Learn Tarot: The Significance of your Personal Story
If you go into any metaphysical bookstore you will very likely find several books on the Tarot. They can be a valuable tool for the beginning Tarot reader. However, as you become increasingly familiar with the Tarot and tarot reading, you will find that you will interpret tarot card meanings less and less from what you have read in books, and more and more from your own personal interpretation of the cards. In the end, you will find that the best and most experienced Tarot readers are always the one’s who utilize their own personal associations to the cards.
Just as every individual has their own, unique point of view, Tarot reading offers you the insight to truly understand and interpret your own, personal story. It does this by illuminating the nature of your purpose and identifying how your story has framed your own view of the world. The more you become conscious of your story, the more you can understand yourself. This process you can also help you to understand the story of others. When we identify with another person’s experience, we can gain a deeper understanding of our shared experience. This is our humanity.
As a Tarot reader, it’s important to be able to identify where your story ends and another person’s begins. Neutrality and objectivity will be your greatest allies in Tarot reading, particularly if you are reading for someone other than yourself. It’s also important that you become conscious of your own projections. In other words, you do not want to project your story onto someone else's. One way to ensure that you don’t do this is by committing yourself to your own process of self-discovery. Tarot reading can help you do this by reflecting your own story back to you.
The following exercise can be very useful for this process:
Separate the 22 Major Arcana cards out from the rest of the deck. Begin first with the Fool Tarot Card followed by the rest placed in numerical order. Thus, the Fool would be followed by the Magician, The Magician would be followed by the High Priestess, etc…
Next, take out a piece of paper and examine the first card: The Fool Tarot Card. Ask yourself the following question:
- What is the story of the Fool?
- Where have I been the Fool?
- Where does my story differ from the Fool? Where is it the same?
- If the Fool where to speak to me, what might he say to me? What might I say to Him?
- What might the Fool say to the card that follows him? In this case, it would be the Magician.
You can continue this narrative throughout the Major Arcana until you finish with the World Tarot card. Allow each card to tell you a story. In turn, you can use the cards to tell your own story. The ultimate purpose of this exercise is to help you identify your own story and life journey. This exercise can also deepen your understanding of tarot cards meanings.
This exercise is also a great way to interpret the cards for those for whom you may be reading. Knowing traditional interpretations can be useful, but there is nothing more powerful than letting the Tarot cards speak for themselves.
© 2010 Tarotreadingpsychic.com. All Rights Reserved. Images of individual tarot cards are from the Aquatic Tarot Deck created by Andreas Schröter and are used with his permission. They are for example purposes only.
Tarot Reading: Finding Meaning in the Cards is a post from: Tarot Reading Psychic your free tarot guide.
