stclair
I received my first deck for my 15th birthday – a classic RWS in a beautiful wooden box, from my stepfather who was a professional palmist. I had loved the pictures and imagery as a child and was so excited to have my own deck. He was a natural teacher and a mentor, strongly psychic and an excellent reader, teaching me how to listen to one’s intuition - after learning the traditional meanings inside out. He showed me how to see the individual card, and then how to integrate it with the others in a full reading, and taught me both the playful and serious sides of the cards.
I worked diligently to learn the meanings, slept with each card under my pillow, and enjoyed doing little readings for friends and family…I was still very young and had much to learn about people and life in general so after a few years out in the world I came back to practice and reading again in my 20s. At this time they really spoke to and through me, and I enjoyed the challenge and reward of doing paid gigs at parties, weddings and other gatherings. I had business cards made up but not being the entrepreneurial type, and before the internet, didn’t really have the impetus to get myself out there. Over time I would take the cards out occasionally but it wasn’t a regular part of my life.
I truly came back to the cards a few years ago when I saw a Thoth deck at a local antique shop, and felt an absolute desire for it, buying it immediately. Since then I have done a card a day with the Thoth, feeling that I am just beginning to learn its system and machinations, and have also come back to my old friend the RWS, which welcomed me back with warmth and many more layers and depths than I ever thought was possible.
There are times when I am writing with the daily card in the morning and a stream of meaning, analysis, impression and association just flows out of me. At other times I can view a whole spread and feel completely blanked. A reading sometimes will give a very, very emphatic answer to a question that has not been asked. Or it may tell you that tomorrow you will go to the market with your mom.
The greatest thing about tarot is the endless cycle of curiosity that it both stimulates and satisfies. This is the magic, complexity and beauty that I am so happy to have back with such strong presence in my life.
I worked diligently to learn the meanings, slept with each card under my pillow, and enjoyed doing little readings for friends and family…I was still very young and had much to learn about people and life in general so after a few years out in the world I came back to practice and reading again in my 20s. At this time they really spoke to and through me, and I enjoyed the challenge and reward of doing paid gigs at parties, weddings and other gatherings. I had business cards made up but not being the entrepreneurial type, and before the internet, didn’t really have the impetus to get myself out there. Over time I would take the cards out occasionally but it wasn’t a regular part of my life.
I truly came back to the cards a few years ago when I saw a Thoth deck at a local antique shop, and felt an absolute desire for it, buying it immediately. Since then I have done a card a day with the Thoth, feeling that I am just beginning to learn its system and machinations, and have also come back to my old friend the RWS, which welcomed me back with warmth and many more layers and depths than I ever thought was possible.
There are times when I am writing with the daily card in the morning and a stream of meaning, analysis, impression and association just flows out of me. At other times I can view a whole spread and feel completely blanked. A reading sometimes will give a very, very emphatic answer to a question that has not been asked. Or it may tell you that tomorrow you will go to the market with your mom.
The greatest thing about tarot is the endless cycle of curiosity that it both stimulates and satisfies. This is the magic, complexity and beauty that I am so happy to have back with such strong presence in my life.