Not to date myself, but I remember when we didn't have answering machines. Now I let almost everything go to voice mail. Before though, I had to stop and decide if I wanted to answer the phone. I can see some of you scratching your heads...what on earth does an answering machine or lack thereof have to do with Tarot? Well, sometimes I do that with my Tarot readings too. I just let my inner answering machine take over.
There are cards in the tarot that, for me, have instant meanings. Those are the ones that are so embedded in my brain that they seem automatic. But that may not be the best answer for my querent. They may require a bit more than a rote Tarot reading. So sometimes I like to turn my brain upside down so I can't do the auto-answer. I yank myself out of that Tarot rut I can sometimes get into when I'm doing endless readings.
It's not fair to my client. They don't know I had three people before them asking similar questions. They aren't to blame for my reaction. But I cannot drop into automatic mode. I have to prevent my inner answering machine from picking up.
Here are just two ways to kick yourself out of the "that always means" rote reading technique. I'd love to hear your own if you have some as well.
1. Odd Fellows
By using a deck I'm not familiar with, I have to back up and take another look. I've been loving two self-published decks lately that really force me to let go of the automatic and search out the intuitive answer.
From the Wild Unknown Tarot, this Six of Swords is not your typical dude rowing a boat. Nor is the image of Scathach as the Six of Air from the Dark Goddess one I can immediately see the "moving from troubled times to calmer places" meaning I have tattooed into my brain.
I have to stop. I have to become more present in my Tarot reading.
When I put the two with the Rider Smith Waite (Radiant) Six of Swords, I see color similarities immediately. In a way, my desire to let go of the old meanings for the new is represented by the meaning of this card.
2. Same Old, Same Old
Another trick is to find what is the same. Using the same two decks again, here is the Wild Unknown Tarot's Four of Cups and the Dark Goddess Tarot's Four of water. When you put add the Rider Waite smith Four of Cups, you can find some similarities. But looking for that makes me expand my mind outward to see other meanings.
The rat on the Four of Cups from the Wild Unknown makes me ask, "Who am I letting foul my dreams?" While Lethe's pose has me wondering why I'm trying to swim without water.
Then I can take those two additional questions back to the Rider Waite Smith version as well. They become a part of my reader's arsenal for digging into the cards.
What about you? What are some of the cards that you have one solid meaning for? Are you unshakeable in that definition or is there room for expansion?
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