I had been studying astrology for a few years when my teacher offered a seminar in reading the Tarot. Right away, I fell for these curious cards, but then again I fell in love with everything he taught us. A few weeks later I did a Tarot reading for my sister. She had introduced a new cat into her already busy feline household and was worried how they would adjust. I didn’t know any traditional Tarot spreads at the time so I made one up on the spot.

For some, reading Tarot cards really is fortune telling, like you’d see in the movies: woman in sparkly headscarf with crystal ball predicting a tall dark stranger on the horizon. For others, it’s a tool for personal development, that we gain insight into ourselves, others, and what the universe wants from us — just by asking a question.

For folks who consult the cards for guidance or ANSWERS, there is no question too big or too small. Even the daily affairs of the cats are a suitable query.

With this blog, I bring you:

–my take on individual Tarot cards
–unique Tarot spreads that you can try at home
–true stories from my life as a Tarot card reader

I also will answer “mailbag” questions and draw cards for the collective, including Tarot forecasts for your weekend. There will be other goodies too, of course, as the blog develops.

I hope you will leave your thoughts in the comments section so we can build a lively community here.

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Foolish or Fearless?

The Fool is the first card in the Tarot deck and thus where I want to begin. When you see The Fool, you know a beginning is brewing. You may not know where you’ll land or even where you’re going. Just that you ARE GOING. The Fool is a card of movement. Somehow life has brought you to this point and you are ready, willing, and able to leap.

Some say the Fool is, indeed, foolish. A fool for life. A fool IN life. We can’t even call him brave in his risk-taking. He doesn’t live by design; he lives by instinct, jumping off cliffs without a care. No master plan. No list of things to do. A touch of the rebel even. There are even older interpretations (from the 1700s) that viewed the Fool as crazy!

When I see this card? I know the querent is ready to move forward. I love that little dog by his side, featured in many renditions of this card. Dogs often symbolize loyalty. When you see The Fool, you know you have company for your journey.

The Fool could be a person in your life. The Fool could be a quality or mood that you encounter: childlike, free. The Fool could be you. There are shades of meaning galore for each Tarot card but it is the question asked, it is the moment itself, it is the card-spread chosen (or lack of one), it is the union of querent and card reader that usher in a mysterious process of meaning making.

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Aliza’s Rule Number One for Tarot Reading:
Learn the rules and then let them go. Walk off that cliff of the usual. Jump. Just like the Fool.

How do you see the Fool? Are you feeling the Fool in your life?