Aeric
Welcome to the July Group Deck Study!
This first post of this thread will have the names and decks of participants as well as the workplan. Sign up with posts and I'll update as necessary.
1. Aeric - Tarocco delle Vetrate
2. Kathy123 - Book of Shadows As Below
3. conurelover - Minchiate
4. Mi-Shell - Tarocchi Celtici
5. Lil Red - Sweet Twilight
6. BlueNote - Absurd
7. VampTarot23 - Navigators of the Mystic SEA
8. merissa_88 - Cary-Yale Visconti
9. nani - Paulina
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Each week is a three-exercise package called an ARM. The three tasks can be done concurrently. They are sometimes driven by Focus Cards, certain cards that you pick at the beginning of the week, sometimes not.
Activity - an exercise in real life based on the Focus Cards
Reading - a spread using the Focus Cards, which may be given or one of your choosing
Meditation - a study of the Focus Cards
ARMs and Daily Draws can be posted in the Group Study thread every Sunday.
All discussions about your results and readings goes in this thread. It's helpful to provide a link to your specific post.
[size=+1]WARM-UP for July 1st: Beginning at the Back[/size]
Turn the entire deck face down and hold it in your hands. Look carefully at the back. Contemplate the image the designer placed there. This image supports all of the cards; it's the book cover, the title page, of the deck. It is the first thing you see when you're shuffling and the last thing you see when you're gathering the cards up. Trace the design with your fingers, follow lines with your eyes. What do the shapes and colours of the design remind you of? Why do you think they were chosen? Can you relate to this image personally? Even the plainest, nondescript pattern can have a special meaning to you alone. What does it say to you about what you will see when you turn the cards?
In this thread, write a short paragraph of your thoughts of your back.
If you can, post a photo of the back, or link to one you can find online. If you can't find one, describe the image.
[size=+1]Week 1: Major Life Influences - July 1st-7th[/size]
Focus Cards: Shuffle thoroughly, then flip through the deck and pull the first three Majors you encounter that have a living being as their primary character. You can include supernatural beings like the Devil or the Temperance angel, but if a Major has only inanimate objects, ignore it. If your deck is abstract and has no beings, choose three Majors at random. If you have time, you can try this exercise with five or more Majors, which will increase your subjects for A and your cards for R. But do at least three.
A - Find three people or animals throughout your week who you think resemble the characters or images on these cards. Ideally, make them people whom you have little knowledge of, even complete stranger encounters. But friends, pets, and family work too. Describe how the traditional or given interpretations of the card mesh or contrast with other aspects of their personalities. How does visual symbolism of people and animals relate to the living, breathing thing? Write a few sentences about each, omitting real names of people and other personal information.
R - Perform this five-card spread with these cards, inserting them into three of the positions and randomly choosing two more cards (any). How do these new cards change your perception of those whom you already know? How much of what you now discover affects what you previously believed when the characters stood alone?
M - Choose one of the focus cards, study it, and write a paragraph in the nature of the character. You can frame it as an explanation, or a dialogue. Become the character or carry on a conversation with it. After seeing the person in the flesh, and reading with them, what do you think of them?
If your card is abstract, pretend that some being is instantly sending this image to you telepathically in your head. Describe this being; what is their situation that makes them send this message?
[size=+1]Week 2: Your Days are Numbered - 7th-14th[/size]
Focus Cards: Shuffle thoroughly and flip through. Pull the first numbered card (Ace through Ten) you find from each Minor suit. Make sure each is a different number; if you pull Two of Swords and then Two of Cups, try again for a different Cup. You will have four variously numbered cards in four suits.
A - This week, look for the presence of these four numbers in your life. Do they relate to the meanings of their cards, or is it a complete disconnection? Do you see the Four of Wands in two pairs of chopsticks at a regular dinner, or is it a feast to celebrate something? See how often your brain drives you to connect the numbered card's interpretation to the real life number encounter, and how often you treat it as coincidence. Write a few sentences about each encounter you have.
R - Do a reading whose number of cards is the equivalent of the number of one of your four cards. You choose; it can be as low (Ace) or as high (ten) as you like, depending what you consider a challenge. Do a reading based on a question of your choice. Do you get the satisfactory amount of information that you need from the number of cards you chose, or do you find the need to draw more cards for clarification? Post your reading and summary.
M - Numbered Minor cards of the same suit are often connected as parts of a process that goes in within the suit. But not as often described is the dynamic of numbers between suits. Examine your four cards, and put them in numerical order. Can you see a relation? Try some different orders and see what you find. Write something about each order you try.
[size=+1]Week 3: Putting it into Context - 14-21st[/size]
Focus Cards: Your choice. Any and all.
A - Every Tarot deck has context, be it theme, art form, or time period. Human figures, art styles, symbols, are so diverse across the corpus of Tarot that even "clones" have unique differences. Examine clothing, art style, etc. Even Marseille-type non-scenic pips are drawn according to your context. Do a little online research into the background of your deck's context. What new things did you learn about it that go beyond what the LWB or guide book teaches you?
For example, the Ancient Italian Tarot might inspire you to read about Italian nobility, or about the engraving or painting techniques used by the Avondo Brothers. The Cat's Eye Tarot might lead you to read about the behaviour of felines. A Marseille deck could have you reading about ancient woodcut artwork, and the Golden Tarot about Renaissance Christian artists, or Biblical stories. It's your choice!
Go beyond general information sites like Wikipedia as well as Tarot-oriented sites; find some dedicated to the specific content. Tell us some interesting details about what you learned. Enrich your experience of your special deck.
R - Try Napaea's Past Life Spread. Can what you learned in your research be channeled into interpreting the cards? Give it a try! How do you see the images now that you understand some more of their context?
M - Role Play! Study your cards and imagine you are a person in their historical period, or a character. e.g. you are a cat for a cat-themed deck, an angel for an angel-themed deck, a druid for the DruidCraft deck, a High Middle Ages person for the Rider-Waite, or a 15th century noble for a Visconti deck. How do you respond to how your context has been portrayed by a contemporary artist and designer? Try to think as your character would. Write a paragraph.
[size=+1]Week 4: Colour your World - 21st-28th[/size]
Focus Cards: Shuffle and pull five random cards. Make sure at least one of them is a Court card.
A - Pick your favourite card of the five and study it. Sometime this week, incorporate the colours of that card in your day. You can wear the same colour clothing or some jewelry, prepare a meal with the colours, make some artwork, write some poetry, decorate your room or office space. How does using these colours make you feel? Are they in line with your card's interpretations? Tell us about it. If you have a black and white deck, try experimenting with various shades of them, including grey. (Just don't try fifty shades of it, please. We're not that kind of forum).
R - Do a Chakra Spread. The Chakra Spread assigns each card a colour and category, and every colour has meaning. How do you find these positions relate to the meanings of their cards?
M - Study your five cards. Observe body language of characters, and the selection of colours. Pretend that you stripped them of their colours and left them entirely shades of b/w. How do you respond to each of them now? If you started with a B/W deck, pretend you're adding colour to them. What would you choose, and why?
[size=+1]WARM-DOWN July 31st: Going Back to the Back[/size]
While you contemplate the backs one last time, consider everything you've studied over this month. You're closing the book for the last time on this exercise. Does the image hold new meaning for you?
This first post of this thread will have the names and decks of participants as well as the workplan. Sign up with posts and I'll update as necessary.
1. Aeric - Tarocco delle Vetrate
2. Kathy123 - Book of Shadows As Below
3. conurelover - Minchiate
4. Mi-Shell - Tarocchi Celtici
5. Lil Red - Sweet Twilight
6. BlueNote - Absurd
7. VampTarot23 - Navigators of the Mystic SEA
8. merissa_88 - Cary-Yale Visconti
9. nani - Paulina
[size=+2]
Workplan - ARM
[/size]Each week is a three-exercise package called an ARM. The three tasks can be done concurrently. They are sometimes driven by Focus Cards, certain cards that you pick at the beginning of the week, sometimes not.
Activity - an exercise in real life based on the Focus Cards
Reading - a spread using the Focus Cards, which may be given or one of your choosing
Meditation - a study of the Focus Cards
ARMs and Daily Draws can be posted in the Group Study thread every Sunday.
All discussions about your results and readings goes in this thread. It's helpful to provide a link to your specific post.
[size=+1]WARM-UP for July 1st: Beginning at the Back[/size]
Turn the entire deck face down and hold it in your hands. Look carefully at the back. Contemplate the image the designer placed there. This image supports all of the cards; it's the book cover, the title page, of the deck. It is the first thing you see when you're shuffling and the last thing you see when you're gathering the cards up. Trace the design with your fingers, follow lines with your eyes. What do the shapes and colours of the design remind you of? Why do you think they were chosen? Can you relate to this image personally? Even the plainest, nondescript pattern can have a special meaning to you alone. What does it say to you about what you will see when you turn the cards?
In this thread, write a short paragraph of your thoughts of your back.
If you can, post a photo of the back, or link to one you can find online. If you can't find one, describe the image.
[size=+1]Week 1: Major Life Influences - July 1st-7th[/size]
Focus Cards: Shuffle thoroughly, then flip through the deck and pull the first three Majors you encounter that have a living being as their primary character. You can include supernatural beings like the Devil or the Temperance angel, but if a Major has only inanimate objects, ignore it. If your deck is abstract and has no beings, choose three Majors at random. If you have time, you can try this exercise with five or more Majors, which will increase your subjects for A and your cards for R. But do at least three.
A - Find three people or animals throughout your week who you think resemble the characters or images on these cards. Ideally, make them people whom you have little knowledge of, even complete stranger encounters. But friends, pets, and family work too. Describe how the traditional or given interpretations of the card mesh or contrast with other aspects of their personalities. How does visual symbolism of people and animals relate to the living, breathing thing? Write a few sentences about each, omitting real names of people and other personal information.
R - Perform this five-card spread with these cards, inserting them into three of the positions and randomly choosing two more cards (any). How do these new cards change your perception of those whom you already know? How much of what you now discover affects what you previously believed when the characters stood alone?
M - Choose one of the focus cards, study it, and write a paragraph in the nature of the character. You can frame it as an explanation, or a dialogue. Become the character or carry on a conversation with it. After seeing the person in the flesh, and reading with them, what do you think of them?
If your card is abstract, pretend that some being is instantly sending this image to you telepathically in your head. Describe this being; what is their situation that makes them send this message?
[size=+1]Week 2: Your Days are Numbered - 7th-14th[/size]
Focus Cards: Shuffle thoroughly and flip through. Pull the first numbered card (Ace through Ten) you find from each Minor suit. Make sure each is a different number; if you pull Two of Swords and then Two of Cups, try again for a different Cup. You will have four variously numbered cards in four suits.
A - This week, look for the presence of these four numbers in your life. Do they relate to the meanings of their cards, or is it a complete disconnection? Do you see the Four of Wands in two pairs of chopsticks at a regular dinner, or is it a feast to celebrate something? See how often your brain drives you to connect the numbered card's interpretation to the real life number encounter, and how often you treat it as coincidence. Write a few sentences about each encounter you have.
R - Do a reading whose number of cards is the equivalent of the number of one of your four cards. You choose; it can be as low (Ace) or as high (ten) as you like, depending what you consider a challenge. Do a reading based on a question of your choice. Do you get the satisfactory amount of information that you need from the number of cards you chose, or do you find the need to draw more cards for clarification? Post your reading and summary.
M - Numbered Minor cards of the same suit are often connected as parts of a process that goes in within the suit. But not as often described is the dynamic of numbers between suits. Examine your four cards, and put them in numerical order. Can you see a relation? Try some different orders and see what you find. Write something about each order you try.
[size=+1]Week 3: Putting it into Context - 14-21st[/size]
Focus Cards: Your choice. Any and all.
A - Every Tarot deck has context, be it theme, art form, or time period. Human figures, art styles, symbols, are so diverse across the corpus of Tarot that even "clones" have unique differences. Examine clothing, art style, etc. Even Marseille-type non-scenic pips are drawn according to your context. Do a little online research into the background of your deck's context. What new things did you learn about it that go beyond what the LWB or guide book teaches you?
For example, the Ancient Italian Tarot might inspire you to read about Italian nobility, or about the engraving or painting techniques used by the Avondo Brothers. The Cat's Eye Tarot might lead you to read about the behaviour of felines. A Marseille deck could have you reading about ancient woodcut artwork, and the Golden Tarot about Renaissance Christian artists, or Biblical stories. It's your choice!
Go beyond general information sites like Wikipedia as well as Tarot-oriented sites; find some dedicated to the specific content. Tell us some interesting details about what you learned. Enrich your experience of your special deck.
R - Try Napaea's Past Life Spread. Can what you learned in your research be channeled into interpreting the cards? Give it a try! How do you see the images now that you understand some more of their context?
M - Role Play! Study your cards and imagine you are a person in their historical period, or a character. e.g. you are a cat for a cat-themed deck, an angel for an angel-themed deck, a druid for the DruidCraft deck, a High Middle Ages person for the Rider-Waite, or a 15th century noble for a Visconti deck. How do you respond to how your context has been portrayed by a contemporary artist and designer? Try to think as your character would. Write a paragraph.
[size=+1]Week 4: Colour your World - 21st-28th[/size]
Focus Cards: Shuffle and pull five random cards. Make sure at least one of them is a Court card.
A - Pick your favourite card of the five and study it. Sometime this week, incorporate the colours of that card in your day. You can wear the same colour clothing or some jewelry, prepare a meal with the colours, make some artwork, write some poetry, decorate your room or office space. How does using these colours make you feel? Are they in line with your card's interpretations? Tell us about it. If you have a black and white deck, try experimenting with various shades of them, including grey. (Just don't try fifty shades of it, please. We're not that kind of forum).
R - Do a Chakra Spread. The Chakra Spread assigns each card a colour and category, and every colour has meaning. How do you find these positions relate to the meanings of their cards?
M - Study your five cards. Observe body language of characters, and the selection of colours. Pretend that you stripped them of their colours and left them entirely shades of b/w. How do you respond to each of them now? If you started with a B/W deck, pretend you're adding colour to them. What would you choose, and why?
[size=+1]WARM-DOWN July 31st: Going Back to the Back[/size]
While you contemplate the backs one last time, consider everything you've studied over this month. You're closing the book for the last time on this exercise. Does the image hold new meaning for you?
