#slywolf rambles

[slywolfdesigns]

When I drew the knight of swords for my first card of the day post I did such a doubletake. My partner and I had just done a session of reading together the night before, where one of the main messages/recurring cards was the knight of swords.

I set up this little arrangement on our house altar to remind us in the coming days, but apparently the deck thought I needed another reminder! Or that I needed to share with the internet I guess =]

My partner works with Selene and I work with Artemis, and we had invited them to the reading session, so the altar is definitely themed after them. The beads were made by Untamed Heathen on Etsy.

So yeah. Time to draw our swords and get moving I guess!

[slywolfdesigns]

Another element I find synergizes well with these points is reading your cards based on their position in the spread you're using and in relation to the other cards that showed up in that spread.

A card will mean different things in different contexts, and I feel that a better skill to focus on than rote memorization of each individual meaning is being able to construct an intelligible story out of the cards you pull. Forming them together into an answer to your question or a message for the querent like parts of a sentence/paragraph, not just listing meanings in isolation.

I love the advice here about pulling a smaller amount of cards that resonate to familiarize yourself with, too. I find that gradually building a relationship with cards that are meaningful to you is quite effective at improving the depth of your readings, and gradually the number of cards you have that kind of connection to and fluency with will increase as you continue to read.

Stop Learning Tarot Cards Like Flash Cards (You’re Better Than That)

One thing I’ve noticed as I’ve started teaching tarot cards to other people is that they have a tendency to think that every card has an individual meaning and it is their duty to memorize 78 complex sets of meanings before they can begin reading for others. 

That’s simply not true. 

It’s also incredibly inefficient and totally kneecaps you when you move on to learn another deck (and try memorizing ANOTHER 78 complex sets of meanings). Cards exist in relation to one another. Understanding those relationships lets you remember meanings quicker, better understand how cards in a spread might be connected, and give much smoother readings. 

If you’re learning Tarot for the first time or looking to bush up, here’s my advice after reading cards for 10 years. Please, learn from my mistakes.  Tarot is a language

In the same way you learn letters and string them into words and then string words into sentences to communicate, tarot is a language you learn so your intuition can communicate more fully with you and others. And like a language, it’s often best to start with the phrases that you’ll use the most. 

Practice: Go through your deck and pick out no more than 12 cards that are really calling to you and look up those meanings. Write them down if you’re up for it. Go through your deck and pick out no more than 12 cards that give you a feeling of unease and do the same. Notice any reoccurring symbols?

 Tarot is a story

How you understand that story may vary on your tradition, your experience level, your aims. Most standard Tarot decks follow the Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana as he becomes more skilled and then more enlightened. A similar pattern can be seen in each of the suits. The Court Cards are less narrative in my opinion but a similar progression can be seen. 

Practice: Take out each of the suits one at a time and lay them out in a row. Read the meanings of each card and see how the story progresses. Write down a summary. Do the same with each of other suits’ courts and the major arcana.

Tarot is a system

You aren’t fluent until you know the language well enough to speak smoothly and in most situations. Similarly, it takes understanding Tarot at a high level to give the best quality readings and read without a book. No card exists in isolation and just like when they show up in a reading, you must read them in relation to the rest of the spread - it helps a lot to know them in relation to the rest of the deck. 

Practice: Lay every card in your deck out like this (pardon my bad MSPaint job). Major Arcana up top and Court Cards off to the right and all the numbers lined up with the Fool and World left hanging. Pick one of the cards that resonated with you in the first exercise and look at how it relates to all the other cards in the deck. If it’s the 8 of Pentacles, what do the other 8′s look like and speak to? What do 8 (Strength) and 18 (the Moon) in the Major Arcana connect to it (if at all)? How does it relate to the rest of the story of the Pentacles?  Hope this helps! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! 

[slywolfdesigns]

Manifest!

You've had the idea. You can see the road stretching ahead.

Now is the time to put hand to stone, your feet on the ground, to bend your energy to your will.

What will you breathe life into?

Deck is the Commonplace Tarot by Nell Latimer.

[slywolfdesigns]

100 days, 100 cards!

This has been a really fun project for me so far!

This will be the last of these every 20 cards posts I think, but keep an eye out for more multicard posts coming soon.

[slywolfdesigns]

Another 20 days, another 20 cards. Should we do something special for 100?

[slywolfdesigns]

This is a great example of reframing for more positivity. I love stuff like this, especially when it has that catchy, brainworm wording common to tumblr memes. Saying "finally a test worthy of my skills" when something hard is looming is a) hilarious b) something I'm actually likely to do/remember (as opposed to more "serious" reframing or positivity techniques that can feel out of reach in moments of difficulty and don't always ring true) and c) genuinely helpful!

this is going to be difficult -> i am capable of doing difficult things -> i have done everything prior to this moment -> this difficulty will soon be proof of capability

[slywolfdesigns]

Another 20 cards of the day!

This makes 60. It doesn't feel like 2 months have passed since I started this, but here we are!

[slywolfdesigns]

20 Daily Draws!

I have already done 20 card of the day posts! Time sure flies sometimes =]

Thought I'd do a little recap of what we've seen so far.

6 majors, 8 courts, and 6 pips.

4 swords, 5 wands, 3 cups, and 2 pentacles.

The King of Wands appeared a somewhat startling 3 times, with no other repeat cards.

Not sure if I'll do something like this again or not but liked the idea of putting the first 20 together at least.

Anyway! Here's to the next 20 =]

[slywolfdesigns]

New Deck!

Very very excited to check out the Mary-El Tarot by Marie White that also just came home with me.

Very shiny silver edges, and I am absolutely enamored with this art. When I was first flipping through so many of the cards stopped me in my tracks!

Colorful, rich, and vivid. Lots of prominent nudity.

The courts are page, knight, queen, and king.

The suits are wands, swords, cups, and disks.

Looking forward to pairing this with the Haindl and the Witch Sister tarot!

[slywolfdesigns]

Ok this one hit

Four of Cups and Strength

You're pretty burned out from always having to be kind and patient and gentle.

[slywolfdesigns]

New Deck!

Welcoming to my collection the Zerner Farber Tarot!

Just brought this one home from work.

I like the size of the cards, a bit smaller than normal. Good feel too, and they have gold edges but not the super high gloss kind.

The courts are princess, prince, queen, and king.

The suits are wands, swords, hearts, and pentacles.

I am particularly looking forward to pairing this with my Claire Mack decks!

[slywolfdesigns]

Feeling like I should make an intro post?

[slywolfdesigns]

It can be so fun working in a metaphysical shop and seeing the kinds of things people buy. Of course you never know if people are buying for themselves or gifts or what (unless you get chatting with them) but I like to imagine what kind of practice people have, what kinds of events or rituals they might be preparing for, based off their purchase.

[slywolfdesigns]

yes!

Touch grass, track the moon, feel the breeze, find a plant growing through a crack in the pavement.

Nature is everywhere!

BTW, the belief that you have to leave where you are and go somewhere in order to connect with nature is part of the problem. You can literally connect with nature anywhere; yes, even in an urban environment. You have birds, bugs, plants, weather, seasons, etc. A lot of people need to stop thinking of nature as something out there and start recognizing that it's something that's already right here.

[slywolfdesigns]

I badly want to add a sign that says "this is a sign" to the one in my shop's window that says we have psychic readings available.

[slywolfdesigns]

New decks came in at work and I have a problem passion sooooo two of them are coming home with me!

I'll post pictures and thoughts when I have a second. So excited!