Brains or Books?
Again and again, folks new to the Tarot ask me, "Should I depend on books to tell me what the cards mean, or should I just go with my gut?"
My answer may surprise you!
When brainstorming with Tarot cards, your first impression -- what the card "means" to you the moment you see it -- can be vitally important. Time and again, when my clients describe a card aloud, they vocalize the solution to their problem ... without ever consulting a book.
I recently brainstormed with a frazzled business professional. In addition to day-to-day pressures, he was exhausting himself trying to decide whether to move to a new job during the busy holiday season. Hoping to brainstorm a coping strategy, he turned over this card:
Immediately -- without consulting any book -- he said, "I see a woman who thinks she's facing a choice between her family or career. What she really needs to understand, though, is that, at some point, she put herself in the kind of precarious position that makes this choice seem necessary. I think she should climb down and re-evaluate her situation after some of the pressure's off."
Until he glanced at this card, the idea of putting job decisions off until after the holidays had never occured to him! Clearly, an "intuitive" response can be very valuable.
Intuition's great! Remember, though, that intuition grows and becomes more powerful with exercise ... and feeding. The more you know, the more your intuition can bring to bear on the situation.
For example, you can use the Bright Idea Deck without ever glancing at the companion book. The ideas you generate will be valid ... and the solutions you come up with will be unexpected and creative.
That said, if you do consult the book from time to time, the questions and stories found there will expand your awareness. You'll notice tiny details you overlooked before ... and you'll begin mapping new meanings to those details. As a result of your reading, your "intuition" will suddenly suggest dozens of new associations.
So: when brainstorming, should you depend on books ... or your brain?
My answer? The person willing to use both these tools is better off than the person who only has access to one or the other!
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