Understanding the Expanding and Evolving Consciousness of the Tarot

It has been awhile since I sat down to share some new information. These days, the pressure cooker of emotions and the many changes calling to our lives, are amped and pushing us a hyperspeed.

Lately, I have been receiving many emails and questions about the Tarot, and the fear and concern for what is being read in a Tarot reading. As this energy has been very strong, I felt the need to sit and share what I have learned and discovered on my 27 year journey, especially with the Tarot. Once I became proficient in connecting to my intuition, I began to let the essence of the Tarot, to guide me to the right place for understanding.

Back in the day, when "negative" cards or the Death, Devil and Tower cards came up in a tarot spread, there was much fear about what these cards meant and how these cards could affect our lives from a very negative perspective ~ accepting the meaning in a very literal sense, until you wanted to go back to bad, with the blankets over your head.

That was the time...not a good thing or a bad thing, just the understanding of the times and where we were in our understanding in that day.

As shared in other articles on the Tarot, it took me a year to learn the meanings and learn how to utilize the Tarot spreads and watch how the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

Admittedly, once I got the hang of reading for others (whether teaching the Tarot, or reading at the psychic fairs) I thought that this was it...I was set and I could carve my little niche into this corner of the earth...NOT!

As my life journey began to unfold and things began to look and appear messy ~ at least to my limited view at the time, I became desparate and fearful to the changes happening in my life.

Back in the day, I was a true collector of different Tarot Decks. I loved the Tarot and the story they could tell.

While visiting Salem Mass and having a reading with Laurie Cabot, I happen to notice the cards she was using in my reading. It was the Alliester Crowley Thoth Tarot. I was immediately drawn to them...I had to have them.

Many frowned on my choice of cards, however, at this point I had been teaching the tarot for quite a few years and understood when certain cards were calling to me, so I listened and purchased the cards.

Thank God I did. These cards were my life saving to the shifts in consciousness that I began to experience.

I would soon discover that the "negative" cards and the Death, Devil and Tower cards were cards to applaud for their purpose and their use, to the many changes coming to my life.

These cards especially began to teach me about my shadow side and where I needed to bring understanding and awareness to my expanding consciousness.

I would soon learn that when I did layouts with Alleister's cards, I did not need reversed positions, as these cards explained and guided me to a place of deep intuition, to understand what was happening in my shadow/ego side and it would teach and guide me into understanding how to utilize the meanings to their fullest advantage.

The changes that came into my life were many and the fear was front and center to all that I was experiencing, however, I began to have a deep and profound respect for what the cards were guiding me to understand.

We are now in 2011 and there are many changes taking place in our lives and on the planet. Yes, some of these changes can bring the fear right up, to the point of stopping dead in our tracks and scream "OMG", what on earth is happening?

Now with that being shared, what is happening is when we see the so called "negative" cards or the Death, Devil and Tower and any other cards that strike fear within you, in that moment, go deeper, as the cards do guide you to a deeper, more evolved and expanded place of knowing...you just can't be afraid to ask the questions, that need asking. (And be careful if another is reading for you and they present the "negatives" from a time back in the dark ages. Remember, this time we are in is about coming back into wholeness, learning about our inner knowing and expanding and evolving our consciousness.)

Chances are, something is coming up from your shadow side, that you may have forgotten about yourself. Or better yet, are you giving your energy away and not honoring what your needs are? Do you run yourself into busyness, until there is absolutely no energy left to just breathe?

In this day, now...the Tarot is no longer about the meanings of yesterday, in terms of just seeing the negatives. The negatives now represent our shadow side and the deeper journey of bringing all aspects back into wholeness, so that we are able to live a more heart centered and soul guided life...

The changes taking place on the planet and in our lives, yes, it looks bad, but looks can be deceiving. We are all being called to slow down, tune in and ask what is the most resonant path for our life.

The cards are there to teach, guide and assist our intuition in becoming clearer to understand, so that we can tune in to what is the best path or course of action to the life changes coming to us now.

So, the next time you have a reading or do a reading for yourself, and the scary cards come up, take a deep breath and ask what parts of yourself you have forgotten. When going to a reader, look for one through word of mouth and look for a good one.

Careful on predictions and outcomes, only because we are all entering into a place of our unfolding journey, where we want to be present to what our soul wants to share with us and where we are meant to go in our lives.

Gather your information, do your homework, learn as much as you can about yourself and try not to give your power and energy away.

A reader/teacher is as good as the life experiences that they are having and how they clear, align and ground to their own soul blueprinted knowing, which is available to all of us.

The Tarot, is there to guide us to a deeper place of understanding, to learn how to tune in to our own inner knowing/intuition.

Keep your mind and heart open and flexible to the possiblities of expanding and evolving your consciousness, for this is where you will find your soul blueprinted knowing speaking to you.

The negatives are there to teach us how to come back into balance and wholeness within ourselves. Let's face it, there may be times in our life where we picked up a pattern or behavior that was not ours, but anothers. When this happens, life may come knocking at our emotional doors, to guide us back to our own path, own life and journey.

So the next time you see a negative card come up, ask what is the truest understanding to bring you back into heart centered awareness...ask those questions, go deeper and go deeper some more. Ask questions, as many as you can about what you have forgotten about yourself or the purpose of your experiences, which sometimes are not easy. Build that bridge between your heart and your mind and with practice, you will begin to understand how to align to your deeper inner knowing.

The Tarot, when the heart and mind are open to the infinite possibilities of understanding are there to guide, teach and align us on our journey to inner knowing.

One final note:
Keep in mind, that in this sharing, the rough edges of my journey have been worked out consistently, but trust me when I share, there were many times in my journey, that what was coming was so intense, so painful and so deep, that it would be in those moments that I would pull my cards and my journal and go on an inner journey towards understanding.

It would take many disciplined, focused and committed years to this process, before I would have the results to understanding and what I am able to write and share at this time.

The climb out of the dark places of fear are not always easy, but if we find helpful and healthy ways to expand our understanding of pain and fear, the results will come...choose wisely where you seek guidance and understanding. The payoff to the journey will be well worth your newfound understanding.