How "Rigid" Are you with definitions

My question, how "Rigid" are you with definitions has been sparked by my preliminary studies of the tarot.

How much do you hold to the interpretations given in your own education when working with the tarot?

Edit: Edited to prevent private information ending up on google

I'm not using a Waite deck, so my project has been to compare the Waite interpretations to the interpretations of the deck. Then from there I compare those interpretations and the image of the card to come up with my own interpretation of each individual card. I've been going through my deck and am currently almost finished with cups. Then I'll have pentacles and be on to the memorizing and comparison part.

I think the cards should have meaning, but not one you'd find from a book. think each card should have your own meaning. It helps, and it will also make it easier to compare with other cards in a particular reading.

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Originally Posted by Rezenic

I'm not using a Waite deck, so my project has been to compare the Waite interpretations to the interpretations of the deck. Then from there I compare those interpretations and the image of the card to come up with my own interpretation of each individual card. I've been going through my deck and am currently almost finished with cups. Then I'll have pentacles and be on to the memorizing and comparison part.

I think the cards should have meaning, but not one you'd find from a book. think each card should have your own meaning. It helps, and it will also make it easier to compare with other cards in a particular reading.

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So essentially what your suggesting is using the cards more as a "fence" if you will for your own interpretation limits?

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Originally Posted by Veneficus_V

So essentially what your suggesting is using the cards more as a "fence" if you will for your own interpretation limits?

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I'm not sure what you mean by fence.

"fence" ie, limitations, for example you would not ascribe the card 17 star to be: doom gloom destruction in your own personal interpretations because it would exceed the natural boundaries of the card, which are of course hope and a bright future.

Yes. Then I do. I use the interpretations very loosely in an actual reading. I'll compare the cards with each other in order to get the true meaning for that specific card at that specific point.

I started reading the cards before I read any interpretations. They are a useful tool for opening up the clairvoyant mind. Being too bound by the book interpretations effectively hobbles personal psychic interpretations. If you are reading something that seems to conflict with what the cards appear to be saying, don't disregard it. The brightest star is the one holding the telescope. Tools are there to be used to create, they are not sacrosanct in themselves.
Keep in mind as well that there are as many potential variations on any tarot theme as there are people and situations to apply them to. Yours will be just one more.