Furthering Tarot for Self Discovery

Furthering Tarot for Self Discovery - Exercises with Tarot

Hi,

A book that I’ve really enjoyed working with this year is Nina Lee Braden’s Tarot for Self Discovery. As far as I know, this is one of the few books to actually just get straight into using The Tarot, rather than going through the decks, the history etcetera etcetera.

Anyway, I recommend the book for what it does. Not all the exercises work for me – I find many of them either wishy washy or rather wishful thinking in what they set out to do, but others have been great to work through – and that’s Tarot for you!

Anyway – I’d like to see what this book has started as a work in progress – and something that our collective minds, varying expertise, and life experience can now add to! I often get those moments where I’m hungry to use one of my decks – but I really don’t feel like doing a spread or attempting any kind of divination, which is why I think that creating exercises with the cards for self discovery/tarot discovery/ or discovery or exploration with another (if they’d rather not have an actual reading) is tremendously rewarding and a great way of keeping Tarot fresh and getting closer to the cards.

So I’d like to suggest that we use this thread to submit our own exercises or ideas for exercises.

If anyone would like to start the ball rolling or ask any questions, then that would be great – I think it’s something we can all do together. If not I shall wrack my brains to put my money where my mouth is and post an idea myself next week!

Best wishes,

A.

Hi Two of Wands,

Pleased to meet you and welcome to aeclectic

I think this is a really good idea, although I don't have any thoughts about exercises to suggest at the moment.

It could be fun making up our own exercises

Cool, glad you like the idea. It's not the easiest thing in the world to do to make up a really good exercise, but then the easiest way to succeed is to try. So I hope you either join in or add to this at some point - that would be really good.

I have an idea for one that I want to create using the 3's. As soon as I get time I shall form it and post it up.

FIRST EXERCISE!!!

Ok, seeing as I suggested it, I guess it’s only fair that I provide the first possible exercise. I came up with this this afternoon. I hope that some of you try it and enjoy it. I’ve numbered the main steps so that you can skip through my introduction if you want – but please do the steps in order and don’t read ahead! Please note that these sort of exercises should come directly from you and what you see in the cards. It is great fun to read up on certain cards when you have finished such an exercise but not helpful to do so during the exercise as you will simply be guided by what someone else sees in the cards.


Three’s a Crowd


They say that three is often a crowd in terms of friendship and obviously in a relationship. Ancient symbolism, however, often refers or alludes to the number three as a magical number pertaining to creativity and productivity. Indeed whilst some acknowledge the Triple Faced Goddess – Virgin, Mother, Crone – as the reason that the Empress falls under number three in the Major Arcana, it cannot escape our notice that the Empress’s child is the result, and third part, of a union of two.

Thinking of the number three in this way makes it clear that the number is full of potential possibilities, which is what makes the ‘Three’ cards so interesting in a deck.

Lets begin…

1. Choose a deck and remove the ‘Three’ cards and place them in line in front of you.

2. Look closely at each one and say (write down) what you see. Tell the story, describe the picture, explaining (of each) exactly what is or what could be happening. If people are depicted in your cards, consider the dynamic between them. Remember that the number three usually creates a complex relationship when it comes to people, for good or for bad!

NB: If you are one of our true Tarot Experts and you know each of your cards inside out without even looking at them – then this might work better if you use a totally different deck than what you are used to – maybe one that you consider more of a collector’s piece than one to read with, or even the Comparative Tarot if you have it – which will give you three times the images to consider than the rest of us!

3. Now say (write down) key meanings that resonate from each card. Follow this by writing down a concise over-all description for each card using no more than one to five words for each if possible.

Next Stage…

Hopefully the exercise, so far, will have provided a fun way to spend time with, get to know or revise the ‘three’ cards in one of your decks. Now the exercise shifts its attention to you!

4. Taking what you have understood from the meaning of each card, answer the following:

i. Which card depicts the way you work?

ii. Which card depicts the way you enjoy yourself?

iii. Which card depicts the way you handle conflict?

For each question: ask yourself if you are pleased with the card you picked. Does this show you in a good light or does it reveal that you don’t handle certain things the way you would like to? Would you prefer it if your reaction was more closely represented by one of the other ‘Three’ cards? If so, why is this and what can you do to try to change this?

Final actions:

5. For further Tarot Discovery: No matter how many years you have been studying the Tarot, take one of the ‘Three’ cards and find out something that you never knew about it – either by studying a piece of symbolism you’d never noticed before in the card or never found out about, or by reading about the card from a new source – book, website etc. or even by asking a friend what they see in the card.

6. For further Self Discovery: Think of an instance or area of you professional or social life where the dynamic between you and more than one other person (doesn’t necessarily have to be three – can be more) is not as good as it could be. Make a conscious effort to change this.

Afterward

If any of you do try out this exercise, I’d love to hear about it: which deck you used, what you saw, how you found it and what difference it made, if any. Keep using this thread to give feedback, make suggestions or post your own exercises!