TAROT LESSONS

19131009homeworkSome of us tend to read the tarot booklet instructions back to back because we need explanations, true guidance from a teacher or a friend who is more expert than we are. Tarot lessons can be fun and interesting and it is great to be inspired by a teacher who has a handle on the history of tarot and the meanings of each card.

Trusting the Tarot

But the more intuitive amongst us might just prefer to take the tarot pack in our left hand and hold it to our hearts, trusting that the images we receive when we read for someone will come from a higher and compassionate source. We might also take to all of the cards like a “duck to water” and really not need tarot lessons to understand what they mean. Certainly the empath, the clairvoyant or the medium amongst us will use the tarot simply as a bridge between the material and spiritual worlds. The empath does not see tarot as an end in itself, but rather as a tool of connection to All That Is, to the Divine or the mystical worlds. She looks on a tarot deck like a rocket that takes her to the moon. And once there, she knows what she is doing, in other words she accesses her magical instinctive knowledge and spiritual knowing. She allows the tarot cards to act as portals that open out into the soul of the client and help her guide them forwards in life.

In fact, often the most amazing readings are done by people who never had tarot lessons in their life and take no notice of the instructions, the history of tarot and “all that jazz”; they just open their hearts to guidance and let the tarot images do the rest.

Kooch and Victor Daniels

However, if you are interested in tarot lessons and learning as much as you can, there are some intriguing books that will help you gain more knowledge. One of those books is the Tarot D’Amour by Kooch N Daniels and Victor Daniels, two very powerful intuitives who have written a treatise on love issues. They say “Our focus is on presenting material that soothes, stimulates and awakens emotional and sexual understanding through learning and interpreting the tarot”. The Koochs’ are husband and wife, he is a professor of psychology and she has been using the tarot for personal growth for many years. The combination is dynamite.

The blurb on the back cover says “Tarot D’Amour explores love, sex and romance through the cards. It’s the only tarot book to present sexual interpretations, as well as an exploration of the romantic and emotional meaning for every card in the deck.” For those of us who are interested in fathoming our own Eros therefore, it is a good read. For the professionals amongst us it is a useful book of reference, for those seeking tarot lessons it is a great learning tool.

Sarah Bartlett

Another book that could help those who wish to avoid paying a teacher for tarot lessons, is the Tarot Bible by Sarah Bartlett, The Definitive Guide to the Cards and Spreads. The book is well presented with the history of the tarot, a description of the various style tarot decks we can buy and some wonderful layout examples in the back pages. Layouts like “How Do I Find Love?” “Letting Go of the Past” and “What do I need to Learn?” are well presented, easy to use and in-depth. The descriptions of the cards are also simple to comprehend and the chapter on the tarot deck and its structure is especially informative.

But for those of you who still would like to take lessons from a bona fide teacher, seek out a reputable psychic college and a teacher with a good reputation, make sure that she or he has overcome ego issues and is teaching from the heart. Tarot needs compassionate instruction, old style “rapping of knuckles” methods are not appropriate. The teacher will also be open to magical and metaphysical instruction on her teaching timetable.

The tarot is a heart based instrument of spiritual knowledge, its purpose is to guide us not only into the future but into the more complex facets of life, our souls and mystical evolution. The tarot pack could be the Hermit Card itself, the mystical wise man, who has travelled with his lantern of “knowledge” leads us to examining the deeper recesses of spirit and the souls of others. Tarot is a gift to the world, its most important tarot lessons are to access a deep love of and respect of the self. That is its true healing magic.