Secret Adventures

So frequently it happens that when a person sits down for a reading, one of the things they say is "I wonder if I am going to get the Devil" or "I hope I don't get the Tower" or "I hope I can get through this reading without getting the Death card" and I wonder if they don't secretly wish that they do get these cards.

Why? These cards all presage a change and present some dramatic issue that is up for examination. While people may profess to not want these things, they may actually be desiring them. "How can this be?" you ask. For example, some people are in an unhappy marriage, but they don't want to be the one who files for divorce, so they are relieved when the other person does it. Some people may feel stuck in their current job and the only good thing that they have to say about it is that it gets them a regular paycheck. So when the company decides to lay some people off, merge with another company or close a facility, in a way they are relieved. They may dread the prospect of having to look for a new job, or become single again, but secretly they feel the excitement of the challenge, of the new opportunities. Once the initial shock and dismay have worn off, the world is full of exciting prospects. Of course, it will feel much better once that person begins dating again or finds another job that might even be more interesting or more pleasant.

That in turn gives way to three cards that people also puzzle over or feel that they may not be up to: The Fool, The Magician and The High Priestess. These represent the next stage of life that the person is presented with. Often times we sell ourselves short. We may think that we are not capable of greater success or more love, ecstatic joy or noteworthy achievements. Yet, how often is it true that we simply have to remove our own blockages, give ourselves permission to do what we want, take that project off the back burner and move it to the front burner raise our self esteem and claim our space?

In this stage of our evolution, we no longer care that the choir director told us that we were not good singers when we were young, and we cut loose and sing whatever we want, anyway we want and people tell us that they enjoy hearing it. This is the time of life where we set the spread sheets aside and write stories or poetry that other people enjoy reading. This is the stage of life where we just get comfortable in our own bodies and wear what we want feeling that we are just as attractive as anyone in the world, even though in earlier situation, it was always someone else who got the attention for their looks. These three cards remind us that we should dare to be whatever we want to be before we die. They remind us that grasping every opportunity for happiness is a challenge and a pleasure. It is life affirming to be a risk taker, and to dare to have our way in the world.

Within each person is a secret adventurer, and that is why people profess to dread the appearance of Death, the Devil and the Tower, and beam when seeing the Fool, Magician and High Priestess. Life is a road we travel, and tarot images are maps and signposts along the way.