Tarot Cards

What do you think of when you hear about tarot cards and their readers?  Most people I know conjure images of an old woman dressed in layers and layers of skirts and scarves, in an incense filled dark room, staring into a crystal ball.  Or maybe a gypsy in a traveling caravan.  Maybe the spooky psychic that goes into a trance...  The reality?  That would be me sitting at my dining room table, probably in my PJs.

Sorry, not as mysterious as you'd pictured.  There is a lot more to them than meets the eye though...

I've never really mentioned tarot to most people, mostly because it just hasn't come up.  I'm sure that some will be very surprised to find out that I read the cards regularly.  They are not the work of the devil, evil, or anything of that nature.  Honestly, those opinions, while they are opinions, are usually based on miseducation.  They are in fact based on archetypes, intuition, and the interconnected world we live in.  They are incredibly useful in personal meditation, besides the more known uses.  There is a long, long, seriously long, history associated to tarot cards.  I won't get into that, but there are some awesome books on the subject that I highly recommend if you are interested.  

Have you ever taken a True Colors test?  Myers-Briggs Personality Assessment?  Studied the work of Carl Jung?   If so, then you will find many of the tarot cards extremely familiar.  The major arcana are actually archetypes that correspond very closely (if not exactly) to these personality types.  We all have these parts of our personality, they are just in different orders, concentrations, etc.  In fact, I have taught True Colors workshops in the past, and was amazed that the Orange characteristics are described identically, verbatim, to the wands suit of tarot cards.  Odd how things don't always mean what you think they do at first glance.  I know of several psychologists or counselors who even use tarot cards to help their patients explore their inner psyche with great success.  

I'm sure I'll talk more about this eventually, but the point of this post is more to share my excitement!  There is a beautiful set of tarot cards that is about to be released that have been in the works for 7 years!!!  7 years!  That is a long time to wait.  Here is one of the cards that I just fell in love with!  (This image belongs to Mary-el, http://www.mary-el.com/5swords.html)

I am so excited to get this deck and try it out!  The artwork is amazing, and looks like it will read beautifully as well.  I've heard stellar reviews from everyone who's tried it out and studied the scans.  

By the way, happy Monday!