The 78 cards of the Tarot comprehensively encompass universal aspects of human experience. I use them exclusively to expand awareness and cannot use them to predict the future.
There are 6 foundational spiritual premises upon which the Tarot are based. These concepts are beautifully outlined in Paul Quinn‘s accessible and inspiring book Tarot for Life.
Six Principles Underlying the Tarot
1. As Above So Below: This points to the divine in each of us, and the presence of divine intelligence in everything.
2. The Law of Attraction: The Tarot offers a tool for increasing our awareness of what we are attracting into our lives through where we place our attention.
3. Synchronicity: This is an idea belonging to Carl Jung, the Swiss psychoanalyst which states that coincidence is meaningful. Thus the specific cards we draw are meant to help us answer our questions.
4. The Self and Individuation: The Tarot facilitates making what is unconscious conscious, thus increasing our awareness of more of our being and promoting wholeness. We become more fully ourselves and are able to be more fully present in our lives.
5. Integration of Opposites: The cards help us become aware of and integrate contradictory parts of ourselves, which is an essential part of individuation, becoming more full ourselves and expressing more of our being,
6. Masculine and Feminine: The process of owning aspects of ourselves that are commonly designated masculine or feminine is related to the integration of opposites. We are all both, and we become more alive as we embody both archetypes, rather than assigning parts of ourselves to others.
The cards function most usefully when we do not ask them to predict, but rather to direct our own initiative. In other words, the cards can point us in the most effective direction in terms of where to put our energy.
Thoughtful formulation of the question produces the most useful reading. For instance, it would not work well to ask “Will I get the job” but rather, “What do I need to be aware of in order to ensure that I am doing all I can to get the job?”
I view the reading as an interactive process. The querent tells me what he/she sees in the card. The personal response is then integrated with the traditional meaning of the card, in order to derive an interpretation that is unique and specific to the individual.
In accordance with the 6 principles outlined above, there is a belief that though the reading is not predictive, the particular cards that are chosen are not random either. Based upon the law of synchronicity, a querent will choose the particular cards needed to provide the most helpful information.
I use the Tarot as another collaborative method to expand consciousness and scope of awareness in the service of further progressive psycho/spiritual growth and development.
