Most people learn Tarot by reading the interpretations, pulling daily cards, and doing readings for themselves and others. Tarot is an oracle that will help us know the future. To use it we need to have some experience in how it will work for us, what the symbols, numbers and colors mean to us, how to ask questions and how to get the depths of each card’s wisdom. Using the Tarot for other things than predictions helps us feel comfortable with it so we can be a better predictor of the future.
Aside from predicting, there is a way to dig deep into this symbolic language; a way that is not only insightful but fun!
Let us play with the Tarot in an upside-down fun kind of way.
We will start by using a phrase or a quote and pulling a card on it. Think of a random quote, motto or common saying and, when you pull a card, it will help you not just get more insight into the reference, but help you define the Tarot card. This way you are asking the cards to define what you say. Where most people pick a card and try to figure out the definition.
This is about having a conversation with your inner wisdom through the medium of the Tarot. With this practice, you discover what your soul means when it shows you the Ace of Cups or the High Priestess. Tarot is a dynamic oracle exquisitely designed for unique interpretation, and using this technique helps you to understand the hidden process of the unconscious.
Let’s start with a common saying and asking what the tarot says about “a penny saved is a penny earned”.
As you mix up the deck, silently focus on the question and repeat it in your mind phrasing it like: What card represents the energy of “a penny saved is a penny earned”?
I got the Temperance card. For me, that is the Tarot’s interpretation of that phrase. It strikes me as being mindful and careful with my actions and keeping my extremes in check.
You can do this on any phrase but let us try another more complex quote and see what that might be.
“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”–JFK
Let’s look at the energy of that quote or how Tarot would represent it to me. I ask as I mix up the cards: “What card represents the energy of the quote ‘those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly’?”
The Devil card. It may show me that failure and achievement are a trick of the mind. How we perceive them to be is what they are. In the card two people are being controlled by the devil. If you are the one in control or the one being controlled is all about perception. Achievement and failure are the same energy from different viewpoints. This is a complex concept not easily described with one card, but I think Tarot gave me the perfect card to describe this quote.
Choose your own quote to see how Tarot interprets it or use the above quotes and see the cards you get. You will not get the same cards as I did for the same question because Tarot is a secret language that you and your soul share. The soul speaks through images and when you use Tarot, you are asking your soul, or unconscious self, to communicate with your conscious mind. The soul will pick a card that will be unique to its language and how your mind interprets that language. This is why it is such a dynamic tool. It also makes it difficult to use books or other people to determine the meanings of the cards for you. But using these techniques creates a dialogue between your conscious and unconscious and teaches the mind to awaken to the inner self. This is a powerful practice.
Lately, I have been posting messages and photos of cards on social media. One might think the message is an interpretation of the card, but what I am doing is getting a message from Spirit then asking the Tarot to give me a card that represents that message. So, the Tarot card pictured is the interpretation of the message and not the message being an interpretation of the card.
Let me give you an example. I ask my guides for insight that helps me for today. I sit quietly and wait. They say: “When we have accepted and learned from the pains of the past, we are ready to grow through a different way, through the way of love.” Now I can see that our “lessons” no longer need be painful but joyful and loving. But to show you this practice, I will focus on only the quote, and not my first impression of it, as I ask the Tarot.
I mix up the cards I ask: “What card represents the energy of the message: ‘When we have accepted and learned from the pains of the past, we are ready to grow through a different way, through the way of love.’?”
The Tarot answers: 8 of Swords. In relation to the quote, my first insight from this card is we must integrate the wisdom from what we have found painful and harmful to be free to make our way to the promise of the castle on the hill.
If you are connected with your guides, you might try this too. Sit in meditation and ask questions or for inspiration. Once it comes through pull a card on it and look how it is reflected in the card. It will not only be more fun than trying to figure out the meaning of the card, but it will help you get even more depth out of the message.
I welcome your insights, comments or questions about your practice with this. But mostly I hope you have fun with it. Spirit loves to connect, and Tarot is a gateway to the mysterious workings of the self. Having a conversation with the friend you never knew you had, your soul, is the most fun there is.
For an audio version of this article click here: https://janet.substack.com
Peace,
Janet Kadow
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Email: janet@janetkadow.com
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Having Fun with Tarot!