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Tarot and the Suit Controversy

Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 10:20 pm
by Capricious
I was a young when I got into Tarot. My parents didn't care. I rarely read for other people but when I did it foretold.
Experiences:

I had a friend in High School we used to hang out a lot. I decided to practice on her and we started a reading. She didn't want to say the question outloud but when I started the reading I figured it was about her older male cousin she had a crush on but then it the reading got dark and even though she didn't tell me anything. I told her something bad was going to happen, very bad. I even asked if was it about her cousin and she just blushed and stayed quiet. Well three months later he got in a car accident and died.

A few weeks later I did one on my mother and it said pretty much that her and my father were going to have a divorce. At the time their relationship was fine a year and half later my parents had a hardcore fight, and then they were divorce. After that I was like nope going to put them away. Even though I continued to have a fascination with them I did't use them. I gave away my Old English Deck and Sold my Renaissance deck. I needed the cash then.

Now 7 years later I decided to get back into them. I bought myself the Easy Rider Waite Tarot because I had forgotten most of the knowledge of them especially the suites.

Did a reading on my sister and her then boyfriend and read right through them, it was like the cards knew my sister and her then boyfriend. Being how they were different people altogether and said to her that well it doesn't look to bright. That you're guys will get into some financial trouble. I didn't want to influence anything on her well turns out he needed to start paying child support and my sister being the High maintenance chick she is didn't like to deal with that. So they broke up, which I saw but didn't tell them.

Here's the thing. I'm not sure if I've always saw Swords as Fire and Wands as Air, and Cups as Water and Pentacles as Earth.

Then I realize holy crap have I been wrong al l this time? Has my logic been wrong?

I always thought Fire/Swords Action and Ambitions. Wands as Air (Plus most wands being made as wood, fire always burns wood for the most part) as thought, invention and enterprising. Cups with Water and Earth with Pentacles have never been an issue.

See the thing is I've been into astrology. I'm sorry if I'm bad at explaining my mind is jumbled.
According to http://www.aeclectic.net/

If AIR then Swords represent the mind and the voice. Here is the suit of sharp ideas and sharp tongues, of thinking things through or thinking/saying too much. Swords are cleverness and a love of facts, they are "swordplay" in the sense of solving problems, performing calculations, discussing and debating.

In the tarot, the Sword is that mightier "pen" standing for writing, research, television, radio and the internet. It is all forms of information and so the card of science, mathematics and medicine as well as debate, analysis and journalism.

Element: FIRE (though some decks have it as Air). If FIRE then it represents passion. As such, in a reading it usually stands for ambition, career, creative endeavors, religion and/or philosophy. Anything a person might put their energy and soul into. This is something you have to do, whether you are recompensed for it or not. It is something that burns inside of you and you need to act on it.

But my mind says... no, nope.. uh uhh. I always felt an I guess certain aspects and traits with different elements.
Fire: Passion, and Ambition
Air:Religion and Philosophy, medicine, mathematics.

I agree on most of it but my mind just sees a court card with a person with a sword in my hand those traits do not pop into my head when I see a sword suite. So basically it's down to as seeing forging a sword, war fighting sword as fire and
thought provoking, inventor, imaginative wand yielder as air. Am I wrong should I start seeing it differently or should I just stick with what I know or feel.

Does anyone else have this problem? :anxious:

Re: Tarot and the Suit Controversy

Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 8:47 am
by Heartsong
I think that it's more important to go with your intuition. I find my readings are far more accurate when I read what I feel is being relayed to me, versus repeating the meaning associated with the card from another source.

I don't always feel that the suits match the element they're attributed to either. Many of the cards have more than one element present at a time in their imagery and in their meaning, I think, and it can vary from reading to reading. As such, it seems to me that, again, going with your intuition, what you feel is being conveyed, is going to be more accurate and significant.

For example, in my Wild Woods Deck, there is a card called the Nine of Bows: Respect. The Bow suit is strongly associated with Fire (determination, will, creativity, etc.). However, when I look at the card, and frequently when I see it come up in a reading, it has a decidedly Earth feel to it, because very often it speaks of a need for grounding one's self, and overcoming fears through understanding them (and just being plain sensible). :flyingwitch:

Re: Tarot and the Suit Controversy

Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 3:15 pm
by Capricious
Thank you. Last time I mentioned this I got an argument and then insulted me and said "You don't know how to read cards," which really insulted me. I guess I'll keep doing what I'm doing. Maybe it's a deck thing.