This week in the Strange and Wonderful Adventures of Becca, I went to a tarot reader. This is certainly not a common occurrence for me. In fact, although I may strike you as the kind of person who is particularly drawn to the mystical and magical (revealing I carry around a little satchel of crystals a couple posts ago couldn't have helped), I have actually never been to a tarot reader, a palm reader, a psychic, or medium of any kind. However after getting rave reviews from a trusted source that coincided with a moment in my life when I was feeling particularly lost, I made an appointment (this was three and a half months ago, the wait list was kind of intense). When I got a reminder that it was happening this week I had almost forgotten about it entirely.
Some people see Tarot as something occult, but to me, as a licensed drama therapist I see it through a different lens. Tarot actually offers some of the same opportunities that drama therapy does. It gives you a chance to use imagery and metaphor to find new and safely distanced ways of looking at issues in your life. We are all our own tarot readers, really, just like we are our own clinicians in therapy. Sure maybe the psychic or magical or spiritual element is a bonus, but ultimately Tarot is just a vehicle to help break things down and a permission to piece them back together in ways you maybe hadn't considered before (if you are interested in reading more about the interaction of tarot and drama therapy you should ask to read the masters thesis of my fellow drama therapist and one of my dearest friends in the whole wide world, Courtney). Anyway, I went in to my session without any expectations beyond being open and having a fun experience. To be honest, I went in not knowing if I was about to sit down with a true clairvoyant or just someone with extremely heightened intuition, but I happen to have great appreciation for both so I was ready for whatever it ended up feeling like.
Okay, so lets get down to the good stuff. I arrive and feel instantly comfortable with this very normal mom-type of a reader. She makes me a cup of mint tea and we settle down at a table in her living room. She has me shuffle and cut the tarot deck and then we're off. The very first card she lays down on the table is the Ace of Cups. She tells me this signifies new emotional beginnings, but often (brace yourself) means pregnancy or the birth of a child (jaw hitting floor) especially when pared with the Empress card (that came up a little later in my reading). I mean, the very first card?? You can't make this stuff up (cut to me sitting there in tears literally two seconds into this thing). This woman knew nothing about me other than my first name and phone number prior to me knocking on her door. The fact that right off the bat we got into the issue that has undoubtedly been on forefront of my mind for the entire year set the tone for an intense and interesting experience. I spoke with her for two and a half hours so there's no way I could possibly break down the vast array of things we covered, but let me just tell you she was dead on about enough personal things in my life that I feel a certain level of confidence in her predictions.
Whether you believe it is magic or a coincidence or dealing with a highly observant person or none of those things, it was a really positive experience for me. Sometimes it takes putting yourself out of your everyday comfort zone to shake you up and make you feel hopeful and re-energized about problems that have begun to feel stale. That's how I left feeling. I left feeling lit up and good about my luck changing personally and professionally. I left feeling excited about the ways that I can help that progression along. She said she sees pregnancy in my very near future and even gave me a time frame within which she says I will be pregnant. Excitedly she said, "You have to text me immediately when you find out you are!" Ahh, mysticism in the modern age. So we'll see I guess. Stay tuned. I am one of those who believes there is more to this world than we can fully understand with our rational minds, but I also believe that a dose of hope for the future (no matter its source) can never hurt in body, mind, or spirit.
Some people see Tarot as something occult, but to me, as a licensed drama therapist I see it through a different lens. Tarot actually offers some of the same opportunities that drama therapy does. It gives you a chance to use imagery and metaphor to find new and safely distanced ways of looking at issues in your life. We are all our own tarot readers, really, just like we are our own clinicians in therapy. Sure maybe the psychic or magical or spiritual element is a bonus, but ultimately Tarot is just a vehicle to help break things down and a permission to piece them back together in ways you maybe hadn't considered before (if you are interested in reading more about the interaction of tarot and drama therapy you should ask to read the masters thesis of my fellow drama therapist and one of my dearest friends in the whole wide world, Courtney). Anyway, I went in to my session without any expectations beyond being open and having a fun experience. To be honest, I went in not knowing if I was about to sit down with a true clairvoyant or just someone with extremely heightened intuition, but I happen to have great appreciation for both so I was ready for whatever it ended up feeling like.
Okay, so lets get down to the good stuff. I arrive and feel instantly comfortable with this very normal mom-type of a reader. She makes me a cup of mint tea and we settle down at a table in her living room. She has me shuffle and cut the tarot deck and then we're off. The very first card she lays down on the table is the Ace of Cups. She tells me this signifies new emotional beginnings, but often (brace yourself) means pregnancy or the birth of a child (jaw hitting floor) especially when pared with the Empress card (that came up a little later in my reading). I mean, the very first card?? You can't make this stuff up (cut to me sitting there in tears literally two seconds into this thing). This woman knew nothing about me other than my first name and phone number prior to me knocking on her door. The fact that right off the bat we got into the issue that has undoubtedly been on forefront of my mind for the entire year set the tone for an intense and interesting experience. I spoke with her for two and a half hours so there's no way I could possibly break down the vast array of things we covered, but let me just tell you she was dead on about enough personal things in my life that I feel a certain level of confidence in her predictions.
Whether you believe it is magic or a coincidence or dealing with a highly observant person or none of those things, it was a really positive experience for me. Sometimes it takes putting yourself out of your everyday comfort zone to shake you up and make you feel hopeful and re-energized about problems that have begun to feel stale. That's how I left feeling. I left feeling lit up and good about my luck changing personally and professionally. I left feeling excited about the ways that I can help that progression along. She said she sees pregnancy in my very near future and even gave me a time frame within which she says I will be pregnant. Excitedly she said, "You have to text me immediately when you find out you are!" Ahh, mysticism in the modern age. So we'll see I guess. Stay tuned. I am one of those who believes there is more to this world than we can fully understand with our rational minds, but I also believe that a dose of hope for the future (no matter its source) can never hurt in body, mind, or spirit.
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