Tarot

Reading the darker side of Tarot

I’ve been starting to read oracle cards and Tarot at metaphysical fairs and one of the fascinating trends I’ve observed has come in the form of people who get readings from me and ask me not to pull any punches with the reading. One recent customer shared with me that they didn’t want me to filter my reading for them in any way. I never filter my readings anyway and explained that to my customer but it got me to ask them a question in turn.

“Why do you think people filter their readings?”

“They probably don’t want to deliver bad news or share something that will make someone uncomfortable.”

I nodded and took that in and gave them their reading. I can’t really speak to the experiences that anyone else has around giving or receiving readings but in my own experience of giving readings I’ve always opted for trusting my intuition and telling the person what I’m actually getting about the situation. I trust that if anyone else have given me a reading they have done the same.

The exchange got me thinking about reading the darker side of Tarot and Oracle cards. In some cases you find that reading through reversals, but I actually think you can look at a given card in of itself and regardless of what the position is you can read it and look at all the angles.

For instance, if I look at the Hanged Man, the positive perspective I can take is that the Hanged Man represents presence, being still in the moment, and cultivating awareness. The shadow side of the Hanged Man could represent blockages and obstacles both internal and external. Both the shadow and the gold are present within any given kind of reading and yet it’s up to the reader and readee to determine what applies for a given situation. The way we read a situation matters because it tells what we can learn from that situation and the same applies to a Tarot/oracle reading. The most important skill you can cultivate in divination is learning to look beyond the surface meanings of a card, so you can read into the card and how it relates to the overall experience.

Want a reading from me? Schedule one at this link, and let me show you what happens when you combine two different decks for your reading.

How I'm using Tarot to curb my impulsiveness

One of my faults and flaws is that I tend to be an impulsive person. I sometimes make decisions on the fly, in the heat of the moment, without fully considering the ramifications of those decisions. I feel my emotions deeply, and this can be both a good and bad thing. It can be good because of the depth of emotion and the richness that depth brings with it. It can be bad, when those deep emotions take over every other consideration.

Of late, I’ve been feeling my emotions very keenly because of the life transitions I’ve been going through. Trying to find balance with those emotions has been tough, because of how deeply I’m feeling them and I’ve taken this into account by starting a new practice that I’m going to continue for the rest of my life.

Magical Experiments Podcast: Tarot and Spell casting with Elise Oursa

In this episode Elise Oursa and I discuss how to mediate and work with spirits, how to work with Tarot and the finer pragmatic details of creating change in your life with spells.

Elise's Website is http://www.eliseoursa.com

and her facebook group is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cardsncoffee

Elise's new tarot deck Blood and Ink will be available for pre-order soon!