I was just rereading some bits of a book that I bought within the first two or three years of my tarot journey. There's an excellent suggestion in there that I always wished I could take.** It reminded me of this thread, because these days, with the internet and this forum, anyone can take it (with ease), if it appeals. However, I don't
see it happening.
Pair off with a study partner/buddy who is also a newbie.
I think this would be much more helpful than a mentor. Learning to read tarot is about learning to be yourself, finding your own way through, trusting your own intuition... and in the process, helping others. It's also (inevitably, no matter what your beliefs are or aren't) a spiritual enterprise moreso than an intellectual one and therefore highly individual. Having one person to consistently discuss tarot with and to check in with on your progress (via your own self-chosen, self-directed, and/or mutually agreed upon and pledged methods) would be
much more valuable and appropriate than having someone else further along on their own path supposedly teach you 'the right way' to do it.
(Also, it would minimize - if not eliminate - the risk of feeling embarrassed or inferior in some way. You are both new!)
I also think pairing off would be a bit more helpful than the free for all of just being here amongst hundreds or thousands of others, all at various levels. It allows for making an ongoing personal connection that is at least slightly more private; and if it all goes well, you may end up being friends or buddies beyond tarot.
If it doesn't, well, it's not forever. Shake it off! lol Try a new partner or add to your 'been there, done that' t-shirt collection.
The way I'm imagining it, study partners (in the book, they're called 'twins') could make use of this forum just as it is set up now, with no need for additional subforums - although that could be helpful, too, if Solandia and the mods thought it was worthwhile (or that it needed to be kept separate for organizational purposes).
People could say in their introduction threads (in the New Members subforum) that they want and are willing to be a study partner; or put it in their signature until they find one; or just PM another reader who's mentioned that they've been learning for about the same length of time and see if they're interested. Or someone could start an ongoing signup thread (probably in either New Members or Tarot Study Groups) for people who are interested to find each other.
Then each pair could make fantastic use of the private message feature (and/or their own thread, if there were to be a subforum for it) and the study groups and reading exchange subforums to progress however
they see fit. For example:
- agree to check in with each other - in a structured way and informally sometimes - on an agreed upon schedule for a certain period of time (e.g., three months, or six months, or a year, or 78 weeks, or whatever they want),
- agree to work together through the same book, or deck, or suit(s in order), or try the same methods, or spreads, or goals, like reading in person (Whatever sort of syllabus
they come up with for themselves.)
- exchange some other sort of off-forum contact info (like email or blog URLs) via PM,
if they want that as well,
- agree to look out for each others' threads here and be supportive/active in them,
-etc.
Totally up to them. Personalized, customized.
Less noise and chaos than the larger reading exchange groups and general threads that are open to everyone, because there's (only!) one other person to be accountable to instead of a whole thread full (Except maybe in the Study Groups areas. Existing threads there should be revived/joined, instead of duplicated); and because committing for a long-ish period of time allows for stability and a personal connection to develop.
Less stress because partners could do everything by PM if they wanted to and no one would even know the difference, but if and when they want to share their journey and progress, they can post publicly, too.
Also less stress because there's no pressure to follow the same format that any other two study partners are using. Though if other pairs are posting publicly, their good ideas can be borrowed/copied as well.
After a while, I'd expect threads to start cropping up about how well it works for people, and what does and doesn't work within these types of arrangements. Or maybe there could just be one ongoing thread for that as well, like the (currently hypothetical) one for signups.
I'm not a newbie and haven't been for a
long time, but that is my suggestion. I'd have
loved to have something like this,
someone like this, when I started reading. I think it would really help a lot of new readers, if it suited their personality to work that way and they gave it a go. Just so long as you don't flake out on each other. If you commit to learning with a partner, see it through. It's not forever.
This doesn't address what a lot of people have been trying to get at on these two threads. That's because I tend to think newbies and 'older' members or readers already interact a lot here. IMO, it's up to newer tarot readers to take responsibility for and commit to learning (instead of impatiently looking for a Teacher, per se - or Mentor - to make it easier and faster and validate them); and up to the 'older' ones amongst us to entertain ourselves or go pursue other interests when bored and frustrated with this place. Though there's
nothing to stop older members from finding tarot buddies (or starting their own reading circles or whatever), who are on the same level of learning, as well.
Nor from just posting their own interesting and helpful thoughts - if they feel interesting and helpful - instead of waiting for a magic question to be asked so they can reply.
If anyone tries this, I hope it works out well for you. Happy tarot-ing!
** Note: The book I'm referring to is Terry Donaldson's
Step-by-Step Tarot. Specifically, Chapter 16, 'Twinning'.
