Learning to intrepret: major arcana

[MysticMagus]

Hey everyone.

 

I've been watching several different people do readings and I'm working on starting at the basics with a three card spread with my RWS deck. (I decided to save the Thoth for later).

 

  It seems to me that the major arcana can be tricky to read because it's tempting to put too much emphasis on them in the intrepration. After all they have big, more archetypial meanings and more flashy artwork.

 

Here's an example. A person asked for a reading and asked about information about finding thier spirit guide. The past/present/future three card spread I got was Devil-ace of cups-five of swords.

It was real tempting to see the devil and freak out.

 

This was my interpretation though:

In your life before you were bound to earthly attachments and addictions that you were unaware of, maybe not substances but maybe to too many idle time wasters or worry about money. Now you have a new opportunity to start a new relationship with a spirit guide that will give you a renewal of your spirit and encouragement. However, it won't be easy and you'll find your new spirtual awarness may lead you into conflict with your old way of life and you'll have choose which way you really want to go. Do you want to seek your higher purpose or do you want to waste time and energy on petty trifles again?"

 

I liked that reading, it took a more balanced approach to the devil card. Also I took a possible you negative future outcome and rephrased it as a challenge that would need to be faced.

 

Any advice or feedback? Thanks!

 

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[Raggydoll]

Interesting topic! Since you did ask for advice, then I’ll try to give you some. My very first thought as I read your post was that your choice of spread seemed to not really be aimed at answering the question asked, and therefore the cards you drew did not really have a clear context. My advice is that you make sure that every card position has a precise and suitable definition, so that it gives you the optimal chance to receive an easily interpreted answer that directly relates to the clients query. My second tip would be to not categorize cards as good or negative and to try and refrain from too many assumptions around what a client needs or wants to hear. Sometimes they actually expect or even welcome certain answers that you dread giving. So by giving it too much of a positive spin then the true message might get lost in translation (I am not saying that this is what happened here, it’s just a general advice and some food for thought!  :love: )

[Grandma]

Ditto everything Raggydoll said.

 

I will add, though, that if you still look at your spread as a basic past-present-future, but change the question from finding your spirit guide to seeking general awareness, your interpretation of the cards is excellent.

 

You can decide for yourself if that is cheating (I don't think so) or a learning experience.  If it were me, I would go for it!

[MysticMagus]

Ditto everything Raggydoll said.

 

I will add, though, that if you still look at your spread as a basic past-present-future, but change the question from finding your spirit guide to seeking general awareness, your interpretation of the cards is excellent.

 

You can decide for yourself if that is cheating (I don't think so) or a learning experience.  If it were me, I would go for it!

I completely agree. Your intution was spot on. In reality I was more interested in the bigger, holistic picture. I cringe at the thought of giving someone love or money advice from tarot. I don't believe the cards can tell the future. I take a symbolic/archetypial approach and think the point of all magic should be mystical union with the Divine and not used for any material gain. Tarot is an amazing tool for learning to see the higher forces at work and to guide us on what parts of ourselves to refine.

 

someone was begging me for a reading and I tried it just to give myself some practice, trying to mimic readings I've seen done. But my true intentions/interests must have come out here.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Grandma]

I realize that I never addressed your main question, which was about interpreting the major arcana.  Does the Devil have a heavier meaning because it is a major, and if so, what exactly?

 

There have been and will continue to be interesting discussions about this issue.  You will most likely develop an evolving philosophy about this and other theories of interpretation.  There is definitely a niche at TT&M for those of us who love to approach tarot from this perspective and I don't need to read the cards to see that you will be a great addition to this group.  (That's a joke - I don't read predictively.)

 

I personally give more weight in my readings to majors.  So what do you think, MysticMagus - does this reading show that the danger is in the past and its power therefore diminished?  Is it a warning of the continuing pervasive influence of the past?  Something else?  No special emphasis?  Any ideas?

[sandrang123]

You are correct in that Trumps carry more significance and are weightier in terms of meaning and placement. That being said, I don't really view any Trump as being negative. Some lessons, however, might feel harder than others, depending upon outlook. Here what it would say (to me, anyway) is that there does seem to be relatively large baggage in the past. So if you are asking in the context of Spirit Guides and finding them, what I'm seeing is that this particular person has had a lot of restraint placed upon them in this aspect of development--in terms of Spiritual outlook, how they should think or feel or behave, how "in the norm" they have to present themselves, despite their own desire to break free from that. The limitations have been great, and here, in the present, there is a desire to find one's own self love and truth and higher power. That's a good one, but there is bound to be struggle given the significance of the past. And an Ace is a young card, so they are just feeling it out and unsure in what to do next.

 

Hold on...I'm not seeing the third card. Will post next. AMENDED: Oh, 5 of Swords. There will continue to be struggle but largely for "show" or what the person needs to present. This could mean they are still hiding themselves when with family.

 

My advice, given by the Devil, too: Break free. Own it. This may take some time though. They are not really ready, so focus on ways to encourage them more.

 

Hey everyone.

 

I've been watching several different people do readings and I'm working on starting at the basics with a three card spread with my RWS deck. (I decided to save the Thoth for later).

 

  It seems to me that the major arcana can be tricky to read because it's tempting to put too much emphasis on them in the intrepration. After all they have big, more archetypial meanings and more flashy artwork.

 

Here's an example. A person asked for a reading and asked about information about finding thier spirit guide. The past/present/future three card spread I got was Devil-ace of cups-five of swords.

It was real tempting to see the devil and freak out.

 

This was my interpretation though:

In your life before you were bound to earthly attachments and addictions that you were unaware of, maybe not substances but maybe to too many idle time wasters or worry about money. Now you have a new opportunity to start a new relationship with a spirit guide that will give you a renewal of your spirit and encouragement. However, it won't be easy and you'll find your new spirtual awarness may lead you into conflict with your old way of life and you'll have choose which way you really want to go. Do you want to seek your higher purpose or do you want to waste time and energy on petty trifles again?"

 

I liked that reading, it took a more balanced approach to the devil card. Also I took a possible you negative future outcome and rephrased it as a challenge that would need to be faced.

 

Any advice or feedback? Thanks!

 

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[sandrang123]

Argh. I think my post got embedded in your post. Not sure how to fix that. Posting again.

 

You are correct in that Trumps carry more significance and are weightier in terms of meaning and placement. That being said, I don't really view any Trump as being negative. Some lessons, however, might feel harder than others, depending upon outlook. Here what it would say (to me, anyway) is that there does seem to be relatively large baggage in the past. So if you are asking in the context of Spirit Guides and finding them, what I'm seeing is that this particular person has had a lot of restraint placed upon them in this aspect of development--in terms of Spiritual outlook, how they should think or feel or behave, how "in the norm" they have to present themselves, despite their own desire to break free from that. The limitations have been great, and here, in the present, there is a desire to find one's own self love and truth and higher power. That's a good one, but there is bound to be struggle given the significance of the past. And an Ace is a young card, so they are just feeling it out and unsure in what to do next.

 

Hold on...I'm not seeing the third card. Will post next. AMENDED: Oh, 5 of Swords. There will continue to be struggle but largely for "show" or what the person needs to present. This could mean they are still hiding themselves when with family, even as they continue to search for their own truth. Actually, if there is a lot of negativity around issues of esoteric or "non-mainstream" religion, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, to "play" at their game while pursuing truer realms.

[MysticMagus]

Argh. I think my post got embedded in your post. Not sure how to fix that. Posting again.

 

You are correct in that Trumps carry more significance and are weightier in terms of meaning and placement. That being said, I don't really view any Trump as being negative. Some lessons, however, might feel harder than others, depending upon outlook. Here what it would say (to me, anyway) is that there does seem to be relatively large baggage in the past. So if you are asking in the context of Spirit Guides and finding them, what I'm seeing is that this particular person has had a lot of restraint placed upon them in this aspect of development--in terms of Spiritual outlook, how they should think or feel or behave, how "in the norm" they have to present themselves, despite their own desire to break free from that. The limitations have been great, and here, in the present, there is a desire to find one's own self love and truth and higher power. That's a good one, but there is bound to be struggle given the significance of the past. And an Ace is a young card, so they are just feeling it out and unsure in what to do next.

 

Hold on...I'm not seeing the third card. Will post next. AMENDED: Oh, 5 of Swords. There will continue to be struggle but largely for "show" or what the person needs to present. This could mean they are still hiding themselves when with family, even as they continue to search for their own truth. Actually, if there is a lot of negativity around issues of esoteric or "non-mainstream" religion, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, to "play" at their game while pursuing truer realms.

That's a nice interpretion. Thanks for sharing it.

I love how the same cards can be read in pretty different ways. Your reading brings in themes of family. Was there anything in cards themselves that suggested that to you? Was it intution? Your personal experience with your own journey? Your experience of doing readings for others?

 

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[sandrang123]

Dear One, I have talkative Spirits who sometimes speak up during readings and elsewhere.

 

But here (as I'm seeing it, at least), the Devil helps with future release, too. So there's no need to feel scared of it.

 

All Best,

Sandy

[MysticMagus]

I realize that I never addressed your main question, which was about interpreting the major arcana.  Does the Devil have a heavier meaning because it is a major, and if so, what exactly?

 

There have been and will continue to be interesting discussions about this issue.  You will most likely develop an evolving philosophy about this and other theories of interpretation.  There is definitely a niche at TT&M for those of us who love to approach tarot from this perspective and I don't need to read the cards to see that you will be a great addition to this group.  (That's a joke - I don't read predictively.)

 

I personally give more weight in my readings to majors.  So what do you think, MysticMagus - does this reading show that the danger is in the past and its power therefore diminished?  Is it a warning of the continuing pervasive influence of the past?  Something else?  No special emphasis?  Any ideas?

Such good questions!

I've gained a lot of respect for the people here on this forum by their very thoughtful and insightful posts.

I would think that the major arcana have greater detail in the artwork and in their description in most books, that to the designers of the tarot, they did mean more. They were what the authors thought were the key spirtual archetypes that were the most important.

But I suppose it depends on the person doing the reading. For example, I feel a very strong connection with the queen of cups due to my interest in expressions of the divine feminine. So when that card comes up I make a bigger deal out of it.

The devil itself is a really tough one to talk about. I can see now how my own worldview colored my reading, even talking about idle activies being an addiction. That's a very gnositic and hermetic way of looking at the devil. A Christain might be think more about sin. Someone with a history of substance abuse might have a different reaction.

 

That's what I love about the Tarot. Really it's a conversation with yourself thru symbol that allows you to really uncover things within your own pysche.

 

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[Grandma]

That's what I love about the Tarot. Really it's a conversation with yourself thru symbol that allows you to really uncover things within your own pysche.

 

This quote has gone straight into my journal - you can see it here -

https://www.thetarotforum.com/journals/let's-go-to-grandma's-house!/msg69524/#msg69524

 

[MysticMagus]

That's what I love about the Tarot. Really it's a conversation with yourself thru symbol that allows you to really uncover things within your own pysche.

 

This quote has gone straight into my journal - you can see it here -

https://www.thetarotforum.com/journals/let's-go-to-grandma's-house!/msg69524/#msg69524

Thank you that's very kind!

 

I shared a poem I wrote that I think you'll like. I'm greatful for places like this.

 

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ethetarotforum%2Ecom%2Findex%2Ephp%3Ftopic%3D5680%2E0&share_tid=5680&share_fid=1945662&share_type=t

 

Poem, "Pneumatics (Mystics)"

 

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