Tarot: Learning the True Meaning and Seeing Myself

It has been less than two weeks since my Tarot journey began, and I feel a sense of well being and confidence about the skills I am learning. I may be taking it slow, but the rewards of doing so, are proving to be well worth the effort. I can already see how my eyes are able to see how certain images and colors call upon certain emotions and tap into my mind conjuring up a story in the card. At the unconscious level, I can see how these themes can apply to everyday situations and daily life.

Tarot journaling sparked my desire write on a daily basis (hence, the start of this blog), something that is cathartic in so many ways. I haven’t written creatively in over 15 years. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to. I work in publishing and am surrounded by books. I just didn’t have anything to write about. Well, I did; there’s always something to write about. I just needed a push, creatively speaking.

Last week at this time, I felt overwhelmed and was studying the card meanings from a book. I spent the majority of time  last weekend sitting on the beach making flash cards of definitions. Sure, this is the viewed as one way to memorize the meaning of something, right? Then, I proceeded to spend my commute home–which is two hours each way–flipping through said flash cards, taking notes, and garnering stares from people who were probably freaked out when they saw the occasional Tarot card resting in my notebook as I stared at it.

Oh, this is as good a time as any to bring it up. But yes, I took out my Tarot cards on the train. I didn’t hold them up like a sign or anything. I will allow others to touch and divide the cards, allowing the cards to absorb unfiltered energy from the environment that surrounds them. That’s the calling for this deck. There are no rules.

See, two weeks ago, I would have never said such a thing; I would have thought a comment like that was absurd.

Today, I had that quintessential ”aha” experience, the one where everything clicks. I realized that the meanings that I have really will be different than someone else’s–and that–is the beauty of the Tarot! There are no definitions. The core themes (symbols, colors, etc.) will resonate with people who read Tarot cards, but certain symbols may relay an image to one person, and not another. Or, one person may see something, that another does not, and vice-versa.

Maybe I should toss those flash cards, I made…

Not so fast. Making the flash cards definitely aided in helping me learn about the colors, symbols, and basic meanings. And, I have only covered four cards as of now. Remember, I am not not in any rush.

My journey–much like The Fool’s–will have cycles. And, moving forward, I am going to be less rigid about the process of reading Tarot and discovering its meanings. Having learned this lesson, I can see how opening myself up and going against the grain will make all of  the difference here. I will see myself in the cards. That’s the point. I just didn’t realize it before.

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