Example Of Essay On Tarot Cards

Fortune telling is an appealing concept. Wouldn’t it be nice to know what lies in store for you ahead so that you can prepare for it and deal with it appropriately? Many people are drawn to the idea, having their palms read, seeing fortune tellers, even using magic 8 balls. One interesting method of fortune telling is tarot.
A tarot card reader is a type of fortune teller, but they are limited by what the cards tell them. The deck consists of 78 cards, split into two groups: the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana is 14 “face” cards. These cards tend to be the ones depicted most in popular culture, because they symbolize characters: the Hanged Man, the High Priestess, the Magician, etc. The 56 cards of the Minor Arcana are split up into four different suits: swords, wands, coins and cups. Each card has specific meanings, and based on these meanings, proximity to other cards, and position in the spread, the tarot reader can form a narrative to guide the person they are doing the reading for in interpreting the meaning of the cards in the overall reading.
In order to learn more about tarot, I decided, as the basis of my interview, to undergo a reading. I thought, what better way to learn about it than to actually do it and ask questions along the way? I found a local woman who reads tarot cards. She was very informative about the process and answered all of my questions throughout.
Then she had me draw six cards, one at a time. She placed them upside down in a specific order on the table, with the first card covering the significator. She told me that the order is very important because the meaning changes depending on the placement of the card in the reading. Then we got started.
I was of course shocked and frightened when the first card, the one covering the significator was turned upward and I saw it had the devil on it. But she quickly assured me that I didn’t need to worry, the card can mean several things. She said it signified my general environment, and that it probably meant more that I was surrounded by extraordinary challenges at the moment. She suggested I needed a more positive environment day-to-day.
The second card represents obstacles. The tarot reader turned it up for me, and it was an two of pentacles, which she said represented recreation and the ability to relax and enjoy yourself. She told me I needed to take the time to do this more in order to overcome the obstacle.
The third card represents the best that can be achieved. This card turned out to be the six of wands, which she said was very good, as it represents triumph, victory, and royalty.
The fourth card goes below the significator, and the woman told me it represented the tools at my disposal for achievement. This card was Temperance, which she told me basically symbolized exactly what you would think temperance would. She said the best resources I had at my disposal were economy, moderation, and frugality.
The fifth card symbolizes what is in the past and being moved away from. For this card, I had drawn a five of cups, which she told me indicated loss, perhaps the death of a loved one.
The sixth card symbolizes what is to come. For this card, I drew the Chariot. She said this symbolized eventual victory, even though it could also indicate a struggle to get there because of its association with war.
We then stopped to discuss the overall meaning of what the spread could mean in terms of what is currently happening in my life. As this was a rather personal discussion, I’d rather not go into detail, but suffice it to say, the information was actually quite useful. I almost felt more like I was at a councillor’s office than a fortune teller’s table. After that, there were four more cards to be drawn and placed upside down on the left. These all had specific meanings too, and she said they would shed more light on how I should be going forward. The first symbolized my attitude about things; the second symbolized my surroundings; the third represented my hopes and fears; and the final card, she said, showed what the outcome will be. We went over these each on their own as they were turned up individually, and then looked over and discussed the whole spread in relation to my life. It really was a mind-opening experience.
While I think a lot of the insights that she drew about me were perhaps gleaned from pieces of information I gave her freely, body language, etc., it really surprised me how fulfilling the experience was. I did not feel like it was a “scam” at all- just perhaps a strange way of advising people how they should approach difficult matters in their lives. It was definitely an eye-opening experience.