TAROT TIDBITS by Pagan X
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TAROT TIDBITS
by Pagan X
I realized only recently that as systems, the Tarot and the
I Ching have different areas of emphasis. With the Tarot, the
effort is in the interpretation, and the cards seem to easily
arrange themselves properly. With the I Ching, the effort is in
obtaining the correct hexagram, as the interpretation is all
written out. Using the yarrow sticks, it takes some time to
obtain the hexagram, and that time is spent thinking about the
question. I assume that it is in this time that the mind somehow
gets the fingers to obtain the correct hexagram. Sometimes the
answer occurs to you in the time you take to think about it, so
the I Ching actually functions functions as a means to still the
mind for careful thought!
Under debate is the importance of having read the books that
go with most decks, and knowing the correspondences, etc. I now
feel, and the newer Tarot books emphasize this, that the corres-
pondences to other systems (most notable, the Kabbala) is not
intrinsic to the traditional design of the cards. Some decks are
designed with these correspondences, such as the Waite-Smith and
Crowley-Harris decks, and for these it probably is a good idea to
read their accompanying books. Numerological, astrological, etc.
symbols and interpretations may be fun or useful to know, but
probably won't give one some revealed, indispensible truth that
is applicable to all Tarot decks. The truly traditional deck (in
which only the Major Arcana has pictures, such as the IJJ Swiss)
works on mythology, archetypes, and Renaissance art and seems to
have more validity than the works of occultists. I think that
those who emphasize the necessity of studying all the symbols, in
classes and in reading books, have a vested interest in getting
one to take the classes and buy the books! The Sight itself
cannot be taught. At the same time, it is useful to know the
artist's intentions and to have something to fall back on when
inspiration fails.
There are several things to remember while reading that give
one confidence:
1. People want to believe, so they will take anything you
say and try to make it fit. This is especially true of
interpreting court cards as people they know.
2. Just paying complete attention to this person makes him/
her feel better.
3. If you are hammy enough, you are at the least, enter-
taining.
4. If you are confident enough, you will be believed. When
I teach a class, I try to instill a sense of chutzpah in poten-
tial readers.
Those are all forces operating even when your ESP is not
engaged, and you are just intellectually doing your best. Any-
one can learn to read Tarot. If your Sight is working, if you
are truly inspired in the sense of prophecy, you will know
things. I find myself doing readings both ways, intellectually
dredging ever morsel I can from the cards in as confident a
manner as I can muster, or, dramatically Seeing the situation in
little pictures superimposed on the faces of the cards.
Most people come to you wanting you to know amazing things
and tell them wonders. They want to believe in magic, and they
want to be understood as people. But, they only want to be
understood just so far; if you know too much, you can be invading
their sense of privacy. Well, why did they get a reading? I
told you they _wanted_ to believe, but that doesn't mean they _do_
believe. And, if you get someone who has made it a point to be a
very rational person and not believe, you can actually threaten
their vision of the universe. That's scary. Some people go
through a period when synchronicity intrudes upon their lives and
they have to re-think the connective forces in the universe.
They deny and delight in these forces simultaneously. The
disgusting thing about synchronicity is that it is so very often
trivial (and that's a good indicator of its connection with the
subconscious). Oracles, such as the Tarot and I Ching, are means
of controlling the phenomenon of synchronicity and of becoming
comfortable with it.
Once one accepts and recognizes these things, and works with
them, the universe becomes poetry as events become metaphor. The
universe becomes a word game, a dream place; you see how the
structure of the brain organizes perception and experience, and
just maybe...the universe becomes sentient to you, and that is
awareness of the Goddess.
I know with reading Tarot, that the cards are a means
whereby I release the powers of my Sight. They become obvious
enough that I see other pictures, as if superimposed on the cards
or in them. I do not know how much these pictures correspond to
the representations on the cards, whether the arrangement of the
cards itself has importance in the same way the arrangement of
lines in a hexagram is important, or whether the cards are a dis-
traction for my conscious mind, allowing my subconscious to work.
Of course, as I am reading in the inspired state, it's very
obvious to me that specific cards are saying specific things
strongly, but these messages vary from reading to reading. It is
hard for me, therefore, to confidently give a meaning for each
card that applies in all cases. This is one of the reasons I
suspect the books of interpretation. Sometimes the cards fail me
miserably, and I must be a showman; at that time, the Goddess
does not have a message for that person, or perhaps they are not
permitting me to break their privacy (this implies some coopera-
tion from the querant). So I can read in many ways, in varying
degrees of importance. This varies, too, with my mood, and my
time, as my Sight waxes and wanes.
Reading Tarot cards gives me a very special feeling, as a
Priestess of the Goddess. Sometimes I have a cold sensation from
the crown of my head through to my mouth, as words and images are
literally poured into me, and from me, to the querant. I find
myself talking very much with my hands, gesturing, and often
trying to express very visual concepts with metaphor and similes.
Sometimes I say things I do not understand, but the querant does.
In doing readings, I am performing an obvious and direct service
for another person, usually comforting them in a stressful time.
Reading for myself is never so dramatic, because I often want to
"pretty up" the story; but the cards often have a way of insis-
ting on occasion. I knew I was pregnant when the Empress showed
up three readings in a row.
I still wonder about the origin of the cards. I find the
same symbols in the imagery of medieval parades, in Dante's
Divine Comedy and Grimms' Fairy Tales. Different decks suit me
for different moods and purposes, but I still find the Waite-
Smith to be the most effective, and the Crowley-Harris too
disturbing. The Crowley-Harris must be difficult to publish, as
I have seen decks with terrible color undertones of poisonous
green, blue, and orange, and none that struck me as having good
color quality at all. I do not use the feminist decks ("Mother-
peace" and "Daughters of the Moon") for divination because they
reflect visions of the world that are too idealistic, almost too
optimistic. I use them for meditation and fantasy, but it seems
to me aht egalitarian decks cannot be used to clearly See the
oppressive, real world. The Aquarian deck is a variation on
Waite's designs, and a visually lovely deck, very popular.
Definitely shop around for decks, classes and books. The
markup on decks can be high, as much as $3.00 difference for the
Motherpeace deck ($19.95 to 22.95), and books also can be
inflated by putting a little price sticker over the publisher's
price. Classes are harder to evaluate -- I have never taken any
-- but I would be suspicious of classes offered at places selling
price-inflated decks! Professional readers are also costly, and
I have to say candidly that I have gotten much better readings
from a talented roommate than from the professional who charged
$26.50 for an hour. I am especially wary of anyone who reads
past lives in cards, because there's no way to test them while
you are sitting there. There could be and probably are good
professionals, I just haven't the budget to do the research.
