Tarot as a Mirror: How the Cards Reflect Your Inner World

In my family story, I’m known for my vanity. I love mirrors. Once, I nearly did myself

an injury, walking into a lamp post on graduation day because I was looking at my

reflection in a shop window. (I really suit a mortar board, incidentally. We should be

able to wear them for other events.) I think liking my mirrored self (even without my

make up on) is a bit of a hard-won victory in a society constantly telling us we should

look different – and by implication, better.

If you’ve ever seen a baby, or even a pet, with a mirror, you know the value of

reflection. You can see them learning self-awareness as they pull faces and work out

the reflection is themselves. They see parts of themselves they can’t see any other

way. I’m sure on some level we remember that kind of wonder and discovery. I also

think that’s why we responded to Betty Petitt as we see both her loss of identity and her

intrinsic kindness and courteousness that Alzheimer’s didn’t take away.

I know there are many people who avoid mirrors. Who find looking at their reflection

painful. It brings uncomfortable feelings too close to avoid. Confronting those

feelings can seem daunting, especially if your view of yourself has become like a

photograph – an identity trapped in a static, historical image. But Carl Rogers

believed that all human beings can change – are change – if 3 basic conditions are

met; empathic understanding, congruence, and acceptance. In fact, more than

acceptance – ‘unconditional positive regard’. It is hard to give that to yourself without

help. It’s hard to look in the mirror and not focus on faults, or how we want to look for

others.

But when we use tarot cards, we can have that childlike, innocent reaction. We can

study the images without criticism or fear; find out what the card signifies, and then

explore the relevance to our own lives. Our initial and emotional reactions can

change the interpretation completely. As a guide, I can tell you the usual meaning,

the context and back ground of the card, but your interpretation, what you see, is a

reflection of yourself. That’s why the cards aren’t static, like photographs, they’re like

mirrors. Their meaning changes with you – your mood, your preoccupations, your experiences.

That’s why Tarot therapy is person-centred; you know what you see, what your reaction is, better than anyone.

My daughter suggested I include a practical example, so today I did a 3 card reading

for myself. I always take a little time to prepare, get myself into a headspace that’s

open, calm and still. (Today this included hoovering the carpet, but that might just

have been procrastination.)

My first card was the 6 of Wands – a figure on horseback, holding a staff adorned

with a wreath of greenery, surrounded by figures on foot, holding other staffs aloft,

with green leaves sprouting from them.

My second was the Ace of Cups – a golden cup, overflowing with water, held in the

sky above a body of water filled with lillies. A dove flies just above, with a coin or disk

held in its mouth.

My third was the 9 of Cups – a man sitting on an ornate chair, smiling. Behind him

are 9 cups arranged in an arc.

I had an unexpected reaction to these, really. I knew that they are positive cards

(Aces always are, and the other two are also generally cards of success and

acclaim) but on some level I had been expecting cards that recognised my current

state of fragility and anxiety. I have been having some health issues; I’ve also been

very conscious of thoughts about my lack of ability to ‘get things done’. For a few

moments, the crowd clustered around my horseback figure looked threatening; the

man in his ornate chair looked self-satisfied and over-privileged.

It took a little while to think about whether my perspective was true or congruent for

me right now. All the cards are from the Minor Arcana, so to do with the day-to-day.

The suit of Wands signifies lived experience, so could I think of something I had

done recently that I was proud of? Something that I had been praised for, a

successful project? And although today I feel fragile, and tired, last weekend I ran my

first ever Yonic retreat; a project that had taken 4 months of planning, that brought

together young, intelligent, wonderful young women. I noticed that the crowd around

the horse were smiling, that the staffs they carried had green leaves as if they were

connected. I reminded myself how proud I was, but also how easily I’d dismissed

that achievement.

And of course the Ace of Cups is all about new beginnings; so despite all my picking

fault with my tendency to procrastinate – which at times felt like an absolute

inability to bring this project to this point – we are actually here, actually sharing this

with other people! I’m not sure if my Josie is the dove, bringing the final, magical

piece of the puzzle, or if she is, in fact, the hand holding the whole thing up…I expect

time will tell. Or not. Perhaps we are both those things for each other.

Finally, my 9 Cups – all the things I have to be grateful for and need to appreciate

while they are still all in one piece. Times like this are fleeting and easy to miss in amongst all the worry about messy carpets and what on earth the world might becoming to. This reading meant I gave myself the time and space for that appreciation, and a much needed clarity about my thoughts.

Incidentally, despite being happy with my reflection (see what I did there?) I’m not as

comfortable having my picture taken. So I’d like to thank Stan Steaton Photography. Sometimes things are much easier when you have someone brilliant to help you!

Blessed be,

Janie