The Great Card Memorization War!

[Rhiannon]

*This post is intended to be both humorous and thought provoking, this is something I'd really like to discuss with you guys, but let's have some fun too, k?*

Well, since wars now seem to be a popular past time here at aeclectic, I thought I'd start one. I think maybe we should discuss our opinions on whether or not card memorization is a good thing!

I know many of us "old fogies" have stated our opinions on this before, but let's see what some of our newbies think and share the wisdom of our collective years and experience with them! *snicker*

When I started reading tarot I learned the book meanings. I had a Mary K. Greer, Rosemary Ellen Guilley and some other books that I have since given to other people. I even quizzed myself on the card meanings. I started with a RWS deck because that's what was pictured in most books.

It wasn't until about a year ago that I started being able to rely more on my intuition during a reading. I think that intially the book meanings superceded my intuitiveness. But now, I like having that knowledge to "fall back on" just in case I can't pick anything up or I am drawing a blank on a particular card.

So, what's everybody think? Can we have a nice civil little war, just for fun? C'mon....

R

 

[SherryZoned]

As a youngin I have not learned book meanings.. I have books..but never actually really looked or memorized..I do think i will read the books..To get more insights..No memorizing for me..If the deck is Illustrated all the way through. I would think you could get something from the picture if nothing else.. That can be the fall back..Just my wooden nickel!

 

[zorya]

i believe in reading everything you can get your hands on. doesn't matter which deck you have, read about the visconti and marseilles decks. read about rider-waite and thoth. (starting with the best of course.) this will give you a wide pallette and basic understanding of the archetypes, numerology and other symbols.

then put the books away, let go of everything you've read, and trust your intuition.

 

[truthsayer]

when i first started reading, i depended heavily on books and studying symbolism to understand the cards. if i had it all to do differently. i'd try doing a daily card, journal about what my intuition saw, and compare my definition. not to see if i was wrong or right but to see how my intuition reads it. practice my intuition. after so long reading a book and not trusting my intuition, it was really tough giving up that book but i managed. i strongly encourage beginners to begin trusting their intuition early and not have to undermine your reading by not trusting you intuition. reading the cards differently than the book doesn't mean your definition is wrong.

 

[SlyR]

I always believed that rote learning precedes intimate understanding. In other words, memorization is a great idea for all students, up to the point at which intuitive readings become fairly easy.

 

[Teal]

Well, since I'm an avid reader of everything from toilet paper packages to Ouspensky, I'm into books. But what I recommend is that a person start with a Rider Waite or one of the traditional decks and the books about that type of deck. You can do a certain amount of memorization, I guess, but only to familiarize yourself with the general meanings, not with the idea in mind of locking yourself into just a narrow meaning for each card. I think it's very helpful to learn about the myths and symbols used in the decks. If you're not up on all the myths and symbolism, you're going to starve your intuitive readings, in my opinion, because the images won't have so much to play off of. In my case, I had a very meager understanding of the myths and symbols the tarot uses to start with, so I don't think I'd have ever come up with as much richness of meaning if I hadn't hit the books. I'll probably always read and study the books on tarot because that's my nature, but it will only enrich my basic store of food for the subconscious to spring from in reading intuitively. My goal is to be able to eventually read using nothing but the cards and my intuition, nourished by the knowledge I've gained in reading a lot of books on the subject.

Beginners ( I went about this all the wrong way as a raw beginner, ignoring the wise advice of those who have read far longer) should get a good basis of knowledge with a traditional deck. With that behind them, I think they can eventually hope to read with even the "cute" theme decks intuitively. If you go about it backwards like I did, you'll probably end up like I did-----confused, tired and frustrated, with barely any real foundation for any deck.

The reason I didn't start out with Rider Waite was because I really don't like the art on the cards. I wanted something more along the lines of my lifestyle, taste in art work, etc. I figured I was smart enough to "get it" anyway, and that I'd connect more with a deck that appealed to my artistic and personal tastes. I did make a good connection with Buckland Romani, finally, but now I can see that Rider Waite or another traditional deck would have ultimately been the best I could have started with. The longer I use and study Rider Waite, the less I mind the art work and the more I appreciate the deck. Heck----I may even start sleeping with RW instead of Haindl one of these days. LOL

I don't see how anyone can really grow with tarot without reading a lot of the books, personally, but then I know there are many who never crack a book and read better than I can probably ever hope to. I think it depends on the person.

Uhhhhmmm-----what was the question again? I think I got lost.

 

[Trogon]

So, what's everybody think? Can we have a nice civil little war, just for fun? C'mon....

Ah yes... A nice little Civil War... sounds like fun...

As others have mentioned, I started out with memorization, though to be honest, I don't think this worked out ver well. I struggled with the Tarot for several years and only recently began to rely more on my intuition than on my memorization. Getting a second, and different (the Röhrig Tarot ), deck helped quite a lot. So now, I try to rely mostly on my intuition and what the cards' images "say" to me, though I can still fall back on the book meanings when I get a little stuck.

Interestingly enough... the more I learn, both from reading books and doing readings and studying the cards themselves, the more I find myself modifying what I've learned from the books. This is especially true now that I have several decks. The meanings I learned from my original "book learnin'" on the Rider-Waite Tarot is still there... but it is being affected, modified by what I'm learning with the Röhrig Tarot, the Unicorn Tarot and the Dragon Tarot. Each one has changed my viewpoint a little.

I also am an avid reader (of books ). I can't imagine starting to learn something as complex as the Tarot on my own. A person should have some guidance. If one can't learn from another person, one should learn from books, at least to start with. It should give you some basic understanding of such things as archetypes, symobology, and some preliminary meanings to work off of. I would also say that working your way through more than one book, to get some alternative viewpoints would be helpful as well. There is so much to understand and to learn that I would think it would be nearly impossible for most people (undoubtedly there are exceptions) to learn how to do effective Tarot readings without some background, some guidance, some memorizing.

I will say that this forum, Aeclectic Tarot, sure goes a looooong way to filling the need for learning assistance. The discussions and information which is available here is increadable. If some person, who was just starting their journey in the Tarot (picturing The Fool here ), were to ask poor, humble, little ol' me about where to get information on the Tarot... I'd tell them where to go... Aeclectic Tarot.

... this is my own opinion, of course.

 

[anjocoxo]

books or intuition?

Well I believe there has to be an equilibrium (sp?) between books and intuition. We should start by reading the books, compare the meaning given with the card itself and later use the intuition as the "main tool"... I have some books (not many), but one of them almost drove me crazy. The major were well-explained with details about the art, etc (with RW pictures, of course). I've avoided reading with the minors, but one day I decided "well, I'm going to start the minors"..... when I started reading that book... it explaind the meaning of the card, but it also mentioned A LOT of things like:

"8 of wands - action, movement, walking into goals, bla,bla,bla (the usual stuff)...
with 8/9 disks - changing of residence
with 4 swords - insecurity, delays
with 1 or 3 disks - arguing within the family
with 7 of cups - arguings with several people"

And I was just amazed, like "what the hell is this??? I have to know the meaning PLUS all the diferent meanings with the other surronding cards???". It could drive anyone crazy, I tell you. I decided to read "thirteen basics", trust my intuition and let it flow. Guess it was the best thing to do

Anjo

 

[Diana]

This topic brings up a question that puzzles me somewhat. It is not really off-topic, so I'll keep it here.

It's to do with interpreting other people's spreads like we do on the Your Readings forum.

If one interprets Intuitively, then one reads according to the deck one has in front on one. Because each card will mean something different. An example, in my Hudes deck, the 5 of Swords doesn't have that famous Waite picture of a smug looking guy with three swords, two on the ground, with two disconsolate people wandering off in the background. The picture in the Hudes deck is of a guy holding one sword in his hand, four others floating in the air with their blades facing down. He is actually holding a guy that looks completely k.o. and looks ready to stab him to death in the throat.

Now, if I read intuitively, I cannot interpret other people's readings unless I know which deck they are using. (Which is why I rarely give my opinion in the Your Readings forum, actually, because I don't know which deck has been used.)

However, if I read by memorisation, I then must choose a book and stick with those meanings, because the different books can actually be very contradictory. Then what do I do, go along with the meaning that suits me best? Or go according to my intuition in this case, but then I'm not reading by memorisation, but by intuition.

Am I making myself clear here, or am I going around in circles?

As to the original question as to whether one should memorise or read by intuition, I think certain books can be extremely helpful. But I think a basic knowledge of numerology and an understanding of the four elements is possibly the best starting point for anyone. Then one doesn't even need a pack of cards to read with. One can tear up little pieces of paper, write on them "3 of Swords", or "Five of Coins", and use them as cards. And then with a little bit of intuition and common sense, one should be able to figure out what the reading is all about. Which comes down to my conclusion: a bit of knowledge, a bit of intuition, a bit of common sense. All are needed. One need not exlude the other.

 

[Sulis]

When I first started studying the cards (which was only about a year ago so I`m still very much a beginner), I worked through Joan Bunnings` course and memorised her key word meanings for the cards by drawing a card a day. In the past I have regretted doing this as sometimes her meanings don`t seem to relate at all to the spread and the surrounding cards and it`s harder to be intuitive when you have card meanings stuck in your head.
I`m coming round to the feeling now however that I`m really glad that I did memorise these meanings as they are good to fall back on if nothing comes to mind. I feel as if I have developed my own meanings as well though and it`s good to mix meanings from different scources and use your intuition as well. (Did that make sense? I hope so)

Love and light

Crystalmynx xx