Tarot Demystified

 

Tarot as in interactive tool

Many people I've met, mainly those who have never had an actual Tarot reading, think that Tarot is a simple thing. That all there is to it is that you ask a question and the reader gives you the answer and that is where things end. A short two step process. 

 

While of course it's up the to the querent (person for whom the reading is done) what they do with the information that they are given, Tarot can be so SO much more that than. Amazing, life-altering, profound, stunningly beautiful and deeply wise at times. And that is why I am writing on this topic this month, to try to show more of the depth behind things.

 

Before I go on, I wanted to stop and tell you how much I loved this photo when I found it. I find it just beautiful. And I adore the beauty and dignity of the child here. But more than that, the photo reminds me a lot of Tarot readings, and that is why I included it here.

 

The lights/candles in the background say to me that Tarot is meant to be enlightening, and to help us light up our paths ( to see more clearly and with more certainty the best path for us to take). The water he is wading through here (water usually represents the unconscious for me and parts of ourselves we don't see clearly or are unaware of), says that Tarot is a tool to make that visible to us. So that we can see what we are not seeing or understanding and work with it.

 

And maybe that's my main point this month. That, to me, Tarot is a tool to tell you what do to improve things in your life, but you still have to do the work itself or things will not magically change just because they cards say they can and that the potential is there.

 

Tarot will tell you what work you need to do to get to where you want to go, but then you have to do it,. It's a tool to help you cut down the weeds in your way. So that things can float smoothly again and you can relax and go with the flow. Its often about learning and growth, learning more about life and your own life and inner self, as children do...Not so much a tool to TELL you the answer but more a tool to SHOW you how to get to the best answer  and to create it in your life.

 

Each reader has their own code of ethics of what they feel is not right to do in a reading. One thing I personally don't believe is appropriate and never do as a reader is to ask questions on what someone "should" do. I don't believe the cards are meant to decide for someone how they should react or lead their lives. Tarot cards can help point out any unknowns in a situation or tell the querent the consequences of taking each path you are considering. But then it is up to the querent to decide. My belief is that the final decision of what we want to do with our lives has to always rest with us. And that to take that away from someone robs them of the life lessons they would learn by making the decision themselves.

 

The cards can show you the meaning of life, or of certain areas of your life, But being given a new way to see things, requires some thought. They can tell you things to soothe pain and hurt feelings, but will only work if you stop and contemplate what was said and make it part of you.  We can't just embrace a new way of thinking after hearing it once, without stopping and really thinking it over.

 

The cards can tell you the potential consequences of two or more paths your are considering taking. But after the reading that leaves you to think things over and choose which outcome you prefer. The cards can even look into the past and tell you WHY someone acted as they did then. But then it is your decision what you want to do with that and if you want to adjust your view of that person in light of the new information....

 

The querent is more in an active role than a passive one. They need to think of which information they want to know and ask about. And afterwards what they choose how to learn from what was said and how they want to work with it to try to improve their lives. 

To me that is more what Tarot is. A reading, to me, is more of a starting point than an end in and of itself. It's what you do with the information that can create true change.

 

 

 

Coming next month: The spiritual questions