"That's another reason I'd question her not wanting to use reversals (out of fear?). "

Well some people don't use reversals as they believe that the meaning for the card, either reveresed or not, is all inherent in the card even when upright and it takes a psychic development and rapport with the cards to know which meaning it means.
However, whilst I agree that this might be true, the same could be applied to the entirety of the deck. You could just hold the cards and intuitively pick up the meaning without actually drawing any. After all they're only a tool. If you're happy to not go down the 'full psychic' route and are willing to actually draw the cards, then presumably the position of them mean something to you, why not whether its reversed or not, seems like an arbitrary rule to adhere to considering you're not being entirely intuitive to begin with. You could just try tuning into the meaning of the card, or you just observe that it IS reversed and intuit from that. That's how I work with them anyway. Reversed for me doesn't mean 'bad' and upright mean 'good' though, which I think you do see some people proclaiming and perhaps thats why some people are against it.

"but I can't take the dark energy in that deck. I am a dark person to an extent, but it's a bit much. I don't think the energy of the cards should interfer with your own energies if you want to tap into your skills."

That really sums it up! I don't want to imply that the cards are inherently 'dark' as that connotates a negative feeling, but if I'm honest that IS the feeling I got from using the cards. I would actually feel a little nauseous after using them. I used them a for a bit about two years ago having, in my mind, already gotten to grips with rider-waite and foolishly felt that somehow the toth deck was a 'step up' from rider waite, a natural progression. However, I have to say that's not I experienced although there does seem to be some pervading myth that this is so.

>>>Perhaps its arrogant of me, but I only take on board those meanings or understandings that I consider and find agreeable or that 'feel right' with me. The Three of Cups feels much more Cancerian to me than the Two, and the twos generally I would associate with Gemini,<<<

Hey, a card means to you what it means to you; there's no law to follow here. Personally, I work from a system of relating the cards to QBL, astrology, tantra, alchemy, numerology and a number of other studies that give me an organized approach to the deck. But I still tend to read the eight of cups, the Lord of Indolence, as referring to an illness, although I never found that in any book. It tends to work for me by suggesting Forced Indolence, or being bedridden due to illness. And it doesn't appear that way all the time, only when my gut feeling tells me it does. So far, my gut has known more than my head has in most readings. You go with what works for you, regardless of what some text says. But in determining the timing of events, I would still use the deuce, trey and four of cups to indicate the sign of the Crab.

As to duality, there are other Trumps that depict two or more people, The Sun comes to mind or the traditional design for the Devil. The Wheel of Fortune also shows three figures, representing the three Hindu gunas or the triplicities of the zodiac. The Universe (or World) shows a woman dancing with a serpent in the Thoth, and the Strength (or Lust) shows a woman riding a seven-headed beast. The pair in The Lovers suggests choice to me rather than love per se. To each his own.

With love under will,

Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville

I will use different decks based on the sort of information I want. Sometimes I like it fluffy, other times I like it straight with no chaser - that's when I turn to the Thoth.

I'll admit the deck can be intense, but I've never found it difficult or disturbing to look at. But then, much of the art, music and entertainment I like can be considered intense or disturbing to some.

When reading, you're only wielding the perceptions the images spark in you. If there's anything frightening or disturbing in that, that should be examined.

>>>Dion fortune uses the terms Occultist and Mystic,<<<

Dear Paul,

Yes, I have read some of Wirth's works and admire her clear grasp of the subject matter. I personally consider myself an occultist. I notice that in earlier times most ceremonial magicians worked with a scryer to help them "see" and "track" the forces they were working with. I tend to focus on directing the occult energies (or thoughts), but I do most of my own scrying; it is difficult to do both, though not impossible, but it is just about impossible to do both at the same time. The thought patterns seem to be very different and mutually exclusive to a degree.

I am certain that no single Tarot deck is right for every reader. I have a number of decks, not a huge collection, but there are easily ten decks on my bookshelf as well as two or three other divination decks other than the Tarot. But I find the Thoth deck the best for me and the easiest to tune into. I am a bit puzzled by the complaints that it is too highly energized, since I have always found the deck to be very good for teasing out very subtle intuitions on each situation. The results often surprise me in particular, but other people who have sat in on my readings seem to expect considerable accuracy. It may well be that I am a bit "hard of hearing" on the "psychic" wavelengths, but I use the Thoth exclusively. Even when I am away from home and without my deck, I find I can use a borrowed Tarot of any kind and simply imagine the Thoth cards in place of the deck in hand. I get perfectly good readings that way. It's a bit easier with the Thoth at hand, but it still works my way. So, the final conclusion for me is that it's best to use the deck that "speaks" to the individual reader. I only object to the often-repeated prejudice in some quarters that my favorite deck is somehow "evil" or "cursed" or highly "negative". As with any other deck, one gets what one can from a deck of cards and so long as the readings are accurate enough to satisfy the querent and help him/her with his/her problems and questions, that is really all that matters.

And when I can tell a querent that the event she hopes for will be coming in a month and a half and I get an entirely unexpected phone call a month and a half later to tell me that it happened precisely on schedule, I am satisfied--and I believe the querent is too. I wasn't expecting the phone call that time, since I still have no idea how she tracked me down and got my work number. The only time I have any difficulty is when I don't trust what the cards are telling me, since I have found out in such cases that what I'm getting is precisely true, but simply seemed unlikely or possibly unwelcome news and have tried to skirt the issue. In all these cases, I find that for the querent this has been news they've been hoping for--even when it seems to me that the message is likely to be unpleasant.

>>>I know that calling these things 'occult' is sort of a misnomer,<<<

Actually, the term "occult" is quite accurate. It simply means "hidden", and (let's face it) most occult knowledge is hidden from most people because they don't "believe" in it and so don't bother to learn anything about it. Most people get their understanding of occult matters from cheap Hollywood horror movies, which have about as much to do with the occult as fundamentalist creationism has to do with science. The term is often taken to refer to evil practices and has acquired a sinister reputation, but simply because something is hidden from the masses does not make it evil or suspicious. Doctors refer to internal bleeding within a patient's body as "occult blood" since it is not visible on the outside. And when the moon or a planet covers up another object in space, such as a star, astronomers refer to this as an occultation of the star. Nothing the least bit evil or scary about the moon passing in front of a star and hiding it for a time--unless that star is the sun and those who view it see it as an evil spirit trying to blot out the sun. Hopefully most humans have finally outgrown ghost stories and being frightened by what they don't (yet) understand.

With love under will,

Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville

Paul,

I see the two of cups as an indication to a relationship that can be a love affair. I always look at the surrounding cards to determine the nature of the relationship. Like in the above case four of wands in the hope position, hoping for joy and happiness is a good indication that I’m looking for love rather than friendship. I do not thing that people look forward for friendship. It just happens when the right people meet. But deep relationship (Love) is what people seek all the time (opinion).

Bob,
I like ‘Love under will”. I always associate the two of cups and four of wands to the spring months (April-June). Can these cards be an indication to this period? Or I’m just overwhelmed with the art I see on them.