Card Reading with Training Wheels

Memorizing 52 card meanings is hard.  Especially if you have other things going on in your life, or are sleep-deprived, have a full-time job, a family to feed and care for, you get the idea!

When I first started reading cards back in the day, I would write a few words lightly on each card just to get my head wrapped around all of the definitions and meanings.  So when I returned to cartomancy after a long hiatus, I had to start all over again relearning definitions.  I tried to remember them the way that I was taught, but the book that I had read to tatters so many years ago was long gone along with its secrets.  

So, I wrote down everything that I could remember and started looking at other systems that felt familiar to me.  It's funny how after doing a few readings, things came back and new meanings synthesized in to create a whole new system that is entirely mine.  I really feel that this is the best way to start with and develop a deeply personal metaphysical tool that speaks to you.

So pick up an extra deck of playing cards, address labels if you are having a hard time writing on the newer plastic surfaces, a sharpie marker, and you are on your way!  I also recommend keeping a notebook with a page or two dedicated to each card. You can write down meanings as they evolve and even keep track of how readings play out to really see how the cards speak to you.  I've included a picture of my journal, as you can see it isn't anything fancy, but it gets the job done!  One other thing to keep in mind, every few days, do a few readings without your "training-wheels" deck ... you will want to ensure that you are progressing and not relying on the hard and fast definitions.  The overall idea is to just memorize enough of the meanings to get your intuition going.

If you have a lot going on in your day like I do, you will find yourself picking up your cartomancy system faster than ever!  Thanks for reading!

Thank you PsychicTeachers!

First of all, I would like to thank the PsychicTeachers over at BlogTalkRadio for launching me on this exciting journey!  Two amazing ladies, Deb Bowen and Samantha Fey, are behind the microphone every Sunday night at 9pm EST.  If you can't tune-in live, you can find them on iTunes and download all of their podcasts so that you can listen at your convenience.  I am trying to catch up myself; there are 100 plus episodes and each is an hour-long.  They are such a wealth of information I squeeze them in whenever I can!  I am not above listening to them while a.) showering b.) grocery shopping, and c.) walking in lieu of music!

I have learned so much, Deb and Samantha have a lot of great information and real world experience to share with their listeners and they do it in a fun, light-hearted way.  Some of the many subjects they have covered are working with and using crystals, awakening your intuition, tarot, palm reading, grounding and protection, numerology, chakra balancing, mediumship, meditation, the list goes on and on.  It really brings me back to sitting around my mother's kitchen table with a couple of my favorite "aunties" and talking about all the woo-woo stuff, as my dad called it, while the men folk barbecued in the back yard!

As much as I love both of these ladies, I feel an especially deep kinship to Samantha.  Growing up Catholic and intuitive was not easy, there were many times that I felt  completely and directly in conflict with the teachings of my family, friends, teachers, church leaders, etc. I'm from a small town, it was hard to hide, I was the strange one. Thankfully, I had a mother (and a few aunties) that quietly supported me and encouraged my growth as long as it didn't cause any unwanted attention.  She would sneak me off to the library in the next large city and even introduced me to card reading with playing cards, as tarot cards were absolutely not allowed in our home!

It has taken me many years to come to terms with these issues, and I feel that listening to the PsychicTeachers have assisted in making this a more peaceful and enlightened journey.