When I first picked up a deck of Tarot cards years ago, I was filled with curiosity and awe. I wondered how a simple deck of cards could tap into such truths about my life. I used to spend hours shuffling and drawing cards from my first Tarot deck, sometimes asking a question, sometimes simply letting the cards speak to me. It honestly felt like sitting down for a chat with a wise and trusted friend.
The deeper I wandered into the world of Tarot, the more I learned about its origins and its connection to psychology. A concept that piqued my interest immediately is that of the Collective Unconscious. This is a term that was first coined by German psychologist Carl Jung. According to Jung, there exist certain emotions, stories, and experiences that are common to all humankind. Most individuals are not aware of these truths, but they exist in our unconscious minds. That is the underlying foundation, and scientific explanation, of Tarot.
A standard deck of Tarot cards tells an archetypal story. The reason this story resonates with almost all of us is because the experiences and emotions represented in any given card, are experiences that we, as a species, have stored in our collective memory. So even if you have never left home with just a rucksack of personal belongings to start a new chapter in your life (The Fool card in the Tarot), the meaning of the card still resonates, because most people would be familiar with the notion of starting from scratch. Moreover, the underlying concept or archetype incites the same emotions: loneliness, fear, anticipation, excitement, and so on. These are all emotions we experience when we start a new chapter in our life.
So if you have ever wondered how a simple deck of cards can reveal such truths about your life, it is because that deck is a tool, that is tapping into your unconscious mind and interpreting the cards in a way that resonates with you.
The best part of Tarot, to me, is that these stories never get old. No matter how long you have been reading the Tarot for, you always learn something new. The reason for this? There is such an abundance of knowledge and wisdom in our collective unconscious, that the same stories and archetypes teach us new lessons in every new chapter of our lives that we start.
Although I did not realise it back then, picking up that first deck of Tarot cards was akin to starting a new friendship. Today, I feel extremely blessed to have Tarot as a friend, for it is a friend that does not lie, does not sugarcoat truths that I need to hear, and that is always ready to give you some great advice.
