I don't know why but recently there has been a feeling that I need to explain my reasons for reading tarot. I know it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I feel like it will make some things clearer for others.
Starting from the beginning. I didn't just start reading tarot cards. It came from friends I had acquired over the years. I met some wonderfully magical people. I was using my other craft of doing photography and with these friendships I discovered their talents for reading cards. I never personally got a reading from them...but I was SO intrigued at the history behind tarot and why the pictures are the way they are. I actually got a chance to do an article for my degree which allowed me free reign to delve into the history. *Check out my Tarot history article and it will help you see.
A little more history about me. Stories have always been my passion. From creating stories in the bathtub or with little cups on my hands...I would craft stories and situations. My stuffed animals and toys would anthropomorphize, and I would have worlds open to me. I actually received flak from a friend growing up because I didn't "play right". I would have aliens come down and park cars for a living or a T rex would want to eat at Denny's but couldn't fit through the door. These were fun for me. I liked random little things.
This is where my degree took me, into English, Creative Writing, and Journalism. I love how authors could use language to create visuals. It was something I was dying to do...or at least be a part of. I taught English at the high school level and absolutely loved short stories and the Shakespeare units. Honestly, if the politics of the school district weren't so awful...I would still be there.
Sorry, side bar. After I was introduced to the world of Tarot, I started learning more and more. I was absolutely intrigued. If you know anything about me, most people know I have a deep love of Ireland and everything about it. My husband got me the Celtic Tarot by Kristoffer Hughes one year, and I absolutely fell in love. I loved the artwork and the story. However, I noticed when I was looking at the cards, there were different things I noticed that would pop out to me.
I threw out my instruction booklet on the tarot and looked at it from an intuitive perspective. It finally clicked. I could SEE the storyline...how the action would rise and fall, the characters that the fool would meet, and how actions would cause different things. These archetypes are a big part of who we are as human beings. Everyone meets or experiences these things in their lives. That is why I love tarot so much. I love the symbols and how they pertain to everything we are as human beings. It is the human condition in picture form. Everything just clicked.
I love being able to help people see connections in their own lives. There is nothing demonic, I am not calling on spirits, or even doing anything remotely associated with energies. I don't deny that there are these energies out there, and if you go looking for them you will find them. But what I do is not about calling on spirits or energies...that is not me. The cards are a tool, just like using a journey to free write or free association writing. It is just a way of unlocking the brain and seeing things from a different perspective.
*On a funny side note, I actually told my aunt what I do and she goes, "Oh I can totally see that in you. You're just like grandma." My grandmother used to read tea leaves, and I have her copies of notes and book she worked from. There was my answer and feeling...yes this is a good thing I am doing.
I like to say, "You provide the story, I just provide some perspective."
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