The Magician. The Fool. The Devil. Death. Ace of Wands. Two of Cups. As much as these things sound like they’re of Harry Potter origin, they’re not. In fact, they’re some of the oldest and most misunderstood symbols in the world. The fact of the matter is these symbols and cards help to illuminate some of the most complex and challenging parts of the human condition.
You know, I remember when I first told my friend Peter I had purchased a deck of tarot cards. Peter, ever the spiritualist with a heavy Christian leaning, warned me:
“You really need to pray and be careful of playing with those. You really need to seek the Lord to make sure you are not letting in anything that is evil or negative!”
At the time, I was in process of exiting the church, so I understood where he was coming from with the Christian fear and warning. I didn’t keep the cards much longer; I tossed them out, fearful that I would open a portal to darkness and demonic possession (which isn’t a thing, but more on that at a later time).
Truth is, Peter’s fear came, like all fear, from misunderstanding and the unknown. The tarot is a tool of divination: a tool of the Divine. With their obscure religious symbology and allegory, the cards are often misunderstood and feared for their imagery. Tell someone they’ve drawn the Death card and watch the color drain from their face! Their mind goes to physical death not symbolic death. Same with The Devil card.
Since that time with Peter, not only did I repurchase that deck (and is the deck I use most regularly) but I have several other decks, including oracle decks, that I now use as well.
No Lies, Just Connection
One of the biggest misconceptions is that to use tarot (or oracle cards) that the user must be psychic or possess some sort of psychic gift. As I’ve said a thousand times, we are all born psychic and though it’s not a gift we all choose to engage or develop, it’s still very much there. But you do not have to be a practicing psychic, intuitive, or even in touch with your innate psychic ability in order to use the cards. Anyone can learn to use the cards. What the tarot does is connects us to our inner knowing and higher self. They clarify matters that may be hidden or confusing.
Whatever spread (the configuration in which you deal the card) you decide to use to read the tarot, the ultimate outcome is for you. The message in the cards will not lie to you, nor will they sugarcoat that which you’re supposed to see. The cards you’ve drawn are for you. It’s okay to take a look at the tarot guidebooks or go online to read what each card means, but ultimately, your job is to take in the image of the spread. Look at the symbols. The expressions on faces. Don’t neglect background images or colors. Take note of body language.
I typically use a three-card spread and draw more in those three positions as needed. My three-card spread is what I call The Sentence Spread. The three cards form a skeleton or sentence for me from which I can operate. The intuitive part of this is seeing how all three cards relate to each other—what is the sentence really saying?
An Example
Let’s say Sally asks me, “is my relationship with John going to result in marriage?”
She draws the below:
Death, King of Swords, and The Sun.
Looking at these images, I would intuit that that John is an egomaniac and control freak. He has to have his way nor no way at all. He’s not reliable or dependable, and is all about appearances (king of Swords). Instinctively, Sally knows that the relationship should be coming to an end (the Death card)—as badly as she wants to get married, the dissolution of the relationship is a necessary ending that will transform her for the better in the long run. Once she has healed from this relationship with John, happy days will be here again and will bring with it the man she SHOULD be with—one that’s going to treat her right and possibly end in marriage (the Sun).
This information will resonate with Sally even if she is resistant to it at the time. But the tarot is not going to force her to end the relationship or tell her that she should. It will not make the decision for her. The tarot will only guide and nudge in the right direction. It’s up to the client to do the work should they so choose!
Be open when you go for a tarot reading, knowing that the cards don’t lie. They will never tell you what you want to hear, but they will tell you the truth–no matter how bad it may suck.
