Tarot as a way to choose your own path
I am new to Tarot cards. I’ve had a few readings in the past, done by friends or, on one occasion, a Cannery Row psychic (which would be a great band name, by the way). I always looked at Tarot as one item in a collection of mystical practices that I felt neutral about, assuming you saw what you wanted to see when you gazed into the proverbial crystal ball.
As I’ve aged, navigating adulthood and my own mental health, I’ve done some research on the placebo effect. The placebo effect is particularly interesting because it illustrates the strength of our brains to change the way we perceive ourselves and the world. Our brain has significant ability to improve depression and physical pain without outside interference, as long as our brain believes those things should be improved, whether through cold plunges, mysticism, or ingesting an actual placebo.
This placebo effect is what caused me to pick up my Tarot deck today. A deck I keep on a shelf, rarely touching, but for some reason decided today was the day to do a reading. The tiny book that accompanies my deck is titled A Little Bit of Tarot: An Introduction to Reading Tarot, and it suggests that for your first reading you ask a question of the universe, shuffle your deck, draw three cards and place them face-down in a line, left to right. Then, using your third eye, hover your hands over these three cards and decide which to turn. Once flipped, meditate on the card you chose and write about what comes to you.
The question I asked the universe was, “will my online business make me financially independent?” I have a pet project of an online business that has, to date, made zero dollars. I still believe in it, and plan to continue with it, but my ultimate dream is for that business to replace my corporate income and allow me to free myself from a world in which I have to entertain the opinions of others in judging the value of my performance, my work, and myself. I’ve worked in tech for 13 years and at this point I am tired of the uncertainty of having a manager who could either build me up or completely destroy my quality of life. It’s not the way I thrive, so I’m hoping to change it.
The card I turned over in asking the universe to answer this question was the VIII Strength card. My knowledge of Tarot is limited so I turned to my deck companion book to help explain. The first sentence was, honestly, too good to be true:
“Strength is a good card for reassuring you that you will have the ability to achieve your goal and overcome obstacles if you persevere.”
Incredible. This was exactly what I was looking for. As I continued reading, more of the text stuck out to me, namely, “…don’t let anyone dissuade you from a course of action you feel is right.”
Upon reading this I felt inspired. I have always believed in my company, and now I had even more conviction to stay the course and continue my work, even if progress up to this point hadn’t been very impressive.
So now the real questions: is this Tarot reading truly an indicator of the future? Is my business destined to be successful? Or will it be successful now that I have further strength of conviction in it thanks to this Tarot reading? Will I achieve my goals through divine providence, or through the placebo effect lending me the strength and drive to do so?
I don’t know the answer, but internally I keep asking myself, why not both?
