tarot deck
Yoga And The Tarot Archetypes
When I’m not doing psychic readings, I enjoy engaging in activities that support a healthy lifestyle, such as Yoga and Herbalism. Although I spent many years training with Yoga masters from around the world and I am a certified Yoga instructor, I continue to learn more each time I get onto the mat.
While practicing the other day, I found myself thinking about the Tarot cards while in a particular yoga posture. It was the asana known as the Hero’s pose, or Virasana. The pose involves kneeling or sitting in between your bent legs.
As I was sitting in this stretch, I was wondering how the posture got its name, which comes from the Sanskrit word vira meaning ‘hero.’ It occurred to me that a hero was someone who had to think of someone else or others in that moment more than themselves. When we are pushed to our edge, in that moment of vulnerability, it makes us stronger. The same humility can be found in certain Yoga postures.
Then the Emperor card from the Tarot deck came to mind. The Emperor in a reading can show a ruler or leader who is strong, confident, and who guides others. Might there be an ancient connection with Yoga and the Tarot?
I then began to think of other Yoga postures and how they might correlate with the other Major Arcana cards in the Tarot.
The first that came up for me was The Hanged Man. This iconic card features a figure hanging upside down from a tree. Hanging from a tree in this way would certainly make one see the world from a different perspective. Interestingly, the headstand pose in Yoga, Sirsanasa, aims to create mental balance and physical poise. Continue reading
Think Of Your Life As Creating A Painting
When I do a psychic reading, I often use words to paint a picture of the situation. I like to talk in images, because the human mind is designed to be drawn to the visual. Archetypal imagery is also the foundation of the Tarot.
I prefer for this reason to start most of my readings with the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, and the Celtic Cross spread, to get an overall picture of the situation and the key players.
The Celtic Cross for me creates a visual psychic map with several different ‘streets’ leaving from a roundabout, with time standing still for that moment.
It features four directions. North for our thoughts; South for the facts of the situation that we can rely on; West for the past and our previous experiences; and East for the next step, or path forward.
To accurately interpret this map, I also intuitively read the feelings, thoughts and intentions of the people involved in the situation.
Every reading outcome also offers a ‘quick fix’ that is usually only a temporary solution, as well as a long-term, more advisable solution. I give my clients the possible outcome of each way to achieve their goal or fulfill their wish. The client must then make the final choice once the reading is over.
Building your future is like building a house. It would make no sense to ask if the roof will be leaking one day, if you haven’t even bought the land to build the house on. No land, no foundation. No foundation, no house. No house, no roof. The same holds true for any relationship, as well as friendships, careers, hobbies. No work, no imagination, no pain… no gain.
Empower Yourself With A Tarot Meditation
The Tarot is so much more than just a method of fortunetelling. Tarot can be used as a tool for meditation just as much as it is an aid for divination.
For example, you can meditate on one of the cards in the Major Arcana, to connect with that specific card’s archetypal energy. Connecting with the card’s energy can not only help you find the answers you need, but more profoundly it can also invite that energy into our life.
Every archetype can awaken within us certain a type of personal power. The Magician can inspire us to become more quick on our feet, as he is mercurial in nature. The High Priestess connects us more deeply with our intuition and higher self. The Tower can bring an immediate closure to a negative situation we cannot stand anymore, and so on.
Let’s focus on The Empress card with a more detailed analysis, to demonstrate how we can utilize her in meditation.
Symbolism Of The Empress
The Empress is the number 3 card in the Major Arcana of the Tarot. She is the archetypal queen and symbolizes all the riches of femininity. She is related to the planet Venus and the zodiac sign of Taurus, representing affectivity in all its fullness.
As an earthly partner of the Emperor, her archetype represents the earthly plane achievements and pleasures of the physical body, including motherhood. There is also a connection between the Divine Feminine or Divine Mother archetype, represented by this card, and the Earth as Gaia, our nurturing mother.