What Are Tarot Cards

In my previous blog I described how I am searching for my true self. Six years ago I bought a deck at a spiritual fair. Now it is time for me to delve into this.

Rider Waite tarot

The deck I bought was the Rider Waite tarot. The nice lady who sold me the cards recommended them to me because of their accessibility. She called the images clear and said there was clear symbolism in them. I took her word for it. On the internet at the time I bought the book ‘Tarot for Dummies’, as I am a real novice when it comes to tarot. I remember at the time going straight to the explanation of the cards, wanting to know what great secrets lay behind the images on the cards. But, I found that the “answers” I received did not satisfy my curiosity. The explanations were sparse, though the questions, which accompanied each card, were thought-provoking. So, back to the beginning, “What is tarot anyway?”.

Interpreting images

In my Book for Dummies, I read that tarot is a series of pictures, and that you can look at these pictures in many different ways. I find that difficult, because I find it much easier when the meaning of an image is unambiguous. At the same time I realize that tarot is about interpretation of the cards. And interpretation is colored by your own vision, experiences and opinions.

Key to inner wisdom

On the back of the box of my Rider Waite, I see that my deck consists of 78 cards. 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards. Through biddytarot.com, I learn that the Major Arcana represents life’s spiritual lessons and the Minor Arcana depicts the challenges and struggles of everyday life. But what is tarot really? Brigit Esselmont, founder of Biddy Tarot, puts it very nicely: tarot is the storybook of our lives, the mirror of our souls and the key to inner wisdom. So the tarot cards also tell my story. I think the cards can put me in touch with my subconscious. From there I can “tap” into what I already know deep down inside, but don’t always dare to acknowledge.

Learning fast

I hope the tarot cards can give me the answers I long for. I realize that I am at the beginning of my spiritual path and may still learn a lot. I notice that I actually want to start right away and be able to read the cards. Preferably today and then as an accomplished tarot reader. As always I want to go too fast and do it well. That’s a pitfall I run into more often than not. The tarot makes me curious. I want to know more about it. The question that comes to mind now is, “How can I read tarot cards? I want to explore that in my next blog.