Tarot Mentor

[Guest]

There are lots of schools left that would employ tarot cards to some extent or another. Most of them offer mentoring after you have attained a certain level. If you live in a big enough city there will be gatherings that are public and you can meet some really interesting people. You never know who you will meet at a gathering If I lived in the city still I would definitely be a member of O.T.O. it is just too far for me to drive.

 

 

[Marina]

On 1/6/2018 at 5:52 AM, EmpyreanKnight said:

Does anybody here have a mentor/s who actually took you under their wings and taught you face-to-face all that they know about the Tarot? It can be an old relative or your parents even, if the gift has been passed down your family line for generations. It can be a close friend who happened to be an expert, or a Tarot luminary who saw your promise. It can be gratis or it may involve an exchange of resources, as long as you had a close and sincere bond with them while you were under their tutelage.

 

I've never been that lucky... pretty much everything I learnt in terms of divination, I learnt on my own.... reading, practising and exchanging ideas in forums like this one. The clostest I came to have someone helping me with my divination practice directly was my contact with Ana Cortez, creator of the PCO, who I have known for a few years. But she lives faw away from me and our exchanges always happened in collective virtual spaces ("mentor" makes me think of someone who works more individually with you).

 

In the past, I used to long for a mentor-like figure. But I have always been alone in my spiritual practices, which involves (for me) the divination/tarot side. They say that "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear". My never did - maybe this student here was never ready, lol! 😂 Anyway, I like exchanging and expanding my views in forums... they are a wonderful learning tool!

[joy]

16 hours ago, marinaoracles said:

I've never been that lucky... pretty much everything I learnt in terms of divination, I learnt on my own.... reading, practising and exchanging ideas in forums like this one. The clostest I came to have someone helping me with my divination practice directly was my contact with Ana Cortez, creator of the PCO, who I have known for a few years. But she lives faw away from me and our exchanges always happened in collective virtual spaces ("mentor" makes me think of someone who works more individually with you).

 

In the past, I used to long for a mentor-like figure. But I have always been alone in my spiritual practices, which involves (for me) the divination/tarot side. They say that "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear". My never did - maybe this student here was never ready, lol! 😂 Anyway, I like exchanging and expanding my views in forums... they are a wonderful learning tool!

 

There is also a down-side with a one-on-one mentor, sometimes those mentors become like Guru's and want to push their ideas into your head and do not let you explore. So maybe you did not need such a teacher as you are able to learn on your own with your own initiative 😉

[TheLoracular]

42 minutes ago, joy said:

 

There is also a down-side with a one-on-one mentor, sometimes those mentors become like Guru's and want to push their ideas into your head and do not let you explore. So maybe you did not need such a teacher as you are able to learn on your own with your own initiative 😉

 

Agreed.  A study partner is so much better (imo) than a mentor.   A collaborative side-by-side relationship rather than top-down.   AT was definitely that during my time there.  

I didn't have a study partner when I started tarot as a teenager but I did have Michael Snuffin in college.   We were room mates for a couple of years but it was the period that when we got together a couple times a month with tarot decks and drank copious amounts of Denny's coffee while we had books and cards spread out over a booth 🙂    I didn't help him write The Thoth Companion  per se, but I was among the principle people he bounced things off, and it was years of us doing that which led to him later publishing that book with Llewellyn.  

Collaborate learning is the best learning 🙂

 

[joy]

25 minutes ago, TheLoracular said:

 

Agreed.  A study partner is so much better (imo) than a mentor.   A collaborative side-by-side relationship rather than top-down.   AT was definitely that during my time there.  

I didn't have a study partner when I started tarot as a teenager but I did have Michael Snuffin in college.   We were room mates for a couple of years but it was the period that when we got together a couple times a month with tarot decks and drank copious amounts of Denny's coffee while we had books and cards spread out over a booth 🙂    I didn't help him write The Thoth Companion  per se, but I was among the principle people he bounced things off, and it was years of us doing that which led to him later publishing that book with Llewellyn.  

Collaborate learning is the best learning 🙂

 

Agreed a mentor might be good if you are stuck with a study partner.

How cool to have had Michael Snuffin as study partner!

[katrinka]

I do know readers who were initially taught by an aunt or a grandmother. But with no exceptions that I can think of, they moved beyond that and expanded with a lot of study and practice.
And the aunt or grandmother chose this person for a reason. When you think about what a mentor is, it's an artist or craftsman who carefully selects a person with exceptional natural ability and dedication. This person is taken under their wing, so to speak. The student is not someone who simply asks to be taught or plunks down the cash to take a course. The person being mentored is chosen to carry on the work of the artist. One does not make this decision lightly. The mentor is choosing someone to continue their work in ways that our finite lifespans do not allow for.

I think the word "mentor" gets thrown around a lot, to the point that it's becoming meaningless. But if you think about what it actually IS, you can see that it isn't something you can expect or go looking for. It either happens for you or it doesn't.

[gregory]

14 hours ago, TheLoracular said:

 

Agreed.  A study partner is so much better (imo) than a mentor.   A collaborative side-by-side relationship rather than top-down.   AT was definitely that during my time there.  

I didn't have a study partner when I started tarot as a teenager but I did have Michael Snuffin in college.   We were room mates for a couple of years but it was the period that when we got together a couple times a month with tarot decks and drank copious amounts of Denny's coffee while we had books and cards spread out over a booth 🙂    I didn't help him write The Thoth Companion  per se, but I was among the principle people he bounced things off, and it was years of us doing that which led to him later publishing that book with Llewellyn.  

Collaborate learning is the best learning 🙂

 Snuffin. I am jealous.

 

I'd rather have a study partner too - that way you aren't being led down any particular path. A mentor already has their way of doing things, and that is what you will learn. Like TheLoracular - AT was mine.

[DanielJUK]

AT was my mentor as well as what gregory said. People use this forum as their mentor now 🙂

AT had people with such tarot wisdom, authors, artists, readers with experience. Gregory, Nisaba and others. I learnt so much from their perspectives and importantly their experiences.

 

My worry about the "passing divination advice through the family" type of mentorship is you get a sort of mono-view. I have had readings from people taught by their Aunt or Grandma and only learnt one way of reading and it's a bit strange, especially if they have been taught different ideas of the more standard views of cards which has passed through many family members through time. Family members and mentors can give such great teachings and the basics  but you have to go out into the world and hear other views. Forums are wonderful because everyone gives their opinion, as they get more experienced you can discern the info, "I don't agree with this idea but it's cool, I respect their opinion".

 

Mentors are great for learning systems and the basics but you have to find your own way. I strongly recommend finding your own direction and what works best for you! We are all different readers, we have to work out our personal method 🙂. People are really different in how they learn and you have to try different methods to learn.

[Jewel]

On 9/24/2021 at 6:59 AM, DanielJUK said:

AT was my mentor as well as what gregory said. People use this forum as their mentor now 🙂

AT had people with such tarot wisdom, authors, artists, readers with experience. Gregory, Nisaba and others. I learnt so much from their perspectives and importantly their experiences.

 

Mentors are great for learning systems and the basics but you have to find your own way. I strongly recommend finding your own direction and what works best for you! We are all different readers, we have to work out our personal method 🙂. People are really different in how they learn and you have to try different methods to learn.

@DanielJUKsame here, AT was my primary mentoring source (I always wanted a mentor, but got many instead 😜).  When we had the mentorship program here on TT&M (which I loved) I always saw my role as a mentor to convey the basics to help those starting out find their own way, their own direction, their own voice.  You have to be open to their learning style, type of decks they like, etc. to help achieve that so it was more of a partnership because I could put some basic lessons together and we would apply them within the context of the interest of the person being mentored so it really was a partnership where we all learned something new.

 

Communities like AT and TT&M are amazing in this regard.  So much experience and readiness to help others from the challenges we each have faced in our learning journeys.  It is one of the things I love about tarot, it is a never ending learning journey not a destination ... and it is all the more fun when you can travel the road with others that enjoy as much as you do 🙂