Kitchen Table Tarot

Tarot Helps Make A Decision For Me

I'll be frank with you. I'm an educated person, I go to a traditional church, and I make most of my (meager) income in a science-based licensed profession. So it might be one thing for me to enjoy tarot privately, in whatever way I wish, but quite another thing to put tarot forward to others as an aid to thoughtful decision making. I put it off. Still it nagged at me. I wanted to do it.

I did various sorts of business analyses. I pondered, I considered. I slept on it, and still couldn't get off the dime. Finally, did a Single Question tarot spread for myself. I framed my question to ask "what energies and influences I should consider in making my decision", and I drew my cards.

The "outcome" card was a lovely Ace of Wands, suggesting to me that an effort at online tarot could well be the beginning of a sturdy, respectable line of work. The card related to "prior influences" was a minor arcana card in the suit of Pentacles, indicating that despite the current economic downturn, I might be moving through a period when it made sense to initiate something like this.

And the center card, a central energetic influence surrounding this decision for me? The King of Swords, reversed. In this particular setting, it was clear to me that this King represented "overthinking" in the extreme.

To me, it was significant that the spread consisted entirely of pip cards. Trump cards show the movement of life's major energies, like the great currents of the ocean. The minor arcana cards are more like the waves on the surface of that ocean. The outcome of this question was not going to move heaven or earth. Very possibly, I was making a huge deal out of a fairly straightforward decision. The Pentacles card showed a sensible, practical influence leading up to the initiation of this effort; the Wands card showed the potential for an auspicious start. And the King, reversed - this King is ordinarily a card that represents keen analysis and clear decision-making, but in its inverted position it pointed directly to my source of my dilemma. Stop analyzing and decide, for heavens' sake!

So I decided. I also decided to discuss this three-card spread as an example of the way I approach a tarot reading for myself or for others, and to how I believe the iconic images of tarot can suggest a new perspective when you are "stuck". LV

The Star is a card that represents the energies of new beginnings, wishes and dreams moving from the realm of thought into concrete reality. So this was the card I chose for the announcement that I will be offering readings for others in 2010. I feel like a new parent - proud and nervous, all at the same time.

I have been studying tarot since 1996, reading regularly for my own guidance, and reading from time to time for others. My philosophy of the use of tarot does not have to do with "fortune telling". From the beginning, it was the iconic imagery of tarot that I found attractive, intriguing, and resonant. At it's best, a tarot reading helps one to reframe one's own thoughts and feelings concerning the topic at hand. That is how I use tarot for myself, and that is how I present it to others. The tarot's fundamental images of human life and activity can be a method for looking at matters in a new light.

To illustrate my blog posts, like this one, I link to public domain images of the traditional and familiar Rider-Waite style tarot deck. As I mentioned in my earlier post, for my actual readings I use The Herbal Tarot, which is a deck based on the iconic Rider-Waite symbolism. I use this deck because its herbal imagery creates for me the sense of healing and connectedness to the earth that I wish for all my readings. If you would like to see sample images from this beautiful yet simple deck, click here to go to the publisher's website.

From now until the end of 2009, I will offer each reading FREE. Of course, I will not be able to accomodate everyone who asks, but I do want to offer my best efforts as a gift to those who will step into this new endeavor with me, here at its very beginning.  I hope you will be pleased with your emailed reading, and I look forward to feedback from each querent as I become familiar with this new way of reading for others.

I will ask each person who receives a free reading to give me a valid email address to which I will send a written reading, as well as a photograph of your actual spread. And, I will ask your permission to send you brief (very brief!) email updates as this endeavor unfolds in the coming year.

All my offers of free readings will be made via Twitter, so please watch for tweets from me and follow me there are at http://twitter.com/EverydayTarot  .  If you don't already use Twitter, don't hesitate to sign up.  It's lots of fun, even for those of us who aren't "social media" people (like me).

Thank you for visiting, and a special thank you in advance to all those for whom I will read the tarot. It will be a special honor to share these images and my reading of them with you, as you seek your best way along your life's path. LV

I've been meaning to do this for a long time. I've felt a lot of trepidation about starting a tarot blog, which is why I chose the Strength card to accompany my first post.  Maybe that's all I need to get going here.

I got my first tarot deck twelve years ago. Much as I've always loved tarot, it has never been a spooky, mysterious deal to me. It hasn't been a silly game either. It has been a lot like playing a musical instrument -- intriguing, frustrating, surprising, sometimes embarrassing, very often beautiful. Certainly there are lots of different ways to wear tarot. For the visual artist in me, it has been the iconic archetypal images of the traditional tarot decks that have resonated within me. They have nudged me to ponder events and ideas in a non-verbal, non-rational, yet profoundly human way. The visual music of tarot has brought me moments of movement and insight that are worth remembering. I knew they were also worth sharing. It has just taken me a long time to get up the nerve.

So just as an introduction, here are a few things about me and tarot:

- I read the cards mostly for myself, and mostly every day.

- My personal deck is The Herbal Tarot. You can see images from it and read about it here http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/herbal/. (I'm not affiliated with anyone, so I don't get any pennies from heaven if you click the link or anything.)

- Sometimes I read for others. I used to do that for free but, to my surprise, it created problems. Now I always charge something. Believe it or not, it makes it easier to sort people out.

- If free is important to you, there are lots of people who do free readings, and even lots of places on the internet where you can get free automated tarot readings.

- I don't teach tarot. I like to think I am a good reader, but I know I'm not a good teacher. I love to read the cards.

- I'm a regular person with a normal job. I'm just the neighbor lady with a deck of pretty cards and a knack that people's grandmothers once called "a gift" (maybe... it's clear to me that everyone has gifts).

There. I did it! More soon.

Linda