get caught in them. Then of course there’s the sexual imagery of the center swords penetrating through the top of a parabolic opening.

What does it all mean? For some reason the phrase “The eyes are the gateways of desire” has popped into my head as I look at this three card draw. Kind of the inverse of “eyes are there gateway to the soul”, as would befit the Devil. I did a quick search on that phrase and found this Bible verse:

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

I John 2:15-17(KJV)

It could be tenuous but we do know that the TdM in particular is full of Christian imagery. So the preponderance of eyes on the Devil card in some decks may be an allusion to that idea, that we covet often with our eyes first.

The eyes also add a confrontational aspect to the card. Only a few cards in the TdM stare directly out at the reader, and a preponderance of eyes would be deeply unsettling. It could indicate that the Devil has its eyes set on you, or on the querent, in a way that may be less than symbolic and more literal.

I definitely don’t have a definitive answer and I certainly don’t think that (frankly cheeky) reading is a definitive answer, but it added possible personal interpretations I hadn’t considered before.

[Merrick]

Does anyone have a question they’d like me to do a pips only reading for? I’m getting a lot out of this but I only have so many things to ask before the questions start to feel frivolous.

[dodalisque]

“The eyes are the gateways of desire” ... we covet often with our eyes first.

The eyes also add a confrontational aspect to the card. Only a few cards in the TdM stare directly out at the reader, and a preponderance of eyes would be deeply unsettling. It could indicate that the Devil has its eyes set on you, or on the querent, in a way that may be less than symbolic and more literal.

Thank you for the beautiful reading. Those two angled swords on the 10 of Swords representing the chained humans on the Devil card is excellent. The vertical empty ovals made by the curved swords look like the slit-shaped pupils in the eyes of goats. And we know of the goat's association with lasciviousness and with Capricorn, the zodiac sign designated to the Devil card by the Golden Dawn. Even though you don't want to make any definitive claims for your poetic insight, the quotes above from your reading are the most plausible explanation of the eyes I have read. I wondered if they had something to do with kneeling. We kneel to pray, but the Devil's knees are perhaps scornfully implying that kneeling before God results in a kind of blindness. I'm not surprised that all Swords came up - I used to play a lot of soccer as a teenager and only quit when I was about 40, but the knee injuries I got then are stabbing pains now!

[dodalisque]

Does anyone have a question they’d like me to do a pips only reading for? I’m getting a lot out of this but I only have so many things to ask before the questions start to feel frivolous.

Check out the Plato's Cave section of the site. There are two long lists from chiscotheque and one from me that consist of nothing but questions. My list is the thread called appropriately enough, "More questions for readings." I'm terrified of the pips myself but I'm learning a lot from your approach. It seems the most natural and convincing way to read with the TdM, though Enrique Enriquez's example has inspired a lot of people. It inspires me too but the snag seems to be that you need talent and imagination to read like this, and that's where I fall down. I like the way EE jettisons even the automatic association of the suit symbols with the 4 elements Earth/Air/Fire/Water. That's the main way I find my bearings in interpreting pip cards, but because those elemental associations don't always make much sense to the person I am reading for, I would love to do away with them altogether. After all, the EE approach is meant to be very visual, literal, and concrete. We shouldn't expect clients to know anything about the Four Elements or the occult in general. Though I'm sure the general public who originally saw these cards when they were made would have immediately recognised the elemental associations of the suits. Psychological profiles of the figures on the court cards tell us as much.