Welcome to The Divination Nation blog!
We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf, a duo of divination divas, “spiritual sisters from another mister”. We’re life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and paranormal. We’d love for this blog to be relevant for metaphysically-inclined peeps at every stage of development from beginners to professionals, so our posts will range from basic concepts and info that many of you are undoubtedly familiar with, to interviews, how-to’s and reviews on events and products.
We hope this blog is as fun for you to read as it is for us to write…Enjoy!
As most card readers will
agree, Tarot isn’t “just” an incredible
divination system that’s been around for centuries… it’s an obsession, a
lifestyle, and a never-ending journey. But
often, the mere though of embarking on that journey- or picking up where you
left off years ago when the road
forked- can be a little intimidating.
To begin with, there’s seventy-eight cards- and they each have a variety of
meanings. That in itself is daunting. Then there’s the multitude of card spreads,
what the cards mean in various positions, and how they influence each other…not
to mention the connections to the elements, numerology and symbolism. It’s a lot to
absorb! We jokingly refer to this overwhelming feeling as So Many Cards, So Little Time …but seriously, we’ve all been there
at some point! Nobody was born knowing how to read Tarot.
The good news you don’t have
to download all this info into your brain at once. Tarot is like a relationship-
and every relationship is as individual as the people who are involved. Some connections
develop instantaneously; the affinity is quick and the bond is strong. Others
take a little more time getting started, but wind up growing into a significant
soul connection you never imagined in your wildest dreams.
So, how can you become
acquainted with that shiny new pack of cards you just bought and are all
gung-ho about mastering?
The good news is that there’s
a wide range of ways you can connect to your cards, and each of them is
effective. Your goal is to develop a working relationship with your cards, familiarizing yourself with each
card’s look, the meanings behind it, and the feelings, situations or people
each card can potentially represent.
It’s important to remember
that everyone learns differently, and that Tarot- as we stated before - is a lifelong journey. You’ll never stop learning! Some of these
methods may resonate with you better than others, but they’re all worth a try.
Often, by combining a few of these techniques and playing around with them
simultaneously, you’ll absorb pertinent information much more quickly.
Pretty soon, you’ll notice
that you’re feeling awfully warm and fuzzy with all seventy-eight of your new
best friends.
Books
There’s a boatload of books on Tarot out
there. Amazon.com in particular has tons of them, both new and used, hard copy
and in eBook form, and all quite affordable. Many books- even older ones that might look
slightly cheesy- are jam-packed with knowledge. Some are geared towards
general interest while others are specialized, covering a particular deck (such
as Rider-Waite or Thoth) or focus solely on a particular subject, like Mary K.
Greer’s Tarot Reversals or Megan
Skinner’s Essence Of The Tarot, which
covers only the Major Arcana.
Many decks come with their
own instructional booklets, often
affectionately known to Tarotistas as LWBs, or “Little White
Books”. These are hit-or-miss: some are terrific,
others are mere newsprint pamphlets with semi-useless info. No matter what, if
you’re in the process of learning, read
them anyway.
One great example of a well-written,
beautifully illustrated book accompanying a deck is the 152-page high quality
paperback by Kim Huggens that accompanies Erik. C. Dunne’s Tarot Illuminati. Though
written specifically for that deck, her prose is gorgeous and her
interpretations are fairly universal.
Read whatever you can get your hands on,
contrast and compare, and absorb as much information as you can. Ultimately,
there’ll come a time where you just have to toss all the books aside, and
formulate your own opinions.
Of course that doesn’t mean
you can’t refer back to them- or read and collect even more books!
Classes, Workshops And Online Courses
While it’s great to learn as much as you can
on your own, there’s truly nothing like being able to study with a master reader
who’s also a skillful instructor. If there aren’t in-person classes in your
area, perhaps you can find a respected local reader to coach you.
There are several classes and
workshops available online too, ranging from weekly courses to private Skype
sessions, or one-off workshops on distinct subjects. Hugely respected Tarot scholars teach many of
these. Sort through the many classes
offered, read up on the instructors, and see if their philosophies and presentation
jive with what you had in mind as a learning experience before signing up.
The UK-based Tarosophy Tarot
Association has a number of pre-recorded seminars and workshops available to
members, and they offer live lectures and classes at pre-appointed times as
well. Additionally, they host a number of Tarot conventions globally. We attended their TarotCon Denver this past
June, and it was an incredible weekend, jam-packed with relevant workshops,
master classes, lectures, panel discussions, after-hours Tarot-inspired fun and
networking opportunities.
Research
Though the word “research”
sounds somewhat formidable, it’s actually a fun process that simply means,
“finding out as much as you can about a subject you’re interested in".
Research can be as simple or extensive as you
like. Of course it’ll include reading- as in books- but it can also mean getting a reading.
Book a reading with a professional (in
person, on Skype or the phone) and see what they have to say. Listen carefully
to the way they interpret and explain the cards as well as how they approach
the client, which in this case, is you. Ask questions. Take note of their
reading style, the deck they use, the way they lay out the spread, and the tone of their
voice, their advice. If you can’t afford
a reading, suggest trading readings- many pros are open to trades, or even
barter.
Doing online research also includes perusing
Tarot blogs. Again, there are many out there. Some are general, others very
personal…but they’ll all have something to offer. While you’re online, sign up
for some newsletters, or even better, join a few of the (seemingly zillions) of Tarot pages or
news feeds on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and
Tumblr. This is fun and simple way to
see the opinions of many readers at all levels of proficiency. Be careful though- it can be quite addicting!
Memory Cues
A great way to connect with your cards is to
develop your own series of memory cues. We’ve heard of people scrawling memory
prompts in the border of the card itself…that we wouldn’t recommend, if just
for the fact that you might want to use these cards to do a reading for someone
in the future!
But a great way to learn is
to stick Post-it notes on the back of each card in your deck with a couple of key
words or phrases associated with that card. Randomly pull a card, and see what
you can remember before checking the note on the back.
Visual, Emotional and Intuitive Association
At first, you might need to rely on your
written key word notes or looking the cards up, but eventually, you should
start making your own associations. Some
questions to ask yourself: What does the
card say to you visually? What’s going on in the picture? How does it make you
feel?
As far as using intuition for
card interpretation goes, there’s a myriad of opinions…and it’s a hotly debated
subject on all the Tarot forums and pages we discussed earlier! To put it
bluntly, there are basically two camps on the subject; those who read
intuitively, and those who think using intuition is utter bullshit. There are folks who think there can be no
such thing as a truly psychic or intuitive reader. Sometimes, those are the people who tend to read cards in a dry, memorized,
textbook fashion. And sadly, there are also many so-called intuitive readers
who just blithely picked up a deck, and with no study, experience or consideration
whatsoever, just hang out their shingle as a “professional” and spout nonsense,
giving a bad name to those who really are
psychic or intuitive.
However, all of this is
relative, and there is a happy medium
to be found– pun very much intended!
Learning the various
generally accepted meanings and key words for each card and then putting your
own intuition to use can help you reach this place of “neutrality” or balance.
Starting to trust your
intuition can be tricky. Usually the
very first thing that pops into your head is spot on, no matter how crazy it
seems…but this isn’t always the case. Often, our initial reaction to a card
seems outré or bizarre and we’ll second guess it, only to find out that our
first thought was, in fact, the correct interpretation.
Play around with your
intuition, get comfortable with it.
There’s no right or wrong here, some people are gifted intuitives, and
others, well…not so much. There’s
absolutely no hard and fast way to read the cards accurately, it’s all about
whatever works for you.
Active Work/Study
Sooner or later, you’ll want to put yourself on an active work/study program. A good way to begin is with Dividing The Deck into Major and Minor Arcana. Go through each card in the
22 Major Arcana cards and see how each one relates to the cards before and
after it. Go through the 56 Minor Arcana
cards suit by suit, and do the same. Many
readers like to use
Meditation as
a way of connecting to the cards. Randomly pick a card and concentrate on it’s
meaning, see what images or thoughts come into your head.
Doing Single
Card Pulls (without intense
meditation) for yourself each morning or evening is also a good method of
getting to know the cards and seeing how that card relates to the energy you
felt or the situations that unfolded for you. After awhile, you can do these
pulls for other people too. It’s a simple way to see how each card works for
you in the context of interpretation, as well as a good way to familiarize yourself
with the individual meaning.
Graduate to laying out simple
spreads and interpreting them for yourself, eventually working up to spreads that
incorporate more cards. After you become comfortable with a few of these, offer
readings to family members and friends.
It’s a fantastic way to practice, and we can assure you that very few
people will turn down a free reading, no matter what level you’re at! People
have been fascinated by fortune telling for centuries, and today it’s no
different.
Keeping A Tarot Journal
Through every step of each
process listed above, you’ll definitely want to keep a Tarot journal- its an
invaluable tool for learning. It doesn’t matter if it’s hard copy or on an
electronic device- it just matters that you keep it. By writing down your
thoughts and associations on each particular card, they’ll become ingrained in
your mind much sooner.
Examine single cards and jot down the
impressions you get before relying on looking up the possible meanings. Take
photos of spreads you’ve done, combine them with your notes on the reading (whether
it’s for you or someone else) and refer back to it as needed. You’ll begin to
notice patterns, cards that routinely come up, and start seeing through-ways from
older layouts that you may have missed upon first glance. Your Tarot journal
will be fantastic way of connecting with your cards, and it’s also a
wonderful way to check your progress.
Think of it as a scrapbook that documents the growing relationship with
you… and your seventy eight new
BFFs !
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To find out more about Pleasant click here: http://www.pleasantgehman.com/
For more on Crystal’s background, click here; http://crystalravenwolf.com
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