Is It Magic?

"Brrrrinnnnng!... Brrrrinnnnng!... Brrrrinnnnng!... " My phone was vibrating on the table. It was the alarm reminding me to prepare myself. 30 minutes later, I would have an appointment with my client. 

That was just a humid afternoon. I could smell the uncertainty in the air where the sun had been shining for quite a while. As usual, I lit up a candle, grabbing a suitable deck for the upcoming session. However, sometimes there is no any reason why a specific deck is picked. I guess it would be much better to say the deck I was drawn to by intuition than to say a suitable deck. Almost every tarot reader would do the same thing, which might be regarded as a way of a wizard/witch. When clients tell us their problems or issues, we can always hear which deck shouts more loudly and sense the subtle vibes according to all the conditioning and intention. "This is the one," I talked to myself.

Candle Light - photo taken by me.

In the tender light of the candle, shadows were slightly dancing around. Then I started to medicate so as to calm my mind. Recently a new partner came to me - a lovely singing bowl from Nepal. The clerk told me it was a Full Moon singing bowl, which was made during the night of the full moon to obtain magical energy. The Six-Character Great Bright Mantra in Tibetan script was carved on the bowl. Ringing the singing bowl, my agitated mind became to settle gradually, just like a lotus bringing out the ripples in the breeze while the water started to turn still and the ripples melted away.

A Lotus Incense Holder - Photo taken by me.

Soon, the client contacted me. We made a video call via Instagram and started our reading there.

"You are quite critical of yourself. Like your parents or teachers, you seem to have harsh and restrictive requests for yourself in order to be perfect," flipping the first card, I said, "However, that makes you hide your feminine energy, meaning you don't really offer self-compassion, tenderness, consideration, and love to yourself. Do you think it is weak to show them?" Without getting any responses from her, I paused for a second and then continued. "This might cause you can't be your true self because you deny the Ying, but only claim the Yang. Sensibility is never less important than rationality. Moderation and balance are always the key."

"You are not lazy nor passive. But you would never make a first step rather than fail. What blocks you?"

"I am afraid..." she spoke unconfidently, "I would screw things up. I don't believe I can make everything successful."

"I see. It's a process. We all start by trying to meet others' expectations. Avoiding making people disappointed. we tend not to try our best or be our authentic selves," I pointed to the second card, "Seven of Pentacles in reverse here. I sense your anxiety, so you wish for immediate results. But when we plant the seeds, it takes time for us to water them, for the sun to shine upon them, and for the soil to nurture them.  Only at the right time do they sprout, grow up, and then bloom. Patience and persistence are essential. You can never harvest if you never wait."

"What if I fail it?..."

"No. In life, there is no failure. Everything is the process for us to reach our goals. We experience things. Even if they are not the way we expect, they make every step toward the destination. We should change the definition of failure," I answered patiently, "And here, Eight of Wands in reverse. Please let go of being impulsive. More haste, less speed."

Then she asked, "What is the healing aspect that I can access right now to help me overcome this?"

I smiled and replied, "Care about your feelings. Care about your emotional needs. Be creative and be free. There are various activities of music therapy, therapeutic drawing, or any other art therapy helping you get closer to your heart, hear your inner voice, and find your own true colors."

"What does the last card mean?" she was curious.

"That instructs what you need to embrace and nurture right now," I answered, "Judgment upright. Don't feel any regret for what has happened. They are lessons that never define who you are. Be thankful to the past for they make current you. And you can transform into a better version. Breakthrough like a butterfly. Our every decision makes our whole life, so you can always start a new one now!"

Tarot Reading - Photo taken by me

She smiled eventually. At the same time, she also wondered why tarot reading resonated so much with her. "Is it magic?... Do you really read my mind?" 

No, tarot reading is not magic. As a matter of fact, tarot readers get to the collective unconscious: the aspect of the unconscious "which manifests inherited, universal themes which run through all human life" (Jung, 2014, p.3). The collective unconscious is like a giant database containing the answers and solutions in the past, present, and future. Due to synchronicity, we can always draw the right cards we need out of our clear intention, which denotes the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no apparent causal connection (Jung, 2010). Jung (1936) explains "the contents of the collective unconscious are archetypes, primordial images that reflect basic patterns or common to us all, and which have existed universally since the dawn of time" (p. 99). Therefore, tarot readers play the role of a translator to interpret the meanings of the archetype symbols on tarot cards corresponding to the information from the collective unconscious. This is how tarot and any other divination tools might work.

Figure 1: The Way How Tarot Might Work - Organized by me.

Then I went on to the oracle cards, "Here the cards encourage you to make your dream come true by following your heart. And try to make your life sparkle as much as possible. Remember that if we are not living our life out of our dream, we only exit." Moving my pointing finger to the rainbow card, I reminded her, "Always search within yourself. The answer is not in the outer world. Be affirmative to yourself. Your vibes speak louder than your words. Here you got a power symbol to create lucky and serendipitous events!"

Source: https://youtube.com/shorts/8l7fsNlxsPU?feature=share

The session ended up with the peaceful sound of my singing bowl. The temperature was also cooling down then. Extinguishing the candle, I saw the gray smoke curling upward and fading. My client should have got clarity from the self-reflection spread, untying the knots in her heart. I hoped so!

We all get lost sometimes because we may all encounter crossroads in life. And in the journey, we are learning to get to know ourselves and practice self-love consistently. Some might adopt scientific ways to search for truth. Some get involved in religion to gain inner peace. Some go to the experts such as a doctor, psychotherapist, or counselor for professional support. And some are trying to find themselves through a spiritual path. There is never a best way, but usually a suitable way for different individuals. May we all find our own special views on the way we have chosen to walk onto. And our hearts always glow within as a guiding star. Namaste!

References:

Jung, C. G. (2014). Analytical psychology. In An Introduction to Theories of Personality (pp. 53-81).

            Psychology Press.

Jung, C. G. (2010). Synchronicity: An acausal connecting principle.(From Vol. 8. of the Collected Works of C. G.

            Jung). Princeton University Press.

Jung, C. G. (1936). The concept of the collective unconscious. Collected works, 9(1), 99-104.