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Annwn Home :
Tarot
My Approach
Tarot Philosophy
and Everyday Usage
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Tarot is a tool
I do not use the cards as absolute: that would be more than foolish. I've noted through
various "interesting" times that the cards have brought up a great many warnings of
negativity - and that the negativity, recognised and dealt with, can later show itself
in the past positions of the spreads I use. My belief is that any given spread will
reflect where a person is at that point: this, therefore, is entirely subjective to the
person for whom I am reading. If that person is feeling very negative or positive about
something, then that will show up in emotional cards (typically the suit of cups). The
spread does not always show the facts, but it does show the mindset of the querent.
It is for this reason that I also treat the cards as something normal, a tool. Although
there is a mystery behind the old symbolism which I treat with respect, and although I
find it fascinating that through the ages and disciplines the same characteristics,
therefore archetypes show up time and time again, I do not like the mystical element to
blind the querent to what is going on. The appearance of patterns is simply a feature
of the wyrd - the idea that everything
is interlinked, and we should therefore not be too surprised - just suitably intrigued.
Flavour
I seldom "talk technical" unless asked to. Sometimes people will ask me which cards I
have pulled, or to explain a particular card; this is fine, and enhances the experience
of reading as a dialogue, an open interweaving. Other times, I just tell the story as
it is shown by the cards, not mentioning the cards themselves, and that suits other
querents. In both cases, the querent naturally "adapts" the reading to what is needed
by asking questions. Thus, the reading is a flowing thing, not a fixed entity.
Generally my readings are down-to-earth, rather like a conversation. I make no promises
and I tell no lies, even if my querent wants me to. I try to point out choices, and
never tell somebody what to do - only where their options lie.
The true mystery is in how the wyrd can be reflected in the fall of the cards - they
are just a way of displaying this pattern, rather like taking a snapshot.
Personal choice
It is for this reason that I tend to avoid absolute readings - the yes and no type of
query. I do, however, try to help an understanding of the situation at large and where
the future might lie. The future cards in a spread are not fixed; they indicate where
the threads of wyrd are currently leading. A choice made at any point can alter these threads -
which is why I use the tarot as an indicator, not as a rigid discipline where I demand
that my querent does this, that or the other. The answer is usually much less helpful
than the reasons surrounding the situation.
By allowing for the possibility of change, two classic dangers are avoided - creating a
self-fulfilling prophecy by taking the indicators too rigidly, and suffering
disappointment when what we think the cards mean does not happen how we want it to. The
cards give a kind of focus and can reflect a context which may then be discussed.
One aspect which I find difficult is when the querent asks me to read for another
person, literally to spy on them. I cannot do this; to me, it feels ethically wrong.
Only if that person's actions directly affect the querent can I do this, and even
then with considerable caution; the tarot must
be used responsibily and with compassion. Cards are no substitute, after all, for
open communication and individual intuition.
Daily wyrd
I also use the cards in a daily discipline known commonly as the daily spread. Three
cards are drawn to indicate the trends for the coming day. However, I approach this
from the wyrd standpoint of all possibilities/threads occurring during the coming day.
Sooner or later, whichever card I have drawn will express itself in that day;
it's because I've chosen them to be there by drawing those cards. The expression is
often quite literal, a different flavouring to when they crop up in a normal spread;
for example, the Tower is just as likely to have me dropping and breaking things
left right and centre!
To have those cards
rule my life would be unwise; they are there more as a focus, an exploration of what I
have subconsciously chosen to happen in a day. The events which reflect the cards might
not always be obvious, but when I find them I learn something more about myself.
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Tarot
My Approach - Tarot Philosophy
and Everyday Usage
This page created 12 Oct 1996
Last update 12 Nov 2003
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