When my friend Patty came to visit from Boston recently, she brought along Thoth Tarot cards. I’d never seen them before. Over the years I’ve had a number of different decks, but mostly they’ve sat on the shelf or I’ve long since gotten rid of them. I never really understood how to use my intuition with regards to interpreting the cards (looking mostly to the accompanying books for definitions), but Patty very quickly helped me to trust my first impressions, so that’s what I do before looking to another source.
When I get up in the morning, I pull a card (at least one) as a meditation/reflection for the day. Before I got to that this morning, I read an email from a friend who is having serious financial challenges and is trying not to let panic paralyze her. I’ve been in that state before and I know how scary it can be, so she was very much on my mind as I was shuffling the cards before drawing one for the day. Here’s what I got:
Beautiful, don’t you think? There’s a lot going on in this card: I see angel wings, age rings on wood, acorns, various geometric structures, words I don’t understand, and beautiful colors. I wasn’t sure how to interpret this one other than knowing that it leaves me feeling uplifted and peaceful when I look at it, hopeful that something good is being harvested!
Since I’m very much in the beginning stages of studying the tarot, I refer to a couple of books to help me along. I already know that Aces are about new beginnings and the overcoming of obstacles, but what I read in Gerd Ziegler’s Tarot: Mirror of the Soul is that this is a card about “inner and outer richness; great success; unification of body and soul, material and spirit, heaven and earth; wholeness”.
What a perfect card to reflect what my friend is going through and what she’s hoping to find relief from. It’s what we all want, isn’t it? Unification and wholeness? Balance both within and without?
So with that optimistic outlook, I will get about my day. I have no doubt that many of you have your own love affair with tarot cards. They’re fun, aren’t they? And touchingly helpful.
©Maria K. Benning, M.Ed.
Next Austin Class: April 27-28
