Begin Again

Oh blogger, my old friend. Its been a long time since I last blogged anything but I decided why not give it another go. This time around I wanted to talk about something that means something to me and that something is Tarot. The Rider Waite Tarot to be specific. There is just something special about that deck of cards, even though the colour choice is a little on the stark basic side... like seriously who likes all that lemon yellow! Sorry, side rant there. I will keep my yellow rants and loathing of that colour to myself from now on *novice blogger's honour*. Ahem, as I was saying, there is something about those simple images and symbols that really packs a punch for me. They inspire and urge me to tell their story in my own words. My teacher many years ago told me that if you can learn the Rider Waite you can learn pretty much any card deck. This is very true advice and therefore this is a great deck for beginners if you were interested to learn.

Oh the lemon yellow... urrrgh.

I will stop plugging the cards for a little bit and just use this oh so innocent virginal entry to describe a little about myself and where this all begins.

Hang on to your crystal balls (see what I did there? ;) ) and lets take a trip back in time...*cue bad sound effect music*....

A little over twelve years ago now I was attending a Halloween party that had a Tarot reader there. I remember going down in the back bedroom, which seems to be a pretty popular place for people to put us Tarot readers by the way, and there was a lady sitting at a table bathed in candle light. Yes it really did look like this. Take some time to picture the moment, I will wait, now that the mood is set, lets continue.  I sat down at the table and she began reading my cards. By the end of the 10 card session she asked me if I was interested in learning how to read myself. She said she could tell there was something about me. Of course I said yes and this began the beginning of my journey.

For five years, I would go to her house on a monthly basis with others of like interest. We would sit around her big table and she would go through the cards, one at a time. We would be given a card to study for the month. This entailed taking the card and living with it. My selected card would come with me on my daily commutes, it would come and have a little sleep with me under my pillow and most importantly I would apply it to situations and people I met in my day to day life. This helped me remember the cards and associate them. We looked into the symbology on each card and its history. The story that it would tell and we would also add our own interpretation as well. This was probably the most important steps as she advised us to throw away the booklets that had the meanings on them. We were to learn through intuition first and learn others viewpoints later. Once that card was mastered and presented to her, I was allowed to move on to the next card. This went on for all 78 of the keys. I believe we started with the Minor Arcana and moved into the Major. We would practice read for each other and have open discussions about the many different ideas and interpretations of the other students.

When I was finished with my guided learning I broke out on my own. I began reading for my friends, coworkers and family. This was a great way to get practice and started because I already knew what was happening in these people's lives. The surprising part was that the cards were always accurate and always painted a clear picture of what was going on in their lives. We were always surprised by how accurate they were. During that time I really learned to trust my Tarot deck.

After reading for people I knew I decided to take a leap of faith and jump into reading for the public. That all began with a local Renaissance Faire where I was the "Tarot Reader" at. That was a fun experience because not only did I get my feet wet but I also got to wear a fabulous costume and play up the wonderful history that I am now proud to be apart of. I realized really fast reading for strangers is FUN. I do not know your story or where you are going with your life until we get those cards laid out. Then we start to web a story together and the fun really begins. At that moment I was hooked. I have been reading for the public ever since!

So in conclusion of this first entry, of this shiny brand new blog, I want an opportunity to share with people the happiness they can find from Tarot and I would like to try to teach you a thing or two along the way as well. Like all things even tarot can go full circle, so come with me and lets begin again.