Yesterday, I hosted a group of people in my space here in Guelph to offer an Introduction to Evolutionary Tarot, the way that I enjoy working with people over the cards. The experience was good for me in that it helped me to articulate more clearly some basic tenets of this way of looking at and using the tarot. This list of premises is a work in progress, a living process, just like we are. May this current version be of value to you in clarifying your own way of being with the tarot and/or in knowing more about how I work so you can book a session with me or take a class or workshop.
Basic Tenets of Evolutionary Tarot (as of November, 2013)
- The tarot is not a belief system; it is simply a tool.
- All tarot cards are neutral symbols. There are no “good” cards and there are no “bad” cards. The card symbols are enlivened by the questions, processes, templates, life experiences, and understanding that we take to them.
- Neither the cards nor “fate” make things happen; people make things happen.
- Rather than considering a tarot card concept as a noun, it can be helpful to consider it as a verb or process. E.g. Rather than say, “I’m a High Priestess”, one might say, “I’m High Priestessing.”
- Rather than considering a tarot card concept as a blanket statement, it can be helpful to consider it as an open-ended question. E.g. “The Ace of Pentacles says that you’re successful” can become “The Ace of Pentacles asks, ‘What personal definition of success have you cultivated in response to this endeavour?’”
- The tarot practitioner is simply a guide; the person or group who is the subject of the tarot encounter is her/his/its own best expert on her/his/its life. The tarot encounter is a catalyst for her/him/it to tap into this personal expertise.
- The fundamental questions that underlie the tarot encounter include: Who am I? What questions do I carry in this lifetime? What is my full potential as a human being? What script can I write in order to become this? What are my unique qualities and gifts? How can I share these with my community and the world in a life-affirming manner? What do I most need to know or learn at this time?
- The tarot encounter’s primary aim is the intensification of a person’s consciousness or self-awareness. It is an invitation to empowerment.
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Image: Trump XX — Judgement — from the Builder of the Adytum Tarot by Jessie Burns Parke and Paul Foster Case.
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