chongjasmine Posted September 27, 2017 Posted September 27, 2017 Do you write down what you interpret from the tarot? I don't journal. Not for tarot, anyway. Yet, it is recommended by most tarot books that a practitioner should journal. Am I at a disadvantage, since I don't journal?
Bodhiseed Posted September 27, 2017 Posted September 27, 2017 I do, but not in longhand, written form. I have a blog where I post my daily draws and write about them. I've found that writing/typing my thoughts helps to bring out the intuitive side of my readings.
Lantana Posted September 27, 2017 Posted September 27, 2017 I have an instagram account where I post daily draws and monthly challenges, you could view that as a sort of public journal. I also have an actual journal that I use to write down my longer or more personal spreads. If something is important (like a spread for the upcoming year) I might type it up in Evernote for easy reference. Journalling is useful for being able to put your thoughts into written word (physical or digital) and being able to reference it later. If you don't feel the need, than I'd say you're not missing anything. I didn't keep a regular journal until three years into my tarot practice anyway.
chongjasmine Posted September 27, 2017 Author Posted September 27, 2017 I have an instagram account where I post daily draws and monthly challenges, you could view that as a sort of public journal. I also have an actual journal that I use to write down my longer or more personal spreads. If something is important (like a spread for the upcoming year) I might type it up in Evernote for easy reference. Journalling is useful for being able to put your thoughts into written word (physical or digital) and being able to reference it later. If you don't feel the need, than I'd say you're not missing anything. I didn't keep a regular journal until three years into my tarot practice anyway. Thanks. I am still a newbie in the world of tarot. When I become more experienced, I might keep a journal.
Esk Posted September 27, 2017 Posted September 27, 2017 I do too. When I begun reading cards I followed the advice of writing a journal. It helped me memorizing the meanings and studying my readings. Then I stopped this practise during many months, but I'm doing it again now. For me it's useful. It helps me going deeper in the reading and the meanning of each cards, and I like to go back to the spreads I do after some time has passed. Sometimes retrospectively it helps me to see the cards in a different way, or to understand better something. Maybe you can try for a little while to see if it's useful to you, and then stop if it's not.
chongjasmine Posted September 27, 2017 Author Posted September 27, 2017 I do too. When I begun reading cards I followed the advice of writing a journal. It helped me memorizing the meanings and studying my readings. Then I stopped this practise during many months, but I'm doing it again now. For me it's useful. It helps me going deeper in the reading and the meanning of each cards, and I like to go back to the spreads I do after some time has passed. Sometimes retrospectively it helps me to see the cards in a different way, or to understand better something. Maybe you can try for a little while to see if it's useful to you, and then stop if it's not. Sure, as soon as my universal waite deck arrives and I do an actual reading, I might start to journal. If I don't like it, I will stop.
EmpyreanKnight Posted September 27, 2017 Posted September 27, 2017 When I read Tarot tomes, I take down notes tho it's nothing too copious. I do keep a log of my readings including the date, deck used, question, spread, and cards drawn, but I don't jot down wordy interpretations. So yeah, I guess I do keep a journal of sorts, but it's not the extensive and detailed record that people usually associate with that word.
Onaorkal Posted September 27, 2017 Posted September 27, 2017 When I started with tarot, I was automatically writing down all the readings I was doing. It was more in case I would like to get back to it than for learning purposes though. I haven't done it as much in the past months. Now that I have many different decks, I think it could be useful to have a big notebook in which I could add personal notes on all the 78 cards and other things I 'discover' along the way.
Page of Ghosts Posted September 27, 2017 Posted September 27, 2017 I do journal both my daily draws and larger readings. Lately I've been thinking about starting a discbound notebook about the tarot in general where I can write about all the cards and my thoughts about them since there are some cards I have my own thoughts about rather than the standard book meanings.
EmpyreanKnight Posted October 1, 2017 Posted October 1, 2017 I think that maybe I shall try journaling, just to see how my skills might improve if I make some effort to not just interpret the cards but to actually articulate and organize my thoughts through writing. It's a good thing TT&M has a good Daily Draws subforum. I'm going to start recording my readings there.
Trogon Posted October 5, 2017 Posted October 5, 2017 I do keep a journal. Several of them actually. One is a spiral bound, divided notebook where I've written notes about the meanings of the cards, imagery or symbols I find particularly pertinent, spreads, other things (like general notes on the suits, or other things like history or whatever). Another journal is for my self-readings; I note the date, deck used, question (if any), the cards drawn and notes on my interpretations (these are in composition books). Then I have a steno pad where I write notes on readings for other people if I have time to do so (and the querent is amenable). I always make notes when I do on-line readings for people, that way I can get the things ready before I type them and be a little more coherent. I am in the process of re-writing my notebook of card meanings and such. I found that the 1/2 page or less I'd allowed originally isn't enough anymore. I have been adding things and am running out of room. The new notebook is the same size (5" x 8" or so), but I'll be using an entire page for each card, giving me much more room. It's a good excuse for doing a study-through of the cards again. I personally find that writing things down as I study them is very helpful to the learning process. As for readings, writing out a few notes on the cards drawn is helpful when it comes to giving my interpretation to the querent. But you may learn differently. The good thing is, notebooks or comp. books are relatively inexpensive, so if you try it and don't find it helpful, you won't be out a lot.
Little Fang Posted October 5, 2017 Posted October 5, 2017 I tried a few times but could never really make it work. It just never jived with how I process things. Sadly I never had created a tarot journal.
chongjasmine Posted October 8, 2017 Author Posted October 8, 2017 I tried a few times but could never really make it work. It just never jived with how I process things. Sadly I never had created a tarot journal. I also find it hard to journal. I tried, but I am not disciplined enough.
EmpyreanKnight Posted October 9, 2017 Posted October 9, 2017 Sometimes I can be such a lazy thing myself.
Saturn Celeste Posted December 21, 2017 Posted December 21, 2017 Sometimes I can be such a lazy thing myself. lololol I can't imagine you lazy, Empyrean! I did journal in the beginning when I was learning the cards. Then the book turned into spreads I made up and spreads from elsewhere on the net. I no longer get the book out and write in it though, when I have a mess of readings (anywhere from 5 to 10) to do in a few days, (usually in 2 or 3 days) I just don't have time to write in the journal anymore. I do save all my readings though. I just got done with a batch of 10 but I won't be taking anymore readings now for quite some time.
faerybraids Posted December 22, 2017 Posted December 22, 2017 I keep a journal of all the readings I've done, spreads I've made, notes I've made on the cards, etc. It's all in a small plastic binder-book-thing from Daiso (the spine unclips so you can fill it with whatever refill paper you want, but it's got more than the usual three rings of a binder, plus it has four coloured dividers). Before I used a slim notebook someone gave me that alternated blank spaces and lined, which was nice for drawing out the spread and writing interpretations beneath. This notebook teeeeeechnically didn't start off as my tarot note--tarot was originally just a subsection of it--but I'm thinking of switching it up so each section relates to a different part of my journalling, or getting another one specifically for it. I just need to remember to date stuff so I know which order to put things back in if I've written on several loose sheets of paper over time. (=___= ; ) Whatever works for different people works. I have a compulsion where I need to record things because I'm scared of forgetting them when I need to look over them, and I like looking at patterns in my interpretations of the cards. Being able to look up my spreads is also handy. It's strange to think about because this is one of the few areas of my life I'm able to journal about without breaking habit--though that could be because I view it more as note-taking, which I love doing.
Ephemeridae Posted December 22, 2017 Posted December 22, 2017 Journaling is my main method for interpreting tarot, but then again journaling is my main method for interpreting life in general. I do all my best thinking on paper. I think I have a bit of a journaling problem. I've been keeping journals of all different sorts since I was 9 years old and I still have all of them and cannot part with a single scrap. My current tarot journal count is 5 not counting notepads for automatic/free writing. I've been studying it for just over a year
AJ-ish/Sharyn Posted December 23, 2017 Posted December 23, 2017 I journal on my blog, have since 2007 I think. Thousands of posts, thousands of cards, which connect to what I'm thinking about that morning.
EmpyreanKnight Posted December 24, 2017 Posted December 24, 2017 I think this is a good habit to keep. The new year may be a good time to start.
Ephemeridae Posted December 24, 2017 Posted December 24, 2017 I just realized I have more journals than decks :-[
High Priestess Posted December 24, 2017 Posted December 24, 2017 I used to keep a journal centered around Tarot when I first started seriously studying. I've found that it really helped me to gain a better understanding of the cards and make a connection with them. Writing feels like a very spiritual practice that can help to align our mental/physical selves with our emotions and our spirits (like they are all talking to each other). I do think that journaling solely through technology did not give me the same connection as pen to paper, though
EmpyreanKnight Posted December 24, 2017 Posted December 24, 2017 I just realized I have more journals than decks :-[ I think that's a good thing, Ephemeridae. It means that you spend more time studying your decks than acquiring more of them.
Starlight Posted December 24, 2017 Posted December 24, 2017 Writing feels like a very spiritual practice that can help to align our mental/physical selves with our emotions and our spirits (like they are all talking to each other). I do think that journaling solely through technology did not give me the same connection as pen to paper, though Yes, I feel the same. There's something about the physical act of writing that connects me to what's going on inside. Writing with my non-dominant hand, for example. turns up surprising ideas or information.
High Priestess Posted December 24, 2017 Posted December 24, 2017 Writing feels like a very spiritual practice that can help to align our mental/physical selves with our emotions and our spirits (like they are all talking to each other). I do think that journaling solely through technology did not give me the same connection as pen to paper, though Yes, I feel the same. There's something about the physical act of writing that connects me to what's going on inside. Writing with my non-dominant hand, for example. turns up surprising ideas or information. I once did a series of shamanic meditations to connect with ancestral guides and animal spirits, and at the end the woman leading the meditation instructed us to ask questions by writing with our dominant hands and answering by connecting with our guides and writing with our non-dominant hands. I haven't done this since the time of the meditation, but since reading your post I'm inspired to try this again. It was very fun and insightful.
Audelia Posted December 26, 2017 Posted December 26, 2017 I'm a journalist by profession, so I'm constantly jotting down stuff. In terms of tarot? I've kept journals on and off since I started learning the art well over 15 years ago now. I keep track of my personal readings as opposed to writing down interpretations. I do also have a journal full of spreads that I love, just for easy access. I find sometimes that my intuition flows better when I'm writing down my own readings, so I sometimes get insights that I wouldn't normally get if I wasn't recording the reading. I also keep an Instagram account (@empressandstar) where I do daily draws etc.
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