Keyword Reliance and “Projectile Spin”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: A question was recently asked online about whether it is appropriate to place keywords on the tarot cards as an aid to interpretation. While most of the responses were kind enough to advise “Do what you must to make it work,” at least one person felt that this action stifles creative thought by narrowly focusing the mind on a single set of ideas instead of allowing for visual “unpacking” of all the symbolism in the image. I offered my own opinions on that last theory:
“I think it’s possible to work past that point. Having used the Thoth deck with its minor-card keywords for the last 50+ years, I find that — although I don’t look at the on-board words much any more — they can act as triggers (and a kind a safety-net when intuition falters) to open up a vast landscape of memory. Plus, having also spent the last decade with Lenormand, in which only one or two key meanings per card is the norm, I’ve found some value in bringing the approach back to tarot, at least for beginners.”
It’s a well-established premise that novices benefit from a knowledge-based foundation in tarot fundamentals to avoid becoming hopelessly entangled in a web of ad hoc inference, supposition and outright guesswork that is grounded in nothing more than the whim of the moment. At its most effective, this preparatory study creates a reliable touchstone or springboard for eventual forays into more visionary leaps of inspiration, imagination and ingenuity. While I firmly believe that every attempt at divination has a psychic or spiritual dimension (where else does the “received wisdom” come from?), learning the “lay of the land” before heedlessly diving in would seem to be an essential prerequisite if one is to resist endlessly dabbling in superficial inanities that lack convincing precedent. While the judicious application of keywords is a critical early step in developing this proficiency, their use must be kept in perspective.
Which brings me to the subject of “spin.” In the manufacture of firearms, rifle barrels are inscribed with internal, spiral grooves (know simply as “rifling”) that impart spin to an emerging projectile so it flies true to the target without tumbling end-over-end and losing its penetrating power. The same can be said of tarot-card keywords: they map the most efficient (although by definition hardly the most intuitive or instinctive) direct route to the destination. Anything more elaborate constitutes sightseeing side-trips that enrich the journey but don’t add to the itinerary. A knack for such spontaneous embellishment comes with the perfection of one’s storytelling acumen and can dramatically enhance the querent’s appreciation for the narrative, but it is not vital to grasping the basic message.
While you needn’t write them on the cards, don’t toss out traditional keywords without milking them for all they’re worth by internalizing their core meaning. Those “bites” of insight have been honed over more than a century of use and have much to recommend them as a starting-point. As with Lenormand interpretation, when handled economically they can be unfailingly linear and literal in tarot practice. Later you can always ignore them upon gaining confidence in your own interpretive skills and personal vocabulary (at least until they step in at the last minute and rescue your credibility in the middle of a sketchy reading situation). Unless you are a true psychic prodigy, the best advice I can give is “learn to walk before you try to run;” you stand to gain much in the way of client esteem by being methodical instead of off-hand in your observations.
I’ll end this with a grin:
Originally published at https://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on December 29, 2023.
