ADEPT LEVEL: Step 19-2; 21 Ways To Read A Tarot Card

dadsnook2000

All of the sub-step in step 19 are about myth and archetypes. Because of the number of steps, I am going to create a separate post for each of the sub-steps in exercise 19.

19-2 asks us to:
A) select a major arcana card that is most like ourself. We will find that this represents our social mask or persona.
B) select the card you like least. Describe why. This is a shadow aspect.
C) Which card depicted by the opposite sex best describes your ideal partner. This represents our Anima or Animus.
D) Find a card with qualities you very much admire. Describe them. This is our higher self or guide card.

We will explore these cards to learn about ourselves, we will play at numerology and find our integrated self, which we will explore. This is a lot of work with more to follow

Dave
 

squeakmo9

Using the Victorian Romantic...

dadsnook2000 said:
19-2 asks us to:
A) select a major arcana card that is most like ourself. We will find that this represents our social mask or persona.
The Sun is one of my birth cards, so it just seemed natural to pick it. The reason is because upon reading an interp of it as a birth card by TarotBear who said something about it relating to harsh conditions while growing up. That a person with this card would somehow compensate with a particularly 'sunny' disposition. This seems to resonate, and, besides, I do have Leo as my Ascendent...it all fits, and where it pops out most is at work. Even when I am not feeling 100%, I tend to 'fake it'. In the past, it could really come off as a damn acting performance, especially when a client is not exactly someone I can deal with. Leading me to...
B) select the card you like least. Describe why. This is a shadow aspect.
The Devil. Believe or not, I really do not like 'fakeness', especially in clients which I have sensed in the past.
Yet, I understand it within myself when I reflect on certain events that have occured. This VR Devil has a woman in bat wings, posing (Poser???)with various trinkets on hand in background. So I see it in the light of not being true, or sincere. It's a reminder of what I wish not be, ever... a liar, trickster, thief...it's just MY take of this card.
C) Which card depicted by the opposite sex best describes your ideal partner. This represents our Anima or Animus.
The Empress. I'm not sure if I had to find a card with a male figure on it, but I've met my share of Emperors and frankly have had it. When I was siftly through the cards, I thought about it, and have loved the men who enjoyed the finer things in life, and that's what I felt when I looked at the VR 3 of Cups, leading me to The Empress. Someone gentle, caring, intelligent, nurturing. Who really knows himself and what he has to offer. I am only saying this because these are the things I work toward and wish to be. You get what you give:)
D) Find a card with qualities you very much admire. Describe them. This is our higher self or guide card.
Strength. The ability to control ones own appetities, guide, offer structure but in a gentle manner. Nothing forced, organic almost. That is what I admire and also aim for, and think of when I look upon this card.
Because of the number of steps, I am going to create a separate post for each of the sub-steps in exercise 19.
Thank you Dave!
 

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dadsnook2000

We've moved up.

Isn't it nice that we are now located in the Individual Deck Studies sub-forum? Not only are we listed first, because of the number starting our study group name, but with everything in one place it is easier to find recent posts. I've just noticed that someone has posted on Step 12, which I'll have to look at, having missed it previously.

Our thanks to Sullis and to those who continue to make this such a popular study group. Best of all, any tarot deck can be used here. Dave
 

dadsnook2000

Dave's Step 19:2

Well, here I am sitting on the Maine coast, enjoying the weeks of fog and rain like everyone else in the Northeast. This time I brought my tarot books and cards with me.

** 19:2A. Pick a card that best represents myself.
I have picked the Fey MAGICIAN, a Fey creating balls of brilliant light from which emerge his creations. The tools of his trade and other creations lie about him and his work table.

This card seems to represent the final portions of my book as it all comes together and as others review it. It's final form is complete except for the word editing that remains --- chapter content and structure, chart examples, resources, astrological stories, cover design. This is the best time for the creative process as the whole starts to emerge.

** 19:2B. Select the card you like least.
At first I was considering the Fey DEVIL which is a large beast tearing up trees and devouring them. This didn't seem to be a "personal" dislike, rather more like an objective dislike. So, I chose the Fey 7 of Chalices. This Fey is dressed much like the Hermit in a top hat, long coat and large boots. He sits on the ground before a large cup out of which rises a huge serpent of a dark purple color, in a threatening posture. This card portrays surprise, an awkward position, something that projects an overpowering threat, a lack of resources for the Fey. No plan A, no plan B. It's hard to imagine being in a situation like that, and very disquieting.

** 19:2C. A card with the opposite gender shown, representing the qualities sought in a partner or mate.
I have chosen the Fey Wheel. This card shows both a maid and a crone Fey sitting opposite each other on a floor, arranging a village of miniature figures, houses, trees, animals, etc. along a spiral road that curls into the center of a village. This represents two things: CREATIVITY to match my own inclinations, and DIVERSITY OF ACTION & RESULTS. The creativity side of the card shows imagination and delight in bringing new possibilities into our world. The diversity of action & results shows the legendary changing-of-ones-mind associated with women, as well as their capacity to take in a multitude of meanings and needs within a single situation --- this all brings a richness to whatever they touch. These qualities of the female nature are a delight to others.

** 19:2D. This card represents our spirit guide, the higher qualities we seek to express.
I have chosen the Fey 3 of Wands. A Fey sits on the ground watching a three-bloom plant sprout from a seed. Each bloom glows. A shovel is nearby signifying that the Fey planted these "possibilities." The Fey waits for the blossoming with an air of patience, knowing that what will be will come in its own time. There is no way of saying when this growing and blooming process will reach its maturity point. Whatever is needed will be provided by the sitting Fey.

These are the cards that the next steps will utilize to lead us into a greater understanding of our cards. If we step back from this exercise we might see that these steps represent the "power of using the cards" that we already possess. We can create structures to lead us into discovery, we can create stories that illuminate points for our clients to consider. We can go wherever we wish to go, wherever the questions of those who seek our help need us to go (places where they cannot go because they lack the knowledge and freedoms we have learned about and have already given ourselves up to this point).

If there is anything we have learned in the past two years, it is that we have the ability to use our cards in any way, for any purpose, to achieve and explore any topic. Through this marvelous book and the guidance of its author we have been given a precious gift. AT THIS POINT, WE NEED TO SHOW HOW WE CAN HAVE FUN WITH OUR CARDS AS WE CONTINUE OUR LEARNING AND HELPING PROCESSES USING THE TAROT.

In this spirit we will continue these final steps and encourage those who are at some earlier point in this journey to keep pressing on and join us in this very special experience. Dave