10.06.2010

Proactivity: It's What's in the Cards

I'm sure most of us have seen sample images from a Rorschach test, either from having taken the test or from viewing the images online or in books. It's a psychological test in which the subject is shown various inkblots and describes what the shapes of said patterns resemble to them; the results are then analyzed.



As it's a subjective test, different people will see different things when they look at the same inkblot shapes. One person might view the shape to the left and say, " It's a Jack O'Lantern"; another might say, "That's a wolf's head". And the answers are neither wrong nor right, because they're subjective.

That's what reading Tarot cards is like. One reader will look at the cards and offer a particular interpretation of the spread, relative to the question that was asked. Another reader, given the same question and the same cards, might perceive different salient points in the reading than the first. While it's unlikely that two readers would draw opposite conclusions (such as "success" vs. "failure") from the same set of cards, it's not impossible for them to differ on what the most important points in the spread are. One reader might say "You'll sit down and talk to your partner and you'll reach an agreement on what to do from here on out", with the most important point being reaching the agreement. Another reader might see the same cards and respond, "You will have to open the lines of communication between yourself and your partner, if you ever hope to reach an agreement", with the emphasis on communication is necessary.

That's why I liken Tarot reading to a Rorschach test. What the reader sees in the cards is going to be predicated at least in part on their own personality, world view, and intuition at the moment the reading is being done. The combination of those factors is as unique as a fingerprint for every reader in existence.

In my case, when I do a reading for you, what I see in the cards involves proactive steps to take to reach one's goal. I don't believe that the future is something that's sealed or set in stone, and all we have to do is sit around and wait for it to happen. I believe that the cards are a tool to help us navigate, like a compass that tells us what direction we're facing, but then WE have to do the actual traveling. Life is not a spectator sport; it's a game in which we must participate, and this worldview has a concrete impact on what I see when I look at the cards. So when you receive a reading from me, I won't be dictating your fate to you. I'm going to help map out a path for you to get where you want to be. And don't be surprised if you get homework to do. :-)