Telling stories using Tarot cards.

February 21, 2016 by Anna

Telling stories using Tarot cards. Part 1. I have not written in a while. Life has been busy.

I am going to update you here in words first and then using cards.

Telling stories using Tarot cards is not new and I have written about it in the past.

It is a fun process and one that can help anyone familiarize with the cards.

Here I am not spending much time deciding which cards to use. I am not spending time editing the story. I want to go free flow.
A quick mix of key words for the cards or the first impression from the images.

I am going to pace myself.

One update, one story, a sequence of cards.

The deck I am using is Gateway to the Divine Tarot by the very talented Ciro Marchetti.

For the past five weeks we have had a guest in the house. Stella is a beautiful five months old orange cat. The firemen got her out of her home just in time. Another cat in the building was not as lucky. The owner of the cat, a dear friend of my son, found himself suddenly homeless. After bouncing for a while from one place to the other he asked me to keep Stella until he found a permanent place.
I love cats, but I already had a ten year old cat, who at the time was busy adjusting to the new puppy we got in August. My cat, Lovie, is not a fan of other cats.
I said I was going to give it a try.

Well, Stella is a lot of fun, but she is also a trouble maker. She is full of energy, super curious, very agile, a risk taker and if there is a danger she will find it.

Stella is in many ways very similar to my puppy, Misty.
They both are always on the move. They are curious. They are fast. They pounce first and think later. A fun, but tricky combination. They like the same things and they have been stealing each other toys. Misty and Stella are fascinated with each other and want to play together, but I don’t want an injury on my watch and therefore I have been keeping them separate, or I have let them interact under very close supervision.

Stella also wants to play with my cat, by chasing her. Lovie is at least double her size and she hisses at Stella the moment she sees her.

I have been spending time in a room with Stella, on a floor with Lovie and Misty, or in another room supervising the kitten and the puppy.

It has been fun, insightful and time consuming. My attempt to juggle my time among them, keeping harmony in the home is expected to last another couple of weeks.
Now let’s use the cards to tell the story.

The Tower is the unexpected disruption caused by the fire.
The 5 of pentacles is my friend suddenly out of his home and seeking help.
I am the Queen of pentacle, friendly and reliable and able to help.
The Page of wands is Stella, young, curious and full of energy.
The 6 of coins (pentacles) is my attempt to distribute my attention and energy equally among the Page (Stella) and the 10 of cups ( my dog and my cat).
It is funny how the cat in the 10 of cups actually looks a lot like Stella.
The 5 of wands well represents the tension caused by all the animals competing for space, love and attention.
The Emperor is me attempting to set rules of engagement among the pets to keep harmony in the home, 4 of wands.
The Temperance is the way I try to balance fairly the love (ace of cups) and the discipline (9 of pentacles) I give out to help everyone get along and not feel left out or jealous.
The 2 of coins (pentacles) is the juggling, timing and flexibility required to tune in to the needs of all of the animals and keep them living happily with me (Strength).

I hope you enjoyed the process.

“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.

BIT exercise. Rudy.

January 30, 2011 by Anna

Hello.

I am busy reading a fascinating book called “The Back in Time Tarot Book” by Janet Boyer.

I love it because it provides a fresh look at Tarot.

Essentially she suggests to look at experiences from the past or even fairy tales and put them into a story using Tarot cards.

You can use a few cards or you can use many. You can select them by meaning and associations or by the images depicted on the cards.

The method is supposed to help you develop a stronger connection with the cards and with your intuition and who could not benefit from that?

For one of the exercises Mrs Boyer suggests the following.

“Think of a surprise event where a person or animal surmounted an incredible challenge.”

For this story I have used a total of 12 cards. They are all from the RWS deck.

Knight of wands/ Chariot / Tower.

Rudy was a young, bold, strong and curious cat.

One evening, a few minutes after letting her out, I heard the sound of a car hitting the brakes.

When I got out, the car was gone. Rudy was hiding, but she could not walk straight and she had no control of her bowels.

9 of swords / Death

What followed was pure anguish. Death was a strong possibility. Even if she lived, her spine may have been broken.

4 of swords / king of swords / 5 of pentacles.

Rudy survived. She had to rest for weeks to regain strength, before she could have the necessary surgery (male vet). What followed was a long period of rest, limited movement, weakness and financial strain for us to pay the vet.

Strength / 6 of swords / Temperance / 9 of cups.

Rudy was at the time a young and vibrant cat. It took a lot of adjustment on her part, but eventually she started to get stronger. She healed as much as possible and she went on to have a long happy life, just as we had wished and hoped.