A couple weeks ago, I was doing a reading about someone’s (lack of) love life. I don’t remember what all of the cards were, but the Chariot was in a prominent position. And let me tell you, I was really proud of the way I brought out an aspect of the card which people often overlook. I thought it was extremely insightful, and relevant, and I fully expected a response like:

Wow. I mean, wow! That was the most insightful chariot interpretation I have ever heard. You, sir, are truly a master of the tarot. Here are the numbers of several hot single women who would love to meet you.

Instead, when I looked up from the table, I was getting a mostly blank stare. *sigh*

As the reading went on, I drew sets of cards in threes, to generate ideas about where she might meet men. On the second set, I drew:

(images are from the Universal Waite Deck, by the way)

And, the first thing that popped into my mind was “support group for alcoholics.” As a prime place to meet men, I thought this didn’t really fit the bill. Still, I mentioned the impression I got, mainly as a way to stall while I figured out the real meaning.

I never did come up with a second interpretation…. I lost my train of thought when I heard her gasp. I looked up, expecting to see that she had spilled her drink or something. Instead, she went on to tell me that she was putting together just such a support group in the near future.

As my knowledge of the cards (especially the RWS-alikes and Thoth cards) grows, it is becoming more and more of a struggle to remember to leave room for intuition. Clearly, it would be a mistake to let intuition go completely away, though… so I’m attacking this issue in two ways:

1. I’m seeking out non-RWS standard decks to read in a purely intuitive way. A great example is The Key to the Kingdom deck I recently picked up. It’s fantastic, and simply cannot be read in the RWS paradigm. I’m also eyeing the Chaos tarot.
2. At least in my relaxed readings here at home, I’m doing my best to remember to stare at the cards blankly for a few seconds before I start my interpretation proper.