Three places - How to Read Tarot

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Cybernetic_Jazz
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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Cybernetic_Jazz »

I think I'll still do the Oswald Wirth US games, albeit I understand now that I'll need to do a Marsailles interpretation of the pips if I want anything more unique than just doing Rider Waite interpretation with a different deck.

The colors and contrasts in part drew me to this one, also the historicity and evolution of Levi's ideas through Papus and Stanislas De Guaita. As a BOTA student I've also always wondered what on earth happens when people put the Fool on Shin.
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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Serenaisa22 »

I have Thoth Tarot. I just feel connected to it, this is the major reason why I have chosen it.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

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frackture wrote:I have the Deviant Moon Deck.

I chose it because of your advice (Clockwork_Ghost) you said this one, the Night Sun and the tarot Illuminati were good choices. Of these, the Deviant Moon artwork is the more appealing to me. It's a bit melancholic but it kinda has a cartoon vibe to it, and i'm a bit like that also. In spite of being kind of cartoonish, i feel that the characters have a very real and palpable dimension, they feel very three dimensional.

As I write this, I checked the thread on which you advise on these 3 decks and I didn't notice that you said that the Deviant Moon was more fit for Divination and the Night Sun for Magick Ritual work. If I did notice that, I might had choose the other way around. But either way, I like this deck, and since i'm an absolute beginner I feel that this deck will work for me as a starting point.
The Deviant Moon is absolutely perfect as it retains a lot of the meanings in the illustrated cards, and is therefore much more instinctual and easy to use. Which card stands out the most to you? Why?

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Vjetruša »

I have The Medieval Scapini Tarot...it was a love on first sight.

Combination of Medieval and Renaissance art, to me this deck is very inviting and challenging. Although medieval time is taken for dark period for humanity and knowledge, yet it turned out to be a fertile soil for a completely opposite period – Renaissance. From that I see balance in this deck, balance between two contrasts.

It’s full of symbols from different cultures through which you have to navigate to get to a main/clean thought. Kind of like my own mindset that never starts with a simple idea (I have a mind mole that digs through my pile of associations).

The card that stands out the most for me, would be -The Popess. Knowledge, intuition and nature presented in unthinkable form – the popes. It can make you discover and face the true nature of things.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by frackture »

Clockwork_Ghost wrote: The Deviant Moon is absolutely perfect as it retains a lot of the meanings in the illustrated cards, and is therefore much more instinctual and easy to use. Which card stands out the most to you? Why?
Hi. It took me a while to think about your question.

At this moment, I feel these are the cards I'm more connected to (without any particular order):

- Seven of Cups - as it stands for imagination, and to depict reality in other ways.
- The Magician - I'm reading Franz Bardon's "Initiation into Hermetics" and right at the beginning is a extensive analysis of this card. Since I'm quite new in occult studies, I feel the magician is a very important symbol for me right now.
- The Emperor - This cards emanates a feeling of being in control, and always looking for your next conquest. This is something I wish to accomplish in my life.
- Three of Pentacles - The picture in this card depicts 3 artists working on each other. I feel this is related to group work. Together we can achieve greater things than alone.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Cybernetic_Jazz »

Starting to feel like I'm burning the candle at both ends and in the middle lately - not just with occult work but with the job, martial arts, and I'm thinking I might need to just take some pointers as this goes on rather than try to pack 20 pounds of a crap in a ten pound bag; my usual 15 is getting risky. Will follow along and see what I can glean from the conversation but I'll likely need to at my own pace.
You don't have to do a thing perfect, just relentlessly.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

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Cybernetic_Jazz wrote:Starting to feel like I'm burning the candle at both ends and in the middle lately - not just with occult work but with the job, martial arts, and I'm thinking I might need to just take some pointers as this goes on rather than try to pack 20 pounds of a crap in a ten pound bag; my usual 15 is getting risky. Will follow along and see what I can glean from the conversation but I'll likely need to at my own pace.
Yeah man, I know exactly what you mean - I'm snowed under all over the place too, but I'll keep this lesson going - I promise you that. Might just be gaps between posts though.

Okay, next what I would like you to do is to split the deck into the major arcana, court cards, and minor arcana. If you could also make sure each suit runs from ace to ten as we need to first look at the cards themselves and the bigger story they tell.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Clockwork Ghost »

Okay, I need a roll-call. Who is following this thread?

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Eremita »

Reporting for duty, sah.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by frackture »

+ 1

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Vjetruša »

Here!

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by beero »

I wasn't one of the three that signed up but was going to follow the lessons if I have time

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Cybernetic_Jazz »

I think I'm back to my original position - not in class but following along with interest (if its okay).
You don't have to do a thing perfect, just relentlessly.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Clockwork Ghost »

Okay, so now we should have the following.

1. 22 Major arcana - this is the Fool to the World, or the Magician to the Fool, depending on what sort of tarot deck you have, though I'm guessing unless you have a perverse interest in very old pre-Rider Waite decks the major arcana will start with the Fool.

2. Four suits, running from ace to king.

Next, remove the court cards completely from the suits, though keep them also sorted by suit. This will give you three piles. Next, sort the Suits as follows: Swords, Wands, Cups, and Pentacles.

Okay, here's what I would now like you to do. Have a look at just the major arcana, starting from the Fool and going through to the last card, the World. This is commonly called the Fools Journey - each card in the major arcana represents something important that the central character, the Fool, must overcome, learn, or accomplish. Just using the names of the cards and the images upon them, please write me a short story (max 500 words) about all 21 things that our Fool does, learns, overcomes, or accomplishes along the way. Make this a continuous thread, not just 'Magician: Manifestation of Will' etc, make this read like you're discussing the path that the Fool must take to achieve completion within him or herself.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by frackture »

First of all, excuse me for my bad english.
Writing about this is hard for me, and some sentences might be a little weird.

That said, here it goes:

The Fool starts his journey without knowing anything of the world, therefor he travels with no fear.
He meets The Magician and acknowledges the elements which construct the world, and that one can manipulate them. As he goes further in his journey hidden knowledge is revealed to him (The High Priestess) and with this knowledge he gains the power of creation/fertility (The Empress).

At this point, the fool his a stronger person which has accomplished some valuable achievements. But he only cares about moving forward (The Emperor). Then, he achieves understanding of the spiritual realm and religion. This inspires him and gives him control of his own spirit, and also by preaching that knowledge he gains the power to control man as a puppet (The Hierofant).

With The Lovers he learns the harmony between Masculine and Feminine side, and the perils of that relation (one could be poisoned or hypnotized by it and deviate from his true self). His triumph over his past adversities give him power and confidence to push even further on his Journey (The Chariot). With this empowerment, the fool must find a path of virtue and Justice because he is responsible for his own acts and later he will be judged.

He searches solitude as a way to better know himself (The Hermit). He also, learns that there is chance in life, and one must accept it's ups and downs (Wheel of Fortune) and that he must be active while facing adversities, otherwise time will pass by and he will remain hanged (the Hanged Man).

He realizes that for him to change he must die to be reborn with virtue (Death). And that with patience and perseverance he can find harmony and balance in apparantly incompatible things (Temperance).

Then he meets the Devil, who is a reminder that one could degenerate to the pleasures of the material world and become his slave. And he can only break free of that slavery by destroying the walls he built around him(The Tower).

After he breaks the walls around him, he's naked and exposed but still he finds calmness. The stars shining above him give him hope and inspiration (The Star). But being unprotected, the fool is vulnerable to the illusions of the Moon. Gladly they don't last long, as The Sun shows up and enlightens the darkness clearing the confusion and fear bringing union between him and his brothers.

As the Journey is coming to an end, the Fool faces the trial of life. He accesses if he lived his life with Justice and must find absolution from the things he did out of ignorance.

Finally, the fool closes the cycle and returns to the starting point, The World. Although this time he has a better understanding of himself and what is around him. He is ready to start a new journey.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

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The Fool (0) is our hero. He is a baby, thrown into the world blind, deaf and dumb and armed with nothing but an inexplicable impulse to grow. He doesn't know who he is or where he is going, but he is going to take his best shot, armed only with his enthusiasm and a can-do attitude. The first figure the Fool meets is the Magician (1), his masculine aspect. This is his first realisation – that causes have effects, and that by imposing his Will on things he can change his environment. The Fool is learning to communicate and function as an individual being. Next he encounters the High Priestess (2), his feminine aspect, and learns the value of Silence. Through listening, he is discovering the process of learning and his consciousness grows in leaps and bounds. The first real person he knows is his own mother, The Empress, (3), who he recognises as a separate entity that sustains him. He experiences her love and sustenance. She protects and nurtures him. The next figure he comes to know is The Emperor (4), his father, a dominant character who is both very wise and very strong. His father teaches him authority, respect and responsibility. Next the Fool discovers the Heirophant (5), the world of rules associated with school, religion and other social institutions. He learns respect for his elders and the value of higher knowledge.

The Fool comes now to the Lovers (6), to his emotions and passion. He finds himself infatuated, both with other Fools and with ideals. The world is a flowering playground waiting to be explored. As he comes into his youth, he experiences the exhilaration of the Chariot (7), a mastery of his environment as he excels at his pursuits. He takes an active role in life and follow his passions. He is on top of the world. Justice (8) arrives to teach him about ethics, the complex nature of human relations and that the world is not always a happy place. The suffering he is coming to understand sparks a period of reflection – The Hermit (9) – our Fool looks inwardly and begins to ask the deeper questions – Who am I? Where did we come from? Where are we going?

His earlier triumps in the Chariot take a turn now as the Wheel of Fortune (10) teaches him that all structures are unstable. Easy come, easy go – the Fool is reeling from his setbacks but rolling with the punches. From these insights he gains Strength (11), and realises that strength can be many-layered and many-formed. Through adversity he discovers tenacity. He realises that sometimes true Strength is the courage to let go – The Hanged Man (12). He relinquishes his illusions and looks forward in the face of Death (13), a shattering event that strips away the certainties he had earlier in his Journey. These are profound spiritual experiences, and it is only through appreciating the conflicting, dualistic aspects of the human experience – through Temperance (14) – that he stays sane. Our Fool experiences a bleak depression following Death, and finds himself in the clutches of the Devil (15). His earlier strengths have all but evaporated, and he has lost all sense of direction. What is the point of living if only to die? What is the point of anything? We are all just powerless spokes in a wheel beyond comprehension. Everything he believed in comes crashing down around him in The Tower (16). He is ruined...

And yet he is still alive. He is still breathing and life continues to roll on around him. In his ruin he looks upward (or inward?) and asks for meaning, and there he finds The Star (17). He realises that he is a divine being; that all is not lost. He was so caught up in material concerns and his own mental constructs he lost sight of the light within. He is inspired. Life is worth living! He goes through a period of intense reflection wherein he tries to separate truth from fiction and strip away any illusions he still harbours – The Moon (18). This is difficult, but the Star urges him on. He experiences an overwhelming clarity unlike anything he has known before – The Sun (19). Things begin to fall into place. The light has shone into the darkness, and he is beginning to understand it. He offers himself fully for Judgement (20). He surrenders himself to the Divine Will and accepts his own tiny place in an infinite Universe. He finds new meaning. He is reborn.

Finally he is able to synthesise all of these lessons into a new experience of reality. He has been initiated. He has attained a mastery of life far deeper and far more Tempered than his earlier fancies on the Chariot. He rejoins The World (21), confident in who he is. He gives freely of himself in aid of others.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

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Excellent, really well done guys - I'm very impressed [thumbup]

Now, please continue the tale through the four worlds of the Kabbalah, which is what each of the suits represents. Lets start with Atziluth – the world of the archetypes, or the spirit, the lion, the star sign Leo, and the element of fire. This is the story of the suit of Wands. Start from the Ace and read the story through to the Ten. We are not including the court cards in this as they are to represent people in your life, not part of the journey.

EXTRA FOR EXPERTS: Further combine the influences of the Tree of Life through describing the journey through each suite in relation to each Sephira in turn, from the first to the tenth.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

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This task is more difficult that the previous one for me. I'm not sure if I'm relating some cards the right way.
For now I won't relate this with the Kabbalah because I feel it would be too much for me to digest.

So here it goes.

The Ace of Wands represents the initial spark of creation, the catalyst which makes all possible. The Two of Wands represents the conscience of this force, uniting the intellect with the creative force one can create new tools/understandings that focus different energies under one objective. The Three of Wands represents the planning and nurturing of the new life/creation, the things we create can only grow to their fullest if we give them conditions to do so.
The Four of Wands represents the foundation of a new couple house, in which they can live in harmony. Without a stable house, the couple can't be fertile.
About the Five of Wands, in my deck the card depicts four man raising wands to each other, at the back a Wand is growing and about to bloom. I'm a bit unsure but I interpret this as the conflict between different creative forces but in spite of all this, something is about to bloom oblivious to the conflict.
Wich gives origin to the Six of Wands. That wand has bloomed, and the conflicting people have stopped to honor the new being.

I see the Seven and the Eight of Wands very close to each other. The Seven gives the idea of creativity overcoming all adversities, the wands create a path for the lost soul to travel. The Eight depicts a women clearing the path with a scythe, also a bird is flying bringing some news. So, with the creative power one can clear his path of obstacles and travel freely.

The Nine represents the coming to an end, the final challenge. The subject of the narrative is about to exit a Maze, he stops for a bit to think about his hard and long journey. He is tired, but still the determination burns within him.

Finally the Ten of Wands. The card depicts a worker carrying ten wands - the fruits of his journey. It's a heavy load for him, but he can do it since he is also stronger.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Vjetruša »

I'm sorry guys, I will be absent till June 29.
Once I'm back I'll make up for these tasks and ones that will follow. Hope that's ok?

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Clockwork Ghost »

frakture - absolutely brilliant breakdown, I love how you're working intuitively - it's important to be able to read using the images as much as the meanings of the cards themselves, and intuitive reading will allow you to gain more confidence quickly as you will find you learn the meanings quicker than just relying on memory alone. What I would like you to do is choose a single Wands card now and write a paragraph on exactly what you see happening in the picture, and how that image makes you feel.

vjetrusa - that's fine, no problem - we'll see you when you get back.

Everyone else - give this a go please; write down the story of the suit of Wands, from ace to ten, how you see them in your deck. If you have a non-illustrated deck, and dont have scenes showing what these cards mean, then by all means use your guidebook to discern the meanings, then write your story.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Clockwork Ghost »

...the most important thing to remember about tarot is it's a way to tell stories - each card adds a little bit to the unfolding story as it develops. No card is there in isolation, each relates to the others around it. You'll find that as you learn the five stories already there you'll see how merging elements of those stories together creates new stories specific to the questions being asked. The key here is to remain as fluid and able to read the tarot as a story whilst understanding the core meanings of the cards and how to interpret them. This takes practice - try to use your deck as much as you can, play with it, learn to read it like it's a book. In time your skills will develop, but like all skills this requires patience and practice.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by frackture »

Thanks for your support Clockwork_Ghost. You are doing a great job of keeping us focused and motivated. I know it's tough for you to lead the school alone, but it's a valiant effort of your part.

I will stop by later to leave the text you asked for.

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by frackture »

I'm a little overwhelmed by work at this moment, so i'm not checking in very often.

But as soon as I kind find a weekend or so to dedicate myself to the Tarot I will return with the text you asked for.

I'm kinda sad to see that no one is participating on this thread...

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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Maya The Generator »

Fracture, It is because our teacher is on hiatus. Dunno if he will be back and even if he would do, we do not know when. On the other side Nahemah said something about searchin somebody in meantime but I do not know how it is goin.
Illusion is the first of the pleasures.
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Re: Three places - How to Read Tarot

Post by Cybernetic_Jazz »

I almost think a monograph-style approach with occasional expansion based on questions might not be quite as demanding on the author.

Work's definitely heating up for me and BOTA's Supersensory Powers course is really taking me in-depth on their trump. I bought Pat Zaleswki's tarot book and I'm even getting hesitant on that just because I don't know how much of a mess I might make by mixing motifs even within GD.
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