We are all wanderers on this earth. Our hearts are full of wonder, and our souls are deep with dreams.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Speaking Tarotish
6 comments
An interesting thing happens when you come to know and speak tarot language. You start associating things, people, and events to the cards. It helps if you limit this kind of talk to those familiar with the archetypes, otherwise people will look at you really oddly when you say, "I feel so 10 of swords today...what is up with that?" However, this is a really effective way to more deeply understand the cards. By associating them to your daily life and the people you interact with, the cards come alive and you begin to understand how they relate intimately to the lives and experiences of those you read for as well. It takes you out of the book and into life, seeing connections played out in real life. It causes you to recognize that the Devil could be that piece of chocolate cake you didn't need at lunch or it could be something much bigger. The large and the small, the esoteric and the mundane, they're all represented in some way in those 78 cards.

My friend, Chloe, and I often do readings together, and as we discuss our lives "tarotish" is interspersed frequently.
"Could she be more a
Magician? Gotta watch out for her pulling a fast one."
"I know, but she's an amateur. Not even a good shell game."
"Still, and just dealing with her is such a
5 of swords thing, I can't win no matter what I try."
"Yeah, better to just drop it and walk away."
"Yeah, I definitely have to be the
Page of Swords here and just watch out for her. Ugh. How do I get out of this?"
"Well, you could be more
9 of pentacles, you know."

Did that make sense to you? If you're a tarotist, it probably did. The rest of you, you're on your own.

6 comments :

  1. Hehehe when attending a party I use to think "it was very 10 of Cups" "Devilsih" ;-) and things like that

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  2. That's exactly what I'm talking about, flavio. :) It's like a whole 'nother vocabulary. It's true that areas of interest all have their own specialized terms, and that's true of tarot as well. Words and phrases like "Major/Minor arcana", spreads (which means something different for tarot readers than other topics), a "throw," etc. But "tarotish" to me means something different. It's a way of integrating the meanings of the cards to everyday occurrances. It's funnier when you don't even realize you're doing it and something tarotish pops out of your mouth among those who don't know what the hell you're babbling about. ;-)

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  3. Hi Sophia,

    Yes! I've had this experience many times. I usually preface using "that's like in The World Card!" with some sort of explanation if I know I'll get a blank stare. :-)

    I also knew I was a hopeless Tarotophile, many years back, when I spontaneously started using abbreviations for the Tarot cards in the margins of non-Tarot books (e.g. IV!).

    I really enjoy your blog and promise to put it up on my own blog roll once I get one going.

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  4. Oh, I've yet to do the tarot references in the margins of non-tarot books! That is true tarotish! LOL! :D

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  5. Anonymous12:56 AM

    I just wanted to say I love your blogg, check it every day and was just looking back at some of the older posts like this one. This is a great way for a newbie to learn some of the cards once they have a general idea of the meanings.

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  6. Hi! I think it tends to happen naturally as the tarot archetypes work their way into your subconscious, but yes, if you look for the associations consciously, you'll easily find them. :)

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