A way to approach reading cards

If my little brother asked me how to read cards for himself, I would tell him that in short: you're applying card meanings to some aspect of life with the goal of finding new ways of seeing it.

So, you're using one thing to explore another: just like you would use a flashlight to explore a dark cave.

The cards are the flashlight, the cave is whatever it is that you're wondering over: some aspect of your own life, or someone else's life, or the world in general. Whether you read cards for yourself or another, the idea is the same. Your question is like the cave. The cards that you draw are the flashlight. The cards can shine light into the cave, but you still have look, and notice. And different people may shine the same flashlight differently, so your specific way of reading is absolutely worth it (and maybe even helps you to grow, even if it takes a little while to start to get comfy doing this).

How do you find the cave to explore? Notice what's on your own mind. (The question doesn't have to be specific, it can be general, like: what's today going to be like? Or it can be extremely tailored to your own feelings at this moment, like: I've been wondering whether I should stay in this relationship because I feel more excited about a different person, but at the same time am I going to keep dropping people every time I feel a new emotion for someone, and at the same time could I see both of them at once, or how can I approach this? And the goal isn't to find the one true answer, like magic, but to check out the different sides of how you feel yourself, in a guided way; same time you might be surprised at what you find when you really explore).

How do you turn the flashlight on? Give yourself space to just look at the cards.

How do you shine the light inside? Notice what comes up (comes to mind) when you look at a card or combination of cards. At the same time: you're also thinking about your question on some level. And then just see what happens. Slowly or quickly, you can start to trust what you find.

The goal -- I'd suggest to my brother -- isn't to find the one magical answer by reading cards. Rather, it's to use the cards to explore your own knowledge, your own desire, your own feelings. Beyond that, who knows? Like anything else tarot cards can be mystical or entirely mundane. Remember, I'd tell him: there have been mystics, but also artists, and therapists, and tons of other people who've found inspiration in these same cards.

Maybe the cards offer a way to let one part of yourself teach another.

And remember! Nothing is binding. It's all just information. You can chose to do with it what you will.

A random example

A random example:

Let's say my lease is almost up, and I'm wondering if I should move to a new place. Or, more abstractly: should I press ahead right now, or relax and pull back a little, and wait before making a move? Or even more abstractly: should I go this way or that way?

I decide to make it simple: I'll draw two cards. One will represent this way and one will represent that way.

I draw this one for this way:

And I draw this one for that way:

Seems obvious! The sun card is bright, positive: it's the sun! While the death card is horrifying: it's death!

And yet. What if you're looking at these cards -- thinking on what it could mean to go this way or that way -- and you realize that you're ready to end something. Like, really ready. And suddenly the death card, which can easily imply a firm ending, begins to feel more like the route. Maybe you feel a slight tug toward that card and it confuses you. But you don't really want to celebrate with the sun, you want to end something. And you're judging this by how you feel when you look at the cards and think about your situation.

Remember, I'd remind my brother: the sun card and the death card, just like all the other cards, can mean different things at different times for different people. These are old images: archetypes that have held and will continue to hold new meanings for many people for a long time. Trust yourself! You can look the traditional meanings up online, but maybe take them as a starting point, rather than a boundary.

So that's one small example of how you could do a quick reading to analyze your own feelings.

Go to it

In the end, I'd advise my brother: give it a try. Draw some cards. Look at them for a while. See what happens. Feel totally free to make your own game of this.

Because in the end the cards are what you make them. If it's helpful, here's another metaphor to go along with the flashlight / cave:-- the cards can be like tracks into, and back out from, your own awareness. Maybe there's a ton of knowledge in you already: from your own experiences, from what's been passed down. It's a big sea of knowledge! How best to learn from it? Specific cards can offer different paths into yourself, in this way of looking at it. And then it's up to you to follow along until you find a helpful perspective.

What happens afterward? Maybe the reading stays with you. Maybe it fades, all at once or in stages. It's all perfect. In the end, if you get into reading cards, you'll likely find that some readings turn out to be meaningful while others pass like air.

Ok peace.

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Notes !

• What are some more questions? Like, what are we "asking the cards" about? Anything, really. Will this relationship work out? Should I look for a new job? What will this coming season be like? How can I make this year more meaningful? How can I understand some part of my past that keeps sticking out? What's most important to me right now? Etc...

• It's beyond the scope of this mini-essay to talk about what it means to "ask the cards" anything in the first place. Like is it some strange mystical belief? We will post our thoughts on that subject as we go, but the quick answer is: no, unless you want to play that kind of game. For me personally, the cards help me to focus my own feelings, and maybe draw out new concepts form within myself; which feels (for me) more like a thoughtful meditation, or a self-therapy session, than mysticism. But I have close friends who take the cards as actual magic. It's up to you and your own personality. The more we all bring to this practice, the more it can hold.

• Depicted tarot cards are from the "PAM-A" version of the classic pack drawn by Pamela Coleman Smith along with Arthur Edward Waite.