Don't Be Afraid to Use the Book

I woke up this morning feeling fairly discouraged. The weather is shifting here, so the past few days have been a bit rough for me physically. It is incredibly frustrating to have a bunch of relatively good days and then crash and have several bad days in a row. It frustrates me that the weather affects me so much physically. However I can't change that, so I do my best to work on acceptance.

Over the past couple of weeks, life has gotten in the way, so I haven't done much with my personal Tarot practice. I woke up today feeling quite discouraged. I decided that even though I was brain foggy and feeling yucky, I was going to do a reading for myself. I decided to do my favorite combo reading of drawing an Oracle card, three Tarot cards, and a Rune. I used the Oracle of the Shapeshifters and the Animal Wisdom Tarot.

The message I got was so uplifting it brought tears to my eyes. It confirmed that I need to keep things simple and do what's right for me and not worry what all the "experts" say. In doing so, I will be successful and happy. The Rune I drew, Laguz, reminded me that I need to go with the flow and for now, follow the easy path. I was getting so bogged down in the advice of others, trying to do things "right."

I'm so glad I did the reading, even though I was feeling crummy. It was just the encouragement I needed for today. Living with the ups and downs of chronic illness can be very difficult. It's nice to have tools to help me improve my outlook and move forward.

As for the title of this post, I was reminded of something else today. Don't be afraid to use the book for doing your readings. I have quite a few Oracle decks and Tarot decks. With most of the Oracle decks and a few of the Tarot decks, I still need to use the accompanying book to help me interpret the cards. There's nothing wrong with that. Oracle decks especially are so varied in their systems and meanings, it can be difficult to truly master each and every one. Working with the Animal Wisdom Tarot is new for me. The author has done an EXCELLENT job with choosing animals that support the more "traditional" meanings of the cards. But these are not immediately understandable to me. I utilized the book (also excellent) that came with the deck to help me interpret my reading. I'm so glad I did! Using the book helped me really understand the connection of the chosen animal to the more traditional/conventional meaning of the cards.

I've felt somewhat guilty about using the accompanying books with Tarot decks in readings for myself. I've felt that as an aspiring Tarot professional I shouldn't need to use the book to do readings. I have studied Tarot for a number of years now and have a handful of decks that I feel quite confident in using for readings without needing to utilize a book for interpretation. However, there are SO many different Tarot decks. There really isn't anything wrong with using the book that comes with these decks, especially for personal readings. The books give you insight into the nuances and unique interpretations of each deck's theme that the deck author has come up with.

I definitely believe in working on learning the "basics" of Tarot, especially if you'd eventually like to become a professional reader. It is my opinion that intuition is great, but can be even greater when it has more information to work with. Learning Tarot as a system helps give our intuition more information to work with and draw on to help guide our readings. So there's nothing wrong with adding to that well of information by using the accompanying deck books when you read, especially in the beginning.

Far too often I see the advice given to people new to divination "Throw the book away! Use your intuition!" Well, I tried that in the beginning and my brain just doesn't work like that. I ended up sitting there looking blankly at the cards and getting frustrated. It was only after reading some books that I began to have intuitive insights when reading the cards.

I also realized that with my brain fog from my chronic illness issues, there's days when I just can't process. My brain just literally doesn't work correctly. Some days that means I can't even attempt a reading. Other days it means I can do a reading, but I need some help in order to put all the pieces together. A quick look at the book or my collection of card meanings can be just what I need to gain insight and put things together. It's not about regurgitating stock meanings and cobbling them together. It's about reminding me of what I already know but my brain just isn't quite putting together because it's not up to par that day.

So don't worry about using the book. It's there, so use it! After a time, if you feel comfortable, set the book aside and try reading without referring to it. If that doesn't work, go back to using the book. There's nothing wrong with using the book for readings for yourself.

Are there any decks that you use the book with? Do you feel comfortable setting aside the book, at least some of the time? Please feel free to share in the comments.



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