Tarot Studies, Pt 3

[jarandhel]

I am thinking of making a notebook for my tarot studies... in it, I am planning to put some quick-reference charts for each of the cards, plus in depth descriptions of each of them combining traditional lore for each card, my own impressions of the symbolism and meanings of the cards, any myths and legends that can be seen as expressions of the dynamics the cards symbolize, and any correspondences the card has through cross-referencing with the cabala. I've gotten a bit tired of having to cross-reference between the book that came with my deck and multiple websites just to get complete pictures of what cards may mean in any given reading. It takes much too long.

Besides, the process of putting such a notebook together should help me familiarize myself with the meanings of the cards more anyway. And I can put information on spreads appropriate for different functions in the notebook as well. Hmm.. maybe I should get a bunch of loose-leaf and a binder, rather than a spiral notebook or a composition book... *ponders*

Anyone else here ever make a tarot notebook like this? What would you recommend including?

Comments

[doltaghey.livejournal.com]

Oooh. I do, and still have it. I used a small loose-leaf notebook (a pocket-sized filofax-type thing) which I could keep with me. One page per card, with lots of space for adding extra notes later. Started with taking interpretations from books, then added my own based on experience from reading the cards. I also kept a record of spreads I found or devised, along with notes of any modofications I would use and the types of readings I found them most useful for.

What I didn't bother with was descriptions of the card's symbology and appearance, as this varies so much from one deck to another - my notebook was intended to be just as useful for any deck I used - though it was less useful admittedly, for decks that vary a lot from the standard, like the Shapeshifter Tarot or the Arthurian Tarot.

Unfortunately none of it is on computer and it would take weeks to type it all up.

[jarandhel.livejournal.com]

That's ok, I think looking up the information myself will help me remember it anyway. :) And I was thinking more the universal symbolism... the things that are the same about the card across the majority of traditional decks. I've been cross-referencing this deck with some of the meanings and symbology from the Rider-Waite deck, and it can really deepen my understandings. Especially in the cards where I can't quite figure out what is being done. (Two of disks, in this deck, looked to me like they were holding empty plates but it actually shows tambourines and someone learning to dance.) I'm also finding that some of the cards get interpreted in a very positive or very negative fashion by individual sources without really being inherently good or bad themselves, so cross-referencing with several sources has given me a more well-rounded vision of the forces the card represents. Court cards have actually been the hardest to get a decent picture of... still trying to resolve that.

[kalwein.livejournal.com]

BTW, in case you've not run into it... I've been using www.facade.com for Tarot for about 10 years now... it has wonderful virtual decks, you can order your own sets from dozens of designs you can preview, their interpretations aren't half bad... and they are free... they also do runes, Iching, stichomancy and all sorts of other fairly cool stuff.

I've been impressed with the site ever since I decided to do a baseline on the Iching by entering a nonsense Rhyme and got back a reading of

"The fool plays with what he does not understand..." and a few other choice words from a slightly irritated reading....

Regardless, we all know the divinitory aspects are some of the least important aspects... but it's a good site regardless

[jarandhel.livejournal.com]

facade.com is awesome, thank you for pointing it out to me. :) Not something I'd make use of all the time, but very good for quick readings and interpretations that don't require digging out twenty books and websites for cross-referencing to determine the meanings. I've been experimenting around with the decks and such there... some of them resonate well for me, others don't, but they're all quite interesting. :)