dadsnook2000
I have been on vacation and the grandchildren caused my computer to be contaminated by a large number of viruses. So, the computer has been an on-again, off-again problem. That, and I inadvertently sent my book home, so I couldn't reference anything. Squeaks has kindly forwarded me the information which is posted below.
Step 20 brings us to the point where we can more effectively asses and compare our favorite deck with other decks. This is an important activity because we do change over time, if we read for others then our needs in serving them can change --- all of which are reason enough to open ourselves to periodically reviewing other decks that may better reflect where we are now. From Squeaks' PM to me, I present the following steps.
STEP 20:2A
1) Take the 7 of swords out of the deck you've been using. Write a brief description of what this card means to you.
2)Take the same card out of several other decks or examine those on the next pages.
** sort them by similarities. How are they similar? How are they different?
** Does the meaning change depending on the version? How?
** In what kind of situation is the 7 of swords most likely to appear?
** How would you read this card in an advice position in a spread? Would the advice change if you used a different deck?
** Review what the booklets that come with the decks say.
** List three keywords or phrases that best express what the 7 of swords is about.
Read the discussion on the 7 of swords that follows, then answer the questions in Activity 20:2B. As before, I would suggest doing the above work in one posting, the following work in another posting.
STEP 20:2B
Now that you've examined several 7 of swords cards (your own and the ones in the book):
** How have your views of the card changed?
** List some keywords or phrases that describe how you see the 7 of swords now. Are you keywords different than those with which you started?
** How would you read this card in an advice position in a spread?
** Which version of this card offers the fullest interpretive possibilities?
** Which card has the most visually unambiguous meaning? (Do you prefer this clarity or more interpretative ambiguity?)
** If you created your own 7 of swords card, what images or ideas would you use? Feel free to steal ideas from the images you've been viewing---it's a very 7 of swords thing to do. (But if you ever publish your deck, do acknowledge your sources of inspiration.)
Step 20:3
Go Fish; the game. Just for fun, swirl several different decks together facedown on the floor, as if in a big pool. Pick a favorite spread and, with your eyes closed, "go fishing" for a card for each position in the spread. Hopefully, the resulting spread will be made up of cards from a variety of decks. Does a particular deck appearing in a position add its own meaning? For instance, the Inner Child Cards, created by Isha and Mark Lerner, in the Past position might bring up childhood memories. In the Future position, it could suggest being more playful or creative. A Marseilles Minor Arcana might lead you to focus on the meaning of number and suit. With the Shapeshifter deck, consider what transformations are possible.
Activity 20:4
Round Robin for Groups
This variation on "Go Fish" is a good way to begin the first session of a tarot class or play. From a pool containing several different decks mixed facedown each person takes out 2 cards. When it's that person's turn to introduce herself, she uses one of the two cards to describe something about herself (or what she wants from the class). She then "gifts" the next person with the remaining card, explaining why she thinks this card is significant to that other person.
The second person says something about why the gift card is appropriate for him, talks about the card they chose, and gifts the next person with his remaining card, explaining why he's giving it. Thus, each person says something about three different cards:
The one they receive, the one they keep, the one they give. (The first person receives her third card at the end, from the last person.) Follow this with a discussion of which decks were the most interesting and why.
Choosing A Reading Deck
It may seem strange to discuss picking a reading deck this late in the book but, with all the new decks coming on the market, it's valuable to think about what qualities in a deck work best for you. You could choose a deck because it's attractive, "traditional", or uses an interesting theme. But how about a deck that speaks at the soul level---a soulmate? Here are some things to think about.
1) Lay out the deck under consideration on the floor or on a large table, as you did in Step 2, Activity 2:2.
-Does the deck physically appeal to you?
Are your drawn to its artistic expression, the materials used, its colors, size, format, etc.? Would cutting off the borders enhance your appreciation of the images?
-Is a systematic or organizational approach important to you? If so, are the suits, numbers, and correspondences clearly delineated? Does the system make sense to you (for example, can you work with wands as air)?
-Are you interested in its symbolic, conceptual, or mythic principles? Do the correspondences to mythis or themes seem forced or natural? Does the story line help you to remember the card meanings and vice versa? How deep is the understanding and use of the concepts?
-Is it important to have pictures on all the cards? if so, can you select a card at random and easily tell a story based on it? How does the story you told relate to what the book says about the card?
2) Lay out the cards from a deck with which you are already very familiar (sometimes called your "comfort deck") next to the deck in question.
-Can you relate what you know about your comfort deck to the new deck?
Can you imagine a dialogue between these two decks?
-Does the new deck have more vitality than your familiar deck? What about it appeals to you?
3)Pick up and shuffle the new deck and select three cards while asking, "What does this deck have to offer me?" Read what the book or booklet says about these cards.
-Is this the kind of advice you want? Do you want to have your future told, receive divine wisdom, explore personality characteristics, get specific and unambiguous answers? Do you prefer responses that emphasize inner resources and growth or that give warnings of problems and events outside your control?
-Is the intent and worldview of the creator compatible with yours? Does the deck present options or tell you facts? Does it suggest you can change events or that you are subject to fate? Do the interpretations make you feel optimistic and empowered or overwhelmed and constrained?
-Is the deck accessible and varied in its use? Can you get both quick feedback and in-depth answers to specific questions? Do you need to learn a complicated system? Do the cards "talk" directly to you?
4)If the deck passes all the previous steps, then shuffle the cards and pick one while asking, "What do I most need to look at in my life right now?" Take this card through all twenty-one ways to read a tarot card.
-By the end of the reading, did the cards seem to have taken on more dimensionality, becoming more vibrant, alive, and colorful?
5)Use this deck to do a reading for someone else, preferably someone you don't know.
-Were you able to use the style of reading you prefer or did this deck demand a different approach?
-Did the cards speak clearly to you? To the querent?
-Is this a deck you want to use primarily for yourself, when reading with others, or both?
Good luck, all. Dave
Step 20 brings us to the point where we can more effectively asses and compare our favorite deck with other decks. This is an important activity because we do change over time, if we read for others then our needs in serving them can change --- all of which are reason enough to open ourselves to periodically reviewing other decks that may better reflect where we are now. From Squeaks' PM to me, I present the following steps.
STEP 20:2A
1) Take the 7 of swords out of the deck you've been using. Write a brief description of what this card means to you.
2)Take the same card out of several other decks or examine those on the next pages.
** sort them by similarities. How are they similar? How are they different?
** Does the meaning change depending on the version? How?
** In what kind of situation is the 7 of swords most likely to appear?
** How would you read this card in an advice position in a spread? Would the advice change if you used a different deck?
** Review what the booklets that come with the decks say.
** List three keywords or phrases that best express what the 7 of swords is about.
Read the discussion on the 7 of swords that follows, then answer the questions in Activity 20:2B. As before, I would suggest doing the above work in one posting, the following work in another posting.
STEP 20:2B
Now that you've examined several 7 of swords cards (your own and the ones in the book):
** How have your views of the card changed?
** List some keywords or phrases that describe how you see the 7 of swords now. Are you keywords different than those with which you started?
** How would you read this card in an advice position in a spread?
** Which version of this card offers the fullest interpretive possibilities?
** Which card has the most visually unambiguous meaning? (Do you prefer this clarity or more interpretative ambiguity?)
** If you created your own 7 of swords card, what images or ideas would you use? Feel free to steal ideas from the images you've been viewing---it's a very 7 of swords thing to do. (But if you ever publish your deck, do acknowledge your sources of inspiration.)
Step 20:3
Go Fish; the game. Just for fun, swirl several different decks together facedown on the floor, as if in a big pool. Pick a favorite spread and, with your eyes closed, "go fishing" for a card for each position in the spread. Hopefully, the resulting spread will be made up of cards from a variety of decks. Does a particular deck appearing in a position add its own meaning? For instance, the Inner Child Cards, created by Isha and Mark Lerner, in the Past position might bring up childhood memories. In the Future position, it could suggest being more playful or creative. A Marseilles Minor Arcana might lead you to focus on the meaning of number and suit. With the Shapeshifter deck, consider what transformations are possible.
Activity 20:4
Round Robin for Groups
This variation on "Go Fish" is a good way to begin the first session of a tarot class or play. From a pool containing several different decks mixed facedown each person takes out 2 cards. When it's that person's turn to introduce herself, she uses one of the two cards to describe something about herself (or what she wants from the class). She then "gifts" the next person with the remaining card, explaining why she thinks this card is significant to that other person.
The second person says something about why the gift card is appropriate for him, talks about the card they chose, and gifts the next person with his remaining card, explaining why he's giving it. Thus, each person says something about three different cards:
The one they receive, the one they keep, the one they give. (The first person receives her third card at the end, from the last person.) Follow this with a discussion of which decks were the most interesting and why.
Choosing A Reading Deck
It may seem strange to discuss picking a reading deck this late in the book but, with all the new decks coming on the market, it's valuable to think about what qualities in a deck work best for you. You could choose a deck because it's attractive, "traditional", or uses an interesting theme. But how about a deck that speaks at the soul level---a soulmate? Here are some things to think about.
1) Lay out the deck under consideration on the floor or on a large table, as you did in Step 2, Activity 2:2.
-Does the deck physically appeal to you?
Are your drawn to its artistic expression, the materials used, its colors, size, format, etc.? Would cutting off the borders enhance your appreciation of the images?
-Is a systematic or organizational approach important to you? If so, are the suits, numbers, and correspondences clearly delineated? Does the system make sense to you (for example, can you work with wands as air)?
-Are you interested in its symbolic, conceptual, or mythic principles? Do the correspondences to mythis or themes seem forced or natural? Does the story line help you to remember the card meanings and vice versa? How deep is the understanding and use of the concepts?
-Is it important to have pictures on all the cards? if so, can you select a card at random and easily tell a story based on it? How does the story you told relate to what the book says about the card?
2) Lay out the cards from a deck with which you are already very familiar (sometimes called your "comfort deck") next to the deck in question.
-Can you relate what you know about your comfort deck to the new deck?
Can you imagine a dialogue between these two decks?
-Does the new deck have more vitality than your familiar deck? What about it appeals to you?
3)Pick up and shuffle the new deck and select three cards while asking, "What does this deck have to offer me?" Read what the book or booklet says about these cards.
-Is this the kind of advice you want? Do you want to have your future told, receive divine wisdom, explore personality characteristics, get specific and unambiguous answers? Do you prefer responses that emphasize inner resources and growth or that give warnings of problems and events outside your control?
-Is the intent and worldview of the creator compatible with yours? Does the deck present options or tell you facts? Does it suggest you can change events or that you are subject to fate? Do the interpretations make you feel optimistic and empowered or overwhelmed and constrained?
-Is the deck accessible and varied in its use? Can you get both quick feedback and in-depth answers to specific questions? Do you need to learn a complicated system? Do the cards "talk" directly to you?
4)If the deck passes all the previous steps, then shuffle the cards and pick one while asking, "What do I most need to look at in my life right now?" Take this card through all twenty-one ways to read a tarot card.
-By the end of the reading, did the cards seem to have taken on more dimensionality, becoming more vibrant, alive, and colorful?
5)Use this deck to do a reading for someone else, preferably someone you don't know.
-Were you able to use the style of reading you prefer or did this deck demand a different approach?
-Did the cards speak clearly to you? To the querent?
-Is this a deck you want to use primarily for yourself, when reading with others, or both?
Good luck, all. Dave