Few question from complete novice

January 28

On 1/23/2025 at 9:51 AM, Raggydoll said:

It’s not about your belief system, it’s about which decks you click with. The imagery and style of a deck plays a role. Other aspects might matter as well, such as the size of a deck or the cardstock. I have yet to meet an experienced reader that says they have no preferences when it comes to their deck(s) of choice.

In a way, it’s like asking a hairdresser if they would use any scissor for their work. Every hairdresser I’ve come across has some sort of preference for which brands or models they work best with. It’s a tool, and spirituality doesn’t have to play a role in it.

Now I start to understand you even more .Because I was browsing decks just for fun and I found out that I don`t look at them like dislike anymore ,but like you said work don`t work category. I am no tarot master like all of you guys but this is growing on me too

January 28

On 1/23/2025 at 7:30 PM, Troll said:

I can`t see how to get no ,bad or danger using keyword method if all keywords are positive ?

If the keywords don't work for you - look at the card. I haven't used keywords in years - the feeling that the card gives off. NO card is all positive or negative. AS I have said many times - I once pulled 10 Swords as suggesting a happy marriage, My sitter totally got it.

January 28

6 hours ago, gregory said:

I once pulled 10 Swords as suggesting a happy marriage, My sitter totally got it.

It could suggest that. Marriage means you can finally stop the insanity we refer to as "dating." You can rest. And the single phase of your life is over. Plus you sacrifice some of your individuality. It works on a lot of levels.

I still like having good cards and bad cards, and I don't sugarcoat the bad ones. Rather, it's about context. The Tarocco Bolognese can view Death as a 'yes' card: “Sicuro come la morte”, i.e., “As sure as the fact that we all die”. This blogger hooked me into ordering a deck. It's so cartomantic. 💘 But back to context, it would depend on the question and nearby cards. Sometimes it's nice when Mr. Thrifty shows up. Sometimes it isn't.

January 28

1 hour ago, katrinka said:

It could suggest that. Marriage means you can finally stop the insanity we refer to as "dating." You can rest. And the single phase of your life is over. Plus you sacrifice some of your individuality. It works on a lot of levels.

I still like having good cards and bad cards, and I don't sugarcoat the bad ones. Rather, it's about context. The Tarocco Bolognese can view Death as a 'yes' card: “Sicuro come la morte”, i.e., “As sure as the fact that we all die”. This blogger hooked me into ordering a deck. It's so cartomantic. 💘 But back to context, it would depend on the question and nearby cards. Sometimes it's nice when Mr. Thrifty shows up. Sometimes it isn't.

Thank you for this insight.For me as philosophy student(one course at good uni) it is all about my thinking and thinking about context of cards give not cards themself. So things you wrote really resonates with me

January 28

8 hours ago, gregory said:

If the keywords don't work for you - look at the card. I haven't used keywords in years - the feeling that the card gives off. NO card is all positive or negative. AS I have said many times - I once pulled 10 Swords as suggesting a happy marriage, My sitter totally got it.

They do as starting point of my thinking and have lead me to a few stunning realizations.Enter with keywords stay for the context

January 28

That works. But you will soon get to the stage where the key words feel irrelevant.

January 28

3 hours ago, katrinka said:

It could suggest that. Marriage means you can finally stop the insanity we refer to as "dating." You can rest. And the single phase of your life is over. Plus you sacrifice some of your individuality. It works on a lot of levels.

It was more a matter of this one actually IS a good guy and you can finally stop fretting about whether it was your fault the last one was such a total controlling dickhead (no it was NOT). An end to him; be happy

January 28

3 minutes ago, gregory said:

That works. But you will soon get to the stage where the key words feel irrelevant.

Keywords, yes, essences no.
For example, keywords for the Lenormand Flowers, might be beauty, invitation, gift, flowers, art, etc. They can't all apply at the same time.
But the essence is arrangement. It's always relevant.
It takes some time and work, trial and error to distill a card down to its essence.
Keywords are training wheels. Essences are what the cards just are.

10 minutes ago, gregory said:

t was more a matter of this one actually IS a good guy and you can finally stop fretting about whether it was your fault the last one was such a total controlling dickhead (no it was NOT). An end to him; be happy

It's always nice when controlling dickheads end up as Mister Pincushion. :lol:

January 28

25 minutes ago, gregory said:

That works. But you will soon get to the stage where the key words feel irrelevant.

But isn`t for those who believe that Tarot can give you information you didn`t know before you started shuffling ?I don`t believe you can ,but on other hand everything you can think of is possible in certain circumstances ,also last week me thinking that you can feel will deck work for you was strange. So thinking and ideas are fluid

January 28

If you don't believe the cards "can give you information you didn`t know before", why bother with them? I'd just take up crochet or something. I like getting something from the work I put in. 😉

January 28

5 minutes ago, katrinka said:

If you don't believe the cards "can give you information you didn`t know before", why bother with them? I'd just take up crochet or something. I like getting something from the work I put in. 😉

Because there are things I didn`t know I know and for philosopher questions are almost always more important then answers .I just find that tarot can boost your thinking in unseen ways. And for guys who had to leave studies because of bad health Tarot could be a great way to study philosophy on my own

January 28

Well - have an example. I did a one card reading in an exchange on AT, back in the day. It was a general reading, on someone I had never met IRL, and I learned a lot about my partner that I didn't know - and I don't use keywords or "traditional meanings" at all, as katrinka can verify. At the very end, I noticed something on the card - there was a kitten, with a sore eye. And I just said to her - this is a bit off the wall, but do you have a problem with your eye - you might like to see a doctor. She just laughed it off and said maybe. Some years later she admitted to me that she had glaucoma, she had in fact known this, and had refused to see a doctor as she hates doctors. She was blind in that eye, the last I heard - but did at least see a doctor before she lost the sight in her other eye; that was when she came back and told me I'd been right and she had known that at the time.

Please do explain this using key words. I had no idea; I left the exchange still having no idea. But it was RIGHT THERE for real.

Actually - have a look at the card I drew - man, must be 15 years ago now. See how that kind of thing can show up out of the blue - with no keyword or anything.

January 28

2 hours ago, Troll said:

Because there are things I didn`t know I know and for philosopher questions are almost always more important then answers .I just find that tarot can boost your thinking in unseen ways. And for guys who had to leave studies because of bad health Tarot could be a great way to study philosophy on my own

In that sense, yeah, it could be a lifeline.

January 28

First off that`s very cool story ,and Tarot can be used to talk to your subconsciousness ,and it may have straight connection with God and have all answers to universe.Like you said if you do Tarot long enough you don`t need keywords ,you are a keyword yourself ,you don`t need a keyword to enter realm of subconsciousness.You become keyword (door)yourself. As for me I would use Pitsci keyword for 5 that is change ,change in health(can be one 100 possibilities) ,but because this picture reminds me myself as kid,kid with cerebral palsy I would probably read it like a change in health .Because that is the change that my subconsciousness and this picture resonates it.If I was going through a divorce I would say that this is family separation .

January 28

6 minutes ago, katrinka said:

In that sense, yeah, it could be a lifeline.

I keep my mind open and I have nothing to lose only gain,I am here to learn

January 28

56 minutes ago, gregory said:

Well - have an example. I did a one card reading in an exchange on AT, back in the day. It was a general reading, on someone I had never met IRL, and I learned a lot about my partner that I didn't know - and I don't use keywords or "traditional meanings" at all, as katrinka can verify. At the very end, I noticed something on the card - there was a kitten, with a sore eye. And I just said to her - this is a bit off the wall, but do you have a problem with your eye - you might like to see a doctor. She just laughed it off and said maybe. Some years later she admitted to me that she had glaucoma, she had in fact known this, and had refused to see a doctor as she hates doctors. She was blind in that eye, the last I heard - but did at least see a doctor before she lost the sight in her other eye; that was when she came back and told me I'd been right and she had known that at the time.

Please do explain this using key words. I had no idea; I left the exchange still having no idea. But it was RIGHT THERE for real.

Actually - have a look at the card I drew - man, must be 15 years ago now. See how that kind of thing can show up out of the blue - with no keyword or anything.

First off that`s very cool story ,and Tarot can be used to talk to your subconsciousness ,and it may have straight connection with God and have all answers to universe.Like you said if you do Tarot long enough you don`t need keywords ,you are a keyword yourself ,you don`t need a keyword to enter realm of subconsciousness.You become keyword (door)yourself. As for me I would use Pitsci keyword for 5 that is change ,change in health(can be one 100 possibilities) ,but because this picture reminds me myself as kid,kid with cerebral palsy I would probably read it like a change in health .Because that is the change that my subconsciousness and this picture resonates it.If I was going through a divorce I would say that this is family separation .

January 28

47 minutes ago, gregory said:

I don't use keywords or "traditional meanings" at all, as katrinka can verify.

You don't employ them, but your interpretations always seem to fall within the bounds of them anyway. I'm guessing because you love Tarot and you've been sponging it up for years?
A properly illustrated Tarot deck is an expression of the intended meanings anyway. All roads lead to Rome, etc.

50 minutes ago, gregory said:

Please do explain this using key words. I had no idea; I left the exchange still having no idea. But it was RIGHT THERE for real.

It's a card of poverty and hardship. "Doing without." While your friend might have been able to afford doctors, she was still "doing without" because she didn't like them. Same result as that little feral kitten with the bad eye.

The Baba decks work because Karen knows RWS so well. A person with no Tarot experience whatsoever could probably draw a card and come up with something close to what Waite intended.

Not all decks are like that. Here's a card from the notoriously awful Beautiful Creatures Tarot:

2 of Waters should be 2 of Cups, right? I'm not seeing 2 of Cups here. I'm seeing a pregnant woman with a plague doctor. He's holding her hand, she's rolling her eyes. Oh my, there's plague going around! She's probably worried about her baby. Why is the cat grinning? Will it slay the evil rats who bring fleas, or does it have fleas itself that will infect everyone?

The card doesn't say "love" to me. 🤣

Do cards like this give you the same accuracy rate that you get with normal cards?

January 28

10 minutes ago, katrinka said:

You don't employ them, but your interpretations always seem to fall within the bounds of them anyway. I'm guessing because you love Tarot and you've been sponging it up for years?
A properly illustrated Tarot deck is an expression of the intended meanings anyway. All roads lead to Rome, etc.

It's a card of poverty and hardship. "Doing without." While your friend might have been able to afford doctors, she was still "doing without" because she didn't like them. Same result as that little feral kitten with the bad eye.

The Baba decks work because Karen knows RWS so well. A person with no Tarot experience whatsoever could probably draw a card and come up with something close to what Waite intended.

Not all decks are like that. Here's a card from the notoriously awful Beautiful Creatures Tarot:

2 of Waters should be 2 of Cups, right? I'm not seeing 2 of Cups here. I'm seeing a pregnant woman with a plague doctor. He's holding her hand, she's rolling her eyes. Oh my, there's plague going around! She's probably worried about her baby. Why is the cat grinning? Will it slay the evil rats who bring fleas, or does it have fleas itself that will infect everyone?

The card doesn't say "love" to me. 🤣

Do cards like this give you the same accuracy rate that you get with normal cards?

Two are choice and all words that are associates leading to more traditional like unity, partnership, attraction, connection, close bonds, joining forces, mutual respect .And for me this show many situations I need to make a choice .First is to get a priest and do an exorcism on cat

January 29

11 minutes ago, Troll said:

First is to get a priest and do an exorcism on cat

Definitely! That cat is pure eldritch horror.

January 29

10 hours ago, katrinka said:

You don't employ them, but your interpretations always seem to fall within the bounds of them anyway. I'm guessing because you love Tarot and you've been sponging it up for years?
A properly illustrated Tarot deck is an expression of the intended meanings anyway. All roads lead to Rome, etc.

It's a card of poverty and hardship. "Doing without." While your friend might have been able to afford doctors, she was still "doing without" because she didn't like them. Same result as that little feral kitten with the bad eye.

The Baba decks work because Karen knows RWS so well. A person with no Tarot experience whatsoever could probably draw a card and come up with something close to what Waite intended.

Not all decks are like that. Here's a card from the notoriously awful Beautiful Creatures Tarot:

2 of Waters should be 2 of Cups, right? I'm not seeing 2 of Cups here. I'm seeing a pregnant woman with a plague doctor. He's holding her hand, she's rolling her eyes. Oh my, there's plague going around! She's probably worried about her baby. Why is the cat grinning? Will it slay the evil rats who bring fleas, or does it have fleas itself that will infect everyone?

The card doesn't say "love" to me. 🤣

Do cards like this give you the same accuracy rate that you get with normal cards?

It's odd you should ask. I don't note the card title, so I wouldn't have to think about love - though "to be fair" :lol: the plague doctor could be holding her hand because he loves her as a friend and is reassuring her that all is well. He seems to be blessing her with his other hand. And cats are just their own thing.

I have never seen that card as referring only to romantic love; they could be two very good friends and she's rolling her eyes as in "I don't BELIEVE you..." Maybe he's even dressed like that beciaue they are on the way to a fancy dress party, even. That's enough to make a cat laugh.

That aside though - someone once said if I only used the images, I should be able to read with ANY images. I already knew oracle decks do nothing for me, so I tried with a few magazine pictures. Nothing. ONLY tarot cards work for me. I have come to think it is because the creators (on the whole) put tarot into their cards for readers to pick up. As I did with mine - several people have queried some of the cards. Solandia was the funniest, on my 7 Cups... but when I say why I did whatever (I was deliberately using accepted tradition when I put them together; I was trying to learn from creating) they get it at once. Except one member here who refuses to accept some of my cards. Fine by me.

But that actual specific eye thing was very weird.

Edited January 29 by gregory

January 29

7 hours ago, gregory said:

It's odd you should ask. I don't note the card title, so I wouldn't have to think about love - though "to be fair" the plague doctor could be holding her hand because he loves her as a friend and is reassuring her that all is well. He seems to be blessing her with his other hand. And cats are just their own thing.

I have never seen that card as referring only to romantic love; they could be two very good friends and she's rolling her eyes as in "I don't BELIEVE you..." Maybe he's even dressed like that beciaue they are on the way to a fancy dress party, even. That's enough to make a cat laugh.

You can spin anything, gregs. You could have had a brilliant career writing political speeches, but you'd have had to jettison your ethics. Ugh.
And yes, love is love and it could be Eros or Agape. Tarot gets that.

But speaking for myself, I prefer not to read a card as "It could be this, but it could also be just the opposite. " I like good, solid road signs and mile markers.

This is handy. I'm not saying anybody should learn this by rote, but it's worth reading. It's a good overview of Waite, Crowley, Book T, and Paul Foster Case.
Two of Cups
The basic overall consensus is that it's a positive card. Of course love itself can be a disaster. A friend you trusted stabs you in the back, or the romantic brain chemicals wear off and you find yourself in a horrible situation with a horrible person. All of this is the reason I don't like reading single card draws.

7 hours ago, gregory said:

That aside though - someone once said if I only used the images, I should be able to read with ANY images. I already knew oracle decks do nothing for me, so I tried with a few magazine pictures. Nothing. ONLY tarot cards work for me. I have come to think it is because the creators (on the whole) put tarot into their cards for readers to pick up.

That's fascinating. How far off the beaten path of "regular" Tarot can you work with? Minchiate? Tarocco Bolognese?

7 hours ago, gregory said:

Except one member here who refuses to accept some of my cards. Fine by me.

???
You knocked that cat eye thing out of the park. I'd say you know what you're doing. And I'm normally not a fan of "intuitive" reading. Most people can't get good accuracy with it.
(By "intuitive" I mean reading off the pictures, not intuition as it's normally defined.)

Reading cards using a system does require using intuition along with rote meanings, we don't ignore the pictures. This is an interesting article:

Intuition: What It Is And How It Works

"Intuition relies on evolutionarily older, automatic, unconscious, and fast mental processing, primarily to save our brains time or energy. It also is prone to make mistakes, such as cognitive biases.

Intuition later in life arises from the accumulation of knowledge and experiences that are processed and stored in our brain's neural networks, as well as other cells and tissues in our bodies, allowing us to access this information quickly, often unconsciously.

"Malewska thinks that intuition is neither irrational nor the opposite of logic. Rather, it is a quicker and more automatic process that taps into the many deep resources of experience and knowledge that people have gathered over the course of their lives. Intuition, she believes, is an ability that can be trained and can play a constructive role in decision-making.

Whether we rely on our intuition or turn to sensible analysis to make a decision will largely depend on our past experiences. Most cognitive scientists maintain that intuitive and analytic thinking should not be viewed as opposites. Studies indicate that our decision-making often works best when we blend both strategies."

8 hours ago, gregory said:

But that actual specific eye thing was very weird.

Did you see this?
https://www.tarotforum.net/threads/baroque-bohemian-cats-five-of-pentacles.37605/

"We actually used a cat from the cat shelter here who really had lost an eye when he was young."

January 29

1 hour ago, katrinka said:

Did you see this?
https://www.tarotforum.net/threads/baroque-bohemian-cats-five-of-pentacles.37605/

"We actually used a cat from the cat shelter here who really had lost an eye when he was young."

Wow - no - I never saw that.

And no, I don't like calling it the "intuitive" method as that suggests other readers have no intuition. WAY back when, on AT, some of us started to call it the glorpish method, after something the fabulous Firemaiden (may she rest in peace) posted something like "waiting for the glorp to hit".

Edited January 29 by gregory

January 29

Super interesting read to see how two experts discusses how they see cards is just amazing

January 29

1 hour ago, Troll said:

Super interesting read to see how two experts discusses how they see cards is just amazing

Thanks, but there really aren't any experts. You could do this your whole life and never get to the bottom of it.

1 hour ago, gregory said:

WAY back when, on AT, some of us started to call it the glorpish method, after something the fabulous Firemaiden (may she rest in peace) posted something like "waiting for the glorp to hit".

I vote we bring glorp back. :grin:

I'm seeing a lot of words being used wrongly these days. Why not just coin new words instead? It's less confusing and a lot more fun.

And imagine the feeling of looking in the OED someday and finding "glorp." :party:

January 29

1 hour ago, Troll said:

Super interesting read to see how two experts discusses how they see cards is just amazing

We (Katrinka and I) have been arguing this one for YEARS - just not in public before.

28 minutes ago, katrinka said:

Thanks, but there really aren't any experts. You could do this your whole life and never get to the bottom of it.

EXACTLY !

28 minutes ago, katrinka said:

I vote we bring glorp back.

I'm seeing a lot of words being used wrongly these days. Why not just coin new words instead? It's less confusing and a lot more fun.

And imagine the feeling of looking in the OED someday and finding "glorp."

OK - though I think intuitive will have to stick for ISG - it has been known that way for over 20 years now.

But a fitting homage to Firemaiden.

Few question from complete novice

Recommended Posts

Troll

gregory

katrinka

Troll

Troll

gregory

gregory

katrinka

Troll

katrinka

Troll

gregory

katrinka

Troll

Troll

Troll

katrinka

Troll

katrinka

gregory

katrinka

gregory

Troll

katrinka

gregory

Home

Forums

Activity

Deck Library

Store

Important Information