Intensive Deck Study Support Lounge - Part V

I really do think that the "spirit of IDS" is using your chosen deck to accomplish whatever it is you've set out to accomplish. "Doing" tarot, so to speak, only requires one deck. All the others are a product of this (wonderful) Buy Buy Buy! Environment we hang out in. I would sy that, in my opinion, anyone that finds IDS, the idea of using only one deck, a challenge is setting themself up for failure. I think an IDS commitment should be made because you really don't have any great desire to use another deck.

Besides that, like I said, the spirit of IDS lies in one's own goals and ability to accomplish them in a way that feels successful. The opinion of the group, when all is said and done, doesn't matter at all. If you think you're doing something wrong, but we say you're fine, then you're doing something wrong. Clearly we're on a forum and the group opinion is important to open us up to feelings or views that we may not have had or seen otherwise. But in the end, it's all you.

Again, ask yourself what motivated you to buy your first deck. There's a lot to that answer I think

Mi-Shell, thank you for sharing what your journey is about. I do think your IDS studies seem very spiritual in nature, even though that's not what it's about! Your insight and wisdom has inspired many a tarotist I think. For me, at least, it has!

For me, tarot isn't the journey either, but a part of it. Right now, it's how I communicate with my spirit guide, although I've found a teacher and am learning to meditate. I hope to be able to use meditation as a path to communication also. I guess "tool" is the right word for me, also.

I guess I was wrong when I said I don't read for me -- I do actually, quite often. I pull a card when I talk with my spirit guide to see what she has to say. I pull a card asking about a test I'm about to take. I pull a card when I'm feeling uneasy or uncomfortable or stressed out just to see what wisdom is offered. I just don't actually do full out structured spreads is all.

Zan, you raise an interesting point. When I first started IDS'ing, I really didn't want to read with another deck, and it seemed a good way to make people leave me alone about it! But I felt guilty about that. (No one here -- it was the old "I bought you this deck, don't you like it?" "Yes, it's lovely I adore it!" "Then why don't you use it?" "Because I want to use this one..." ) Why is it people try to make you more like them? Hmm... Anyway so it's not penance but not always easy either. Got it. LOL

I guess I look to others' approval too much. I think what I want to do is IDS'ing, with stuff on the side like Mi-Shell. Or even like Zan, reading the Bible I do know what I need from my IDS, and I guess that's what I'll be doing

Working on that part..coming up with my new guidelines. Still working on them though, as my spirit guide seems to feel I need to wait on it a bit, and that I'm missing something....I'll figure that out. LOL

zan_chan said:

Again, ask yourself what motivated you to buy your first deck. There's a lot to that answer I think

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Been getting some pointed readings lately (from others) saying pretty much what you say there..ya think I can get a clue?? LOL

~Yira

I was thinking about what you said about a lack of creative talent Yira. I disagree. The most creative act of my life brought me my son. I can't paint, sing, dance or cook all that well but I don't care - lookit what I did!!!

I call myself "differently creative". I can't paint anything anyone would even want to see, let alone pay to buy but I enjoy doing it. I can't sing - but I do anyway (heaven help anyone in hearing range ). Thankfully Bob is the house-cook!! I am creative for my own pleasure because it's fun and I get a lot out of it.

Instead of a long list of "I can't this, or that" - could you make an equally long list of "I can this and that". Doesn't matter how trivial or abstract you think "this and that" might be. I can guarantee that to someone else it won't be in the least trivial! And you have to keep going at it until you have at least one "I can" for every "I can't". Preferably more......

Okay ya got me there, Wendy -- I have 3 very handsome boys And I can cook...I can crochet, kind of, and I used to knit and probably could relearn. That's about it, in terms of creative talent...

In non-creative ways I am good at animal rescue, especially the "hard" case dogs that require stringent retraining or euthanasia. My Lilah was one such a case, to the point the shelter manager wouldn't let me foster her -- I had to adopt her outright or she was being euthed as dangerous. 14 years later, I regularly get people volunteering to take her if I find myself in financial difficulties. (What's with that?? You don't give up your kids when you have money troubles do ya??!) Little do they know, even at 16 yrs of age, I have to be careful to not spoil her too much. Give her an inch, she's gonna take a mile. (Here's a picture of my girl! )

That's about it for my talents...hehe I used to think I was good at learning but school is teaching me I'm pretty average there too LOL. I wish I were more like my boyfriend...he can do EVERYTHING and he knows just about everything too! He's a very creative, talented, and SMART soul...

I really would like to be more artistic, (and smarter, and...and...lol) but as the (somewhat inaccurately stated) saying goes, those who can't do, critique...LOL

In any case, I'm coming along well with my revised IDS guidelines. I'm a bit stumped on why the cards seem to be indicating I'm leaving companionship out of my IDS. (3 cups in "what am I forgetting in this IDS" position) Share my learning deck? I've already received a hearty ERRRRGH! when I described what I was going to do to my boyfriend, so yeah...No! Don't need to torture others with my mess LOL. Share my personal issues while doing shadow work? No..don't think so THERE either...hehe

~Yira

3 of Cups - not just companions shown in the card. A sense of companionship. A celebration of the relationships between the cupholders. Thus - a sense of joy in companionship. Are you studying that deck so hard you've forgotten to have fun together? Is the deck your companion or one more book to study? It's the emotion behind the card here I think, rather than the concrete image. Maybe? I dunno. Just an idea.

So - you're brilliant with animals, you raise lovely kids, you have African Violets and they thrive. You're a good cook. You can crochet. You might think you're dumb but my god you're bright compared to me who knows nothing about any of the things you've chosen to study.... You're understanding and kind. You're shy, gentle and sweet. You have a lovely self-deprecating humour. Yira - you're a star in anyone's book

Wendywu said:

3 of Cups - not just companions shown in the card. A sense of companionship. A celebration of the relationships between the cupholders. Thus - a sense of joy in companionship. Are you studying that deck so hard you've forgotten to have fun together? Is the deck your companion or one more book to study? It's the emotion behind the card here I think, rather than the concrete image. Maybe? I dunno. Just an idea.

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Hmm...very good idea there! I think perhaps you're correct...I'm very nervous about my new IDS, it's gonna be a painful one, even though I know this is what I started tarot for. Difficult, ya know? But something I desperately need to do. So I need to work my pleasure with tarot and my chosen deck into my IDS guidelines. I'll be changing my deck as well, and perhaps the new deck is saying, I'm not all about trials and tribulations... after all I took great pleasure in my first deck! This deck deserves the same.

Wendywu said:

So - you're brilliant with animals, you raise lovely kids, you have African Violets and they thrive. You're a good cook. You can crochet. You might think you're dumb but my god you're bright compared to me who knows nothing about any of the things you've chosen to study.... You're understanding and kind. You're shy, gentle and sweet. You have a lovely self-deprecating humour. Yira - you're a star in anyone's book

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Wow...*blush* thank you Wendy

Y'know I totally forgot about the African Violets... I'm even taking a class this summer that may help me there too -- plant biology. It's a required class with some flexibility - one basic science class of your choice. I chose plants over human or earth science. AV's are in a very unique position that they're still really very transitional in their evolutionary process, hence the ability to mutate into so many different forms still. (and revert back if you don't take the proper care...) I may (or may not, but knowledge is never wasted..) decide to try my own hand at mutating some unique AV's on down the road...

Ahh..here I sit, and I don't have any homework, and nowhere to be (Except the post office - I need to mail out swap meet items!) I'm loving it!!

I really appreciate all the encouragement and insight you have all offered me

~Yira

Hi Yira!

First of all, I think you (and just about everyone here) are a very creative person! Plus, my mom raised dogs for a number of years, and I know it takes a special touch to train a dog, especially if they were troublesome. Your doggie looks so cute!

As for creativity, I'd recommend "The Artist's Way", a book by Julia Cameron. I read it when I was a teenager, and just got another copy yesterday. It has specific exercises to help enhance your creativity, even if you don't think of yourself as a creative person. I'm thinking of going through the exercises while I do my IDS, and see what happens.

~Kimberlee

Kimberlee said:

Hi Yira!

First of all, I think you (and just about everyone here) are a very creative person! Plus, my mom raised dogs for a number of years, and I know it takes a special touch to train a dog, especially if they were troublesome. Your doggie looks so cute!

As for creativity, I'd recommend "The Artist's Way", a book by Julia Cameron. I read it when I was a teenager, and just got another copy yesterday. It has specific exercises to help enhance your creativity, even if you don't think of yourself as a creative person. I'm thinking of going through the exercises while I do my IDS, and see what happens.

~Kimberlee

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Hey Kimberlee

Thanks for the book recommendation, I'll keep a lookout for it. Always willing to learn more, especially if it'll make me feel more creative

On the dogs issue, it's really not that difficult -- you just have to learn to think like a dog. (Does that make me a bitch? *giggle*) Once you remember they're not hairy people, and can put yourself on their level, it's just a matter of time (and not really all that much time) before they come around to your way of thinking..as long as the message you give them is that you're the alpha bitch/dog not them! It's really only the ones with a mental defect that are not savable, IMO. (this defect can be caused to abuse so severe they cannot recover, however)

I always say, there are no bad dogs, only misinformed/untutored/BAD owners... If more people took the time to research what they were getting into before getting a dog, instead of going with what they saw in a highly trained dog (and not knowing what it took to get the dog there) or that adorable little puppy (all babies are adorable, it's a survival mechanism!) or that awesomely gorgeous specimen they saw in a show(looks don't indicate personality) there'd be a lot less problem animals in the world

We won't go into the cretinous jerks like Vick who obtain/breed a dog specifically to abuse them....and unfortunately give the entire breed a bad rep that's undeserved.

*steps off soap box*

~Yira

Yira - It looks like everyone has already given you lots to think about. As usual, this thread brings some excellent questions.

I agree with YODA that, if you are asking, you are already deeply into the answers. I also agree with Mi-Shell - Tarot is a TOOL. How you use it is entirely up to you. The more you innovate, the more the IDS experience can be for everyone that follows you... IDS for me has been about reading exclusively with, but, not looking exclusively at one deck. That deck is just at the center - the one that brings others in and out like a single important thread in a woven blanket.

Forgive me for my response being so much about 'my experience' but that is all I can speak for and maybe you might pull something of use to you and your question from it.

All I know is what my IDS was intended to do and what it has evolved into over the last 3+ months is surprising and wonderful. All of you have had as much influence as the cards themselves. So an IDS has become this unexpected and unplanned road I am following. I've met other decks (it's inevitable that you will meet the Thoth or RWS if you are using a modern deck) and books and ideas and myself! along the way. I have learned a little bit about what I want and don't want and I am less afraid of making a 'mistake'. So to make it into whatever you want, Yira, is key. If you don't you'll find you will lose steam. Isn't that alone, creative?

The Greenwood may have failed for me as a Tarot, but, by no means was the experience a failure, nor was it a waste - I learned a lot! And I still enjoy new information as it comes up. In terms of reading - it is an Oracle to me, but I can read with it now. I never could before. My connection to the cards has evolved and I learned something about myself. So it was intellectual, spiritual and emotional...

My interest in occult decks has waned and because the Blake is woven in with post RWS structure, there is an aspect of it that is fun to excavate, but, like the Greenwood, it is the exploration of myth and religion that has kept me going, not the occult. I love the Blake in spite of its complexity - maybe because of it, but, I prefer to see the deck in light of Blake's own times, his own views and not in terms of the Tarot structure it has inherited. Have I lost Tarot again? No. I don't think so, but, until I am done, I cannot say for sure. The TdM has emerged more and more in my study of Blake, but, that can only be in the Majors. I know it will be interesting one way or another!

I don't know if that helps you or not, Yira, but either way, allow yourself to explore and don't worry about what is RIGHT. In the end, nobody can tell you what Tarot is for you.

Please sign me up to this. I recently just got the circle of life tarot and it has blown me out of the water. I feel like i'm a complete tarot newbie and need to start all over again.

My goal is to do the IDS for at least one year

Love

Little Hare