What's your tarot story?

My mom was always rather bohemian in spirit so Ouija boards were around as well as assorted statues of Greek Gods and a zillion books on every subject including witchcraft etc. When I was about 15 mom came home with a Hoi Polloi deck for me - I think she was more drawn by the hippy dippy look of the box than the idea of divination but that was all it took for me. Now 400 decks later I am still enthralled with Tarot.

tarotbear said:

It was the Ellen Cannon Reed's 'The Witches Tarot'. Although I don't recall all the cards of the spread, what set it off was (I do remember this card) the Two of Cups prominently popped up. In that deck it is a cliff/waterfall and the man is at the bottom gazing up at the woman who is at the top of the cliff - is carrying BOTH Cups- and is obviously running away from him. It was obvious that she was leading him on ...

Fortune is predicated upon such tiny terms as these!

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Hmm. Interesting depiction for the Two of Cups. Imho doesn't tell the whole story of the general theme but was obviously more than appropriate for the reading. Tarot wins again.

There are some interesting stories here. Mine, not so much, but I'll share anyway.

I was first introduced to the tarot by friend in college. She did a couple readings for me and I found it fascinating. Five years later, presently, I was going through some issues with a guy (still am) and I needed answers. Out of nowhere, the idea of trying tarot came to me. So I bought a deck (Gilded Tarot) and began by reading the book. In the meantime, I visited the local new age store just to get a reading cloth and ended up getting a reading. It helped me so much with my issue. The psychic also told me I have the intuitive gift (still yet to be fully realized) and that I should take up tarot. The rest is history.

For me things seem to unfold and progress like a story cut out from Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist with tarot. I was 14 when I first saw this 22 major arcana only deck in the bookstore, and I bought them because the illustration was really beautiful. Back then there wasn't so many tarot decks at my place and teenagers didn't get much pocket money to save up for their own tarot decks, and of course parents wouldn't buy the decks. I read about tarot online and got interested when an online friend from UK bought me Rachel Pollack's "The Forest of Souls", which inspired me a lot and left me hungry for more.

I was frustrated of not being able to own a full 78-card tarot deck, and then miraculously someone I knew from this community sent me my first full deck - the Fey tarot - all the way from US (I live in South East Asia). Then I fell in love with the Feys, learnt more about tarot, and as I grew older and save better I got myself more decks to play with.

Today when I look back at how it all started I still feel grateful and truly blessed. Just like the story of The Alchemist, once you started off on the right path, the whole universe will come to help you achieve it - that's exactly how I have always felt about tarot.

Aina said:

I just wanted to ask everyone: how did you end up doing tarot, what was the story?

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Tarot has been one of the greatest wonders of my life. It has lead me to so many other wonderful things too that it's somewhat sobering to me know to realize how much less my life would be now had I not found it.

For me it started about 10 years ago in a very difficult time in my life. I had just lost the man I loved most in my life, my true soul mate, for the second time. I was rather devastated at the time. I just did not know what to do or where to turn.

I did not believe in Tarot at all at the time or G-d to tell you the truth, atheist parents and upbringing that ridiculed that kind of thing. But I was desperate enough to try anything to find help at the time.

I found an online site called fascade.com, that offered free Tarot readings. And amazingly the cards that came up HELPED and were true reflections of my situation. I could not believe it. But consistently every day I went there to the site, they were that.

One day, the answers stopped working as well and very shortly afterwards I saw an ad for AT there on that site. It was talking about learning to read Tarot for yourself and I just got an overwhelming feeling that I HAD to do that. I just KNEW for some reason that I had to learn.

So yes, I came over there looked through the decks and found a couple that interested me and ordered them online and started reading posts and books on Tarot.

It has been a never ending fascination for me from the start. And I soon saw that there WAS something out there answering consistently, caringly and intelligently. There was no denying that for long, Tarot worked and that, to me, meant there was an intelligence that could answer us behind all this in the world. Which soon after I decided was a good definition of G-d so there must be one.

Learning Tarot was the start that lead me to explore many different spiritual paths and lead me to also believe in first faeires and then angels, the latter being a huge part of my life today.

I am so enriched by all this has brought to my life that its hard to believe I was the same person before as I am now. I am eternally grateful for all it has added to my life, all the beauty, joy, and peace of mind.

And yes it did help me out of my problem I was having when I started, and so many more since then,

Babs

Suriel said:

Today when I look back at how it all started I still feel grateful and truly blessed. Just like the story of The Alchemist, once you started off on the right path, the whole universe will come to help you achieve it - that's exactly how I have always felt about tarot.

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That is just beautiful and very much my view of how life works too. That is so true of Tarot in my experience too and of most things spiritual and even in other areas as well.

Babs

ravenest said:

Sounds like my 'Madam Whatsername's Persian Oracle' deck.

I love the art Madhubani work! (Guys, have a look on google 'Madhubani' > images )

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I looked and I was thinking that Madhubani inspired deck would be nice...

when I was about 13 I was quite obsessed with the paranormal and the occult, paganism and fortune telling. At about that age I found a "fortune telling" set in my local book shop downstairs. They wouldn't actually sell it to me under 16 and my parents had to buy it. It had a book, tarot cards, Iching and some other fortune telling things like dice, matches, coins etc. The tarot deck was all black and white and I think it might be a Marseilles clone. One day I will actually use AT to find out what it is. It was very hard to read (no illustrated pips) but I used the cards and looked up the meaning in the book. I bought a lot of books during that time about witchcraft, wicca/ paganism and tarot. Somewhere during that time I bought the RWS (still my fave deck today and so glad I got that one before the plastic version of now). I remember once taking the deck to high school and someone saw I was reading cards. They actually got interested and got my phone number and kept phoning for a reading about his gf who dumped him. I still looked up the meanings in books and never thought to use my intuition. I was trying to learn my meanings by heart myself. I remember using a word processor I copied in the info for every one of those cards from the little fortune telling kit book and used to do readings for friends and mail merge the spreads with the saved meanings.

I never thought at that time that I am not personalising it or doing it myself. I felt cut off from the tarot world and I was too shy to find out in London what there was. At 18 I fell ill to illness and so then couldn't! for some reason and I don't know why, I packed my tarot away at around 20 and just left it for more than 10 years! I never went to it during that time. I am not sure why!

2 years ago when I was 32 I suffered a horrendous year of mental health and health problems. My health was spiralling downwards and it sent me into a depression. The world really closed in on me. For some reason during that really bad time I went back to my RWS deck and picked it up. I started using it again to give me hope of things turning around and improving and things did start improving! During that time I used the internet and found loads of tarot resources. I kept finding great threads and discussions on here and decided one day to join! I think it was to read a forum that I couldn't see as a public lurker. I felt too shy to post on here and not confident to take part in any threads

The tarot has been brilliant since that awful year. Health things are not great still but I am so improved since that year and I have a sense of optimism. I am really glad I found the tarot because studying it has become a hobby and interest. It takes your mind off things but also I can see I have improved! I worked at something and things changed and my knowledge has become greater. So there is a confidence there. In this last year I have become more intuitive and spiritual and started to get messages come to me randomly.

I don't think I ever want to turn professional with it, its a hobby and interest but still working at it and improving each year to a whole new level

Since my teen years (late 80's to late 90's) tarot teaching has really changed. I used to read lots of books then and they were inflexible. You had to do things this way and cover your deck with silk and sleep with a new deck under the pillow. you must use celtic cross spread. Very inflexible and also I think the message in many books I read was that this is how you did tarot! It's interesting now though, I think the message is to go find your own way! It's much better to learn now and there is so many more resources!

Hey Daniel, Thanks for your story. It brought tears to my eyes both because I can empathise with some of it but also because you have the courage to move further in your journey past the times of adversity. Please be proud of your achievements. I'm sure many here will feel that way for you.

All the best in love and light

zhan.thay said:

Hey Daniel, Thanks for your story. It brought tears to my eyes both because I can empathise with some of it but also because you have the courage to move further in your journey past the times of adversity. Please be proud of your achievements. I'm sure many here will feel that way for you.

All the best in love and light

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Zhan!
I've talked to quite a few other readers and professionals and a high percentage tell me that the tarot was somehow healing for them. I think quite a few people stumble across it in difficult times and it helps them heal or work through their problems It's no coincidence when we find it in our lives.

thanks very much