GD, like more than a few folks have posted in this thread, I also love the tarot books. (Love books in general). What happens for me is I read many books, some talk about card meanings, some talk about various spreads, some talk about the Fool's Journey ... etc. And among all my tarot books, I'm sure each and every one says something that contradicts things in others. And companion books that are written by the creator of the particular deck often have wonderfully diverse and useful takes on card meanings.
Each new thing I read about the cards is painted onto my brain, layer upon layer, and the layers of the different readings becomes a unique color of its own.
But ... when I am doing an actual reading with my cards,
I don't pull out the books. I look at the pictures and let them tell me their story, and record the reading in my journal. (I might look in a book later, as part of my ongoing learning process, but that doesn't change the reading).
And to answer your original question, yes, if my intuition kicks in with a meaning that doesn't really relate to the "traditional" RWS meanings, I always follow that intuition. For example the 10 of swords, with all those swords stuck in that poor man's back came up in an "what would help" position in a reading, and my brain whispered "accupuncture".
MagsStardustBlack said:
An idea would be to start a little diary for all 78 (or however many) cards you have, a page for each card. Whenever you are studying or meditating on a card write down feelings, thoughts, images, colours, smells, memories even, that are trigered by the card you are looking into. This will tune in your intuition to that card and will enable you to strengthen your intuition and tune it to each card in your own personal way. ... xxMags
This is such a useful tool. Someone here suggested it when I was very new, and it has helped me so much. I love going back and reading my early study notes. I actually have 2 journals; the individual card study is a 3 ring notebook, so I can add things to earlier entries. The other journal is where I record my readings, and it's a bound notebook.
Mary V