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Discussion
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Question: I’ve been seeing people talk about how you shouldn’t learn card meanings but use your own interpretation. But what if your own interpretation is almost opposite of the ‘official’ card meaning?
updated 3 years, 4 months ago 1 Member · 14 Replies
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Could it be that the cards you use are different from the “official” meaning? I have some decks that are loosely rider-waite inspired, which means some cards are completely different.
Then there is symbolisn. What I say as something fun, you might hate and vise versa. That definitely influences the interpretation of the card.
Imo, you’re the one reading. If you believe in tarot (and I assume you do) don’t you think the card would show you something you can work with? It makes no sense for them to give you cards that seem one way to you and then hope you’ll look up the official meaning online.
What I dif when starting out was combine my interpretations with the official ones. (Do my own → look up official meanings → combine)
At first it was about 90% official but the more confident I got, the less stuck I got on the “official” meanings. Now I only look at them when I’m stuck, or unsure. -
People who say you shouldn’t learn card meanings are wrong.
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Depends on so many things. Traditional meanings are guidelines. They are pretty helpful but must not be seen as absolutes. Also, meaning depends greatly on the specific context of the reading: other cards, the question or subject consulted, the seer, the seeker, etc.
Can you give a specific example?
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In my experience, divination as a practice it’s highly subjective. When you’re really using the cards to tune in to your intuition or higher self or whatever it is you feel you’re communicating with, a card can mean one thing with one reading and something totally different in another. I used the traditional meanings of the Rider Waite as a starting point when I was first learning. Heck, I even fall back on them sometimes.
It’s so easy to read someone’s opinion on the internet and then just go back and try and apply it to our own practice. The name of the game here is do what makes you feel like you’re getting the most out of each experience. If you feel like memorizing card meanings helps you, then go for it! I promise if you keep at it you’ll figure it out!
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I have been reading for many years and I feel as a reader it is important to know what symbols lay in the cards. This along with intuition can give you a better insight. Where the card lays in the spread and how it interprets to the client.
There is a great deal of information in each card. Take time to learn. So many hidden gems that will help you in a thorough and more accurate reading. -
I find that the Rider-Waite-Smith deck shows illustrations that are closely connected to their interpretation. The major arcana cards sometimes have a bit too many/confusing symbols, but the illustrator had a lot more freedom with the minor arcana, and she turned these cards into easy to read illustrations, almost like a picture book.
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As Coppola told Brando during the shooting of Apocalypse Now: “You can’t forget the script if you never memorized it in the first place.”
So use the traditional meanings as a starting point. If you’re interested in developing a more intuitive basis then read The Way of the Tarot by Jodorowski or any of Camelia Elias’ books on Marseille tarot.
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I think, as someone else in the thread has already essentially stated, the most well rounded way to approach the process of *learning* is to attempt a firm understanding of the traditional meanings, while gradually applying your own intuitive interpretation of the cards as you repeatedly experience the manifestation of their energy in your readings and life.
A positive card that gives you a bad vibe may have more to do with your personal index of deep seated symbolism than anything else, and it’s not necessarily *all that* helpful to simply allow that to play out indefinitely.
That said, it’s also important not to discount your intuition either. There may be a reason an otherwise positive card gives you an unsettling feeling. You may want to explore it by pulling a qualifier to clarify your unrest.
The point is, in Tarot, unless you are simply looking for insight into yourself and have no interest in predictive potential/divination, our greatest concern is accuracy. And the surest path to accuracy is approaching Tarot from both angles- the angle of educating yourself extensively on the traditional fundamentals and your own intuitive angle, as well.
Doing this will tell you more than either one alone could, and in time you will find that you successfully rely on one more than the either.
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Read it how you see fit. Just be consistent – pick a meaning, yours or “traditional”, and stick with it.
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I view “traditional meanings” as building blocks of a language, but then I noticed that language evolves as you integrate tarot into your experiences. The cards seem to take on special meanings and nuances that are perceivable only to you – kind of like having an inside joke between you and THEMS ( The Heavenly Eternal Messanging System).
I find that rarely there’s a “wrong way” to read a card. What speaks to you on an intimate level may not to someone else, but it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It maybe an inside joke you’re not getting.
And yes, I find my cards very tongue in cheek sometimes, and what’s more amazing – the Source knows when I’m ready to parttake in lighthearted things, and when I’m needing a straightforward or gentler approach.
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It depends on the situation, it’s always good to know the meaning of a card but it’s better to follow the vibing of a card, for example I have a tarot deck in which the sun looks so dark and creepy so I associate that more with “you can’t see the truth because the sun is too bright”, so yeah, follow your instinct(?), Wish you the best luck!
//Sorry for grammar, english is not my first language, (not even the second lol) -
I can give youban example. Try to play any instrument like guitar o piano. Tryvnot follow rules or lessons. Maybe by chance or withblotbof effort anf work out you will olay a song. But if you learn the basics then you will be more ready and prepared
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It’s unlikely that a picture on a card will give you the complete opposite vibe.
That’s the point of the illustration, you get the original intent of the people who made the deck, with their meanings. Then the symbols and “aura”/vibe of the card and how they are placed, the context of the reading etc gives more details and personal information.
If the meaning of the card seems like it doesn’t quite fit, it’s likely that the person the reading is for knows how it fits.
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Personally I’d be very skeptical of any source that says you shouldn’t learn meanings. That’s because tarot isn’t just the pictures on the cards; it’s a system. The cards represent a range of meanings that work together. A well-designed deck will often point towards traditional meanings anyway, but until you learn about the symbolism involved, it can be tricky to get a complete picture from just winging it.
All this depends on the intent of your practice though. If you want to pull cards for yourself for introspection, personal guidance, journaling prompts or the like, then by all means, stick with your gut! Just be aware that plenty of folks see that as using the deck as an oracle rather than actually reading tarot. But if you think you’re going to want to talk about your readings with other tarot enthusiasts or offer readings, meanings will be a little more important. They aren’t hard-and-fast rules (and they don’t take as long to learn as you might think), but they provide an important framework for shared understanding and discussion.
