Pretzel Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 Just out of interest, because I like to see how others do things... how do you prefer to study the cards? - Use one deck (maybe a new one) and study each card one, read the white book, research correspondences etc. - Choose one specific card, then pull out the same card in each deck you have, comparing and making notes with intuition and correspondences - Something else?
Cthulhu2024 Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 Would love feedback on this. A book I read said that a good way to learn, not only the deck, but how to learn tarot, is to group the minor arcana by number and Trump, so you can see how they work together.
Pretzel Posted July 28, 2022 Author Posted July 28, 2022 58 minutes ago, Cthulhu2024 said: Would love feedback on this. A book I read said that a good way to learn, not only the deck, but how to learn tarot, is to group the minor arcana by number and Trump, so you can see how they work together. Oh that's a good idea. I think that would also work well for studying a say a new deck
DanielJUK Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 2 hours ago, Pretzel said: Just out of interest, because I like to see how others do things... how do you prefer to study the cards? - Use one deck (maybe a new one) and study each card one, read the white book, research correspondences etc. This used to be my technique, go through a deck, maybe a card a day or something like that. Research it and learn about it. Now I just use the deck practically, I think actually using the cards works well for me. You do need to learn a basic idea about each card, let's call it the "general meaning". But I study the card as I go now, look it up and then read the picture. You need to have a foundation of the card but practically using them I found the best method now for me 🙂 . If you get stuck the LWB or reading internet discussions on the card usually helps me understand the intention of the card.
Ix Chel Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) I studied various (mainly book) sources and made a card summary for each card. This is all in my Tarot Journal. I also like to relate to the cards in daily life. For example I look at the television show Friends. Monica is a Queen of Pentacles she likes to cook and is organized. Joey is a 9 of Cups, he enjoys eating good food. Phoebe is a little different she can be the Hanged Men. But also movies like the Titanic can help, hitting the iceberg is a Tower moment. Leo and Kate falling in love is connected to the Lovers and the 2 of Cups. But also the news can help a vaccin for COVID-19 is the Star, that brings hope. I do not study different decks. But I should. The Devil from the Everyday Witch Tarot shows us that the Devil looks at first sight as a good person. But if you look better, you see you can not trust him, he is to good to be true. Edited July 28, 2022 by Ix Chel
AnomalyTempest Posted July 28, 2022 Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) The first thing I do with a new deck is what I call a first flip-through. I go through all the cards and write down the first thing that pops into my head when I see it. Next, I generally read the book while looking through the cards again, seeing how well my first thoughts line up with the authors intentions. Then I'll do a deck interview and maybe some spreads (if any) that are in the LWB. I have a bunch of decks so every month I rotate the decks for my daily readings. For regular readings I just grab the one I'm feeling or let the querent choose a deck. Some decks are really easy to work with right off the bat. I've never had only one deck as the person who gave me my first one gave me 3 and a couple of oracle decks so I can't really speak to what it's like if you have only a single deck. I do sometimes when reviewing reading pull out other decks. I do that when a card isn't quite making sense in a reading too, for my personal readings. I've been experimenting with a lot of styles of study trying to find the way that really works but a lot kinda depends on the deck, how attracted I am, my energy levels etc. Some things that work well with one deck might not work so well as others for me. My recommendation would be to try out a few things and see what works for you and when and how. I even have a list of "someday" exercises to try out when I don't have ideas of my own. Edited July 28, 2022 by AnomalyTempest
Pretzel Posted July 29, 2022 Author Posted July 29, 2022 15 hours ago, DanielJUK said: This used to be my technique, go through a deck, maybe a card a day or something like that. Research it and learn about it. Now I just use the deck practically, I think actually using the cards works well for me. You do need to learn a basic idea about each card, let's call it the "general meaning". But I study the card as I go now, look it up and then read the picture. You need to have a foundation of the card but practically using them I found the best method now for me 🙂 . If you get stuck the LWB or reading internet discussions on the card usually helps me understand the intention of the card. Thanks for sharing, I went down the same path as you initially. And, totally - there's nothing like real readings to expand your knowledge. I'm always astounded at the new insights I get with different readings. I might edit my initial post because I think I wrote it a little 'limiting'. Because there's studying to learn from scratch, studying to go deeper into different areas (astrology/Kabbalah) and studying a new deck with different symbols.
Eric13 Posted July 29, 2022 Posted July 29, 2022 The books decks come with are a great source of info and Im sure you know that some decks, the most famous being the RWS deck and even the Thoth decks have many more books that fo much deeper, but the immediate books by US GAMES only for example are important. First try to learn the essence of the suits then the essence of the cards, then the blending of how they work together. Have your own book to write things down about each that stand out to you to help remember what they're about. The learning of them is a never ending process thats all part of the fun with reading as well. But I think the best way to learn is to participate on here doing reading with feedback. Its perfectly alright to use a book when learning.
Pretzel Posted July 29, 2022 Author Posted July 29, 2022 17 hours ago, Ix Chel said: I studied various (mainly book) sources and made a card summary for each card. This is all in my Tarot Journal. I also like to relate to the cards in daily life. For example I look at the television show Friends. Monica is a Queen of Pentacles she likes to cook and is organized. Joey is a 9 of Cups, he enjoys eating good food. Phoebe is a little different she can be the Hanged Men. But also movies like the Titanic can help, hitting the iceberg is a Tower moment. Leo and Kate falling in love is connected to the Lovers and the 2 of Cups. But also the news can help a vaccin for COVID-19 is the Star, that brings hope. I do not study different decks. But I should. The Devil from the Everyday Witch Tarot shows us that the Devil looks at first sight as a good person. But if you look better, you see you can not trust him, he is to good to be true. Wonderful! I love that. I notice things in life the same way, and it's fun to assign cards to people I know. Oh my, that devil card in the Everyday Witch Tarot is the one card that stops me buying it - creepiest devil card I've seen
Pretzel Posted July 29, 2022 Author Posted July 29, 2022 4 hours ago, Eric13 said: The books decks come with are a great source of info and Im sure you know that some decks, the most famous being the RWS deck and even the Thoth decks have many more books that fo much deeper, but the immediate books by US GAMES only for example are important. First try to learn the essence of the suits then the essence of the cards, then the blending of how they work together. Have your own book to write things down about each that stand out to you to help remember what they're about. The learning of them is a never ending process thats all part of the fun with reading as well. But I think the best way to learn is to participate on here doing reading with feedback. Its perfectly alright to use a book when learning. Thank you! Sorry, I must not have worded my initial post correctly and it's not letting me edit it. I've been studying for a while and am very comfortable understanding the cards and reading - I meant going deeper into them like using astronomy, mythology etc and especially when using a new deck that has different type of imagery. I'm just interested in what others do.
euripides Posted July 29, 2022 Posted July 29, 2022 For a while there I was right into historical tarot and spent a lot of time looking at early versions of cards, and also reading about stories and symbolism. I recently installed the Fool's Dog tarot app and I like being able to easily compare multiple card versions on the app.
Pretzel Posted July 29, 2022 Author Posted July 29, 2022 25 minutes ago, euripides said: For a while there I was right into historical tarot and spent a lot of time looking at early versions of cards, and also reading about stories and symbolism. I recently installed the Fool's Dog tarot app and I like being able to easily compare multiple card versions on the app. Very cool! I think we can learn a lot from early versions and certainly the stories and symbolism. That's genius using a sampler app - I never thought of that.
Vesta Posted July 29, 2022 Posted July 29, 2022 I'm studying the RWS (it's beginning to seem like a lifelong project...) and Thirteen's meanings for the cards on the old AT site have been extremely helpful to me. Thirteen has a wonderful way of being both down-to-earth and esoteric in describing the cards. I like writers such as Sasha Fenton and Madeline Montalban as well.
euripides Posted July 30, 2022 Posted July 30, 2022 I was thinking I probably need to spend some time on a specific system/author - we can so easily end up with a big melting-pot of ideas that doesn't really do any of them justice, you know? Like just reading the Druidcraft and doing a lot of reading of Druidry-related texts like the Mabinogion. I've been seeing some really interesting readings here where people are using astrological correspondences, and it's something I'd love to do more on, though it's going to have to wait until I have more time to properly approach the dauntingly huge body of knowledge that entails. So anyway, that might be an approach you could consider - a really deep dive into a specific tarot-adjacent system.
euripides Posted July 30, 2022 Posted July 30, 2022 The other thing this thread brings to mind is actually writing out your ideas - maybe make a book /ebook? When I had to learn something a while ago, someone suggested writing a textbook' on it, because nothing makes you learn better than explaining it. So writing out your understandings might help you to think about where you've got gaps in any systematic approach, or gaps in knowledge generally. Like for me, there are some cards I spend a lot of time with because I just like them, while others I tend to avoid. (also how do you see stories across the deck? I find systems where cards are grouped by number rather than suit quite interesting.)
Ix Chel Posted July 31, 2022 Posted July 31, 2022 On 7/29/2022 at 9:07 AM, Pretzel said: Oh my, that devil card in the Everyday Witch Tarot is the one card that stops me buying it - creepiest devil card I've seen I think it is one of the best Devils. It shows us that at first sight everything can look alright, but when it is to late you see that it was the Devil. It is a warning to be carefull. The Everyday Witch Tarot is a nice deck.
Ix Chel Posted July 31, 2022 Posted July 31, 2022 On 7/29/2022 at 11:12 AM, euripides said: I recently installed the Fool's Dog tarot app and I like being able to easily compare multiple card versions on the app. That is a good and cheap tip to see and compare different decks. I also like YouTube videos in which they flip through a deck.
Ix Chel Posted July 31, 2022 Posted July 31, 2022 17 hours ago, euripides said: The other thing this thread brings to mind is actually writing out your ideas - maybe make a book /ebook? When I had to learn something a while ago, someone suggested writing a textbook' on it, because nothing makes you learn better than explaining it. Writing your own Tarot book is a good idea. I started with my Tarot Journal and I put al my notes together in a digital file. If I see an interesting article I put it in my file. Al my Tarot thoughts and collected articles are in that file. It is a very huge file, it has more pages than a standard Tarot book. I made a PDF of it, so I can have a digital copy on my phone or tablet. This Tarot Journal ebook has grown my Tarot knowledge. Some cards have more notes than others, but for me this was the best system to learn Tarot.
Pretzel Posted August 1, 2022 Author Posted August 1, 2022 On 7/31/2022 at 9:48 AM, euripides said: I was thinking I probably need to spend some time on a specific system/author - we can so easily end up with a big melting-pot of ideas that doesn't really do any of them justice, you know? Like just reading the Druidcraft and doing a lot of reading of Druidry-related texts like the Mabinogion. I've been seeing some really interesting readings here where people are using astrological correspondences, and it's something I'd love to do more on, though it's going to have to wait until I have more time to properly approach the dauntingly huge body of knowledge that entails. So anyway, that might be an approach you could consider - a really deep dive into a specific tarot-adjacent system. Yes, that's what I love doing, looking at tarot-adjacent systems. I don't see it as a melting-pot though, I see it as a tool box of resources. Having said that, I'm just interested in what others do rather than asking a question for me specifically. It's interesting to see different ways people learn, and specifically when you're using using decks that use different imagery or symbols.
firepage Posted August 18, 2022 Posted August 18, 2022 Aside from reading about the cards ~as I go~ I've been finding it pretty helpful to watch pick-a-card readings on youtube. While I don't think those videos offer reliable readings (unless you feel VERY intuitively drawn to one of them) I still think it's a really good way to study how other readers interpret the cards. Just the way they tie the knots and relate the cards to different situations. 🙂
SlightlyMagic Posted August 18, 2022 Posted August 18, 2022 When I get a new deck I'll lay them out like this and have a good ponder. I'll sometimes leave them out a few days and keep returning to them. Great way to quickly familiarise yourself with the deck, see the flow and find little details to have a good think on.
legendaryelement Posted August 19, 2022 Posted August 19, 2022 (edited) Thank you so much for sharing the pic, @SlightlyMagic 💞👍🏻 That reminds me of the thread on AT by Melanchollic … https://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=112327 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzPGcwQ5m1VYcW11QXFqQUR5dm8/view?resourcekey=0-qQdOA2WAx9F8FxvYclFuCw And another by dangerdork https://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=84592 Edited August 19, 2022 by legendaryelement links
Pretzel Posted August 19, 2022 Author Posted August 19, 2022 10 hours ago, SlightlyMagic said: When I get a new deck I'll lay them out like this and have a good ponder. I'll sometimes leave them out a few days and keep returning to them. Great way to quickly familiarise yourself with the deck, see the flow and find little details to have a good think on. That's brilliant. I remember doing that with my Rider Waite when I first started. I wonder why I haven't done that with other decks? lol. I'm thinking I'l do that with with my Tarot Illuminati and Tarot Apokalypsis. Should be interesting. Thanks!
Pretzel Posted August 19, 2022 Author Posted August 19, 2022 11 hours ago, firepage said: Aside from reading about the cards ~as I go~ I've been finding it pretty helpful to watch pick-a-card readings on youtube. While I don't think those videos offer reliable readings (unless you feel VERY intuitively drawn to one of them) I still think it's a really good way to study how other readers interpret the cards. Just the way they tie the knots and relate the cards to different situations. 🙂 Yes! Take a look at White Feather Tarot. I keep listening to see if it's 'general', but dang there's some specifics there. I love the way she really uses the images to tell a story, not just regular meanings. Thanks for sharing 🙂
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