I have held a fascination with tarot and oracle cards since I was a teenager. I remember trying to read the cards using the book as a guide to explain what I could see yet not quite managing to decode the cryptic messages due to my lack of life experience to back it up.
It’s only in the last few years that I’ve owned tarot and oracle decks and started nourishing the skills, knowledge and self belief required for me to read for myself and others.
How do you view the use of tarot? Is it just for telling the future or can it be used in different ways?
The biggest realisation I’ve had is that I don’t use tarot as a divinatory tool – meaning I don’t use them to see or predict the future, rather that I let my intuition guide me to find out something about myself or the person I’m reading for that supports personal development at a soul level.
I’ve read for people who have asked me to tell them about the future. However as we all have free will, our future isn’t set in stone and we can re-shape what’s coming our way and change how we respond to it, as can the love interest I was frequently asked about!
I learnt a lot about myself during these early reading and that they left me feeling a bit depleted, almost like I’d offered a cheat sheet for somebody to look ahead of time and plan for. I preferred looking at a different aspect – the inner self.
We all have areas of ourselves that we can’t see, or refuse to acknowledge and yet these things may be what hold us back or cause some feelings of unfulfilment. Tarot and oracle cards can provide a function similar to removing a blindfold, or switching on a light in a dark room in these situations.
We can face blockages to progress – of our own doing, or refuse to believe something is growing within and therefore we don’t expose it and nurture it. Maybe we feel too fearful or maybe we need permission from someone else to set our inner desires free! I know I’m often ‘too busy’ to stop and realise what’s next for me or what isn’t working anymore.
As a result and to support my own continual development, I track my daily card readings to see patterns emerge in order for me to address the change that is required. A recent example kept showing me that I was stilting my own progress by striving to move forwards in my business without stopping and replenishing my energy – and that the inspiration wouldn’t flow until I rested.
My brain was full – I knew that but I also kept sitting down to write a blog post and nothing would come, which made me feel like my mojo had upped and left which further stops creativity! I had a week’s holiday in Wales and although initially I’d planned to take my laptop with me, I listened to the card’s message and left it at home for a total break.
You could point out to me that it was obvious that I wasn’t going to be successful in creative pursuits when I was so busy – yet at the time I couldn’t hear this screaming from within myself and needed an external prompt to tell me.
Do you ever feel like your head is so full or you are so busy fulfilling the needs of others that you don’t stop or pause long enough to look at you?
Tarot and oracle cards can provide answers to our questions, and they can shine a light on aspects we haven’t seen before. I’ve used tarot and oracle cards to great effect in the following situations where the person wasn’t able to see how they could move forwards:
Discovering who you are
Uncovering strengths and areas to note/improve
Discovering blockages that stop progression within a business
Highlighting new skills to nourish
Creating cautions for upcoming situations (eg ensure coherent communication)
Understanding values and core beliefs
All of these areas work so well with life coaching because once the reading has been completed, there’s a period of time where you need to sit and reflect on it and see where it affects you in your life and then find ways to work with this knowledge.
I’ve decided to incorporate these types of readings into my coaching sessions to support my clients to dig deeper inside and pull out the really great bits that can be nourished, and shine a light on the shadow areas that may be stopping progression.
I’m grateful that I’ve been able to merge two of my passions into my service offerings because I love nothing better than digging deep with my clients to discover what’s going on. Tarot and coaching go hand in hand for a wonderful soulful experience and I hope you agree!
I’d love to hear your experiences of using tarot as a personal development tool – please do leave me a comment below.