(Photo: Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, France. | by Claude ROZIER on Flickr)

What comes to mind with the word ‘tarot’? Voodoo vibes, a crystal ball and a heavy woman seated behind a table with bejeweled, ring-laden fingers, as she pours over cards of cryptic images, giving you a hint of apprehension as she goes about knowing and uttering what lies in your future? That’s the image I grew up with anyway. Perhaps, it isn't so distant from what you have thought about tarot too?

This image for me soon disappeared, as I delved into the realm of Tarot.

Most of the times, we are quite happy and trusting with the stories and beliefs that other people pass down to us, without thinking about what the other side of it is. We stop ourselves from thinking that perhaps there is more, where everything is very much an individual experience and not a collective belief.

It takes a while for anything to be conceived, for anything to be born, for anything to live, for anything to be accepted, for anything to be created, for anything to turn to ashes, and for anything to be reborn in a new way. Such is the way of change. Such is the way of the universe. Such is the way of ideas. Such is the way of the human mind.

It took me a while to understand what Tarot is, and I am still on my journey of learning; there’s still a long, illuminating way to go. It took me a long time to actually pick up the deck I had bought in a state of impulse, and it took me a while to make peace with a lot of deeper aspects of myself, until curiosity popped its head up and I eventually reached out to it one day. I am grateful that I did, because it has helped me ground myself and inspired me in ways that I really needed, in a time when I didn’t feel so grounded or motivated.

Reconnecting to the Infinity of Your Being and Acknowledging Your Potential:

I believe that everyone, no matter how similar, is still unique and is here in this world, with his own higher purpose and ability to serve. We all have our own individual ways of dealing with so many daily concerns in our lives and also when we are faced with challenges.

Though often, we are deflected from our natural responses and intuition, due to pressures of what other people, the culture or society think as right and wrong, which we are conditioned to believe and thus we lead our lives based on these beliefs, which may or may not be true, but which may be in direct conflict with ourselves, or with our bodies, even when what we are doing is entirely within the boundaries of the regular social norms and established rules.

We, as humans, have lost our connection with Nature and our true infinite source. We are immersed in a world where most people are busy chasing hologram carrots outside and inside themselves, whilst the primordial beat still beckons us to dance with it.

So what is going on then? The problem isn’t so much about not having something you need in each moment; but most of the times, the issue is about that something vital being right there and our not being able to see it, as we have diffused this ability by being busily distracted by the things the world has labelled as our needs and our wants. Thus, we set off running in that direction without asking ourselves what it was we truly wished for, to begin with. We assume the role of a rolling stone that someone else pushed down a hill, or perhaps of a stone that is reluctant to move at all. And we keep rolling or keep remaining in the same place, until we realise that perhaps we have gone too far with it, and we realise we aren’t this stone at all.

What is Tarot then?

The tarot is a wonderful tool which helps illuminate a lot of aspects of the inner nature which you are probably not looking at, or perhaps you haven’t spent enough time observing yourself, or perhaps you have a blind-spot, or perhaps an inner faint voice has already told you about a particular decision you were making but you didn’t heed it. Tarot is the ear that heeds the faint inner voice, and the mouth that utters advice in an elaborate way of imagery and symbolism. Tarot is not fortune-telling. In fact, it gives a very rational view about emotions and choices involved in a situation and can also show probable outcomes from choosing certain things or by not choosing them. It can reveal any blocks that may be keeping you from achieving whatever it is you desire. There is a sound psychological advice that comes through tarot, which brings out another perspective, or an aspect we thought was hidden, not because it didn’t exist, but simply because we didn’t acknowledge it. It acts like a mirror for the innerness and undercurrents of your emotions, your mind and the dynamics of a situation. It brings forth solutions that are capable of connecting the dots to form a bigger picture that you were confused about earlier because it wasn’t complete. Tarot illuminates certain aspects that guide you to make the necessary changes in yourself or the environment, and gives you an opportunity to align your choices with your higher self.

The Tarot is very much rooted in the Now!

The Role of the Tarot Reader:

When I do tarot readings, I feel like my role here is that of a messenger. The tarot gives me the messages. My job is merely to carry them forth to you. I interpret them, from the whispering realms of the inner sanctum of my intuition and the cards, and pass them on to the seeker in the best way I can, with an honest and compassionate approach. In this way, we can come to better decisions, to look at life in a way filled with gratitude, where you the seeker is capable of turning their problems into challenges, their stress into an opportunity to learn and grow, where they don’t just survive to get through something but the learn to thrive and stay in their personal power, where they understand which factors are in their control and which ones aren’t, where they have the power to decide when to make a move and when to be still. In this way, they feel empowered and are able to love their life, in all its myriad landscapes, and be able to truly inspire others’ lives too.

Where there is no way, there is at least one way; and when there is one way, then there are many ways.

Our Role Together as Humanity:

Healing, growing and staying true to our hearts is the service we owe to ourselves and the world around us. Love, compassion and kindness are the highest forms of wisdom in a world that is so much in need of healing, and every small step toward that direction is what makes a huge difference: the butterfly effect.

Love your life, remain playful, and stay blessed. You are an infinite being with limitless potential!

Namaste.

Lots of Love and Gratitude!

~ Dakini Madhura