Tarot
last edited: 6-11-06
Divination
I found out about the Tarot Cards when I was in college in the late sixties. I began doing readings with them, and the odd thing about them is that I've never seen them be wrong.
I used to have an Edger Arthur Waite deck, and I'm still fond of that version. But it got burned up in a house fire, and since then I've had an Aquarian deck. The symbols aren't as evocative, but they're beautiful in their own way.
I'll tell you a story from my experience. When I was in college I had an invitation to go down to Boston once weekend and meet a "crazy old woman." I had another invitation that same weekend, to take some mescalin. I did the cards to see what they'd say. The card that came up for staying was the King of Swords, and the card that came up for going was Temperence. So I went to Boston. As a result of that choice, I got initiated into yoga, and I went into the army, and I had the money to go to chiropractic school. It was an incredibly important fork in the road for me, and at the time the cards seemed like having a flashlight to shine a little way down the possible roads I could take.
Becoming a counselor had an odd effect on me. It became part of my job to catch people doing magical thinking and call them on it. So I had to give up my own magical thinking. I no longer think I can tell the future with the cards. I have met people in my life who were natural psychics and could, but I'm not one of them. Fortunately, that's not the only way to use the Tarot.
Counseling
The cards have been used since they began for counseling as well as divination. The symbols are ancient, and they embody all the wisdom they can about the human experience. Carl Jung was interested in them for the archetypes they embody, and for the story they tell, the arc that a human life takes and the series of challenges we all meet. And they're fascinating in addition for what they may have to say about the spiritual journey.
Steven Wright once said, "I'm a reverse psychic. I can see into the past." The cards can be used to look at one's needs, feelings and skill levels. At self esteem, satisfaction, safety, self care, at communication and assertiveness and self defense skills. At one's relationships, and one's life challenge. Everyone here has a mission, and after you finish your personal work, you find out what it is. The cards can help you finish the preparation time, and the mission of course unfolds before you when you're ready for it.
Here's a version you can download:
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