(This is copied from the downloadable form that I got with the course. You can sign up for the course here, and so far I would highly recommend it.)
The Alternative Tarot Course
Week 1: What is tarot?
I first came across tarot when…
I don’t honestly remember. It’s one of those background awareness things, like palm reading and roasting a chicken, that I don’t really remember initially coming across. It’s such a common part of popular culture.
The reason I want to learn tarot is…
Because I have been struggling significantly in the last little while, and I feel like I really need some ritual, and some externalization of my inner turmoil, and some help focusing and figuring myself out. It also feels like something that can become an important part of my spiritual practice, and I’m looking forward to that.
Here’s how I feel about learning tarot in three words:
Excited, ambivalent, awkward.
Tarot’s main purpose (for me) is…
Providing a physical, emotional and mental space for looking at challenges from different angles, and for seeing myself and my situation with new perspectives, and as a way to engage mindfully with myself and the world around me, and the challenges that I’m facing. Tarot has also been hugely helpful for me in interrupting anxiety spirals and panic attacks, because it forces me to slow down, think through what I’m actually anxious about in order to ask the question, and look at the situation with a bit of calm observation as I read the cards.
Here are some things I don’t believe about tarot:
I don’t believe tarot is magic. (I don’t believe in magic, but I do believe in metaphor.) I don’t believe it can predict the future or set a path.
I think the most important qualities for a tarot reader are:
Compassionate interpretation, and a willingness to sit with uncomfortable realizations.
In learning tarot, I hope to…
Learn more about myself, and become more comfortable with the things I can’t control. To learn how to “allow, allow, allow” and to welcome ease and grace into my life. To become more observant, and more mindful in my actions.
I think my main challenges will be…
Honestly, I think my main challenge will be that I want a specific future for myself and I want to read that future into each spread. My biggest challenge will be remaining open to what is, rather than trying to force my situation to be something that it isn’t.
But I will try to overcome them by…
Being mindful of this desire, and trying to gently let go when I notice myself clinging tightly.
Queen of Cups 