The Power of TarotThe power of Tarot cards is hardly debatable. Even without the belief in magic for yourself, the sheer amount of people that know of or use the system of Tarot is staggering and holds power in a pop-cultural sense just by being in the minds of the masses. Beyond that, many people, including myself, find that Tarot holds more than just an air of mystery. It is potent. For anyone that has ever had a good reading, you know that the cards can be eerily accurate, even over multiple readings, over multiple decks and even over multiple readers. If you have an exceptional reader, they can tell you more than what you know without you having to give anything more than your willingness to listen to their reading. Tarot can answer questions that you never knew you had in the first place. My Own StoryThat’s why I let my friend borrow it- I knew that having a deck was invaluable for trying to get through serious problems. It wasn’t until I had had a life-changing experience with my spirituality and with my Tarot practice that I got to this question about the Origin of Tarot Power. My only Tarot deck at the time had been… uh… broken? I had shared the standard “Tarot Total” Rider-Waite deck with a close friend during a time of need for them and the Four of Cups went missing after they borrowed it. I was crushed because that deck was the only one I had. It was my first and only deck that I got when I was 12. I used it frequently, especially during the time period my friend was borrowing it because I was also going through a lot- specifically with problems that were already in place revolving around our friendship. That’s why I let my friend borrow it- I knew that having a deck was invaluable for trying to get through serious problems. The deck was unusable. I tried working without that card. I tried working with the deck without the pip cards. I tried splicing the broken deck with a full deck that I bought. What did work was using only the Major Arcana. The problem was that the readings felt strained. I felt like I was beating a dead horse every time I touched the cards to even think about doing a reading. My deck was on life support. I couldn’t stand looking at it anymore. I was so defeated by thinking about what the deck had been for me and what it had been reduced to. I was looking at it like it was its own person, deserving of respect, honor and holding it accountable to my exceptionally high standards. I wanted to honor my deck for what it was and how well it had served me by ceremonially destroying it. I was stuck in a really bad place. I had two decks now, one broken and one I'd planned on giving the friend involved not but a week or so later that in the end I chose to not give to them out of fear they would use not be open enough to objectively and respectfully use the cards. That second deck, the Shadowscapes Tarot, ended up becoming a reminder of everything that I thought was terrible about Tarot and about my friend. Thankfully, at this point, I also had *just* finished my Elder Futhark Runes and they were ready for casting! I did a Rune cast, literally my first, and got some very interesting answers. I asked it about my situation with my friend and about what to do about my broken deck. The Runes were pointing me in another direction. They had a question to answer that I didn’t know I wanted to ask. I was putting all this emphasis on the “Power of the Tarot” and making the cards seem like they were their own entity. The Runes challenged me to question that. I was confused as I pulled some more and essentially got the “Try Again Later” answer that those in the divination community are all too familiar with. It wasn’t the right time or the right modicum to ask with. I decided to do a two-deck reading. One deck being the Majors from my broken deck and the other was the deck that at this point was just too far associated with my friend for me to objectively use. I pulled cards from both decks independently, in no particular spread, to ask about what I should do about the decks. I was to destroy the broken deck and the Shadowscapes was to serve me until the time I could properly connect to another deck, which I since have. I reshuffled each deck and then in the same manner asked about the Origin of the Power of Tarot. The Question I Never HadNo spread, no order, no words even. I asked in my own head, expressed through my own feelings and intuition, the questions that I wanted to learn the answers to. I asked where Tarot came from. I wanted to know what it was and where it was going. Was it the Higher Self? The Universe? Qi? The Force from Star Wars? I had no idea. I had always thought the cards had their own magic or force or will or whatever, but I never considered that it could be part of us, too. I don’t even remember the specific cards I pulled. I never recorded the reading. But that’s kind of the point! Consider the system of Tarot Reading. The cards are codependent on us. Sure, they have inherent meanings. You can define a card based on itself. You can say that all you have to do to read Tarot is buy a book and methodically list the meanings and symbols written in that book. But there’s more to it than that! The reader is also an active participant that lends varied meanings to the cards, interprets the reading in certain ways and creates connections between the questions and answers and to the situations those questions and answers are found. There’s more to the cards than just themselves. There’s an allure to the Tarot partly because there is no one, fully fleshed out way to do it. Everyone has a style. Everyone reads differently. Even the cards are vastly different from each other. There’s an entire system of creative channeling within Tarot cards, their readers, their querents and their interpretations. The definition of this system is the answer to this question. The whole inner-working of the Tarot’s intricate yet simple design is the key. Some people focus on certain areas. Some will tell you that Tarot is your Higher Self or even the Universe being channeled through the cards. Some will tell you that Tarot makes its own power that is only embraced, not generated, by readers. Others will say that the power is psychological and lies in you finding meaning in them. These people are all correct, but in a limited scope. It is important to answer such broad questions with broad answers so as to not dilute either. This is why, generally, broader questions are met with not-so-satisfactory answers in Tarot. In the same vein, that’s why the answer to “What is the Origin of Tarot’s Power” is more akin to a “Yes” answer than to any one location in that system because it IS the system.
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Rune Sets: This holiday season was absolutely crazy! I do not have my 15 or so sets of runes done like I had wanted and they need more work than the day or two here or there I could give up could provide. Those are on hold for now while I re-orient my life. I do have a few sets that only need painted, so commissions are open! More Spreads: I made a Couple's Valentine's Day Spread that you can find live on Etsy! I need to make a single's spread. I also want to make a more pointed, larger general reading. If you have any suggestions on what to include in that spread or if there's a spread you think I should add, please let me know! I'm always looking for new ideas. Remember, I do custom readings too so let me know if you'd like one! I can customize the reading by making a unique spread and incorporating your questions. You can email me at [email protected]. Tarot Course: Speaking of new ideas, I am going to make a class for tarot reading! I'm looking at getting everything put together for Mid-Summer 2017. I am thinking about dividing it up into "0: Crash Course for Non-Tarot Knowledge" with guides on very basic alchemy, numerology, astrology, etc. to get you accustomed to common concepts that are found in tarot but aren't necessarily related. Then, moving on to "1: The Fool's Journey," "2: The Court Cards" and "3: The Minors." It's very much in the works right now, but I'll keep you all posted on it! |
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