Journal entries - for beginners

Hi everybody!

Since I am starting to learn the Tarot and everybody says (and I agree with that) that the most proper way to do it is to start writing a journal, I've decided to start this study group.

It is intended for beginners. For everybody who wants to follow the advice given on this forum about studying cards by writing the impressions in a journal.

My intention is to start describing the cards from your tarot decks the way YOU SEE THEM. We will start with The Fool and work from there, until we have covered all the cards in the deck.

You should describe your card using the following prompts:
CARD NAME / DECK:
FIRST IMPRESSION: (the first thing that comes to your mind when you see your card - positive/negative, like it or don't...)
CARD IMAGERY / INSIGHTS: (describe what's on your card and what you think it means TO YOU in relation to other things shown on the card. Why is this particular thing / colour / flower / image there and what does it speak to you?=
KEYWORDS: (short phrases / adjectives / verbs / nouns deduced from your insights)
NOTES/ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. (anything else that bothers you - how you would use it in a spread, what could be the message for yourself / querent for love / past / present / future...

The IMPORTANT thing is to USE YOUR OWN INSIGHTS. Don't use the LWB or anything you have read from the books. Let your thoughts flow, tell us a story, share your meditations.

Thank you for participating and sharing. I really do hope we'll benefit from this and help each other understand the sybolism of Tarot better.

spunch

THE FOOL

So here is my first ever note from my journal:

CARD: The Fool / DECK: Robin Wood
FIRST IMPRESSION: positive card (for me). Care-free. Pastoral. Would like to be him. He can do whathever he wants. Doesn't need much (I think the dog is his). Has everything he needs.

CARD IMAGERY/INSIGHTS: Young man (care-free). Nature; lots of green and blue (peace, harmony, one with the nature). Butterflies/birds (all friendly). Will fall off the cliff, but this doesn't seem to be a danger (or, maybe he won't - he couldn't care less).
Bag on his back (long journey. Doesn't carry much but has everything he needs). Snowy mountains in the distance (maybe he is going away from his cold home, to search where the grass is greaner?). Dog - he will keep him company (ONE IS NEVER ALONE!)

KEYWORDS: care-free. Naive. Leaving the past behind. Searching for a better future. Seeking experience, adventure, knowledge. Brave. Travel. MAKING A MOVE.

NOTES/ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. He has everything he needs. Watch your step!! Negative (?) - Is it always right to be care-free, resolved of responsibility? Also, he won't probably stay in one place for too long. Will he make friends? Will he miss the people he meets? Does he need them at all? Will they miss him once he is gone? (Because, he will definitely leave)

ADDED LATER: Needing some fresh air. Problems (at home). Running away. Other people might see him as beeing foolish. Breathing. Forgetting. Leaving the past, looking into the future. Breaking conventions. Wanting to do something different.

What a Great Idea Sprunch!

As well as learning the cards it will also give us a chance to get to know each other.

Well, this has been a hectic weekend and I didn't have the time to study Tarot AT ALL! What a shame. But I was thinking about this site. Full of excitement I rushed on Sunday evening to my computer to check how is the new study group progressing. I guess I expected hundreds of posts from everybody eager to copy their journals to this forum or maybe to start writing journal online, copying it later on to their binders, notebooks, whatever.
To my 'surprise', not many posts have I seen. (Thanks LadyMedusa for writing your impressions of The Fool. Please, keep on coming and writing - we can learn so much from each other).

I guess there could be four reasons for this. 1 - all the members of this forum are experts and have big journals that would be impossible to copy to this thread; 2 - people who would like to write here just don't know about this thread; 3 - people don't want to write online journals; 4 - people don't like journals at all.

Nevertheless, I'll keep on writing my thoughts here. As soon as I do the next card, I'll copy my thoughts from my journal here. Who knows - maybe some people might find it useful.

If there are some people out there who want to write online journals but have some different ideas of how it could be done better, PLEASE write in this thread. PLEASE. Let us learn from each other the way people who have been longer on this forum advised us to do.

The Fool

RW Deck
Here are my thoughts:
First Impression: bright, cheery, care-free, a little oblivious

Insights: I noticed that the fool has all 4 qualities present on this journey, however, he is not aware of them as of yet. His pack (wands), the circles or coins on his jacket (petacles), the feather at the top of his head/hat (swords)- he is facing toward the left - yin - emotions - (cups). The sun still seems high in the sky which seems to say his journey is only beginning. I feel that the bag on his shoulders may represent some old 'stuff' from his past that he has yet to confront or let go of... Looking up and away he seems to be unaware of his emotions, surroundings and potentially harmful situations. If he changes his position a little and learns to listen to his conscious, rational side (the dog) and opens his eyes to listen to his emotional side, the yin direction , he has hope (the sun) to bring balance into his life and grow intellectually, spirtually, materially and emotionally.

Well my kids are out on Spring Break so I may be a bit delayed this week myself Sprunch. Did ya notice we got company? Your great idea is taking off.

witchywomyn - welcome to our study group and thank you for participating. I like your concise interpretation of The Fool - so simple but has helped me a great deal to understand Him better.

LadyMedusa - "The knowledge is within and the tools are all around" - I like this very much. Great sentence!

As for me, I'm doing The High Priestess at the moment. As soon as I finish, I'll put it on the Forum.

Just a thought - whenever we think of something new about a particular card, I think we should edit it in our original posts, sort of 'added later' remark, so we don't get confused and to keep individual cards descriptions in one place. Who knows - if we do a nice job, maybe we will be granted our own little forum called Journal entries - for beginners!

Fantastical Deck

Tarot Deck-Fantastical Tarot Deck
Character-The Fool

First impression- Evil, having life with many adventures ahead, nightmares, illusion, running away, darkness

Description- He seems to be looking at the back. He has a hunchback. He is wearing earrings. He has the look of juggler or rather a joker. He has a hat with 5 differnt colour-Orange,Blue,Purple,Red and Green. He is wearing red boots and gloves. He is taking a staff or stick with his own statue. He seems to be in his own house. The pillar is with his statue. It is a very illusion house. It is all crooked.

Hope that this thread with study a character, The Fool at least a week or more. I think you guys are abit going too fast. Some members havent look at the Fool and you guys are already for Magician or High Priestess. Study group should go slowly and discussing instead of putting your own suggestion and idea then gone. ^_^

And Then There Were Four!

Hi Coldsuns,

I'm glad you found us.

That certainaly is a different opinion on The Fool. I had never heard anyone describe this card as evil before. So... I had a look at some sample artwork from your deck. As soon as the images were loading, my first thought was... Wow.. I see how he would find that interpretation. That one definantly has a darker attitude than I am used to. I truly look foward to reading your interpretations from a deck style so different from what I am used to. Do you know of a site where the full deck can be viewed? I could only find a few cards.

You raise a good point on the issue of the speed with which we procede. Some do work faster than others and in a few cards the newer new folks might feel that it would be to hard to catch up.

I think it might be a good idea to break the thread into sections to make it easier for the people who wish to go slower or who join in at a later time. It is going to get rather chaotic when we get a few more cards in the thread. A thread for each card? We just need to remember to review them as we go for newer insights. Sprunch what do you think? If you agree go ahead and start a new thread with the high priestess. Then I will see about either having The Magician moved or re posting it.

LadyMedusa

This website http://www.astroamerica.com/t-fant.html has The Fool but not all. I cant find a website with all. Maybe the Fantastical Tarot Deck is too "infamous". Hope this gives you a better idea of The Fool(evil). Hehe!

Thanks for taking my idea of some are slower or new and some are faster, far away from our discussions.