Why the Tarot?
Tarot cards are often misunderstood: they aren’t evil or sacrilegious (unless using your own mind can be considered evil or sacrilegious), they aren’t the Devil’s playthings, nor do they predict a set fate. All they really are is a tool for self-knowledge, not unlike a Rorschach test used by a psychiatrist. What a Tarot spread does is give us guidance by identifying obstacles that stand in our way and the resources we have to overcome them.
I chose to feature the Tarot in my work because I wanted to demystify the process of divination and make this tool more accessible to the masses. As I said, Tarot cards aren’t meant to predict a set future, only the likely outcome of a given situation. The cards illustrate influences, opportunities and aspects of ourselves that we’re either not aware of or have hidden from our conscious mind. The only time we are fated to struggle in the dark and repeat unwanted behaviors is when we have little or no understanding of why we are the way we are. In other words, you can’t fix what you don’t understand. It is my hope that we will all gain a better understanding of ourselves so that we can make good choices.
How is it Used?
Individually, a Tarot card tells a story on its own by means of its symbols, making interpretation a highly intuitive process. It’s not much different from appreciating a piece of art. A painted house on a hill could be just that to one person, while another might place more prominence on the broken fence line and dead lawn, feeling sad for the people living there. Essentially, it is what it is until someone else changes the perception.
Each of my books will be based on one of the Major Arcana cards. Depending on the card, either a situation or a character will be explored in both its upright and reverse forms, to demonstrate the positive and negative in all things. No foreknowledge of the Tarot will be required to appreciate these stories; they are all written to be entertaining first, as well as reader-friendly.
