Archives for February 2011

“The Back in Time Tarot Book” by Janet Boyer

February 26, 2011 by Anna

I have read a lot of Tarot books and I have found this one refreshing.

Why do I like it so much?

Several reasons.

1) This book is not about memorizing meanings for the cards.

2) It is a system that helps the reader experience the cards and come up with new associations for them.

3) It is fun.

4) The exercises expand the personal associations with the cards while providing insights into the experiences explored.

5) Once you understand the system you can use it for everything.

How does BIT work?

The system asks you to think back to an experience that you had or that you witnessed. Break it down into snapshots. Select cards to represent those images. Write down why you selected those cards.

Once you get familiar with the system you can use it to retell songs, movies, books, dreams. To find associations with places, holidays and so on.

You can use the BIT method with any deck you like. You can use it if you are new to Tarot, as well as if you have been at it for decades.

Someone new to Tarot will likely select the cards mostly because of the images on them. As an example, someone using the RWS deck may choose the Sun to depict the first time he rode a horse as a young child.

Someone who already knows the meaning of the cards may use the Sun to express a moment of pure joy, as a young person or as an adult.

Something else I found interesting, was a comment the author of the book made. Janet Boyer wrote that sometimes experienced Tarot readers can gain deep insight from figuring out why they did not choose a card that would be “expected” to represent a particular situation.

I also like the BIT system because it is very creative. Like in writing a story with words, you can go straight to the point and use only a few cards, or be quite descriptive and use as many as you like.

The Back in Time Tarot Book is reasonably priced. It is well written and a pleasure to read. It offers a fresh way to experience Tarot and the readings resulting from the exercises can be very revealing.

I would recommend the book to anyone interested in Tarot.

Reversed cards. Do you use them or not? Why?

February 5, 2011 by Anna

This one is a hard for me.

I don’t use reversed cards and I never have consistently. I read using spreads. I often make them as I go along and I include positions for challenges, obstacles or weakness . I tend to interpret the cards in those positions as many would read a reversed card. Yet sometimes I still wonder if I am missing something by not using reversals.

I am a bit of a book worm and so I am always reading. Since I love Tarot is no surprise that many of those books relate to Tarot.

Often I find myself loving the interpretation of some reversed cards and that makes me wonder again if I made the right choice.

I am well familiar with the many views on reversed cards.

Some readers look at them as opposite of the upright meaning.

Others see them as the extreme of the energy expressed.

Nurturing when taken too far, as an example, can become smothering.

Another way to interpret reversed cards is as energy about to enter the situation or leaving it.

Either way the energy of that card is not as strong as when upright. I like this way of thinking, but I think it could be problematic when used it reading for others. I guess you could look at the elements to help you decide if that energy is growing or weakening. It sounds a bit complicated to me, particularly for those who may not be familiar with the elements and how they interact.

Last but not least, there are those who see reversed cards just as a scream for attention, look at me, kind of idea.

Therefore such reader would look at the reversed card carefully or first. He or she would give that card more attention.

I don’t know. I think there are pro and cons to read with reversed as well as to reading without them.

One of the reason I have never really taken to reversals is because I was never sure on how to mix them. Do you take the deck, cut it in half and turn one pile upside down? Would that be too much?

How do you decide? I know that some people suggest to spread the deck around and then move the cards all over the place like you were playing with sand. Personally I am not fussy on it, but it may work for you.

To sum it up. I read cards in the upright position. My meaning for them can change depending on where they are in the spread. I will interpret a card that is in a challenge or negative position as weak, or as an extreme of the energy it represents. As an example the Queen of swords , which I usually see as someone smart, brave, decisive and communicating clearly and directly, may become someone who can come out too critical and whose message can leave people hurt. Even when reading cards in regular positions, therefore as upright, I look at the full spectrum of their energies , from light to dark. I come up with my interpretation considering the overall energies present in the reading. Lots of Wands cards will make my interpretation for them strong and bold, much more let’s say than if a wand card was surrounded by many cups.

What about you?

Do you use reversed cards?

Why? What is your approach? What has been your experience with them?

I would love to hear what you think.

For a more recent post on reversals click here Experimenting with Tarot reversals