DO YOU remember the moment you became interested in Tarot?

[greatdane]

I came late to tarot. I remember the incident that sparks my interest, before that, not even on my radar. A discussion re Jung and Alchemy. A friend was working on a paper, some research re Jung and Alchemy, I started looking at that, saw something about Jung and tarot, and before I knew it....I was on AT! It was like this, lead to this, lead to...here.

Didn't take many clicks online as I was researching to bring me to AT.

So...anyone want to share when they first realized they were interested in tarot? What incident immediately or eventually lead them here?

 

[Nemia]

YES.

I was 18 years old and met a girl I hadn't seen for many years. We stood in the middle of town and talked, and she asked me whether I wanted a tarot reading. You bet I did! We went to her room and she gave me a wonderful tarot reading that has stayed with me until today. I never forgot the main card of the reading, it was so beautiful, I loved it.

I lost contact to her again, and some years later, I saw a book on sale, Spiritual Tarot. I bought it, hoping to find the image I remembered. No such luck! I went into an esoteric bookshop, looked at decks and bought the first that I liked and that reminded me of the reading.

It was the Thoth but that meant nothing to me then.

I opened the deck at home and imagine my excitement when I found the card that had haunted me - it was Lust.

Since then, I have collected books and cards, done many readings for friends and strangers (via Internet, rarely in person, I'm shy and feel I'm not good enough), and tarot has become one of my main interests.

But I do remember the tingling in my spine when I said to Suzie on that corner in the middle of our town: OH YES I want to have my cards read!

 

[greatdane]

WHAT a COOL story, NEMIA!

I love how you remember exactly what incident lead to your interest. And it's a lovely story.

 

[Le Fanu]

My mum got an Encyclopedia of Magic and Superstition from a book club and there was a picture of an old lady reading with the Insight Institute Deck. Such a spooky picture, I remember. Then there were the titles of the TV show Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected - staple weekend viewing if you were growing up in the 70s in the UK. The titles had images of the 1jj Swiss.

I wanted to know more. So I decided to get myself to the local bookstore and I chose an Grimaud Etteilla and studied the LWB. The rest is history...

 

[greatdane]

Le Fanu I have a visual of a wee lad

pouring over his first tarot deck...

 

[celticnoodle]

As for reading the tarot--I also came onto it late in life--late 30s I guess. I did read playing cards, but also started that in my mid 30s. I had a friend who was also a psychic-medium and she read tarot. She kept trying to get me to read tarot too and I finally broke down and purchased a deck and began reading the tarot. Now I don't really remember how I read the playing cards anymore.

However, I was always exposed to tarot reading as my mom and her sisters read them, as did my grandmother and her sisters. It sort of runs in the family, I guess, reading the cards.

Sadly my family had this rule of never reading for the family members-- ( a rule I broke)--but my mom was pretty cool about taking us kids to other readers to have our cards read. I think I was about 12 or 13 yoa when I first had my cards read. We use to go maybe 2 or 3x a year, sometimes more. So, my interest in tarot (before reading the tarot) did start rather early, I guess.

 

[greatdane]

Wow Celticnoodle you did have

exposure to the cards early on.

And as for coming to tarot "late in life," I was in my late 50's, so you definitely got started before I did .

Really cool how your mother would take you to have your cards read as a kid!

 

[gregory]

I was annoyed with my SO. The rest is history.

 

[greatdane]

ahahahahah Gregory!

THAT post just made my day. Now THAT is an interesting way to come to tarot.

 

[celticnoodle]

exposure to the cards early on.

And as for coming to tarot "late in life," I was in my late 50's, so you definitely got started before I did .

Really cool how your mother would take you to have your cards read as a kid!

yeah, she actually had her moments of coolness. I was even younger then that and my grandmother would let me have some tea with her and her client there for a tea leaf reading. But my tea was always strained because I didn't like the leaves then. I can remember sitting in the chair at the table in the kitchen on my knees and drinking tea with them and having to be quiet when my Nanny began to read the leaves.

We kids loved it when this side of the family got together for a visit. They'd all sit around the table drinking tea and coffee and tell all their fantastic tales of what spirit visited them, what was told to them, and what they were predicting. One family member psychic was always recording them and we were allowed to listen to help identify the spirits if we could.
(those tapes I do have!) these family members were really interesting--and you could never visit some of the homes (ours included) without seeing the shadows and hearing the spirits................ definitely enough to keep us kids in bed at night!

But, this is a tarot thread. I so wish my aunt would've read my cards as we always heard that she was REALLY good. And, I wish I had those cards too! I can imagine the energy left on them from her.