"The Easiest Way to Learn the Tarot-EVER!!" Exercise 1

sladie

Exercize 1 - Using SteamPunk Tarot (Moore and Fey)

I know I'm not using a recommended deck, it's the only one I have - and it speaks to me very clearly. Honestly, I think I'm too serious of a person for this book, but I'll try. (I was laughing so hard, but I'm struggling through the exercises. I hope this helps. I took the lessons literally... this part was easy, but the rest is hard to follow because I'm pretty sure the book is pure sarcasm and I don't understand)

Wands!

Ace - Golden arm holding a metal wand. Has berries and holly leaves and candles - Why are you holding the wand? - "Victory, Glory, Power, Inner Strength, Belief In Yourself. You can do anything!"
Two - Man between two pillars holding something - over looking a cliff. - What are you doing, sir? - "Two paths to follow, two choices to make, something not sure if I should let go. I'm about contemplation at crossroads"
Three - Man looking through a spyglass with a lantern tripod. There are boats close to shore, the man is overlooking on a cliff downward. It's dark and foggy. - Sir, can you tell me what you're doing? - "I am a beacon of both safety and warning. I am a guides man, a living light house, I show people danger, and lead them to safety."
Four - Two girls decorating a garland square tent thing, with no roof (what the heck is that called!?). One girl picks up a letter, the other is balanced on a stool, reaching up. -Excuse me girls, what are you doing? - "Preparing for celebration! It's hard work setting up, but it's well worth the effort!"
Five - People crowded in a circle. They look like they're ready to tear each others throats out, and it's very high tension. I should be wary - What's going on? - "I only see what's in front of me. I'm giving ample warning to back off, or deal with the consequences."
Six - A man on a bronze mechanical horse. It's a parade, but feels solemn, like victory was won by a thread. - Where are you from? - "Hard times with much loss, but I beat the odds and came back with victory and tribute. I am a veteran of past hurts."
Seven - A woman on a stage looking down with staves pointing upward and mountains in the background - What's happening? - "I am a fighter. I relish the chance to show my skill and lead others to fight. I am not afraid of conflict."
Eight - A cannon shooting 8 wands into the air, and a man standing beside it. - What do you see? - "You can do this all day, watching them land, and never truly be able to predict where they will land next, it's always different. Things are always unpredictable until the last minute, and even then - outside factors can change the outcome." (dang, that's deep.)
Nine - An injured man, with a spyglass and a wand for a torch in what appears to be a maintenance room. - Excuse me, what are you doing? - "Oi, everything always seems to be broken, and it never goes my way. As soon as I fix one problem, another one arises! I must not be seeing something clearly."
Ten - A small girl with a heavy load walking alone at night. - Who are you? - "I am the burden carrier. It's the weight I bear and show none of my struggle. I have carried these for so long, I don't know what life is like without it, or how to let go."

Feedback is greatly appreciated. BTW - I lost the book that went with this deck a very long time ago, so I don't actually know the meanings anymore, just my own interpretations that work for me. I was hoping this book could be useful since I don't know how to read traditionally at all, but I'm finding the lightheartedness hard to follow and I'm getting stuck.
 

Pam O

Dusty recommends this exercise is repeated often to go deeper and deeper into the cards, and to help us not get stuck on a limited meaning. Also, the more we let go of book definitions, the more we can sharpen our intuitive skills.

For those of you who don't yet have Dusty's book, here are some questions to stimulate intuitive ideas in order to "look at the card and see what it says to you."

- If you were standing in the picture, how would it affect you?
- What symbols catch your attention in the card?
- What action is happening, or not happening? What does that indicate?
- Why is that action happening?
- Is someone looking at something?
- If you were standing next to the person, what would you ask?
- Is something being planned?
- Why is the person dressed the way they are?

Let's get some Sword and Pentacle entries going here as well. :)
 

Pam O

Flipping thru the SWORDS of my new Dreaming Way Tarot. (RWS based)

Ace: A grand idea is springing from a tangle of thoughts
2: Stopping to decide which path to follow to follow thru on the 'grand idea'
3: Cutting the ties that bind of any limiting, restrictive, deflating ideas.
4: Pondering what ideas are beneficial for a solid foundation.
5a: Turning away from ideas that are no longer beneficial.
5b: A wicked tongue filled with condemnation another.
6: Guiding others thru the emotional baggage by helping to stimulate a new view, in a new environment.
7: Choosing the ideas to keep, and the ideas to leave behind.
8: Deciding how to move away from the ideas that have been blocking progress.
9: "I can't take this madness any longer!!!!!!!!!
10: This situation is killing me. I am becoming a mere shell of a real person.
PAGE: Hmmmm. What other ideas might help?
KNIGHT: Barging ahead with this idea. Are you thinking this thru, or reacting??
QUEEN: "This is my story, and I'm sticking to it".
..........."What? A different idea? Off with their head!"
KING: "I am not budging. It is my way or the highway. No other words allowed, I rule the kingdom."
 

Pam O

OK... I am going to see how fast I can do this for the Pentacles! :joke:

1. I am determined to manifest new THINGS in my life!
2. Decisions, decisions. What path should I take to get THINGS flowing?
3. The plan: This task is what I am going to focus on first to make THINGS start happening now.
4. But I am stuck. I don't want to lose these few THINGS I have now. I must cling...
5. Nope, these THINGS I have are stuck and stagnant. I must change THINGS!
6. Oh look, THINGS are finally flowing in so nicely, I can give some away.
7. I am appraising the THINGS I have set in motion. I see progress, but I wish it was faster progress.
8. The process is dialed in now. THINGS are systematically being generated.
9. I have so many THINGS and no one to share them with.
10. Everyone is now scattered with so much going on. One THING is not being focused on.
Page. Oh, look at this shiny new THING I discovered!
Knight. I am really going to stop and enjoy this THING as it begins to grow.
Queen. My mind wanders as I fantasize. This THING is not creating the love I wanted.
King. This THING is what is the most important part of my kingdom.
 

Pam O

Just for fun, this reminded me of this exercise. I know it is the majors. I thought it was pretty creative!

tarotbear said:
How many Major Arcana does it take to screw in a light bulb?

All of them!

0) The Fool has already started before anyone else is ready.

1) The Magician assembles an array of objects that might be needed, displays them to best advantage and starts discussing how to go about it.

2) The High Priestess sits in the background, knowing one thing is missing but says nothing.

3) The Empress fusses around making sure it is safe and nobody gets hurt.

4) The Emperor tells everyone he thinks it should be done right now and starts delegating responsibilities.

5) The Hierophant offers advice on the missing part after consulting with the High Priestess.

6) The Lovers umm and ah about what wattage bulb to put in this time.

7) The Chariot charges in and starts doing it himself regardless of the others' protests.

8) Strength surreptitiously places what's needed into Chariot's hands and gets it done her way.

9) The Hermit suggests a candle in a lamp would provide light in the meantime.

10) The Wheel of Fortune laughs and reminds everyone that the light will need changing again in the future.

11) Justice works out whose turn it is to change the light and whether the division of labor is being delegated fairly.

12) The Hanged Man sits back and contemplates how darkness can change our lives.

13) Death points out mournfully that this was bound to happen and how everything ends.

14) Temperance tells Death to chill out; it all evens up in the end.

15) The Devil tries to blame the Hanged Man for causing the light to blow and creates bad feelings all round.

16) The Tower suddenly starts ripping out the original light fitting so he can create a whole new more basic look.

17) The Star marvels at new beginnings and says how much she's looking forward to having the light working again.

18) The Moon continually offers conflicting advice, confusing everyone until he wanders off to the relief of all.

19) The Sun wants to redesign the whole room around a much brighter light.

20) Judgment examines the globe to see whether it truly was its time to blow and ponders whether the globe can be recycled.

21) The World suggests that any problems with the light are temporary: we had light once, we will have it again, and suggests focusing on the bigger picture.

Meanwhile, the Fool has already finished changing the light bulb and is off doing his own thing.

~ Author unknown
Click to expand...
 

closerwalking

Pam O said:
Dusty recommends this exercise is repeated often to go deeper and deeper into the cards, and to help us not get stuck on a limited meaning. Also, the more we let go of book definitions, the more we can sharpen our intuitive skills.

For those of you who don't yet have Dusty's book, here are some questions to stimulate intuitive ideas in order to "look at the card and see what it says to you."

- If you were standing in the picture, how would it affect you?
- What symbols catch your attention in the card?
- What action is happening, or not happening? What does that indicate?
- Why is that action happening?
- Is someone looking at something?
- If you were standing next to the person, what would you ask?
- Is something being planned?
- Why is the person dressed the way they are? ( End Quote)



What great questions, thanks for sharing these, you have convinced me to get this book. I love this approach. and thanks to who started this, I appreciate the sharing of the exercises.
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Pam O

closerwalking said:
......... ( End Quote)

What great questions, thanks for sharing these, you have convinced me to get this book. I love this approach. and thanks to who started this, I appreciate the sharing of the exercises.
Click to expand...

A little aside. If you edit your post above and change this ( End Quote) in your post to this [/QUOTE] then the "quote" will show more clearly in your post. :)

I am very thankful I got this book. Also, I give much appreciation goes to all the originators of these threads, as well as all the other participants.. I actually bought Dusty's "Advanced Secrets" first since I am not a beginner. But then it felt right to go start at the beginning because his book exercises are designed to deepen intuition. Even though I did not want to admit it, I have found myself falling into a few ruts with some cards... It is just not that simple! You know, those darn patterns we find ourselves repeating in life!? :joke:
 

Pam O

And another set of questions from the great TdM teacher, Enrique Enriques, that I want to focus on while doing Dusty's exercises:
What is happening?
How does it feel?
 

3ill.yazi

Pam O said:
And another set of questions from the great TdM teacher, Enrique Enriques, that I want to focus on while doing Dusty's exercises:

What is happening?

How does it feel?
Click to expand...


I have currently shifted some of my studies to the Tarot de Marseilles, and I am finding Dusty's exercises equally useful there. While he prefers teaching with the RWS, I find the techniques don't really seem chained to a particular deck, particularly in regards to the major arcana.
 

Pam O

3ill.yazi said:
I have currently shifted some of my studies to the Tarot de Marseilles, and I am finding Dusty's exercises equally useful there. While he prefers teaching with the RWS, I find the techniques don't really seem chained to a particular deck, particularly in regards to the major arcana.
Click to expand...
I agree with, "techniques don't really seem chained to a particular deck". Even Dusty implies we use any deck, even though he has recommendations... And the RWS is just one primary viewpoint of a card which actually has many facets. Just like one diamond can be seen many different ways depending on the light and the angle of the view.

So, each card's meaning roots back to the number and the element, whether RWS or TdM. They are both rooted in the Golden Dawn theories. Often, the 5s show some kind of "change" in that element. So when swords stands for "air", then 5 of Sw could be some kind of change of "change" of mind...

So the whole point of these exercises is to "open our mind" to additional viewpoints to help our intuition grab a meaning that best resonates.... :)

Participatation in these exercise threads using the TdM would be awesome. :D

It would also help when any of us get stuck in a rut of a RWS image, especially to expand and see alternate angles of the RWS could somehow relate.... When I 1st started with Tarot, I would look for how the Osho Zen could fit into the RWS as I compared it to the Robin Wood Tarot images...
 
Morgan Greer - Seven of Pentacles Morgan Greer - Naming the Court Cards