Tarot – A Tool for
Self-Development & Personal Guidance
by Alison Day
Men and women have
consulted tarot readers for hundreds of years and most seek out this form
of divination for one reason – guidance and reassurance on major life
issues. On our website, we find that about 90% of our visitors are women,
but there would seem to be an increasing number of men who are also
finding comfort and reassurance from the Tarot. This has certainly been my
experience over the last few years of face to face readings.
Consisting of 78 cards
the Tarot deck has two parts:
the Major Arcana consisting of 22 ‘trump’ cards
the Minor Arcana consisting of 4 suits of 14 cards (Wands, Cups, Swords,
Pentacles)
Simply put, the Major
Arcana represent major issues or events in our lives and the Minor Arcana
represent the more day-to-day issues. As with most forms of divination,
the Tarot can be a very powerful and useful tool to help someone reflect
upon their emotions and thoughts, as well as providing illumination and
understanding.
What is important to
understand, is that Tarot does not provide ‘absolute’ statements or
predictions. Many people visit a Tarot reader naively expecting a precise
and comprehensive disclosure of their future – "What job will I get,
what date will I get it and what are the names of the people I’ll be
working with" !! Once a person has accepted that this cannot be done,
they can begin to appreciate the true gift of Tarot.
My personal opinion is
that the Tarot cards reflect the querent’s current ‘energetic state’,
their thoughts, feelings, emotions, projections etc that are busy creating
their experience of life - like a snapshot of the current moment in time,
with past influences and projections of ‘possibilities’ for the future. I
have found that the Tarot cards are best used to address current issues,
or issues that one might face in the short term i.e. within 6 months or
so. For longer term forecasting, I would tend to favor astrological
charts.
So how can Tarot help
you with your self-development, self-empowerment and developing a greater
sense of self-love?
Nowadays, Tarot readings
can be accessed in many different ways; face to face, by phone, email,
cassette tape, online chat and even automated software for your home PC or
via websites. Alternatively, you can buy your own Tarot deck and learn to
read the cards for yourself and others. There is a plethora of books,
tapes, and internet sites that offer advice and help to learn tarot, much
of it free! A good tarot reading should help you to gain a little more
clarity and understanding of your thoughts and emotions about certain
issues in your life.
Most of us never make
the time to stop and reflect or meditate, to quiet the noise and babble of
our conscious minds. In the stillness of silence and with a focused mind,
we can begin to form a clearer mental picture and feel deeper emotions
which help us perceive our life from different perspectives.
I have found that Tarot often helps people to begin this process of
looking inwards, and illuminates the thoughts and emotions that tend to
rule their behaviour.
By exploring this
established and respected form of divination you will begin to discover
many wonderful things about yourself and how you interact with other
people and the world around you. Maybe, like me, you will find that the
Tarot becomes a portal to your journey of self discovery.
Article
Courtesy of
Lotus Tarot Library
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