30-Day Tarot Challenge, Question #30: Divination

(30) Do you practice any other forms of divination?

Aside from cards, not really.  I remember trying the pendulum for a while when I was quite young (like 11 or 12).  I've considered trying that again at some point.  I'm also interested in learning to work with runes - sure wish I could find that Runic Tarot deck now!!.  The Ogham is something I want to learn, but Tarot is my principle focus at this time.

If dream interpretation counts as divination, then I suppose I do that, to some extent.  And of course I do pay attention to astrology, but am definitely no astrologist.

This topic brings to mind the "cootie catchers" we used to create as children (who ever came up with that name???) - those little paper fortune telling devices we would create on the playground and use to determine what our future spouses would look like, what kind of car we would drive, how much money we would have (you know, all those terribly important details...;-)  Divination is something people engage in from a young age, though of course those cootie catchers were a game more than anything else.

Yesterday my younger daughter took a piece of paper and wrote "yes" on one side, and "no" on the other.  She meditated on a question, then let the paper drop, and whatever answer was visible was the right answer.  (I am surprised to report that this was actually accurate about 75% of the time.)  And whenever she didn't get the answer she wanted, or when the answer was actually wrong, she dropped the paper several more times until it told her what she wanted to hear.  Hah. Sigh.

30-Day Tarot Challenge - Question 29

(29) Do you have a Tarot mentor?

I wanted to skip forward to this question because my mom has been on my mind today, and she was my first mentor.  I was looking at a website that talked about difficulties in coming out of the “Tarot closet” – friends and colleagues may look at you differently, think it’s crazy (or evil, or really cool), or feel like they never really knew you at all; your parents might fear for your future.  Anyway I felt really fortunate when I read that because my mom is a reader!  She is the person who introduced me to Tarot and Oracles simply by using them as I was growing up.  I always loved them, and in fact it was her Medicine Cards that I adopted when I was 13, the start of my path in divination.  So I feel very lucky that in one way, one of the most important ways, I never have to “come out of the closet.”  

Wildwood Tarot

In terms of other mentors, I have a wonderful, local mentor named Suzan who is a psychic-medium, and a pretty amazing lady.  I supposed I’d also have to say that Brigit from Biddy Tarot has been a great mentor.  I also value the Reader’s Circle I’m a part of, where we can go for feedback, support, questions, and opinions.  

30-Day Tarot Challenge - Questions 19, 20, 21

19) Do you think/feel the cards "think" or have their own consciousness?  What do you believe makes the cards "tick?"

No, I don't believe that the cards operate of their own volition - that's creepy!!!  I do believe that cards are a tool through which we connect with certain energies.  That's why working with Tarot is a highly intuitive endeavor.

Druid Animal Oracle

20) Do you read for yourself and/or for others? Why or why not?

Both.  At this point  I  usually only do one-card daily draws for myself, and focus on more in depth readings for others.  When I first started of course I only read for myself and loved ones, but at some point that stops being a valuable learning tool, and to move to the next step of development it's necessary to read for strangers.  I've been loving it, and have found it to be a rewarding experience.


21) How do you feel when you do readings?

It's kind of meditative, which would make sense, I guess.  When I "get in the zone" I can feel myself connecting and opening up to the energies of the querent, and whatever universal energy surrounds us all.  It's like a shift I sense in my mind.

30-Day Tarot Challenge - Questions 16, 17, 18

16) Do you ever use the Major Arcana without the Minor Arcana, or vice versa?

No.  In fact once I was having trouble understanding a querent's question because it was extremely disorganized and "all over the place."  So I was trying to pick out the main elements as seemed appropriate.  Another reader suggested that I might separate the deck into Major/Minor Arcana and use only the Majors to pick a single card that might give the lady some insights.  I decided to take the advice, but I decided not to separate the deck. I figured that if this lady needed a Major card, it would appear... and it did!  I ended up with the Hanged Man, and it worked really well for the client.  That experience just helped confirm for me that the cards will tell you what you need to know, so separating them is not really necessary.  

Morgan Greer Tarot

17) Do you do readings using reversals? Why or why not?

Hah!  When I first started with Tarot, I didn't.  But I was also reading for myself and other people I knew really well.  When I started reading for strangers I realized immediately that the fine shades of meaning available with reversals would be extremely useful in giving detailed readings...especially readings via email.  At first I was a bit nervous, but now I really like using them.  



18) Do you feel a "connection" to your cards?

Yes, I do!  I actually feel like they're sort of friends :)  I feel a great connection to all of my decks, though the images in the Golden Tarot (Liz Dean) don't really pull me in.  But I still feel like they "speak" to me, in their own way.  

30-Day Tarot Challenge, Questions 14 and 15

14) For what purposes do you usually use to Tarot?

I don't do a lot of "self" readings, other than daily draws, which I use as a sort of 1-card-reading to give me some insights about my day.  Lately I've been reading for strangers, helping them gain insights into major life issues, which is really rewarding over all.  Sometimes I just sit with a particular deck and go through each card, considering the images and how they impact me.  So in a way I am ever studying and deepening my connection to and understanding of Tarot.

15) How much emphasis do you put on the textbook meanings for cards, and how much stress do you place on the "feeling" you get from cards through their artwork/symbolism, etc.?  Do you do both, or one or the other?

Um, I'd say I'm kind of in the middle at this point.  I always consider the textbook meanings, but sometimes I get a feeling from a card that doesn't necessarily match up closely to what the meaning is "supposed to be."  For instance I did a spread once where a woman was asking for insights about her relationship.  The Queen of Cups showed up as representative of the querent.  I was using DruidCraft, and on that card the moon is sort of hanging in front of the Queen's face, almost looking like it's about to drop into her cup.  For some reason on that day I really felt drawn to that moon, and I felt that the querent was very focused on the uncertainties and confusion she was experiencing in her relationship.  On the other hand, so far with Wildwood Tarot I go both ways... I first consider my own, more traditional interpretation, and then think about the keywords, or alternative interpretations on those cards to see if they offer something more.  Once the 5 of Arrows popped up in the spread, which shows a goat leaping down toward a man who is furiously trying to shoot it with an arrow, but repeatedly missing.  The keyword is "frustration."  I felt the goat was the querent, who was taking hits (or near-misses) from all angles but still forging ahead.  It was all about inner strength.

DruidCraft Tarot
Philip/Stephanie Carr-Gomm and Will Worthington

30-Day Tarot Challenge, question 13

(13) Is there a card that continuously stumps you when it is drawn? Why do you believe this to be so?

Seven of Swords is one.... First of all, it's often negative-ish, so I always want to be very careful with the way I interpret it.  Secondly, there are many meanings for this card, and there seem to be subtle but important differences between them, so determining which meaning or emphasis is more likely in a spread, along with the other cards, can sometimes be challenging.  I always need to take time to consider it and its potential underlying meanings, whereas there are many other cards whose meanings always seem pretty clear.

Morgan Greer Tarot                                             

30-Day Tarot Challenge, questions 11 and 12

(11) What spread do you use most often/prefer and why?

I usually do 3-5 card spreads because they're pretty concise yet thorough enough for most situations.  

(12) Have you ever created your own spread? If so, how effective is it? (feel free to show spread)

Yes!  I won't detail it here since it's already the subject of a previous post (the first spread I created, anyway).  I put one together with the idea that it could be used to give couples in a thriving relationship some insights into what is working and how they can continue to improve it.  It worked really nicely, and I felt great about it!  Since beginning email readings I tend to make my own spreads...nothing formal or with a fancy name.  Basically I have a mental list of positions and meanings and I pick and choose the combination depending on the question/situation and how much detail I want.  A common one I use quite often is: Context, Her, Him, Obstacles, Immediate Future.  (Can you tell I get a lot of relationship questions??) :-). Sometimes I add on a "timing" card if the person would like to have a time frame in mind, though I am clear with them that the results depend on their own actions.  

A spread with Morgan Greer Tarot        

My Tarot Journey - 30-day Tarot Challenge

Having delved back into the use of cards for guidance and divination, I decided that rather that inundate my regular blog with a bunch of Tarot posts, I'd create a new and separate blog where I can document my journey.  I'll post answers 1-10 from the 30-day Tarot Challenge here, because I think they give a good background on where I've come from, and where I'm at now - though that's constantly changing as I continue my work with cards!  I say "cards" because I started with Medicine Cards rather than Tarot.  In fact, I only truly started my Tarot journey earlier this year, and while I'm not new to the world of cards, I am a new and passionate student of Tarot.  I love the Medicine Cards (as you'll see below) but I wanted to study the Tarot specifically because of the tradition and history surrounding it, and in order to both gain personal guidance, and to eventually help others gain clarity and insights into their own lives. So, here we go!

Druidcraft Tarot - Image from Creative Commons

(1) What introduced you/got you involved in Tarot?
My mom used to do Tarot when I was a kid, and I always loved and valued it.  She was always a great reader, and I remember she would sometimes do readings for friends and family.  It seemed natural to me.  The part that always drew me in was how she became a storyteller.

(2) What was your first deck and why/how did you get it?
When I was in middle school I used to use my mom's Medicine Cards (Jamie Sams/David Carson) quite a lot, and I felt a good connection to those.  Of course when I became an adult I secreted them away to my new abode, but when my mom found out I had them she demanded them back.  (I think I will purchase my own set at some point, however, because I always felt good about that deck.) My own first deck was not strictly Tarot, but more of an oracle deck, which I purchased in my mid-twenties, called Runic Tarot (Caroline Smith and John Astrop).  I can't find it after our big move, and never really felt I connected to it (I purchased it in an attempt to replace the Medicine Cards as a divinatory/guidance tool, but it wasn't a good fit, and at that point in my life I wasn't interested in runic study - wish I could find it though, because I am now! ). 

(3) Do you have more than one deck that you use and if so do you have a favorite? If not, why do you like the deck you have chosen?
My mom used Mythic Tarot (Juliet Sharman-Burke, Liz Greene, Tricia Newell), which had beautiful imagery and was thorough with the story it told. When I decided to find my own set, I looked for Mythic Tarot but could only find some online, for a high price.  I bought Golden Tarot (by Liz Dean) for myself, which has similar imagery in that it's more classical.  As I can't find the Runic Tarot deck I bought nearly ten years ago, for a while it was my only deck.  However over time I've acquired the DruidCraft Tarot, Druid Animal Oracle, Morgan Greer Tarot, Wildwood Tarot, and Radiant Rider-Waite...and I have a whole wish-list of more I'd like to get in the future :)  I think having a selection is important: one) it's nice to give choices to your clients, two) depending on the day I'm drawn to different decks, three) I'm a dynamic person, and each deck attracts me for different reasons - I like having the variety.

(4) How long have you been reading the Tarot?
Well, if I count oracle cards, I've been doing Tarot for 20 years, with about a 5-6 year gap in the middle where I didn't do any readings at all.  In terms of Tarot specifically, I've been working with more closely this year.  I felt it would be beneficial to learn the formal Tarot, which is deep and rich.  However I still plan to incorporate the Medicine Cards at some point, and currently use Druid Animal Oracle with many of my readings, which was actually inspired by the Medicine Cards.

(5) When and where did you give your first reading?
I really only ever did my own readings when I was young, so I suppose my first reading was for myself when I was 13 or 14 years old.  I think I might have done a Medicine Card reading for my older sister at some point, too.  In my twenties I did oracle readings for my husband and myself.  Now I've done Tarot for myself, my husband, my extended family, and more recently, for strangers.

(6) What was the first spread you learned?
Well the first spread I learned was the Pathway spread which I used with the Medicine Cards.  In terms of Tarot it was the Celtic Cross, which has many positional meanings in common with the Pathway spread.

(7) What is your favorite card (both in terms of deck’s artwork and divinatory meaning)?
I suppose my favorites are the High Priestess and the Hermit.

(8) Which card do you dread pulling the most?
Pretty much anything that has a sword on it (with some exceptions)!!! The 7 of Swords, in particular, has been a hard card for me to get my head around.  Also the 5 of Pentacles isn't fun to see in a spread. I find that the 6 of Cups can be complex as well, but honestly I really enjoy the challenging cards, as much as they stress me out :)

(9) What card do you pull the most often? Why do you think that is the case?
For my own, personal readings I feel like there is usually a pretty good mix, but I've been drawing a high percentage of trump cards, and I think that's because a lot of life changes have been going on (in good ways).  

(10) What card best represents your personality (or, is most often pulled to represent you in a spread)?
The High Priestess and the Empress (the balance of spirituality and motherhood/family life).  Also the Hermit in that I've always valued privacy, introspection, and solitude.