A Page of Dreams: Psychology of Tarot, Symbols, and Numbers

DISCLAIMER: My first set of cards were granted to me by my mother, the same woman who gave me my first astrology book: a great, weathered tome documenting each day of the year in remarkable detail, featuring sections on career, friendships, romance, personality, and general fortune, with each date having its own two-page spread. I studied astrology long before I learned about tarot, so my practice is heavily influenced by it and its psychosocial concepts of group identification and symbolism. I say this to acknowledge that not everyone needs to use the principles or traits of astrology in their readings , but my blog will refer to planets and symbols of the practice. I also want to acknowledge that tarot has a LOT of moving parts that I simply won’t be able to address in one blog. So, don’t worry if I leave you with questions; instead, use that confusion to inspire you to read on. I wanted to start with the Minor Arcana last week, but I also don’t want these posts to get too long. Ho...

 I’ve always struggled with confronting myself and admitting who I am to people. It’s been easier to slip into whatever role people need me to be than to really consider who I am and what behaviors I want to express myself with. When I became an adult and questions of identity were constantly at the forefront, I struggled. I didn’t seem to have the language or knowledge to navigate how challenging things felt, how complex my feelings were, and how directionless I was. I had spent my childhood just trying to not get on people’s nerves, and now I was supposed to “find and be my true self”? How?   It became tough to tell if I should or shouldn’t stay at a job, in a relationship, in school, doing a hobby. I felt guilty for not doing enough, and then I felt terrible for burning myself out on productivity. All the while, I could only express myself in passionate rants, scribbled journal entries, quiet sighs of exhaustion; I simply didn’t have the tools to fix the problems, only ...

  Tarot as Self-Reflection Understanding Yourself     The caterpillar takes a puff, cocooning his face in bands of smoke, "Who are you?" ...     When you are reflecting upon yourself, what comes to mind? There are so many facets to us as people: our hobbies, our culture, our ancestry, our environment, our relationships, our gender, our goals. You may view yourself as an independent being, or you may be heavily affected by your environment. You may define yourself by your achievements or actions, or maybe you identify more with your thoughts, values, and aspirations. You may even consider yourself a person who doesn't believe in neo-spiritual mumbo jumbo scammy stereotypical fortune tellers. And, if you are, don't worry. You will not find scams nor fortune tellers here.      What you will find in this blog is an attempt to explore how certain motifs in our culture connect directly to personal parts of ourselves.     There is a lot of misu...