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Tarot for Self-Improvement

Looking at both the history of the Tarot's major arcana and the use of folktales, imagery, and language to create archetypes through which various elements of the human condition are manifested, I've found that Tarot can be a very useful tool for self-reflection and self-improvement.

The Major Arcana of the Tarot are the original story cards found in the earliest French tarot playing card decks. The trumps are laid out sequentially and illustrate the essential human condition - the struggle every person must take on when confronted with a difficult decision or crossroads. The story of the trumps reflects the cyclical nature of humanity itself, both as individuals and as whole societies.

Life is never in stasis. Things are always changing around us, and it is truly how we handle these changes which makes our character. In the Tarot story, there is a redemption arc, just as there is in real life. After all, every time you make a mistake, you have an opportunity for redemption through self-improvement. Even though the original French trumps reflect a clearly Catholic worldview, the essential language transcends the foreign religion imposed on the West, tapping into the philosophical truths on which white, western civilization has been premised since time immemorial.

As a tool of self-improvement, every Tarot card offers a profound message to the reader. The truths in the cards are deceptively simple and basic - they are truths we all know, but easily forget, and the cards serve as reminders that these truths are immutable and ever-present.

The guidance offered by a Tarot reading is intentionally vague, because every person and every situation is unique. It's impossible to create an objective, explicit message when the question is necessarily deeply subjective. For some people, the idea of such ambiguity is difficult to accept, because a clear message is much easier to believe than a muddled one. The messages found in a reading are only as vague as you wish them to be. Approach self-readings with an open mind and a desire for guidance from both your own unconsciousness, and the energies that are eternally present in our universe.

Addendum:

the energies that are eternally present in our universe

I re-read the stuff I write on the regular, and I realized this kind of contradicts the section on channeling spirits. What I mean by guidance from the universe isn't about working with sentient entities, beings, spirits, or forces. It's more that the way things go isn't ever as under our own control as we'd like, and reading Tarot for your own introspection and self-improvement is an excellent way of reinforcing the wisdom of discerning between that which you can control, and that which is effectively at the mercy of the universe - everything you can't control.

The archetypes found in Tarot imagery are universal to the western world. They're present in unseen ways around us, because these are innate to our people. When you're more in tune with how these archetypes are manifested in physical reality, it becomes easier to recognize them - and thus have better footing on which to make judgements and decisions.

As I've noted in other essays on Tarot, I liken Tarot to how Christians study their holy book, the Bible. Although much of what the Bible teaches is actually pretty insidious at its core, many of the moral lessons found in the book of Proverbs, as well as the Gospels, are relatively universal in western culture. Christians study sections of the Bible in-depth, and will many times revisit the same section repeatedly through the course of their personal religious practices.

Concepts like being kind to others seem obvious to us, but such things shouldn't be assumed to be obvious to everyone - so memorizing short Bible verses serves as a way to reinforce such teachings to the point that they become second nature in society.

Christians use certain Bible verses to provide comfort, strength, courage, or even just to reinforce their own internal biases (which are healthy, natural, and normal!). I've been reading Tarot semi-seriously for about three years now, and I continue to return to the same conclusion about its parallels with Christian Bible study. To the serious student of spiritual growth, any Bible verse can have a deeper meaning. Tarot cards are no different. The messages, stories, archetypes, and lessons are universal to our people in Western civilization. By learning the cards, you are really learning a mnemonic device for remembering the sociological, existential truths about our people, which have provably transcended religious tribes and political boundaries.

The universe is a powerful force. Tarot will help you understand the why of these forces, without getting you tangled up in attempts to manipulate or change things outside your own realistic sphere of influence. When the timeless truths of our civilization become second nature, you'll feel like you have a lot more control over your life, because you'll be well-equipped to recognize and understand human behavior, allowing you to respond to life's variety confidently and courageously.