Episode 67: Difficult Cards with Roger Tobin
Tarot Reflections
The Dec 2007 Issue of Tarot Reflections is up and has a couple of articles that feature me & the Tarot Connection.
- An Interview with Leisa ReFalo, the First Lady of Tarot Podcasting
- Tarot Podcasts – The New Wave of Tarot
Difficult Cards with Roger Tobin
What are Good Cards vs. Bad Cards, auspicious vs inauspicious etc.
Popular Tarot Culture would look at certain cards as inherently bearing weight in one direction or another for divination. (Example is face value of Golden Dawn titles).
Spread positions can heighten the effect of what we consider good and bad. (Consider that the Golden Dawn considered nearby cards as having an impact on the card in question)
Reversals can also matter, as can other dignity systems.
What makes a card difficult?
Reaction to the meaning and image, our core values, what we are “afraid” of.
- Are “bad” experiences actually good for us?
- Why is “bad” in the past better and “good” in the future better?
- What does this tell us about what we are willing to think about the lessons of life?
Personal experience with a card over time:
- Difficulty in interpretation
- Real life experience is often totally the opposite of what we thought.
- Comes up often without clear meaning
- Never comes up. . .
Difficult Reading for Paul using the Tarot of The Vampires
Is this a good financial move? Cards: 10 of Knives, 9 of Knives, 3 of Knives
Is it worth doing? Cards: 4 of Knives, 2 of Knives, 3. The Brides (Empress)
Images from The Vampire Tarot by Robert M. Place copyright 2007.
Music Credits
- Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
- Closing Music: Finally by Ion from Future Forever (Magnatune)
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December 18th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Leisa: Thank you for mentioning the ATA newsletter. For those who have not read December’s newsletter yet, there is a wonderful interview with Leisa, and many other “gifts of the season”.
Roger: How nice to see you here again, and what a wonderful topic! I do think that while some cards may seem inherently to begin with, that each individual will have their own “shadow cards”. It i interesting that you noted that when a client sees the difficult card in the past, they do react to it differently than if it is in the present (or future) position.
Blessings,
Bonnie
December 22nd, 2007 at 2:37 am
Great to hear another card study episode. Always enjoy Leisa sharing her reading experiences as well!
December 26th, 2007 at 11:36 am
What a great topic! Thank you for your thoughtful discussion on Death and the Tower. In my younger reading days, I used to rush to reassure the client that those weren’t as bad as they look. Now, I expore their response to the cards, and I found some of your thoughts really helpful and insightful.
It was in dealing with difficult cards that caused me to re-interpret the tarot for myself a few years ago. I always had difficulty interpreting 6s and 7s in the minor arcana. I didn’t resonate with the RWS pictures, so I felt at “sixes and sevens” with those cards! My exploration took me to unexpected places and I’m so glad I went there. Difficult cards are all “grist for the mill,” as they say. Thank you again, for a great podcast.