Yesterday I pulled three cards, not into any particular spread, but to see what story they would tell. They are pictured above, in the order they were placed.
These cards remind me that while much of reading the Tarot has to do with interpretation of the symbolism on the cards, and how the symbols of each relate to each other, that is not all that there is to it.
To be effective readers we must draw not only on the cards, but on our own unique experiences and knowledge as well.
If we are without many meaningful experiences in our own life, well then we will not have any of our own insights to bring to our reading of the cards for another. Likewise, if our knowledge of what is happening in the wider world is overly limited, we will lack essential understanding of some of the energies and trends that may well be impacting the person we are reading for.
All of this is a long way of saying that if we hope to be effective Tarot readers, then we must get out in the world. We must surround ourselves with others, have adventures, succeed and fail, experience joy and loss. We must live life, for in doing so we are gaining invaluable experiences that will inform our reading of the Tarot.
Likewise we must keep up on what is happening in the world. We need to understand what is going on, why it is happening, and through our own consideration decide what we think about it. This knowledge is also vital when we are reading the cards.
The more experiences we have in this life, and the more informed we are as to the world around us, the better we will be able to interpret the cards in meaningful ways. Undoubtedly knowledge specific to the Tarot is vital if we hope to succeed in our efforts to interpret it, but more general knowledge, and meaningful life experiences are just as important. We must never stop learning, and must never stop doing.
Life, and Tarot are adventures!
Tarot card images used in this post are from the Tarot deck illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith under the direction of RW Arthur Edward Waite, published in 1909, and are thus in the Public Domain. Card images pictured are from scans of that original 1909 deck, and are not sourced from images U.S. Games Systems claims copyright over. To view this public domain Tarot deck or learn more about it visit the Wikipedia page discussing it here.