One Against Nature: A Tarot Self-Critique
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Mystical and spiritual types like to assert that they use tarot solely to tap into their self-awareness and self-improvement potential in the service of personal enlightenment. Fair enough, but going at it completely cold with nothing but the cards to compare ourselves to — no model or set of criteria defining excellence and imperfection — seems extremely inefficient. I decided to formalize it just a little. (All images are from the Thoth Tarot, copyright of US Games Systems Inc, Stamford, CT.)
First, I took a hard look at myself and selected six adjectives to describe what I saw: three of them represented the self-portrait I would paint if I were into self-flattery and self-promotion (although hopefully containing a kernel of truth), and the other three captured my unsparing self-critical opinion (once again trying for objective honesty).
Then I separated the court cards from a tarot deck and selected the six that best fit my descriptors. I laid these in two rows, one above the other: a “hearts-and-flowers” self-congratulatory row and a “mean-and-nasty” uncomplimentary row.
Finally, I shuffled all sixteen court cards and dealt six of them into two more rows beneath the first set; these showed what the Universe really thinks of me in those areas of self-analysis. (I didn’t use reversals although I could have.) This ideally gave me a no-nonsense snapshot of where I have to put more effort into being “the best I can be” and where I can kick back and relax. Let’s take a look!
I fired the first volley, and . . .
. . . the Universe fired back!
Hmm, it looks like the Universe thinks more of me than I do (“Dashing?” It must be the beard . . . ) and in some ways it seems to know me even better in the less-flattering categories. This suggests that I need to work on my social skills since I tend to be stand-offish, and perhaps cultivate a bit of humility. Nah . . . it’s not by accident that someone once told me I “reek of self-confidence.” Talk about a left-handed compliment! Good thing I’m not a sinistrophobe.
I believe I see a reasonable way to make this work for clients in a professional setting. I would create a multiple-choice form like the ones new patients fill out in a doctor’s office: “Have you ever had any of these medical conditions?” But instead of symptoms of illness it would cover a range of personality traits that the seeker would attempt to identify with just as I did in my example reading but in a more “guided” way. I would have them select three from “Column A” (desirable characteristics) and three from “Column B” (more problematic qualities) and then assign court cards to each one. If none of the pre-established attributes fit their self-image, I would ask them to suggest some that do. This input would serve to “stake out the playing field” according to the individual’s self-defined profile before the random cards are pulled. Then the Universe would have its say in the matter and the two would be compared for improvement opportunities.
I think two sets of six cards would be sufficiently comprehensive for any “psychological profiling” initiative that could be accomplished in a single sitting. Once the groundwork is laid, the pairs of cards can be read as a developmental track. Rather than assessing overall physical health, this effort would be aimed at preparing a broad mental/emotional snapshot of their approach to life and current state-of-mind that can then be used as a foundation for prompting self-discernment and self-enhancement.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on April 18, 2024.
