|
The GIFTS OF THE TAROT The solution to a problem will never come about from the same level of understanding that created the problem in the first place. - Albert Einstein Thoughts are energy that does not dissipate, but seeks other homes in which to shelter. - Marijoyce Percelli In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. - Albert Schweitzer The Tarot, with its 78 symbolic cards, can be a powerful tool for growth and change if you are aware of certain attributes which the cards hold -- attributes which discharge an energy that is both positive and life-affirming. The cards may act as your "transformational allies" or your "allies within" as you use them to develop your full potential, especially as you become more adept at utilizing their power. The Tarot offers this life-affirming, transformative process as an opportunity for improved self-worth and self-esteem. Using the Tarot in such a transformative way is analogous to the process of alchemy. "Alchemy" simply means evolution or transmutation, the idea that one form or structure is being changed into another form or structure. In our everyday life, there are thousands of examples of alchemy - - water that freezes becomes ice, or a tea bag in a cup of hot water becomes tea, or an electric current flowing to a light bulb brings light into darkness. Medieval alchemists sought to transform the baser metals, like lead, into gold. They sought the “philosopher’s stone” - - that special substance that had the power to transmute the baser metals. We can use the symbols of the Tarot for a similar alchemy: "emotional alchemy" or “inner alchemy” in which we transform our emotional “lead” into “gold.” In short, the Tarot carries the potential to be its own “philosopher’s stone” as it transforms our inner selves. This inner alchemy occurs when we use the Tarot symbols to perceive life’s events and experiences in a more positive framework. This inner alchemy occurs when we use the Tarot to provide new models for ourselves, allowing us to test out new identities to see how they suit us. As we seek to change the “lead” of the personality or lower consciousness into the “gold” of a higher consciousness, the Tarot's special alchemy offers a spiritual means which can act to facilitate our growth. Acting as your ally within, assisting you in this alchemy process, the Tarot can help you to turn your “negatives” into “positives.” In our day-to-day life, we often practice a "reverse alchemy" - - taking a situation and disqualifying its positive aspects, using our mind as a filter that perceives only the negative aspects. We may do this in terms of minor life experiences or in terms of larger life patterns. How many times do we receive a compliment and respond by invalidating the remark? "It really is just an old dress from the back of my closet." Or how often do we look at an event or period in our lives with remorse or regret? "If only I hadn’t gotten married so young . . . . " At times like these, when we choose to negate ourselves and our choices, it is worthwhile to remember that dwelling on a lower vibration will magnify that vibration. It makes sense to utilize whatever tools are available to us to interrupt and replace such self-defeating patterns. The Tarot’s life-affirming alchemy enables each card to offer a distinct "gift" to the sincere Seeker. This “gift” could embody an opportunity to develop or expand an aspect of the self. It could offer a path for overcoming a life challenge. It could demonstrate a way to reframe an experience - - to find the “opportunity in the adversity.” Contained within each Tarot archetype is a full spectrum of positive versus negative energies (an archetype, according to Dr. Carl Jung, is a “primordial image” which represents universal behaviors; they are inherited behaviors that unite all cultures). The “gift” of the specific Tarot Card consists of the most positive energy available through that archetype. For example, the Hierophant’s gift is clarification of one’s spiritual beliefs. The Emperor's gift is the gift of reason or organization. The Empress's gift, the creative spark, may assist you in overcoming writer's block or may help you visualize a more prosperous future. Further, such "gifts" allude to a particular point of view about life: that which happens, both “good” and “bad,” can teach us about ourselves and about life. All the experiences of life bear "gifts" if we are open to receiving them. In this philosophy about life, all events, encounters, people, situations, circumstances and experiences can be seen from a positive perspective. Such a positive perspective surrenders to a higher good which is operating in our lives and which directs us towards a greater self concept. The Tarot can help promote this philosophy by showing us the larger picture of our lives. Through a reading which displays an overview of all pieces, all cycles, all events in our lives, we begin to see that all parts are sound and have value. Everything in our lives, in our past, happened as part of a pattern. For example, you may see that the job you lost was the key factor that led you to opening up your own business. Or the relationship that caused you pain when it ended, cleared the way for you to meet the person that you would eventually marry. As we learn to reframe our experiences into positives, we see that each experience leads to a higher level. As we seek a “gift” in all events, we will probably find more contentment in life. The Tarot reading, therefore, can act as a metaphor for life. The way you approach the Tarot Cards and the readings which come through them can provide you with a representation of the way you approach life. The reading may display your life in allegorical terms, mirroring the way you approach reality. The cards represent the totality of human experience, including the totality of your own individual life. If you want to know how you are dealing with life, how you are coping with life, look at your response to the cards which appear in your readings. They are your guideposts. Do you resist certain cards? Do you avoid certain cards? Are you bound by the experiences these cards might represent? Do you invalidate the cards that come up as being erroneous or irrelevant to your situation? Or, do you embrace life and all its experiences? Do you look to see the light in the darkest times? Do you focus on the challenge cards or do you seek to find the positive energy in your readings? So let your reactions to the cards which appear in your reading teach you about yourself! Your resistance to certain cards can point you to the areas in your life that need attention. Further, by working with your responses to the Tarot, especially when challenging cards appear in a reading, you can actually "retrain" yourself to approach such situations with a better attitude and improved coping skills when the actual experience occurs in life. You can create new “memory grooves” for establishing fresh and better responses to situations that crop up in your life. It is worthwhile to remember that the same energy used to invalidate and resist certain cards could also be used as a springboard for new modes of operating. You might equate the Tarot mirroring process in which you seek to “reprogram” your unconscious mind, to the process of writing affirmations and using techniques of creative visualization. Creative visualization is simply the process that utilizes your imagination and the power of your mind to “create” or attract what you want in life. The Tarot’s images provide an advantageous adjunct to the visualization experience. An affirmation is a positive statement that is repeated over and over again in an attempt to create positive new beliefs and to countermand previously embedded beliefs. As Shakti Gawain, author of Creative Visualization says, "An affirmation is a strong positive statement that something is already so." The advantage of using the cards to achieve the kind of transformation available through affirmation and creative visualization is that the images on the cards are able to "bypass" the logical mind and the ego and connect directly with the experience which it reflects. The symbols on the cards connect with the archetypal experience in your consciousness and activates energy around that concept. The logical mind and all its thoughts about what you can and cannot achieve will be circumvented as the Tarot connects to the nonverbal representation of what is sought. We can get stuck in our egos and our thoughts; the symbols can help us transcend that limitation. Creative visualization and affirmation-writing in which you attempt to energize yourself in a way that permits you to attract some experience, event or person, therefore, encourages you to pay close attention to your thoughts. Thoughts are energy patterns which, whether spoken or not, project outward. As the energy of the thoughts project from within to without, they “do not dissipate” and will act as a magnet for their like energy. This energy does not simply evaporate! In fact, the nature of the energy will draw its counterpart to you. Negative thinking, anger, guilt, or resentment will insure that you attract people into your life who will keep such feelings energized. Positive thinking, thoughts of forgiveness, acceptance, compassion, love and well-being for yourself and others, will more likely attract the very same to you. Working with the symbols of the Tarot Cards can influence the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, both consciously and unconsciously, and you can "magnetize" those experiences to yourself. The archetype becomes a kind of role model for us as we “try on” the persona or energy of the symbol to see if it “fits.” For example, meditation with the Strength Card can serve as a reminder that you are seeking to accept, to forgive or to release any anger that you may be holding onto. It may serve to remind you that there is personal strength through forgiveness and that self-acceptance is the desired outcome. The Tarot metaphorically reminds us to be cognizant of our thoughts. It's always possible to consciously select a card that depicts a certain experience you are seeking, like the Emperor to improve your organizational skills or the Chariot to take control of your life or the Hermit to focus on spiritual truths. You can then use the card in a meditation in which you "magnetize" yourself, drawing forth the experiences you are seeking. When you sincerely begin working with the Tarot and learn to access its unique “alchemy,” your life will change! As you learn to access the Tarot’s transformative potential, its power will light your path. |
|
|