Tarot: The Great Mirror
When you see these magical cards laid out on a satin table, a gypsy with a ring on every finger usually comes to mind. As she shuffles and lays the cards out, you fear that she will flip the death card and before you know it, you’re paranoid about any possibility of death to come your way.
Tarot cards are playing cards, they’re not scary and definitely not going to mean exactly how they initially seem, like the death card, this card rarely means death funnily enough. It’s a sign of rebirth.
Tarot cards originate from ancient Egyptian times. They started out as hand painted cards to play with, like any other card game. By the time the world was modernised to print more than one copy, tarot became an association with the mystic world of Gypsies. Tarot are not quite the magical cards as you would expect, however it all comes from the magic of your own mind. Tarot are used to mirror and correspond with your life events. It’s up to you with how you interpret them. Think of it as a depiction of your life through a new set of eyes. I like to view Tarot Cards as a new perspective to interpret. Tarot are like your own personal mediator or therapist: when in doubt flip a card.
When starting out with your tarot deck, make sure to connect with it. The whole point is to fill the deck with your own energy, so that when you’re shuffling and drawing cards, they feel what you feel. Ask the deck questions, concentrate on a particular trouble in your life and find guidance from within the deck. The cards can be interpreted differently each time. When understanding the cards message, think back to what you were asking the tarot when shuffling.
Unless you have an impeccable memory, you’re not going to remember every single card’s meaning of the 78 card deck. To begin with, I use an app called Golden Thread. This allows easy understanding of the card and its symbolic meaning, element meaning, numeral identity and layout.
When laying your cards out, pick the cards that particularly stand out to you. Remember that if a card is upside down, it is read as reversed and is interpreted with the opposing meaning of the card. This isn’t always a bad thing, reversed cards can further extend any troubles your facing and enhance and encourage growth within you.
The simplest card layouts to do are single card readings and three card readings. When your introducing tarot into your life, a card of the day can help to expand your thinking. I like to do these at the end of the day as it’s easier to reflect rather than have the card impacting my day from the start. Three card readings represent the past, present and future.
Tarot cards are set up into suits. Major Arcana cards include The Moon, the Star and the Fool etc. As well as the suits split across the elements, Cups, Swords, Wands and Pentacles. The major arcana cards have more straightforward meaning whereas the suits represent a lot more.
Cups are the element of water so they represent feelings, relationships and emotion.
Swords are the element of air so they represent intellect, logic and ideas.
Pentacles are the element of earth so they represent earthly, materials and sensuality.
Wands are the element of fire so they represent passion, desire and will.
When analyzing your chosen cards, look at the imagery, what’s in the picture and what symbols can you see that associate with your life? The number of the suit also helps, for example; the number 1 represents new beginnings and potential, whereas the number 5 represent expansion and change. This can indicate the current life journey you are on.
Tarot are the great Mirror of the internal. They reflect what isn’t seen and bring it to light to show us the truths of being human.
After all, we are on this earth, on this journey of the human experience, together. Tarot reminds us of the values of being human. Through trouble we find our way, through happiness we grow, through success we achieve and through love we expand. With the earthly elements incorporated in the decks, the spiritual influence brings us back to earth to look at the little, more simple things of our everyday lives. How we feel, our drive, our desires and what we think. This is what is important. Whether your in strife or just curious, Tarot expands your third eye to a dimension of discovery and realization. You’ll never get a feeling much like flipping a card over to reveal your destiny.
-Liv Harwood
