What DID (does) tarot for you?

[Therese]

I'd love to hear this, in case you'd like to share. ❤️🙏

 

That's often a question for me, what people get out of tarot in a very deep sense. I'm curious and I like to share my experience. 

 

I'm a rather open person and love the contact with people. I had a problem in the past to trust too quickly, which had to do with certain childhood experiences where I couldn't tell whether I could trust or not, as someone from my family did both good and bad. 

 

So I had to withdraw from people to shed some light on the problem. And so tarot came in my life. 

 

The friends I needed, the person who has good advice ... all that and much more was tarot for me. It was one of the best ideas of my life to seperate from people for a certain time to investigate the nature of my problem. 

 

Not only but also with the help of tarot I learned so much, patience and serenity and in this time I trained resilience. 

 

There are much more influences than my beloved tarot cards, but tarot was very important too and I love to think it magically worked in a positive direction for me - in fact, I was able to break harmful patterns. 

 

Tarot will be with me, maybe forever. I'm very grateful. 

 

[Misterei]

8 hours ago, Therese said:

The friends I needed, the person who has good advice ... all that and much more was tarot for me.

There are many levels. This is one. Tarot cards are like my "friend".

On another level they are a teacher. Studying their history and philosophy I've learned so much!

The card images work on a very subtle spiritual level when I meditate on them. They've led me to discover things about myself.

They have been a business, too. They've given me money when I needed it.

They can be a way to connect with people.

Really, I feel blessed by Tarot. Those cards love me and I love them };>

Edited February 2, 2023 by Misterei

[Wanderer]

Connection is the biggest part of it, to me. Tarot has cemented the idea that I'm an intimate part of a whole, rather than an isolated individual; trying to work out how it works has given me a renewed feeling of how everything in this world is tied together. Not only that, but that there is a pattern and consistency to how life plays out, and which can be understood and encapsulated. By showing us the whole, and externalising it, Tarot allows me to have a perspective on whatever life throws us, taking it out of the realm of pure emotional reactions and into a more serene, longer view. (As someone with Asperger's, that's quite a big deal!)

   That's just for me directly; being able to help others to see their way through difficulties is a real gift, and being able to open people's eyes to outlandish possibilities is also extremely rewarding. (As a scientist, admitting to peers that I see value in reading Tarot opens a huge can of worms, often involving incredulity and utter disbelief... and I still need to be very selective who I tell!)

[Esclarmonde]

Tarot for me is a very useful means of gaining perspective on and insight into difficult situations or just issues that need analysis from different angles. It reveals aspects of situations and problems that would normally be hidden or hard to access, and I appreciate the tarot for that immensely. The fact that I can always do a reading on a situation or problem and find ways of dealing with it also means that I don't feel powerless in the face of events.

It's similar when I read for others (not too often) - I help them gain insights into a situation.

[Therese]

Thank you very much @Misterei, @Wanderer and @Esclarmonde for sharing your experiences with tarot a bit! ❤️ It is very fascinating to read and I feel you, I think. I can only say yes and yes, when I read your words and it is nice to read how special it is for everyone of you and how deep the experience goes. 

 

For me there are also levels of this tarot experience that I can hardly put into words and you somehow resonate with exactly this level. 🙏

 

 

 

[Guest]

The Tarot helps me gain valuable insight on some troubling situations. Because it may be predictive, it helps me craft effective plans of action. These help rid my mind of unnecessary anxiety.

 

On the other hand, some Tarots can be absolute works of art. I've spent many an afternoon just going through a deck du jour, admiring it.

 

Finally, the esoteric knowledge I gain in my studies are not isolated, and may also be applied to other occult disciplines. 

[Therese]

@Akhilleus Very nicely put into words as the previous writers. 🍀

 

[Nemia]

I totally agree with Akhilleus. There's the divninatory, therapeutic or magical aspect of doing the readings and getting answers from the card. 

 

The esthetic part where you hold a whole art gallery in your hands, a gallery that depicts feelings and situations you know. 

 

The esoteric study part where tarot sucks you into a wild world of decans, sephiroth and other mysterious things, and they make sense somehow and open up. 

 

I would add that the joy of adding decks to my little collection is an important part of my tarot work, and books, the internet and Tarotube add constantly to my knowledge. 

 

Last not least, by reading professionally for others, I have learned so much, so much. Tarot-related and human-stuff-related. 

 

Tarot has been a constant in my life, with breaks, for decades now. 

[Therese]

@Nemia Oh so true, thank you very much for adding your very personal experience! ❤️ 

 

I find it so encouraging to read your views and don't want to say too much as it speaks for itself and I enjoy reading! If you like, please keep writing! 

[MichaelH]

I came late in life to seriously looking at the Tarot though I did have a mild interest as a teenager and in my 20s.

 

Since taking it up properly last year it has opened all sorts of doors for me.

 

I've started using journals and find that having the Tarot to start off as a prompt was the key to opening things up that had previously been locked shut.

 

I'm just coming to the end of a big writing and research project on Ancestral Tarot (the book is by Nancy Hendrickson and I can't recommend it highly enough). I used the spreads and guidance there to find things out about my heritage that have surprised me and given me a new insight into my background.

 

My next Tarot project is going to be Mary K. Greer's Tarot for Your Self which I'm sure is going to be as revealing about myself as Ancestral Tarot was about my heritage.

 

It's also an art library and I use my different decks in a loose rotation so I get to appreciate the work of different artists and have learned a lot about the styles that I like and can use to read easily with, and those that are harder to use or even ones that I don't care for any more.

 

A daily card pull has given me some discipline and a place to start looking at the repeating patterns that crop up in my life.

 

It's also a fun hobby and a springboard to other esoteric areas. I made a start using an Oracle deck, also did some candle magic, got myself a pendulum and some crystals as add-ons to working with the Tarot.

 

I mostly read for myself, with some reading exchanges on here and sometimes for my husband. I have no intention of reading professionally but may do some for friends and family if they ask.

[Mi-Shell]

Reading Tarot for myself and for clients is a way for me to honor my maternal grandmother Elizza, ((1869 to 1956) who had an original Soprafino deck and read professionally with it.

When I was younger reading for clients also provided additional income, when we needed it.

Yes and then there is the world of art and culture to explore while using different decks. Learning about Celtic culture for example was twice as much fun with deck images that brought teachings to life. 

Reading for myself with a 3 card draw every morning and more elaborate spreads when called for helps me to uncover hidden dynamics in daily situations and points to solutions.

To explore a new deck every couple of months is a delight and keeps me on my toes.

[9livestarot]

Tarot has been a transformative experience for me. It has opened up new perspectives and ways of thinking, and has given me a greater understanding of my own life and experiences. To me, tarot is more than just a tool, it's a way to tap into deeper aspects of my consciousness, and gain insight into my own emotions, motivations, and desires. It's a tool for self-discovery, and has helped me to identify patterns in my life that I may have otherwise been unaware of. 

[DanielJUK]

I bought my first tarot deck at 13 (might have been a bit earlier) and it was so helpful in my teen years. I used the cards by reading meanings from books and didn't really study it seriously. I read books about it but in those times it was quite old-fashioned (early 90s). Every book ordered you to use the decks in a certain way (wrap your deck in silk, keep it in a wooden box, etc) and the books were inflexible in their meanings and how each Court Card represented someone by their physical looks (ugh). Also they always seemed to suggest you should only use the Celtic Cross for all readings. I found it quite stifling and going into my 20's I put my decks and books away.

 

In my mid 30's I had an awful mental health few years. I had professional therapy but the therapy method had unfortunately not helped and left me in a worse place. There was a year when I was so depressed and felt very pessimistic about everything and especially anything future facing. During this time I found my decks again! This was a significant moment because it was 10 / 15 years since I was reading books before and the tarot community had changed! The internet had arrived in that time and also the tarot world was hugely online, it had modernised in style! You could read decks however you liked, it was a lot more flexible and no longer stifling. It was okay to find your own method and style! During this time, I found our old tarot forum Aeclectic after doing google searches for my readings and met people with similar interests.

 

During that difficult year, I had found a hobby and interest and passion and I started to study it. Really learn about it and the cards. I made so much progress in the first 12 months and this helped my mental health. If you turn your attention to something else, feel passion and really work at it, you get more skilled! I could measure real progress. So it was really important because it got me out of that dark period, where I had no motivation and only apathy.

 

Many other things came out of it, like it opened me up to my intuition that I had repressed for decades and decades, listening to my inner voice! I had fascinating experiences with divination that I couldn't explain and challenged my scepticism. It helped me to re-find my spirituality and religious beliefs. So I think it opened up many sides of myself that I was ignoring and repressing. I don't want to get all woo! But I think it was kinda destined because it's a significant part of me! This was always going to happen at some point to me. This is something I am passionate about, an important interest for me and something that I have really improved at. I can say "well I at least have this skill!". So it's changed my life in so many ways for the better and help me learn a new skill and discover myself, that is why it did for me 🙂

[Moony]

Very recently there has been a shift in my life that has forced me to focus on myself. It made me question a lot of stuff in life that people really couldn't give me an answer to. I started seeing tarot on social media and felt very drawn to it. Even though I just started my journey its helping me through a period of lostness and has been an amazing guide at re-finding myself!

[trivialuvs]

Recently, it felt like the universe was chipping away at any self worth I had, and I reached a very dark place. Thankfully, my husband was here to talk me through things, but I realized I needed to learn how to find positivity and light on my own. That's part of the reason I turned to tarot in the last few months - it's help slow my mind and think about situations instead of going into fight, flight, or freeze mode. It's been a recent emergence, so I'm still working my way out of the grayness, if that makes sense.

[Jewel]

I found Tarot in my mid-twenties and over 30 years later it is still a passion for me.  It helps me balance myself out, to look introspectively, and to look at how I can improve myself despite what goes around me.  It helps me take responsibility for me and my choices vs. blaming someone else for things that do not go right for me.  It is a form of therapy.  A few years back I was seeing a counselor and shared my Tarot Journal with him, he was impressed at how it helped me self reflect, accept accountability for myself, and recognize my own issues.  It helps me cope, balance, stabilize, and gain inner strength.  He told me to keep it up and never give it up because it truly was form of self-therapy.  I also love sharing what have learned with others so if friends are interested in learning I enjoy teaching them and it brings me a lot joy and connection with those friends.  I love learning, and as I always say Tarot is not something you "learn" it is a journey that never ends, so it keeps my inquisitive nature active.   I love that it helps me emotionally, personally, and dove tails so nicely with other things that interest me so it simply is a great friend and confidant.  It brings much comfort into my life.

[MollyCat]

I discovered Tarot in mid 2002. I picked up a book from the floor of my local library. It was a book on the history of Tarot.  I read it over the weekend and on Monday bought my first deck.  From memory, it was 'The Old English Tarot'. I loved the art. 

 

These years were a truly horrible time in my life but I think that Tarot gave my spirit the means to see, understand and speak.  

 

Over the years, I developed strong intuition and a new spiritual framework. I still use Tarot most days because the images open doorways and windows  💗🌿

 

The only new deck I've purchased recently is 'Tarot of the Enchanted Forest.'  It's quite beautiful in conception and delivery. The art is exquisite. 

 

My principal feelings about Tarot are of gratitude.  It has brought so much beauty and insight into my life. Such huge gifts from packs of cards. 🌷

 

I'd like to acknowledge Rachel Pollack who passed over a few days ago. She gave so much to all of us. '78 Degrees of Wisdom' and 'Tarot of the Shining Tribe' brought knowledge and joy to me. 

[TarotSparks]

For me, Tarot was one of the best ways to get in touch with your own intuition. A way to connect to your higher self. It was a good tool for meditation. It also helped me better understand what I was going through in my life. It was also a great way to communicate with my guides.

 

Tarot is not a tool for fortune telling (although, I do that as well). I see it as a way to help people work through some of the challenges that they are facing and figure out the lessons that they need to learn to move forward. It’s a way to have a conversation that is meaningful and relevant to what is most important to the querent. It’s a way to help people get to the next level of their life’s work or to figure out what it is that they really want.