Cult of Tarot Forum

In the 3 card spread posting (great thread!) Joan Marie made an interesting observation:
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Joan Marie wrote: ↑10 May 2021, 10:07
I think that people just learning Tarot these days are getting a lot of advice about trusting their intuition but not really getting any useful guidance of how to do that or what it even means. And the result is many new people (as you can see from so many posts we get here) are just laying cards down without any structure for reading them. For beginners, this can be extremely frustrating.

We need to help guide people back to this fundamental technique (as it were) and counter this rising tide of bad advice that probably leads more people to just drop their cards altogether before they ever really learn how to use them.

Questions is another topic.

Spreads and questions are what beginners need the most assistance with. Or rather, support. Assistance and support.

I wanted to comment on this but not hijack the thread hence this post. I'm sure we've talked about intuition elsewhere too.

I don't think there's anything wrong with using one's intuition in tarot. For me it's an important and integral part of my readings which naturally arose over my time practising tarot (which I found fascinating). But, I do see Joan Marie's point here. I think there are people who could probably jump into tarot using intution quite easily - but they are probably already in tune with their mind's symbology or experienced in using it through other forms of divination, hency why they don't use guide books. But I assume that is not the norm.

My thoughts are that for beginners, i.e. those without this ability, in order to read intuitively you need to get in touch with your own mental symbolism (not easy if you aren't aware of it in the first place ), or to create that 'tarot language' by practise using one of the systems as a starting point so you build the associations in the mind. It can then be that the symbolism evolves or changes over time (also fascinating!:) ).

Using structured spreads is a great way to learn to as it helps keep focus on the question, and of course setting the right question is so important too.

I think it's a shame if there is rising tide of bad advice out there and people are getting put off tarot because of this. But I wouldn't be surprised, especially on places like YouTube where anyone can set themselves up as an 'expert'.

BlueStar wrote: ↑19 May 2021, 10:46
My thoughts are that for beginners, i.e. those without this ability, in order to read intuitively you need to get in touch with your own mental symbolism (not easy if you aren't aware of it in the first place ), or to create that 'tarot language' by practise using one of the systems as a starting point so you build the associations in the mind. It can then be that the symbolism evolves or changes over time (also fascinating!:) ).

Using structured spreads is a great way to learn to as it helps keep focus on the question, and of course setting the right question is so important too.

I don't remember a lot about being 12-16, but I do remember getting my first tarot deck from a metaphysical book store in Jackson Hole, WY shortly after my family moved there from Iowa and how I ~loved~ it. I spent soooo many hours with that Voyager deck pouring over the pictures, reading the little book and obsessing over that deck and its pictures and geeking with my mom about amethyst and other crystals (she liked crystals) and just doing a reading for anyone, anywhere that I could get away with. I did a lot of past-present-future, I did a lot of "this is you physically-mentally-emotionally-spiritually" and "what does he/she really think about you?"

What helped me the most to become a teenage tarot reader was just being a teenage tarot reader.... I just did it, all the time. I think one of the things that drove me doing it at school eventually, after months of practicing at home and friend's homes itself was I'd been the fat, ugly, lonely, smart but lazy weird kid and now I was "That fat girl who is into Wicca and reads tarot cards!"

Tarot made me cool. This was like 1984. Karate Kid, Gremlins, Footloose were the BIG MOVIEs back then. it was a different era.

And I hate the fact that I find myself saying to people "To learn to be intuitive, just be intuitive", "To learn tarot, just read a lot of tarot and keep a journal, write about what your cards". I borrowed books from my parent's shelves on pop psychology and listened intently to things they had to say as chemical dependency therapists, fervent members of AA/12-Step movements, and ardent readers of books like The Celestine Prophecies. I was a product of nature/nurture and intuition, creativity, and working out your problems via counseling and self-development work was just the "normal" thing in those formative years of being 12-16.

I'm a prolific writer. Most people aren't. I have the luxury to just sit in front of a computer screen or table all day with the tarot cards spread out, watching videos, listening to audiobooks, reading books, chatting on forums.

I feel like its how we are living the rest of our lives that provides so much context for how intuitive we are and how easy it is for us to make tarot something really special, sacred, or otherwise important to our lives. But that is the key. Its our entire lifestyle that brings in better intuition, empathy, self-love, healthy love in general, all the good and the bad.

I'd love to hear other people's thoughts.

TheLoracular wrote: ↑19 May 2021, 15:08 "To learn tarot, just read a lot of tarot and keep a journal, write about what your cards". ...

... Its our entire lifestyle that brings in better intuition, empathy, self-love, healthy love in general, all the good and the bad.

For me, journalling really helped me improve in Tarot, looking back and seeing how what I see in the cards has played out helps me understand my own symbology, whether aligned to 'traditional' meanings or otherwise. It's such a useful practise to do.

I think there is something to what you say about intuition. No part of our life is separate from the rest, everything is intertwined, so how we live, how we are probably does have a fair bit to do with our intuition. It's certainly food for thought:)

BlueStar wrote: ↑19 May 2021, 10:46...My thoughts are that for beginners, i.e. those without this ability, in order to read intuitively you need to get in touch with your own mental symbolism (not easy if you aren't aware of it in the first place ), or to create that 'tarot language' by practise using one of the systems as a starting point so you build the associations in the mind. It can then be that the symbolism evolves or changes over time (also fascinating!:) )...

Agreed. I sometimes see reading framed as (what I consider) a false dichotomy between either intuition or book learning. Like you, I believe practicing using a system as a starting point builds symbolic associations that can serve as a great springboard. -- Or at least it did for me. I know people approach tarot in very different ways, and I've received excellent advice from readers who look strictly at the art (though granted they were not beginners), but for myself the years since finding and internalizing a system I admire have been more engaging and meaningful than the years before.

Right out of the gate, there are 2 issues that require a bit of perseverance if someone decides to learn a system...

One is that it can seem clunky at first and not at all intuitive, since there's a lot of stopping the flow of the reading to look things up and try to wrap your head around ideas. It takes time until you make a system your own and know it well enough that associations start being obvious and almost waving frantically at you the moment you look at a spread. (There are some small shortcuts to make this phase a little easier, like the index cards I suggest in this intro to astrology in the RWS and Thoth, but it still takes time. Well worth it, imo.)

The other is that it really helps if the system is one you find meaningful, and although you can have a general idea going in, sometimes you have to give the time and effort before you can be sure. Which can be fun if you enjoy this sort of thing.

From this book that I bought, Theresa Reed (the writer) recommends the following to hone your intuition outside of tarot:

1) Pull out regular poker playing cards, card by card, faced down, and focus on the card to try to guess what card it is before flipping over to check.

2) When your phone rings, take a moment to tune in to who might be calling without looking at the caller ID, then pick it up and see if you got it right.

3) When someone gifts you something, make a guess of what's inside first before opening the gift (of course, when the giver is not around).

4) When you're in line at a cafe or restaurant, see if you can guess what the person in front or behind you will order.

5) Try billet reading on your own. Write lots of questions on slips of paper, fold them up and put them in a bowl. Randomly pick one, and try to tune in to the subject of the question and feel the answer. Open the billet and see how your insights worked out.

She also writes that storytelling during a tarot reading, based on the card images, is another way to jog the intuition. As you begin narrating a tale inspired by the images, you may receive epiphanies on what the card means in the context of your question.

supersentai wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 03:52

From this book that I bought, Theresa Reed (the writer) recommends the following to hone your intuition outside of tarot:

1) Pull out regular poker playing cards, card by card, faced down, and focus on the card to try to guess what card it is before flipping over to check.

2) When your phone rings, take a moment to tune in to who might be calling without looking at the caller ID, then pick it up and see if you got it right.

3) When someone gifts you something, make a guess of what's inside first before opening the gift (of course, when the giver is not around).

4) When you're in line at a cafe or restaurant, see if you can guess what the person in front or behind you will order.

5) Try billet reading on your own. Write lots of questions on slips of paper, fold them up and put them in a bowl. Randomly pick one, and try to tune in to the subject of the question and feel the answer. Open the billet and see how your insights worked out.

She also writes that storytelling during a tarot reading, based on the card images, is another way to jog the intuition. As you begin narrating a tale inspired by the images, you may receive epiphanies on what the card means in the context of your question.

I think this is a great point, there are indeed many ways that intuition comes into play in everyday life. I've been doing the phone thing for years, not deliberately, it just seems to happen automatically, the same with many other little things.

Rose Lalonde wrote: ↑19 May 2021, 22:44 I believe practicing using a system as a starting point builds symbolic associations that can serve as a great springboard.

This reminded me of something I've often thought, which is that I think it's possible to create one's own system too. For example if you found a set of image based cards (doesn't have to be tarot) and you create a clear interpretation for yourself of what the images mean to you, I think that can work too. It may also be easier compared to using someone else's system as you are naturally working with what has meaning for yourself which is going to be faster and more intuitive than having to learn someone else's meanings.

There could be down sided of course, for example if the deck doesn't contain a sufficiently varied symbology to cover different kinds of energies and/or situations, such as you would get in a traditional system like Rider Waite or others. So it could be tricky, but with thought and care I think it's do-able.

BlueStar wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 07:45...I think it's possible to create one's own system too...

I agree with you again. After all, Eteilla did did exactly that, and other people, either creating or tweaking, including the creators of any existing systems we use.

It's a big task for a beginner, as you mentioned, and probably my advice (not that anyone asked ) would be to learn a system first to see how it's put together. (Doesn't have to be Golden Dawn/RWS/Thoth, of course. It could be the pagan wheel of the year, numerology in the TdM, Huson's fusion of Eteilla and TdM, etc... )

The other consideration is just about how important it is to someone to have common ground on a forum or with fellow readers, since I imagine it's harder to jump into the conversation when the only one who knows the system you're using is you. But not everyone minds that.

supersentai wrote: ↑20 May 2021, 03:52 From this book that I bought, Theresa Reed (the writer)

I am completely biased because Theresa Reed is one of my Twitter friends, but I highly recommend her books, her website, and her podcast. I feel like linking them directly even though I link things regarding other authors all the time would advertising vs. recommending though because .. she is one of my Twitter friends, lol.

Her style of writing about tarot is something I sure wish I'd had access to when I started- and she's just a great person in general

Intuition is, in my definition, based on skill. A skilled, experienced professional can rely on their intuition because everything they ever learnt and did is present at every moment.

I don't think I'm an intuitive person but I read for others every day, and I learned to rely more on the inner voice, the inner pictures. I have found through walking meditation, prayer, inner child work, shadow work, with or without tarot, some sources of intuition that we closed off before. It makes me more vulnerable and is not always there but writing everything down, drawing, painting helps a lot.

I'll have a look at the book, it sounds interesting.

Some years ago, I met a woman who had started reading tarot some months ago and was against learning. When she heard how much I read and study about tarot, she said: oh, I'm an intuitive reader, I won't kill my intuition with learning! I found that quite arrogant. You don't kill intuition by learning, your nurture it.

I hear the same about art. As art historian, I can 't count the times when people told me: oh, knowing about art kills the joy, I don't want to know how it works, how it's done.

I always answer: learning/cognition and intuition/emotion dance a waltz. You enjoy/intuit, you learn, and then you combine the emotional and the learning, and you continue the next step... Intuition can only get stronger. At least for me.

Nemia wrote: ↑22 May 2021, 18:28 Some years ago, I met a woman who had started reading tarot some months ago and was against learning. When she heard how much I read and study about tarot, she said: oh, I'm an intuitive reader, I won't kill my intuition with learning! I found that quite arrogant. You don't kill intuition by learning, your nurture it.

Intuition has to draw on something. Everything you ever learn, whether you consciously remember it or not, is stored away inside of you and it helps you make connections all the time. The more things you store away the more possibility for connections to be made.

I heard this explained recently, how it works, it was fascinating.

Everyone uses intuition. Parents, nurses, salespeople, actors, dancers, teachers, veterinarians, drivers, fire fighters, artists, florists, gardeners, tech support, personal assistants, ...It's what makes a great cook or a skillfull therapist. It's what gives each of those people their own style, voice, technique.

The more experience you have, the more you learn, the more you practice, the greater your intuitive skills become. That's the creative spark of life. I believe that every job, every activity, has the potential to have a creative element. Yes, I see a connection between intuition and creativity, maybe they are the same thing.

Creative, or intuitive, doesn't mean just pulling something out of the air. It means making connections to come up with the right thing at the right time. And those connections need sources. You may not be conscious of those sources, those connections, they just happen.

Most everyone who drives a car has an experience of reacting to a hazard before even realising it and avoiding an accident. That's intuition. Or rather, it's your brain making connections about the situation in front of you faster than you can even realise based on years of driving experience.

I heard an interview with an actor today (Charles Grodin) and he described reading his lines aloud (together with Robert DeNiro) without any meaning or inflection, just reading the words over and over and over for HOURS on end so that they were so deeply buried in his head that when it came time to act he could just be present and use his instincts (intuition, same thing?) without having to think at all about the words he was saying.

Studying the Tarot and learning about all the influences and symbols and everything else that informs it (art, psychology, mythology, history etc) gives you so many possibilities to make useful and relevant connections without (necessarily) consciously realising it. a.k.a. Intuition.

But here's the trick; you have to know how to let go and allow that to happen. But even that takes practice.