Tarot refers to a deck of cards, usually 78 in number, which can be read in all sorts of ways to provide answers to questions. If you are interested in the intriguing history of tarot, I recommend taking a read of Michael Hurst's detailed explanation here on Tarotpedia. And if you would like to explore some of the many, many tarot decks that exist out there, take a look at Aeclectic Tarot's deck archive.

Tarot means different things for different people. For some, it is a fortune-telling device, and for others, simply drawing a card can be the catalyst for bringing on a deep, meditative trance. For some people, tarot is a scary thing, something of the devil or the occult. And for some it acts as a blueprint for life, something that, like fate, provides us with an explanation for why this or that happened.

My own perspective on tarot

For me, tarot isn't a way to divine the future, it's not an excuse or a reason for the events of our lives, and the cards can't tell us what we should or shouldn't do. I am not psychic, and neither do I believe that the cards can possibly 'know' what's in our hearts or minds. I don't think strange and wonderful magic causes them to appear where they do in readings (although I wish it did!)

What tarot is, to me, is a way to shine a light into the darker corners of our hearts and minds, and a way to tease out ideas and feelings we don't even know are in there. Using different Tarot spreads, I've found the cards prompting incredible conversations, suggesting new ways of approaching situations, or different ways to see other people in our lives. Sometimes a particular card can bring about such an amazing revelation that it's hard to believe that some kind of magic isn't taking place. But in fact, I think, the cards are simply the prompts. All the knowledge, all those ideas and feelings - they're already there inside us. Tarot can be the much-needed challenger and the catalyst that helps to bring them out.

The cards can't work on their own. Alone, they are beautiful, intriguing, fun to play with...but they can't help us to see the truth within us. They need a capable, compassionate, willing facilitator who understands how to use these prompts to get to the truth. My aim as a tarot reader is to be able to do this, so that I can keep delving deeper into the truths on my own soul, and help my clients to do the same.

In this way, I feel that tarot is a tool for self-empowerment. Far from taking responsibility from us and telling us what we should or shouldn't do, the cards can encourage us to face up to often difficult truths, enable us to identify patterns in our behaviours, and ultimately, help us to take responsibility for our lives and bring about the changes we ourselves wish to see.