What's your tarot story?

[ravenest]

(excerpted from the forward to my book: )

I love Tarot; I once purchased a large button at a psychic fair that read, “I like to read books, but I love to read Tarot cards!” My introduction into Tarot was backwards; I was using Tarot cards for other purposes before I started to learn to “read” them. I had bought Tarot Spells by Janina Rene, which featured a then-as-yet-unpublished deck designed by Robin Wood. It was a beautiful deck, to be sure, but I was interested in spell work and not divination at that time.
Eventually, I would hear the call of the cards, but the idea of studying such a large and esoteric subject interested and confused me at the same time. I started to buy other decks to check them out. I found that each deck came packaged with its own “little white booklet” of explanations for card interpretation. Some of the information was very sketchy and poor indeed; was I supposed to learn something from these little booklets? Many of them listed 10 or 12 single word explanations, but none of them helped me to see the whole. To try to learn them this way was very discouraging.
I started to buy books on Tarot, and ran into similar problems--lots of words, but little understanding. I found out the best way to learn Tarot was to go out and do it. I started keeping journals of what the readings said. I did this strictly for myself, since I could not pry myself away from the little white booklet for fear I would say something “wrong.”
One day I was a merchant at a small psychic fair (and not making a cent), but I saw that the readers were busy with people signed up hours ahead of time. A woman hung out at my booth and told me “how disappointed” she was in whatever reading she had just been given; it didn’t “work for her,” she said. I suggested she try something that might answer her question more directly, like Tarot. She disappeared for about an hour and came back and told me that the next psychic “didn’t tell her anything she didn’t already know," as though she was expecting something “mystical” to happen. She asked about the Tarot deck I had for sale and could I do a reading for her–which, of course, I refused to do. First of all, I didn’t like the deck, which is why I was selling it; and second, I did not feel I had enough experience to do a public reading. As the fair ended and I started to pack my unsold merchandise, she appeared again. I decided to give it a try. I took the deck I didn’t like and we went out to the lobby of the hotel, and I did a reading for her. On the first card I said that her situation was work related; she said it wasn’t. I continued through the reading and discovered she was having an affair with a co-worker (the first card–right?). The cards indicated it was foolish and would end in disaster. She paid me and left. Suddenly, I was a reader!



"And the little Tarot card cried:'Whee Whee Whee!' all the way home!"

And Golidlocks ? ... still in the bed ?

 

[zhan.thay]

Hey Man! My flash backs don't work like that . ... what are you a Virgo or something

LOL, hav u bean the Astrogy room agen?
http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=3686194&postcount=106
and I was a taxidriver for 6 years.

I thought somehow we might have got our first decks from the same shop ... but I think mine was in an area called the village ? Not near the giant coke sign (um ... to non-Aussies , 'The Cross' isn't THAT bad ; Coca Cola sign i.e.)

mmhmm. The Village was where the Wax museum was wasn't it? Where all those skinny people used to hang out to get their whacks?

(excerpted from the forward to my book: )

I love Tarot; I once purchased a large button at a psychic fair that read, “I like to read books, but I love to read Tarot cards!” My introduction into Tarot was backwards; I was using Tarot cards for other purposes before I started to learn to “read” them. I had bought Tarot Spells by Janina Rene, which featured a then-as-yet-unpublished deck designed by Robin Wood. It was a beautiful deck, to be sure, but I was interested in spell work and not divination at that time.
Eventually, I would hear the call of the cards, but the idea of studying such a large and esoteric subject interested and confused me at the same time. I started to buy other decks to check them out. I found that each deck came packaged with its own “little white booklet” of explanations for card interpretation. Some of the information was very sketchy and poor indeed; was I supposed to learn something from these little booklets? Many of them listed 10 or 12 single word explanations, but none of them helped me to see the whole. To try to learn them this way was very discouraging.
I started to buy books on Tarot, and ran into similar problems--lots of words, but little understanding. I found out the best way to learn Tarot was to go out and do it. I started keeping journals of what the readings said. I did this strictly for myself, since I could not pry myself away from the little white booklet for fear I would say something “wrong.”
One day I was a merchant at a small psychic fair (and not making a cent), but I saw that the readers were busy with people signed up hours ahead of time. A woman hung out at my booth and told me “how disappointed” she was in whatever reading she had just been given; it didn’t “work for her,” she said. I suggested she try something that might answer her question more directly, like Tarot. She disappeared for about an hour and came back and told me that the next psychic “didn’t tell her anything she didn’t already know," as though she was expecting something “mystical” to happen. She asked about the Tarot deck I had for sale and could I do a reading for her–which, of course, I refused to do. First of all, I didn’t like the deck, which is why I was selling it; and second, I did not feel I had enough experience to do a public reading. As the fair ended and I started to pack my unsold merchandise, she appeared again. I decided to give it a try. I took the deck I didn’t like and we went out to the lobby of the hotel, and I did a reading for her. On the first card I said that her situation was work related; she said it wasn’t. I continued through the reading and discovered she was having an affair with a co-worker (the first card–right?). The cards indicated it was foolish and would end in disaster. She paid me and left. Suddenly, I was a reader!



"And the little Tarot card cried:'Whee Whee Whee!' all the way home!"

Lovely story. Do you remember which cards you read?

 

[Richard]

I bought my first deck after reading John Fowles' magnificent (and enigmatic) novel, The Magus, which contains a quote from Waite's A Pictorial Key to the Tarot. (The quote was removed from later editions of The Magus.)

And ....

come on, if you are going to cluck you should lay the egg ... what was the quote?

I probably saw the later version (Anthony Quinn ? I think ... he came out with a few gems in that one.)

Beautiful cinematography, but it was a box office flop, probably because it was incomprehensible without having read the book first. I read somewhere that even Anthony Quinn and Michael Caine didn't understand what they were doing. (They hadn't read the book.)

I found my earliest edition. (My originally purchased book from the late 1960s is long gone. It disintegrated.) The Waite quote is in the front, after the title page and publication stuff.

 

[Holly doll]

Wow, this sounds like you came to this planet with the mission to do the spiritual, psychic, healing, tarot work. All the signs are there! I'm just curious...Which deck was that, that fell on the ground at that shop?

The "Flying Deck Affair" happened when I was 28 - first Saturn return... it was the usual RW; which I moved on in short order - having found the illustrations a little... meh - along with the suspicion that it was designed by a couple of crabby, pushy, know it all, grumpy old farts - <this said with tongue firmly embedded in cheek...> (No insult meant at all! HONEST!!!) However, many new decks were quickly acquired & used; just when I think I have enough though... I click on the "What's the postman bringing...?" & off I go - more drooling over the pictures & more acquisition of decks...

Then there was the blue owl Lenormand incident - came to me as a freebie with a book purchase; now a firm favourite of the hubby - I made the mistake of opening the box & leaving the cards on a tabletop while I rushed off to make a cuppa - it was love @ first sight - the cards now belong to him & I get to rubberneck over his shoulder...

 

[nisaba]

Now, to go all speculative here ... the 5 of fishes ?

Goes well with the Five of Loaves and the Ace of Baskets.

I've answered questions like this every so often here before. As I've said before, I don't really remember falling in love with Tarot. It was always going to happen - if it hadn't happened one way, it would have happened another.

When I was about nine or ten, the child who was the daughter of a friend of my parents (not my friend, though we were expected to me) had a miniature RW, and did a LWB-driven reading which was completely unmemorable. I immediately forgot all about Tarot for some years.

Later, in my teens, I picked up Alfred Douglas' book "The Tarot" (written as a companion to the Sheridan Douglas deck, which it took me a further thirty years to get, and was immediately enthralled, even though I didn't have a deck.

Got one.

Got another.

That was back in the 1970s. I've never fallen out of love since. I really don't remember how I came by my first deck. The book did it for me, but I have a real sense that me'n'Tarot was inevitable. If it hadn't happened one way, the universe would have made sure it happened another way. Can you imagine me without Tarot? It would be like having no lungs ...

 

[ravenest]

LOL, hav u bean the Astrogy room agen?
http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=3686194&postcount=106
and I was a taxidriver for 6 years.

mmhmm. The Village was where the Wax museum was wasn't it? Where all those skinny people used to hang out to get their whacks?

That's right! The wax museum! I got my deck from the freaky shop next to Kings X Wax Museum! Its all coming back now !

Errrmmm ... before anyone gets the wrong idea ... I'm fat every body ..... fat!

 

[ravenest]

Beautiful cinematography, but it was a box office flop, probably because it was incomprehensible without having read the book first. I read somewhere that even Anthony Quinn and Michael Caine didn't understand what they were doing. (They hadn't read the book.)

I found my earliest edition. (My originally purchased book from the late 1960s is long gone. It disintegrated.) The Waite quote is in the front, after the title page and publication stuff.

'To Astarte' ...

Bloody obscure Waite! Who the hell was Col Portage ?

 

[Aina]

(excerpted from the forward to my book: )

I love Tarot; I once purchased a large button at a psychic fair that read, “I like to read books, but I love to read Tarot cards!” My introduction into Tarot was backwards; I was using Tarot cards for other purposes before I started to learn to “read” them. I had bought Tarot Spells by Janina Rene, which featured a then-as-yet-unpublished deck designed by Robin Wood. It was a beautiful deck, to be sure, but I was interested in spell work and not divination at that time.
Eventually, I would hear the call of the cards, but the idea of studying such a large and esoteric subject interested and confused me at the same time. I started to buy other decks to check them out. I found that each deck came packaged with its own “little white booklet” of explanations for card interpretation. Some of the information was very sketchy and poor indeed; was I supposed to learn something from these little booklets? Many of them listed 10 or 12 single word explanations, but none of them helped me to see the whole. To try to learn them this way was very discouraging.
I started to buy books on Tarot, and ran into similar problems--lots of words, but little understanding. I found out the best way to learn Tarot was to go out and do it. I started keeping journals of what the readings said. I did this strictly for myself, since I could not pry myself away from the little white booklet for fear I would say something “wrong.”
One day I was a merchant at a small psychic fair (and not making a cent), but I saw that the readers were busy with people signed up hours ahead of time. A woman hung out at my booth and told me “how disappointed” she was in whatever reading she had just been given; it didn’t “work for her,” she said. I suggested she try something that might answer her question more directly, like Tarot. She disappeared for about an hour and came back and told me that the next psychic “didn’t tell her anything she didn’t already know," as though she was expecting something “mystical” to happen. She asked about the Tarot deck I had for sale and could I do a reading for her–which, of course, I refused to do. First of all, I didn’t like the deck, which is why I was selling it; and second, I did not feel I had enough experience to do a public reading. As the fair ended and I started to pack my unsold merchandise, she appeared again. I decided to give it a try. I took the deck I didn’t like and we went out to the lobby of the hotel, and I did a reading for her. On the first card I said that her situation was work related; she said it wasn’t. I continued through the reading and discovered she was having an affair with a co-worker (the first card–right?). The cards indicated it was foolish and would end in disaster. She paid me and left. Suddenly, I was a reader!



"And the little Tarot card cried:'Whee Whee Whee!' all the way home!"

Wowee, tarotbear!!! Thank you so much for sharing this incredible story. It seemed that you learnt to read tarot from tarot and not from books...The story also sounded very realistic and...human! (you refused to read the cards to the woman first) I was just having this experience where I COULD get the answers I wanted from the cards but as soon as I started "going deeper" and finding out how much theory I don't know, it became a big block, so to say. Now I am thinking that if every atom in Universe originates from the same source, then my intuition cells should pick up the information hidden behind the tarot images. After all we have lived hundreds of lives and may have been using tarot or lived in the ancient Egypt long ago. Everything is somewhere there available...Thanks again, learned a lot!

 

[tarotbear]

TB - Lovely story. Do you remember which cards you read?

It was the Ellen Cannon Reed's 'The Witches Tarot'. Although I don't recall all the cards of the spread, what set it off was (I do remember this card) the Two of Cups prominently popped up. In that deck it is a cliff/waterfall and the man is at the bottom gazing up at the woman who is at the top of the cliff - SHE is carrying BOTH Cups - and is obviously running away from him. It was obvious that she was leading him on ...

Fortune is predicated upon such tiny terms as these!

 

[emmsma]

I was about 15-16 when I first found tarot. My best friend and I were into all things witchy. I was reading about the witches of Salem, and books like Psychic Self Protection, Spiral Dance.

We found a witchy-poo store in the East Village - Enchantments. Anybody in NYC that can tell me if its still there? We'd go in and stalk the store, dreaming about all the things we wanted. I'dmy whole altar set up planned. Which chalice, which athame. What spells I'd be doing when I got those human shaped candles.

Eventually I couldn't bring myself to leave without Something, and they had all these decks - and I could afford them with my allowance.

Ever indecisive, I got several. Can't remember anymore how many trips it took, but I ended up with a regular and pocket Rider Waite, Cannon-Reed Witches, Cagliostro, Merlin and Londo. I still have the first paperback copy of Eden Gray's Book.

I quickly found Londo and Cagliostro to be creepy and focused on the Rider Waite. I poured over the LWB and the paperback, doing hundreds and hundreds or Celtic Crosses for myself. When I got to college, unread for friends. I was accurate enough for people to get mad at me.

Hey! She was forewarned. I told her she'd get caught cheating. I didn't know her boyfriend back home. I didn't tell him to come up to surprise her.

But folk thought it was creepy, so I put the cards away for awhile.

Fast forward a few years and I got the call again. Picked up Osho Zen, an I ching deck I've not been able to find again. karma cards, a deck on past lives - phoenix cards, in think. A few other. Played for awhile then they got put aside again.

Few years later I was back again with Waking the wild spirit, Well worn path, Australian animals, Lars-Kristian Holmsen and who knows what else. I found Aecletic and looked at their deck lists for years before discovering the forum.

I joined in 2009. I don't think they will ever get put away again. (There's no place big enough to get them out of sight, for one.) Now, if I take a break from actively reading, I still like to look or even just shuffle, or look to see who I want to bring home next.