Drawing Yourself into the Tarot

You’re likely familiar with the idea of drawing Tarot cards. If you haven’t experienced this, YouTube and social media feeds are full of examples. Tarotists like myself offer this as a service.  Shuffle a deck, visualize a question or a quandary, predetermine a layout for your cards and draw one, two or any number of cards and have them tell a story.

This is an effective and popular way of working with the Tarot.

But what about drawing yourself INTO the Tarot?

It is very common for images to populate the Major and Minor Arcana on modern decks. These images are typically related to the meaning of the card. Let’s use these images to draw on the energy that we need.

Allow me to provide one personal example. A few weeks ago, I received an email that didn’t sit well with me. It contained negative language, was confrontational towards others and, was neither productive nor conducive to anything positive. No matter how hard I tried, its contents ran through my mind over and over. I couldn’t let it go. I needed to respond, but I knew I would struggle with my response as the content from the email kept resonating in my ear.

Bring on the King of Swords! Because I know the images of the RWS deck so well, I conjured up the image of the King of Swords. He is the wisest of the courts. He is the ultimate decision maker and does not mince words. and… he carries a sword! I needed to draw on his wisdom.

I closed my eyes and visualized the king. I pictured him rising from his throne and intensely looking over the words from my email. Then, placing both hands on the hilt of his sword, he raised it over his head and cut the contents of the email to pieces.

The block that was preventing me from responding was gone. I sat at my keyboard, drew on the energy just released by the King of Swords, composed a brief response addressing only the issues, kept any emotions in check and was done with it!

Here are some other possibilities:

Maybe you’re struggling to get over a lost love who has moved on. Imagine the 3 of swords, often portrayed as 3 blades piercing a heart. It often represents heartache, sorrow and jealousy. No reason why you can’t close your eyes, pull out each sword in turn, toss the broken heart aside and move on.

Not sure what future your career might hold? Visualize the 2 of wands, standing at the edge of a garden with the world in hand. Now imagine the possibilities your future holds passing by in the distance. Can you see your new shopfront? Office space? Perhaps the results of your hard work? An opportunity to learn a new skill? The collection of art work, music, or repertoire that you’ve crafted? Hold that image and carry it with you.

The Tarot can be a powerful tool for reflection and guidance.  Drawing daily cards and to focus on their interpretation can help you clarify questions or issues for yourself and others. But using the images as scenes or tableaus can also provide you with much needed support.

Can you think of a situation where you might use the images from your Tarot deck?