I’m always looking to learn something new about the cards, and a book I picked up a few months back has been a goldmine in that regard:
[amazon_link id=”0980409934″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Tarosophy[/amazon_link]
by Marcus Katz. One of the exercises I’m particularly excited about trying: “Living the Archtypes” (pg 49).
Using Major Arcana only, you take out one card at a time, put it in a prominent place, and just wait. Periodically reflect and meditate on the card, but leave it out and in your line of sight until the card speaks to you, something in your everyday life personifying that card’s energy. If you have to ask, “Is this it?” it isn’t! Doing this for the entire major arcana, Katz says you can expect it to take anywhere from 6 to 18 months to complete the cycle.
He suggests skipping the Fool, as the exercise itself serves that energy, but my Virgo doesn’t like to leave the Fool out. He also notes the method of communication will suit the card’s energy. E.g. the High Priestess won’t be as direct as, say the Emperor. The idea here is getting to know the Tarot better by life experience.
I just got Cathy McClelland’s gorgeous Star Tarot, a majors-only deck for this exercise. The cards are delightfully huge at 4 1/2″ by 6 1/2″, so great for this kind of use. I plan to frame the cards as I complete each in the exercise.
I’m excited!
Has anyone else done this type of exercise? Anybody want to join me?
Note on those interested in the book: it covers ground from basic to advanced Tarot, including a huge amount of material I’ve never seen anywhere else and that’s saying something. I consider this a serious, study book. I bookmark pages and write notes in the margins! The writing at times drifts towards an overly academic tone and can be awkward, but only in spots. I would order it from an Amazon reseller over the publisher if possible–I had a rather unpleasant exchange with the publishing house in my impatience over the full month it took to receive the book. But even if you have to go that route, I’d still say the material here is well worth the trouble…
[amazon_link id=”0980409934″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]
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Beautiful!!! I used to pull cards & set them to meditate on but never thought of using the whole major arcana! This is a great idea to focus your energy & see how the tarot influences u & vise versa
PS love love LOVE the deck!!
Well, if you do this exercise in full, I’d love to hear about how it went for you and what you learned.
And yeah, I totally LOVE this deck, I’m looking forward to when she finished it, assuming she will. The artwork is amazing.
This sounds like something I can totally get on board with, and I think I know just the deck to do it with!
What deck?!?
If you do this, I’d love to hear how it works out…
I was thinking of using the Herbal Tarot for this, and I will gladly give you updates
I’m very interested in this project! Lately, I’ve felt out of sync with my tarot deck. Here’s to hoping that this will bring us closer together. I’m currently u sing The. Crystal Tarot by Elizabetta Trevisan.
I will tell you something, it’s exceptionally powerful. I haven’t gotten to write about my experiences yet on here, but man…I highly recommend the exercise for sure.