We all know the stereotypical tarot reader. We see her in movies and on posters and in comedy sketches - lots of jewellery, a headscarf, a table draped with a shimmering cloth and a crystal ball at its centre...
Now, I'm not saying that these readers don't exist and I have nothing against a bit of jewellery, however I think this idea of a mystical woman telling the future is a harmful stereotype of tarot.
Tarot has been used for hundreds of years and has evolved over time, just as we have. It is not a way to predict the future, but instead a way of bringing awareness & intention to different aspects of life and behaviours around them. We can ask the cards for guidance when we are at a crossroads, or look to them when we are needy but they will not give us the answers. They will not tell us the journey from A > B and everything in between. What they will give us is a way to step out of the situation, open our minds to new ways of thinking and perhaps guide us to where we want to be.
I have been reading tarot for almost 10 years, with varying degrees of intensity, and what I have learnt over that time is that everything is open to interpretation and that is totally fine. When I first started learning, I was obsessed with memorising word-for-word the descriptions of each card from books & guides and I would feel frustrated when these meanings weren't making sense or resonating within the context of a reading. This is because there is no concrete or 'correct' way of reading tarot. There are so many complexities & interpretations of each card and the more you learn about them, the more intricate these become. There are definitely themes surrounding each card and these are important to remember, but they must be interpreted within each reading & context to get a beautifully deep reading.
So the next time someone tells you tarot cards are spooky or that the 'Death' card is literal and scary, tell them to do a little research & dig deeper and they'll find the truth isn't scary at all, it's beautiful and rich with meaning...
xoxo