What is Tarot?

Tarot is a deck of cards whose origins are shrouded in mystery, but it is said to have come to the west from India, brought by gypsies many centuries ago. The best known deck is the Tarot of Marseilles created in 1748. Most decks are basically alike, and are based on the four elements of fire, earth, air and water. The deck is divided into three sections. The largest section are cards numbered from one to ten plus the page, knight, king and queen in each element. These are the Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana consists of 21 archetypes such as Strength, Justice, Love and Death. The final section of the Tarot is a single card on its own, The Fool, which represents foolishness or wisdom, mental instability or a guiding faith, depending on its position.

When we shuffle, cut and lay the cards, we are shown the energy patterns that are dominant in your life the time of the reading. By interpreting these energy patterns, we can see your strengths and weaknesses, and the aspects of your coming experiences that will be more troubling or easier to deal with. We can also see the strengths within yourself that you can draw upon to meet your coming challenges. Nothing we see is fixed, and everything can be changed by your own intention. So a Tarot reading helps you to orient yourself and to guide your decisions and actions so that they are in your own best interests.

I first offered Tarot readings to clients in Glastonbury, England in 1979 and I am the author of The New Feminist Tarot originally published by Thorson’s Aquarian Press.

 

How can we use Tarot in our work together?

Tarot counselling sessions are distinct from any other counselling work we do together. A Tarot counselling session lasts one hour (as do all sessions) and you can ask a specific question or look at a period of time. The periods of time that can be looked at are six weeks, three months, six months, one year or five years. If you ask a question, we work together to arrive at a precise formulation of the question so that it will yield the information you are truly seeking.

I interpret the cards based on individual card meaning, their placement in relation to one another, the presence of Major Arcana cards in the spread, the balance of the elements and the repeating numbers. The purpose of a Tarot reading is to show you your strengths and weaknesses, as well as the likely duration of events, concerning the question or period of time you have requested. We will focus on the energies available to you to meet the challenges ahead, and the issues to remember to keep in mind as you travel on your life journey.

Clients who are familiar with Tarot usually have a rhythm of frequency for Tarot readings that they prefer. Many people like to have readings around their birthday, or the New Year, or other significant moments in their year. Still others prefer to consult the oracle about specific developments in their lives. A Tarot reading is appropriate whenever you feel you want one. Although there are exceptions, in general the most frequently I recommend a Tarot reading is once a month. This interval allows the energies you have viewed time to work through the issue with your conscious co-operation. If you are consulting the Tarot more frequently, you are probably using it instead of your own intuition, and would do better, in my opinion, to cultivate calm and self-confidence, to access the inner guidance that is always available to you.

 

RECOMMENDED AUTHORS / TEXTS
Jean Freer The New Feminist Tarot 1984
Richard Cavendish The History of Magic 1977
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky The Secret Doctrine 1888 / 1974
C. J. Jung The Archetypes 1949