Building a Meanings System - Part 2: Questions and Template

To draw or not to on a daily basis? While using the old daily draw system is standard when learning a divinatory system, it can quickly become overwhelming if consistency is hard to maintain. That was me once life started. If you're working the 9-5 and have kids, for example, then it can quickly become difficult to remind yourself to be on the lookout for your theme of the day.

Sometimes, it just isn't easy, even when you've got the time. I used to become stuck when I couldn't think of something that happened in my day, or what I learned related to the card theme. And while I could go back and fill in the blanks with this method, there's a chance I'll forget or won't remember what I was supposed to write. If you're like me, getting to know your divinatory themes at a slower pace may be a better approach. It's like the interview process when getting to know someone. Most employers don't have three candidates sitting in on the same interview for one. That same concept can be applied when getting to know your deck or divinatory concepts. Take the time to get to know each one of them - one at a time.

When becoming familiar with a system, I draw one card for the week. This helps to keep my mind focused on a central theme, rather than on three or seven. What also helps is that I start with a set of questions about the theme. For example, if I draw Path, which is a card that represents a pathway that's opened to me, I can come up with a set of questions like this:

• What pathway is opening up to me this week?
• How do I normally approach opportunities?
• What can I do differently this time when a pathway opens up for me?

You'll want to frame questions based on the classic WH- words: Who, what, when, where, why and how.

You'll also want to stick to the timeframe, a week's time, when asking most of your questions. This helps to keep answers specific. 

I come up with about 3 questions per draw and then work on answering them in my journal immediately. Later throughout the week, l will add more input to questions and answers.

In my last entry, I mentioned part of building a solid meanings system included the practice of asking questions. Questions are vital when learning. For each theme, come up with a set of pre-asked questions.

Another plus to using the once weekly system is that you can gradually turn it into a monthly and bimonthly system - at a pace that's right for you. Take a look at the diagram below:

Diagram for learning a system, fig. 1

Notice that there is a line from the monthly box to the weekly ones, meaning you can skip twice monthly and weekly draws and work with monthly and weekly ones. This simplifies the learning curve while leaving a larger and smaller window to study and understand a few themes in depth each month.

Getting back to the method of questioning, as a student who majored in psychology as well as minored in coaching, I learned the value and strategic importance of questioning. One book I'm currently reading has allowed me to revisit the method while doing a monthly and weekly reading system. Intelligent questioning has opened the door to a new way of thinking about themes as they relate to real life experiences. It's also helped me understand and improve my readings with a system I've always had trouble with: Lenormand.

Addendum: If you want to try something different, try drawing your card(s) at the end of the period. What is the pro? This method actually forces you to sit down and write about your week in relation to the card(s) you got. It can also help you think about any questions you might want to ask after-the-fact. Con: You may not be able to connect an event to the cards you got, but it helps to be mindful of anything important or interesting occurring throughout the week as it happens. So if you don't mind not knowing what exactly to look for but still find this method useful, give it a try. 

For more information on the art of questioning, I recommend Warren Berger's book: A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas. 

In the meantime, if you have questions of your own about this series, please feel free to ask in the comments or contact me via email. 

Happy reading,

Monique

Building a Meanings System Part 1: Categories Method

 

Are you new to reading divinatory systems such as tarot, Lenormand, or oracle cards? What if your system isn’t a cartomancy one? What if you're not new? Well, look no further. This method can be applied to most divinatory systems, whether it’s dice or an oracle you’ve created. It's nothing new, but it's a great way to build a comprehensive meanings system if you’re looking to do pick-a-pile videos or become more organized as a tarot reader, professional or not.

USING CATEGORIES FOR MEANING

Some learning websites such as Labyrinthos and Learn Lenormand have a meaning for almost every common question asked. When you visit these sites, there are several categories listed for a particular card, each dealing with a common set of topics: love, money, and health are a few examples.

While using a category system is great, readers (no matter how experienced) shouldn't rush into building a complex system. Here are some helpful ways you can get your categories system up and running: 

1. Start with basic life categories. Primary categories such as life areas (i.e., love, money, career), reversed cards, and timing – are good starting areas. For life areas, start small. Most website meanings cover love, money, and career. Once you feel comfortable with a certain amount of categories, hunt around for secondary categories such as personality traits, astrological and card combinations. You also want to make sure you can find someone experienced who has these categories covered on their website or in their book. You can also create your own categories and add information to them as you feel more confident about your interpretations.

2. Modify your system as you gain confidence. Start with references from a favorite expert on the system. For example, Rana George as well as Ciro Marchetti share the different interpretations they have for love, work, and money in their deck companion books. Later, as you gain experience (confidence), modify your meanings. 

3. Questions are vital. If you use only one method from these tips, it should be this one. Questions are powerful, especially the right ones. Asking questions in the reading experience helps get your thoughts and ideas flowing about a card. For example, if you get the 3 of Pentacles (reversed) as your card of the day, you might write these questions in your journal: 

How do I work with others?

How can I improve my professional relationship with others?

What has needed improvement lately in my career or job?

Such questions are centered around a card's theme. I will also be posting more about this topic in a future blog entry (see it here). 

4. Experience space. In your meanings system, create a small space for a few personal experiences of your own with the card. Compare and contrast them to others’ interpretations or experiences. 

5. Pick one system. Work on one system if you're new to reading. If you're intermediate, try building on a system you're familiar with.

Remember, things take time. So does building and maintaining a solid meanings system of your own.

Happy reading,

Monique

Pick A Pile | General Reading | WEEK AHEAD

Hi everyone! This Friday (PST) I have a new video coming out. It will be a general reading for the week ahead featuring my two oracles -- The Little Black Deck and The Plutonian Oracle. See first-hand how I use my oracles along with the tarot. Thank you for watching! 

Link here: https://youtu.be/k3k0-Cb7fLY

- Monique

Re-Do

It's been 2 chaotic years, but I haven't lost any desire to publish this deck. For those of you who are STILL following this blog, thank you! I am in the process of re-designing the Plutonian Oracle! I lost all of my original working files a few years ago, made a career transition, started dating, faced the pandemic, took up a new hobby, and got married. Yes, it's been a wild ride! Now that life has settled into some stable routine, I'm able (with the wonderful support of my husband) to continue this project. 

I've been working with small, grainy images of the deck in Illustrator and have made quick progress. While the look of the oracle will stay 90% true to its original format and appearance, there will be small changes to cards that need fixing.

Meanwhile, I tried working in different art apps on my tablet, such as ArtFlow and Ibis Paint, but these aren't going to do it for this deck. It was originally designed in Illustrator and therefore will be the best medium to finish it with. So far, I'm pleased with the results. :)

I do have a ways to go; however, when I feel confident enough, I will be posting a time table for when I publish this deck. 

In the meantime, I already have a published deck called Little Black Deck. I put this up on Etsy this year. If you're interested in checking it out, please visit my Etsy shop.

Etsy Shop: MKirkleyCrafts

Thank you so much for stopping by!

 

 

What's the Word?

Hi everyone. Well, it's about another year and here's another update. I just can't get myself to break this bad habit! I've been here and there, and nowhere. While I have been making progress in other areas of my life, I have had some time to work on the deck. Those maroon-colored borders are now gone. Additions and subtractions to the artwork have been made. Truly, to be an artist, you never quite feel like what you put out there is good enough. But I'm working on this, and the desire to change things has become less over the recent months.

Last month, I made a mini version of the deck here at home. I have been demoing the cards at the forums and offline with positive results. While I'm happy with the changes, there will be another change to the Life Areas card. I have been having trouble getting the right design on this one. However, it is one of the most complicated cards of the deck.

I've also resumed edits and revisions to the oracle's 90+ page manual. I will be working on a little white book that will come with the deck, and so I hope to have this done before the is month over. It shouldn't take that long, since its purpose is to be brief. So without further ado, here is the result of some of the changes I've made as well as a first look at the mini deck. I'm not sure if there will be a mini version of the Plutonian Oracle because the original size is already small enough. If I do come out with this second version, it will probably be the size of iota game cards, which is quite small.

Thank you for being so patient and keeping up with the deck!

- Monique

I'm Back...

So after almost a year of nothing from this project, meaning crazy busy-ness.. I'm back to finally work on completing this project. I'm nearing the end of my university program with my final class, and now I have some time on my hands to revive The Plutonian Oracle project.

To recap, I had to go digging for my card images on backup (I got a new computer last year), yet they were nowhere to be found. I resolved this issue by going to my card publisher's website, and thank god... they were still saved. The only issue now is that each card has a maron-colored outline in the border and I need to clean this up before resuming work.

I purchased CorelDraw, because Illustrator is just too expensive nowadays. So I have to get used to a whole new way of editing images, but, I think it's similar to Illustrator and I will manage. So far, so good. I have my images, and I do hope I can finally make some progress.

Thanks for following me!

- Monique

Nearness

It's been some time since I talked about the oracle deck. I've had a lot of time to practice with it these last several months and formulate some pros and cons. Aside from the German stock holding up well, this entry is going to be focusing on problems I've run into and haven't had an answer for until now.

About two months into reading with this deck, it became difficult for me to interpret the messages. This being an oracle deck, I'm more familiar with the tarot. About two years ago, I started to rely more on pictorial scenes and the human figure, and I've had some really accurate results from doing this. However, I'm afraid a little too much. The Plutonian oracle doesn't leave much in the way for this kind of interpretation. Finding this more of a drawback, I'd wondered how I might go about resolving this issue.

Because the deck is minimalist, I designed "positions" into it in order to specify information. However, I feel it's not enough, especially for the reader with a visual appetite. I also wondered: Is packing "positions" just a way to squeeze more cards into a 54 card deck? Nevermind rotating the card once (which is how to specify information), it can become a daunting task just after one try. I'd wondered if making the cards a bit more specific in their basic meanings might help, but something told me to just keep the meanings as is. Most of my sitters have already become familiar with them, anyway.

For those of you who rely on figures and gender to tell a story in the reading process, I have come up with an idea to get around this figureless, non-person problem. I am going to assign gender to each card, and perhaps, a tarot card. This will be added to the "Optional Correspondence" list that will be made available with the deck. This kind of reminds me of the way in which gender is assigned to words in languages.

But what about those readers who rely on the more expressive elements such as facial expression, stance, etc..? This can be a huge part of the reading, and this deck may just not end up being for those who want more. This entry is beyond the scope of how to build a deck that can be both tarot and oracle, minimalist and not, and so I will allow the limits I'm facing along these lines to be drawn here. It is, after all, an oracle deck, not a tarot.

As for the artwork, I need to get a move on. I have had feelings once again of changing the look of the art; however, I don't really want to prolong this phase any more. As for the card stock, I'm not sure if I want to stick with the German stock at MakePlayingCards.com. As mentioned in an earlier entry, it will definitely drive the cost of the deck up, and I wonder if it would all be worth it. If things go smoothly, this deck could be available after the 2017 Thanksgiving Holiday.

Thanks for reading!! :)