What does the TAROT mean to you...?

I was asked this question by an anthropologist friend of mine in a questionnaire for her course.  It really got me thinking.

What does Tarot mean to you?

I've never REALLY had to think about it - there's never been any real need.  But how I see Tarot will not be the same way Piet Pompies sees it, I don't think.  Each of us has his or her own point of view, and hey, maybe some overlap, but the heart of the matter will always be different from one reader to the next.

For istance, I placed the Tarot question on Facebook, and one of my friends responded, "Spiritual guidance", and I just had to ask her how she figures.  I mean, for a very large part, the Tarot is set with Christian (read Catholic) religious symbols (have a look at the Hierophant and the High Priestess - even the Empress and Emperor).  Her answer was a bit surprising considering I doubt she's Christian - I could be wrong, but hey.

How would the Tarot be used for spiritual guidance?  I'm asking this as a reader.  How would one take any spiritual guidance out of a Tarot deck, or reading, more specifically?  I personally only see in the cards advice regarding personal spirituality (get rid of old ideas, stop being so temporal, blah blah blah), but spiritual guidance?  Hmmm.  Hey, if it works for you, love, I will not gainsay it - I'm just trying to understand.

So, what does the Tarot mean to you?

Let's look at what got you "into" Tarot, the event that got you taking that first step on the Fool's Journey.  Mine was easy:  Piers Anthony wrote a trilogy of novels in the late 1970's and very early 1980's called "God of Tarot", "Vision of Tarot" and "Faith of Tarot", republished under the single-word title "Tarot" in 1987.  This story makes EXTENSIVE use of Tarot and Tarot symbols / symbolism on the planet Tarot, to which the representative of the Brotherhood of Light, Brother Paul, is  sent to investigate the "God of Tarot", the ruling Deity of the planet itself.  The planet is named after the deck of cards one of the first explorers had with him.  The Deity investigation is started because the Tarot card (10 of Swords) the explorer drew CAME TO LIFE.  Brother Paul, as both an experienced ex-con / sleight of hand person, highly experienced Tarot player and member of a denomination-neutral organisation, is sent to investigate the cause of the manifestations and find out who the God of the planet is.  It turns out to be, for those who would want to sit and read for a month, Satan, in his anti-establighment guise, not the hellfire and brimstone we're brought up believing in.

That's me babbling right there.

Anyway.  This really amazing piece of science fiction writing got me interested in the Tarot because of how the colonists use it in their daily lives and how Brother Paul uses it as a tool, not only for meditation, but also using the cards to solve the mysteries covering the surface of the planet Tarot.

<Damned dyslexia>

If he could use a deck of cards to help him solve mysteries, why couldn't I?  If he could use a deck of cards to help people deal with heir sh*t, why couldn't I?  And my word, the way the colonists used tarot symbolism!  The two things that stick out to me is the Cups they use when it rains:  lightweight metal domes large enough to cover three or four people at once if they have to leave their houses or public halls for any reason during a rain storm; or the Tree of Life, a tree native to Tarot that forms the basis of everyday life on the world:  the bark is used for fabric, the fruits are edible, the wood is burnable - although these are only the functions I remember.  If I remember correctly the author had quite the list going.  Association with the tarot:  Wands.  Energy, passion, the flame of life.

So what does the Tarot mean to me?

It means providing assistance where I can, by making my sitters really take not eof their lives.  I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I don't do fortune-telling:  I won't lay out the cards and say, "This is going to happen" or "You will meet this person."  I see what is happening in their lives and make them see it, too.  I make them see how to fix their own lives and what issues they need to deal with to move forward.  I also make sure to tell them that nothing is set in stone and that life changes constantly, so if a possible future comes up, they have to realise it will change at the slightest provocation.

It means allowing myself to have an open mind and keep learning as I go along - the Tarot allows you to let your mind drift and your intuition to find the answers it needs all on its own.

It means being free to be me - in some small, completely unrelated way :)