When I first started reading tarot cards I was thrilled by them. I read for everyone I knew (using the handy LWB and Angeles Arriens’ Tarot Handbook). I read for myself obsessively. I was going through a serious transition at the time and kept returning again and again to the Tarot to figure myself out while learning the language of the cards. It was a lot of fun.
My excitement over the Tarot’s ability to describe what was going on in my life and the life of everyone that let me read for them was enormous. And the cards’ capacity to predict what might be on its way just blew my mind. It took a while for me to really notice some of the deeper messages the Tarot had to deliver.
When the initial fun turned to serious study, the lessons of the Major Arcana started to sink in. We all start with the Fool’s leap and the Magician’s inspiration and keep on going till we euphorically explode in the Universe’s final liberation. And then we repeat the process again, with a different mix in between. It’s an unending story of enlightenment and fall, or fall and enlightenment. Of course it’s both.
By reading for other people as often as I get to, I’m furnished with the opportunity to see that all of us are always on this same path. What’s special and individual is how the cards fall for each of us.
With 78 possible choices, each individual spread (or individual card) represents a thin slice of someone’s life. Taken on its own it’s a personal reflection on one’s attitudes, behaviours and life patterns. When seen within a larger pool of readings and querents, it’s apparent that no one is immune from any of life’s surprises. We all face sorrow, joy, good fortune and failure, as well as times of relative tranquility and calm.
Being reminded of this truth helps a great deal in the practice and development of compassion. How can you really hold onto jealousy, envy, malice or revenge when you truly acknowledge that everyone is facing the same challenges? You don’t have to like what people are doing, but it’s hard to close your eyes to their humanity and compulsion towards happiness. The long and the short of it is that each one of us is simply trying to live as best we can.
The Tarot has the ability to break down barriers between people. It levels the playing field by using a regular symbolic language to describe our varying story lines. By rising above our personal details, the connectedness of all becomes evident. As a reader, whether or not I can relate to someone’s lifestyle, social or financial standing, or even their personalities, I have no choice but to see that in the end, they’re facing the same cards I am. They’re really no different than me.
It’s often hard to truly love people, especially when they seem unlike us. The Tarot offers readers a unique opportunity to shatter this illusion of distinction. It’s a fantastic chance to really see how small the differences are between people. At our cores, we’re all pretty much alike. The cards just fall in different patterns at different times for different people. Each one of us, however, experiences all 78 energies for good or ill. Let’s remember that and try to help each other out.
THE TAROT ROOM |
THE TAROT ROOM - ARTICLES |
THE TAROT: REVEALING OUR SHARED HUMAN CORE |