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Use of the Tarot for Personal
Development can take two forms.
The first is use of information
made clear by Tarot Readings in order to gain insight into
personal situations. This may be accessed either as a sitter
(seeker) using the services of a skilled Tarot Reader, or
the individual purchasing his/her own Tarot Deck and using
it to
read for him/herself. In each case, the advice and information
accessed may prompt the person to pay further attention or
do additional research concerning specific aspects of his/her
situation - perhaps considerations that he/she might not
otherwise have thought important, or even been aware of.
The second respect in which the Tarot may be used for personal
development, is for personal spiritual development. (As with
all aspects of spirituality, the Tarot is controversial and
there are many people who consider it to be sinister, "dark"
and to be avoided: This section is not intended for
those individuals, who we hope will enjoy other parts of the
IvyRose Holistic Website.)
There are many different ways to develop ones's sensitivity to
spirit. These include meditation, visualisation, psychic "circles"
(group exercises - but choose the group you attend very carefully),
learning any form of divination - such as dowsing using a pendulum
or rods, reading Tarot Cards, reading Tea-Leaves, reading Runes,
scrying (perception by gazing into a crystal ball, bowl of
water, or small pool), and other methods.
All of these and other
methods require the abilities to open one's mind and to interpret
information intuitatively - and some would add that creative
(right-brain) tendencies are also most helpful. Different methods
appeal to different people according to their own personalities
and
interests. The Tarot may appeal most to people who like to
work with physical images, who appreciate symbolism, and perhaps
also
those who are interested in the mathematic probability of outcomes
and perhaps even in quantifying the "results" of readings. |
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The term "Fortune Telling" is traditional,
yet also rather old-fashioned. It conjures mental images
of a gypsy caravan on a 19th Century or early 20th Century
Pier, complete with crystal ball or palm reader. These images
are perhaps romantic, but they do not convery the depth of
the Tarot.
If used for divination at all, the Tarot is
suited to observing traits, introducing new
perspectives, and
provide
insight into
situations. Of course any extra consideration of a subject
(and especially consideration from new perspectives) may influence
the outcomes. This is in the same way that a conversation with
a trusted friend may result in a person then investigating
options
he/she
had not previously considered.
The Tarot is not about defining
fixed outcomes or predicting definate fixed events in the future.
In fact, it is not even about discrete questions - but rather
about increasing one's perspective on a situation. Therefore
the Tarot is a tool that works best with open (e.g. "Please
help me to decide how best to progress at work."),
not closed (e.g. "Which
girl should I marry, Anne or Brenda ?")
questions. |
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Some
users of the Tarot would never use a Tarot Deck to play games because
they feel that to do so would trivialise and therefore disrespect the Tarot.
This is a personal decision and "Tarot Games" are mentioned here to
include a balanced selection of suggestions.
Some Tarot Card games are described and explained in
good books about Tarot, such as:
The
Complete Illustrated Guide to Tarot (by Rachel Pollack) which
describes "Tarot Charades", "Tarot
Rummy" and "Tarot Go Fish". Better still,
invent your games or develop fun ways of using the cards to
reinforce your understanding of them, e.g. as flash cards to
test knowledge of the classical meanings of each card. |
