The Fool's Journey

I picked up a tarot deck about 18 years ago in a gift shop on vacation. It wasn’t one I had seen before and I was instantly drawn to it. For years it served as a dust collector and became a neglected possession that moved from apartment to apartment with me. Whenever I did try to spend time with the cards, I would attempt elaborate spreads that I quickly lost patience for, not really sure what I was doing besides wishful thinking about seeing the future.

Four years ago I picked them up again, this time out of desperation. In the throes of an impenetrable depression, I became jealous of people who had religion to turn to when they lacked hope. I grew up uncomfortably Catholic, a world that never really clicked with me. Instead, I found spirituality in a tarot deck. I no longer view them as magical fortune-telling devices but as a way to forge a connection between my inner life and a greater good. It provides a way to look at myself more objectively and forces me to ask the hard questions I’ve gotten good at avoiding. I still don’t know what I’m doing per se, but I continue to lay out three-card spreads and familiarize myself with the iconography.

I started keeping a log of my spreads and it has become a companion piece to my journal. I revisit it like passages in a bible to remind myself of former breakthroughs and inspirations. Connecting with the cards and their meaning has become more natural for me now, but I still hesitate to read for others. To do a reading for another person seems like a level of care and gentle curiosity that takes time to build. I'm wanting to bring together like-minded tarot enthusiasts in the Iowa City area to cultivate a safe place to explore the tarot world. 

Want to join?