How did I become a Tarot reader?

When Geocities.com closed down its websites last month, my original webpage was lost in the process. I chose to re-establish my online presence with a blog. I want to provide my site's visitors with information and commentary. I have many things to say, and I wanted to have an easily-maintained, accessible forum in which to say them.

There are some questions that need to be answered for newcomers to this site, including "Who am I, and what qualifies me to offer Tarot readings in the first place?"

Who I am is a married lady who first encountered Tarot cards in 1978, when I was in high school. Two close friends of mine, who are sisters, purchased a Rider-Waite Tarot deck and learned to do readings. They, plus two other friends and I, were fascinated by the Tarot. The cards contained amazing artwork with levels upon levels of symbolism to learn. The process itself of learning Tarot interpretation was both interesting and challenging, and we gravitated toward it immediately. Even as rank beginners, we could see some genuinely on-target results and we were encouraged to continue.

I say "we" because the five of us were teaming up to interpret readings, even back when we only had the one deck. One or the other of the two sisters would shuffle the cards and lay them out in the Celtic Cross spread, and then all five of us would pore over the books (which my friends got at the same time they bought the deck) to interpret the cards' definitions, as well as their relation to the other cards in the reading. Bouncing ideas off each other the way we did really helped us ALL learn more quickly. Before long, the three of us who didn't own a Tarot deck went out and got decks, too. I know I got my deck, also a Rider-Waite deck, in March of 1978. We continued reading both as a team and individually. I gained a lot of experience and confidence in my reading, thanks to having lots of practice and feedback right from the beginning. From then until now, I've read for friends and family.

In 2004, I decided that it was time for me to do more with my reading, and I set up my first website; that original site eventually led to my creation of THIS website. I hope that I can both gain and help to provide insight via Tarot readings.