lights_blind_me Posted January 23, 2023 Posted January 23, 2023 Hello everyone! I am new to the forums and a beginner in tarot reading. While there are a lot of resources on how to read specific tarot cards, what bugs me the most is: how can I work with my own intuition? I am not an intuitive person. So when i do readings either my mind (what I know makes sense) or my heart (what I would like it to be) get in the way. Is there any advice on how to identify the voice of your intuition and give it more space? Thanks everybody!
BradGad Posted January 23, 2023 Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) That’s a complicated topic that I don’t think there are quick answers for. It also happens to be the main thing I am working on right now. I am reading two books by Camilia Elias on intuitive reading that I am getting value out of: Marseille Tarot: Toward the Art of Reading and Read Like the Devil. (She uses the TdM in both books, but I think you could use her approach with any style deck.) Also, Tom Benjamin has some good videos on developing your reading intuition: search in YouTube for “tom benjamin tarot intution”. Edited January 23, 2023 by BradGad
lights_blind_me Posted January 23, 2023 Author Posted January 23, 2023 Thank you very much. I will look into those books! I know it's not an easy subject and in fact it's where I feel more lost... sometimes I am able to identify the "gut feeling" but it's for sure not always easy.
Grandma Posted January 23, 2023 Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) Welcome to TT&M @lights_blind_me. It's good that you see the value of reading intuitively. Many newcomers are overly reliant on traditional meanings and keywords until they develop some confidence in their skills. However, I think that is actually the better way to do it, just without the "overly". Intuitive reading must be hung on a framework of Tarot meanings or it's not Tarot. The best readers use combinations of traditional meanings, keywords, the author's and artist's intentions, the question, the spread, their own thoughts, ideas, and emotional responses to the cards, and more. This creates the synergy that is Tarot. By all means explore any resources on intuitive reading that others recommend. Also consider an online course in basic Tarot. I took Joan Bunning's free course at learntarot.com. And one of the most important things that you can do is read as many threads on personal readings, technique, and card meanings as you can here in the forum. Jump in with comments and questions. TT&M is a learning community. People who have been reading for years learn from people who are just starting out as well as the other way around. You say that "I am not an intuitive person. So when i do readings either my mind (what I know makes sense) or my heart (what I would like it to be) get in the way". That you are able to sort out what you know from what you feel sounds like a pretty intuitive to me, and maybe some of what is "getting in the way" of what you see as your intuition is actually your intuition. Don't sell yourself short. Also keep in mind that we all develop our own styles through practice, and some of us incorporate intuition into our readings more than others. And if you get a chance, visit me at my journal thread, Welcome Back to Grandma's House. Lots of Tarot talk and lots of hot chocolate. Edited January 23, 2023 by Grandma
Misterei Posted January 23, 2023 Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, lights_blind_me said: ... how can I work with my own intuition? I am not an intuitive person. So when i do readings either my mind (what I know makes sense) or my heart (what I would like it to be) get in the way. Hi @lights_blind_me. There is no one size fits all. Intuition is intensely private and personal. You can't learn it from books or videos. That being said: Meditation, pranayam, and hatha yoga practices can help purify the mind and increase intuitive sensitivity Practice reading Tarot predictively on low-stakes topics (for example predicting the plot line of a TV show, an election, a sports event) ... and note when you're right or wrong. Release the need to TRY being intuitive. It's a muscle ... use it and it gets stronger. Simple cause and effect. It WILL happen. Read Tarot some more. And some more. You "work out" your intuition every time you read. Again, choose low-stakes topics. Just like lifting weights ... you can hurt yourself if you go too heavy at first. Build up slowly. The beauty of Tarot is that its a balanced modality. If you're rational it will build your intuition over time. If you're intuitive, the intellectual study of its symbolism builds your rationality over time. Meditate on the Priestess Card. Do body scans and explore where emotions live in your body. Intuition often is experienced in the gut, the heart, the third eye, or elsewhere in the body. There are many free "body scan" type meditations on Insight Timer or YT. Some are cr@p, some are great. Keep practicing. It will happen. Maybe quickly maybe slowly. Some wightlifters "bulk up" faster than others ... but create the causes and the effects will follow. Edited January 23, 2023 by Misterei
Raggydoll Posted January 23, 2023 Posted January 23, 2023 I agree with grandma: if you wish to be an intuitive tarot reader then you first must learn tarot. Learning tarot is very much like learning a language and there are no real shortcuts. Study and practice, and you’ll make progress. However, you can practice intuitive divination in general. It’s possible to read anything intuitively. And with practice, it’s possible to perform readings without any tools at all. In my experience, the most important thing when developing intuition is to trust in it. Whatever comes to mind, speak it out loud. In the beginning you may struggle to accurately interpret your intuitive input. That’s normal. Just keep practicing, and once you feel that you can ‘hear’ the intuitive information clearly, it is time to start assessing accuracy. Best of luck!
DanielJUK Posted January 23, 2023 Posted January 23, 2023 Definitely it's an individual process and working out what works for you. I like the idea of what do all your senses get from a card image when you look at it? Some people work better with seeing it like a film or a story with what happens before and after. I like to describe what I am seeing and then look at what symbols or objects or area of the card really draws me in and calls out to me. It's reading the card visually but also how do I feel and what do I get from any of my senses? You need to practice it, it's like learning to play the piano. The more you use it, the easier it gets. It's also about finding confidence with it, it's like a skill that you eventually you trust in. If you do learn the cards at a basic level, you have the general ideas and basic meanings for each card. It's worth having that foundation level to fall back on. Practising reading the cards helps you to learn when you go with your intuition with it and when not to. It's something I definitely something got better at. It really helped me in my first year of tarot to do a daily card. Take a card at the start of the day (or end of the day as a review of the day) and read up on the card learning about it and the generic meanings, Then spend some minutes meditating on it or using your intuition (or whatever your practice), what do you intuitively get from it as a message? Then you can see if the card reflected the day. Doing this regularly, you should see the card show something that happens in the day or the theme of the day, it fill fit (often in quite a nuanced way) but it's a great way to practice. Good luck!
lights_blind_me Posted January 23, 2023 Author Posted January 23, 2023 Thank you everyone! I will for sure catch up on learning more about tarot and reading more about it. I currently have a basic knowledge of most of the cards, so I just go on YouTube and see people do readings. I try to guess my own interpretation of the reading and compare it to that of the video. Sometimes the video gives me insight of things I did not consider, but sometimes some interpretations don't really vibe with me. I also need to read more about it, I know! The question about intuition was related to tarot, but not exclusively. I work as a scientist and my rational mind is my means to perceive the world. I am also very sensitive and used to mind-heart conflict so it's kinda easy to identify those two voices. But my gut feeling is very, very hard to identify. I wanted to work on my intuition not just for tarot but for guidance in life in general. I will for sure apply all of the advice you have given me and tell you how that goes 🙂 Again, thank you so much!
KiMo Posted January 24, 2023 Posted January 24, 2023 Do you work with your dreams at all @lights_blind_me? It's obviously not a practise that's directly related to the tarot and its imagery, but it may help to strengthen the bond between symbols or themes and your intuition when it's not being filtered by the mind. By the sounds of it I'm in a similar space to you where I have strong mental and emotional self awareness, but because listening to my intuition was not something that was encouraged when I was growing up, it's now a conscious effort for me to develop that skill. My dreams have always been very rich so it's been an 'easy' area of my life to focus on to help me along that path of learning. Writing your dreams down is a great place to start, and something that I've reminded myself of a lot is that it doesn't have to be a perfect or minutely detailed recall to be effective. Even the most basic remembered flashes are a place to start. Eventually certain defined symbols and / or themes will start to present themselves, like a trail of breadcrumbs. One important thing I also learned was that it's not just about analysing these symbols mentally and trying to decode them after the fact, it's also about taking note of how these symbols made you *feel* in the moment. That's where the key is I think.
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