When does your life bring you to Tarot?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 Nov 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

ros	17 Nov 2004
I have been thinking about when I began to study the Tarot. I went to readers with my mother when I was younger. I was always wondering how they knew what they told. Then my mother told me it was all BS????but she went to get readings. I'm thinking that when I was old enough and started to break ties with my mother, this was first on my list to prove her wrong. So I'm thinking when did my life change to follow this path. It's her lack of understanding and she'll never get it! lol This is not to be mistaken for "Why do you read?" I don't know if there is a thread on this but ~~~"When" does your life lead to Tarot? ~when you need answers? (I don't know)

Mesara	17 Nov 2004
When I have the time and courage to *look at myself in the mirror* so to speak. Im kind of a coward when it comes to dealing with my problems and issues, so even when I am in desperate need of answers and guidance I will often shy away from tarot because I don't want to have to think about things. So, my life leads to tarot when I have the mental capacity and endurance to put a magnifying glass up to the image of my life and derive some meaning from it. When Im tired of sulking and avoiding things, and am up to the task of taking an active role in solving my problems.

firemaiden	18 Nov 2004
My life brings me to tarot when I am all alone and I have the privacy to fiddle with it, or when I am in a bookstore - I can't help going to the tarot section.

VGimlet	18 Nov 2004
After thinking about it, and looking back through my personal reading journal, I realized that I tend to focus more on tarot I'm going through some kind of change or transition time. I do more frequent readings for myself, anyway. It doesn't even have to be a change for the worse. When life is blah, I still am still into it - but not quite so intensely. Of course, I imagine a lot of us could say the same. :D

Nevada	18 Nov 2004
When I have questions, and when I need to know how I'm doing, or need some advice. It gives me insight and ideas about how to handle things. It doesn't have all the answers, but it has clues that can head me in the right direction. Nevada

noby	18 Nov 2004
Sometimes I go to the cards out of curiosity, wanting to see where they'll say I'm at in my life. At those times, I go because I want to puzzle over my life, look at the pieces and see how they fit. I particularly consult the cards in this context when I lose my sense of direction and am asking myself, "So, OK, what now? Where am I headed? What am I missing here?" Sometimes I go to the cards when I need advice on a situation for which I don't have a lot of concrete information to work with. For example, I'm currently in a long-distance relationship, and my S.O. is going through a turbulent time. I sometimes ask the cards where he's at or what he needs from me. It helps keep me on an even keel, and keeps me from chasing after irrelevant thoughts that lead to emotional tantrums. For example, there's times I get really frustrated about the separation, and start to want to vent or blame him for keeping me at a distance intentionally, but if I ask the cards about his situation and the Ten of Wands and Nine of Swords come up, it gets my head right again. I realize - he's got it so much worse than me right now, and I need to be there for him. When I ask what I need to do to be there for him and draw, for example, the Strength card, that just reinforces it for me. I leaned on him a lot early in the relationship, and now it is my turn to summon my inner resources and become strong so he can lean on me. It also helps remind me what I need to do for me - stop obsessing about this and focus on other aspects of your life. Be strong for yourself, not just him. So if I had to summon up why I go to the cards in just a few words, I'd choose the words clarification, direction, and access to subtle information.

damfino	20 Nov 2004
I don't know. Just about a year ago I saw a film by Alejandro Jodorowsky, and I got hooked on him, to the point I bought all of his films and several books he has written. In most of the books he refers to the Tarot to make examples of whichever idea he was discussing at the moment. Particulary on his own biography, the last two chapters contains tons of cases of his psicomagia therapies, and he speaks a of of the Tarot in there as well. Of course, I had heard of Tarot before - mainly on tv and stuff, and I used to think it was BS... I thought that Tarot readers were just clever people making a living out of fooling people and telling them their "future". But reading Jodorowsky I came to realize that the Tarot could be used for therapeutical methods, to actually *help* people and not just to take their money. I thought that perhaps the Tarot could be implemented into a therapy, like some people does with the I Ching. But even then, I wasn't interested in the Tarot. I'm not a doctor, so taking that thought to the practice was absurd to me. But then, just a couple of weeks ago, I was walking through a local market when I saw an old man sitting alone in a table with a Tarot deck by his side. I asked him if it was a Tarot, he said it was. And after a very little talk, he just gave me his deck, just like that, without asking anything in return. I couldn't comprehend what had happened, but now I think that maybe the man knew he was close to his end, and having no family or trusted friends, he needed someone to give this part of his legacy to. Perhaps by coincidence or some strange turn of events, that person turned out to be me. Either it was that, or the deck was cursed and he was trying to get rid of it :O heh. So, well. Here I am, with a Tarot deck on my desk, and little or no idea of why it came to my hands and what am I supposed to do with it.

firemaiden	20 Nov 2004
damfino, what an amazing story. The tarot was dialing your number, and you answered. Congratulations.

damfino	20 Nov 2004
firemaiden, yes, I answered... now I only have to figure out what the call was for :O I read somewhere that knowing how to read the Tarot is *the* goal, but a tool to reach the actual goal. So you could say I'm wondering what my goal is. When I find out, then maybe I'll know why Tarot came to my life. I'm rather confused, as you may notice. I joined this community because of that confusion... I'm trying to figure out it all by reading and exchanging thoughts and experiences.

SeraphSarah	20 Nov 2004
My mother was always interested in psychics and I always saw spirits at night, my sister was also psychic (but has never persued it) she bought tarot cards an dwhen she lost interest to work on other things I started to play with them and at age 14 i bought my own and started to do readings on my own. I got a job by the time i turned 19 and hopefully it will keep going well :)

Emily	21 Nov 2004
I was first interested in tarot when I was a teenager, my first deck was the 1JJ Swiss ( I still have it) but it came at the wrong time, I was in my last year of school, further education and a job loomed on the horizon for me and no time for anything else. I didn't connect with the deck and it was pushed to the back of a drawer. I worked, got married and worked again then the start of a family. Fast forward to 3 years ago, now mature and very in control of my life I walk into WHSmiths and see a Rider Waite, I buy said Rider Waite and my tarot life starts ago but this now I have the time to work with my hobby. I wish now I had persevered years ago, I find now that I use tarot when I need guidance, guidance that I could probably have done with before now. I don't do many readings for other people, apart from the readings I used to do on here, but I like to just lay out the cards for the day and see what they say and then at the end of the day how they relate, i love the Mind, body, spirit spread - thats a real eye-opener :)

Alta	21 Nov 2004
Life seems to bring me to tarot quite often. When not stressed I draw my daily cards just in order to add depth to readings. When having problems, I use it to help find perspective and new ways of seeing the situation. The only period in which I was not drawn to tarot was when I was drawn to I Ching. I find these symbolic systems very helpful as a way of giving me a frame of reference to just live.

MeeWah	21 Nov 2004
My life brings me to Tarot on a daily basis with a daily card (not including Tarotwork for others). Of many years' practice, a tool for centering & grounding so an integral part of my life & not mainly for the stressful times.

Emerald	21 Nov 2004
I would say my life leads to tarot when I need answers. Tarot is like a good friend that I can ask for advice and I know they won't tell anyone else. Sometimes when things are going good I would ask for advice on my next step. I think when things are bad I am mainly looking for consolation. I want cards that show me things are about to look up!

Phoenix Rising	21 Nov 2004
My life was lead to tarot because I have a thirst for esoteric knowledge, so the history and the symbolic meanings and images of the cards is so rich and contains everything in life. It is bringing to my conscious mind, that which is hidden in my subconscious. As the subconscious mind knows everything. So when I am bored and need to study and or write, I turn to tarot. It never ceases to amaze me how accurate it can be. I remember a reader years ago saying. "The cards never lie" the cards represent my connection to life, and a way of helping myself and others.

TemperanceAngel	22 Nov 2004
When I go to work, LOL :D

The When does your life bring you to Tarot? thread was originally posted on 17 Nov 2004 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.