Finding Your Tarot Teacher
By Geraldine Amaral
The Tarot provides a "window" through which we can peer into ourselves to take stock of our inner patterns, beliefs, prejudices and shadow issues. What better way to take responsibility for our lives?
The Celtic Wisdom Tarot's author, Caitlin Matthew prefers to use the Tarot as a means of delving into the wisdom that resides within. She says the Tarot contains "potent keys of wisdom that can unlock the door of revelation for those who wish to read the mysterious and unwritten script of their inner lives." As both a student and teacher of Tarot, I am similarly far more interested in what the Tarot can show us and teach us about the processes of the unconscious mind than I am in its predictive aspects. There are so many spiritual paths and mystical teachers, I personally find it easy to forget myself and try to find truth through someone or something outside of myself, such as a guru or teacher. The Tarot then helps to remind me what I forgot--that there is already a teacher within. When I use the Tarot, allowing the imagery to touch my inner depths, I am reminded that I have the answers that I am seeking within myself.
There are numerous ways to contact the teacher within. There are more conventional methods like psychotherapy, prayer and meditation; and less conventional methods, like chanting, Rune Stones and Tarot cards. I firmly believe that working with the potent Tarot images is a useful way to contact the inner teacher. The symbols and images of the Tarot are powerful tools for exploring the inner terrain, for getting to know the self at a deeper level, and for making contact with the wise being within each one of us.
How does this process really work? One aspect of it relates to the idea that the Tarot images assume the role of ancient archetypes, which are inherited behavior patterns or reflections of forgotten memories. These are the images of the soul's journey which Carl Jung named the collective unconscious. According to Jung, the information found in the unconscious contains the myths and archetypal experiences that unite all of humankind. Each Tarot image, Major and Minor Arcana alike, portray archetypes that speak to us about our common experiences as we make our earthly and spiritual journeys.
Some of these universal experiences are quite obvious: The Empress represents the Great Mother, the Emperor is the patriarch, the Hermit is the wise old man. Others are more subtle: the 5 of cups portrays the universal experience of loss or despair and the 4 of swords captures the need for renewal, retreat and revaluation that we all experience from time to time. The Tarot cards are a visual expression of archetypal experiences that speak to us about our lives. By holding a mirror with which to see our inner selves, the cards enable us to make sense of events and the world in which we live. I also believe that through this mirroring process, we are healed by the universal imagery. The images of the journey portrayed in the Tarot can help document, validate and promote our growth and development during the course of our earthly and spiritual journey here on earth.
When these archetypal images appear in a Tarot reading, there are many ways to utilize their message. Sometimes the images call attention to our hidden fears. These fears may be influencing our perceptions and our future, because they are unacknowledged and want to be expressed or released. The appearance of an archetype in a Tarot reading allows us to observe and acknowledge its influence, and to take note of the feelings which that image stirs inside. In addition, the archetype's appearance might act as a verification and validation of concepts that we have been unable to grasp or articulate and may, therefore, enable a more accurate understanding of a situation. The images may alert us to possible choices and outcomes.
When we can identify with the archetypes, it creates clarity through the naming of old patterns. Often just naming a sorrow, problem or life challenge can help to reframe it. The images of the Tarot provide a way of identifying such difficult or challenging life experiences and helps us to reframe and reclaim the feelings associated with them. Sometimes using the Tarot for personal transformation in this way may also occur when we use the Tarot to provide a new model for ourselves, trying out a new persona or new self-definition to see how it suits us. For example, if you are working on becoming a more compassionate and forgiving person, you could meditate on the Strength card which shows a woman gently caressing a lion.
As you meditate on this card, you would imagine yourself to be the woman figure in the card, assuming the characteristics and qualities of gentleness, compassion and self-acceptance. Such creative visualization can be very powerful. Conversely, when we are able to identify an archetype which may be influencing our behavior and thoughts in a negative or oppressive way, it allows us to begin freeing ourselves of the hold it has on us. As we deepen our quest to contact Spirit, to find our inner guides and teachers, the Tarot archetypes unlock a door that leads us within. It can lead us to our highest potential as well as free us from our deepest fears.
Psychologist Abraham Maslow, in his quest to identify qualities of a self-actualized individual, talked about owning responsibility for the outcomes in one's life. When used as a tool for personal transformation and introspection, the Tarot calls upon us to take charge of the future by directing our attention toward the issues within. These are the very issues that may have the most influence on our decisions and that may have the most power in determining or assessing the future. The Tarot provides a "window" through which we can peer into ourselves to take stock of our inner patterns, beliefs, prejudices and shadow issues. What better way to take responsibility for our lives?
The High Priestess: A Timeless Archetype
Perhaps one of the favorite archetypes found in the Tarot is the High Priestess. The energies that the High Priestess figure embodies lives within each us. Her ability to invoke hidden, inner powers and bring them forth is particularly potent. The High Priestess may assist us in developing our intuition and psychic ability, thereby activating the wisdom that resides within. She is the gatekeeper to the psychic mind and of the deeper meanings found in the Tarot deck. Each person holds this timeless archetype within. We might call it the experience of "High Priestess-ness" that resides within the unconscious. Many think of the High Priestess archetype as the representation of someone who is committed to service, who is in service to Spirit and who seeks to see Spirit in all things. She is the bridge that allows us to communicate with Spirit. The potential for this spiritual communion is within ourselves -- we can awaken this archetype through our work with the Tarot.
The High Priestess is the universal symbol for the concept of the inner Spirit, the inner Teacher. However, there is also a Tarot archetype that represents our personal inner Teacher. At the world Tarot Congress this past summer in Chicago, Illinois, The Celtic Wisdom Tarot author, Caitlin Matthews presented a Tarot spread designed to determine who this Tarot teacher is as well as give some other information about working with the teacher. This is an intriguing spread that will lead you to your specific teacher, the specific form that the High Priestess archetype may take in your psyche and life.
I hope you will use her "Finding Your Tarot Teacher" spread. Determine how the High Priestess archetype manifests within your psyche. And once you know who your Tarot teacher is, spend some time with him or her. Take this guide with you when you use the Tarot, when doing readings for others or simply ask for its guidance and protection.
(Tarot spread reprinted by permission from Caitlin Matthews)