What is the Tarot and How Can It Benefit You?
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What is Tarot?
Tarot, much like astrology, is an archetypal language that can help us connect with and gain a deeper understanding of the energies around and within us. Tarot cards are found in decks of 78, which are divided into two categories called the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. Each tarot card depicts a scene or character that is representative of a specific archetypal experience.
What is an Archetype?
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Archetype is a term that was coined by psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, to describe broad categories of the collective human experience. For instance, across all cultures we find the core archetype of the Mother. The way that the archetypal image of “Mother” presents is unique to each culture, but the core symbolism and understanding of what Mother means extends beyond cultural specifics to all human beings. Archetypes can be very broad—light and dark, good and bad—or more specific, like Mother, Father, Child, Crone, etc.
Archetypes serve the important purpose of helping to categorize the content of our psyche. Symbolic languages, like tarot, help us ground the invisible energies we encounter on a daily basis by concretizing them through images. Tarot makes tangible and accessible a realm of experience that is otherwise extremely subtle, invisible, and difficult to describe in linear language.
Why Study the Tarot?
Through studying the tarot we are able to intentionally deepen our understanding of the invisible aspects of our lived experience— the universe, our unconscious, our higher/truest/most authentic self, our guides… slap whatever kind of language on it that works for you. Everyday, every minute, we are experiencing different energetic flavors. Archetypal languages, like the tarot, help us categorize and more deeply understand these different subtle flavors.
The energetic realm, and its influence on us, is real. And whether we are aware of it or not, we are interacting with it all the time. More accurately, we are not only interacting with these energies, we are a part of their unfolding. The more conscious we are of the energetic signatures influencing our lives at any given moment, the more intentionally we can contribute to the unfolding of our experience.
We are much like fish swimming in an energetic stream. It’s of great benefit to us, as the fish, to get a feel for what way the “water” is flowing at any given time so that we can coordinate our personal efforts to be in alignment with it. Tools like the tarot help us to align ourselves with the natural energetic flow of the universe.
But Isn’t Tarot Fortune Telling?
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Yes, the tarot can be used for divination—making predictions about what is to come. Using tarot for divination can have some degree of accuracy, but the degree to which it is accurate depends on the psychic abilities of the reader. The tarot cards themselves depict archetypes and, by definition, archetypes represent broad categories of experience. So, you can’t predict the exact outcome of something simply by looking at tarot cards, that requires psychic ability as well.
There is also the issue of free will. The events of our lives are not fated; they are not set in stone. The cards that come up in a tarot spread are accurate in the moment that the reading is done, and that is all that can be guaranteed. Something could change five minutes later that could render those cards obsolete, in terms of predicting future events or outcomes. So, while the tarot can be used for prediction, I don’t think it’s highly effective for predicting exactly how something will unfold on the external, objective level.
Tarot for Personal Empowerment
What the tarot is good for is predicting what is happening on an internal, spiritual level, which makes it a great tool for self-reflection and personal growth. It is like holding up a mirror and having our internal processes reflected back to us. Externalizing our internal experience like this—seeing it outside of ourselves—can be tremendously helpful in deepening self-awareness and gaining some objectivity regarding difficult situations.
In my personal practice, I use the tarot to get in touch with myself and to get a general sense of the direction I’m headed, or the direction a certain situation is headed, in order to discern if I want to change anything about how I am participating in the unfolding of my life. This is how I use it with my clients as well.
Using the tarot in this way is incredibly empowering. It can help us develop a deeper level of awareness of ourselves, our motivations, our emotions, and our actions. It encourages a sense of personal agency, instead of throwing up our hands in the face of “fate.” It also provides us the ability to participate in our lives with a new degree of depth and intentionality.
Curious about how to begin studying the tarot?
Check it out: Tarot for Beginners: How to Start Studying the Tarot
Meet the Author
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Maggie is a counseling astrologer and modern mystic whose approach is therapeutic and psychological. She views the natal chart as a map of the soul, and loves helping others understand the intelligent evolutionary processes at work behind their life experiences. In addition to astrology readings, Maggie also offers tarot readings.
If you would like more information, or would like to schedule a reading with Maggie, book a free 15 minute phone consultation today.
Other Services Offered by Maggie
Maggie is also a licensed therapist in the state of Kansas, specializing in therapy for anxiety, therapy for low self-esteem, therapy for codependency, therapy for highly sensitive people, and grief and bereavement counseling.
Through counseling Maggie helps people overcome shame and the fear of being their true selves. Breaking the cycles of people-pleasing and self-abandonment is possible, and she’s here to help. Maggie offers online therapy throughout the state of Kansas.
Reach out today to schedule your free 15 minute phone consultation, she’d love to hear from you!
