My tarot journey - the beginning

I first read about tarot cards when I was 12 or 13 years old. I have always been drawn to the mystical things in life. Tarot cards reminded me of the cards that some fortunetellers in India make their pet parrot pick from a spread. I have never come across a fortune teller of that kind but I remember my mother once told me she had such a reading done for herself when she was a child. A fortune teller walking past her home was called in. He took out a deck of cards from his little bag that seemed to hold his entire world within. In his other hand was a cage - his pet parrot's home. After he spread out the cards, he let the parrot out. The parrot walked over the line of cards, picked one out and placed it in the man's palm. The parrot walked back into the cage after accepting a treat for his help.

Mummy didnt describe the picture on the card to me. But she has told me that the man looked at the card and told my grandmother that it is a card that means the querent, my mother, will be an independent person. She would not depend on her husband for a livelihood. This turned out to be true for her although she always wanted to be a homemaker. Much as she preferred to be a housewife, circumstances were such that she had to work and earn herself.

My first ever Tarot deck - The Art of Tarot by Liz Dean

It is not because of this little story she told me that I believe in Tarot. As long as I can remember, I have loved and believed in all such 'fantastic' stuff without needing a grain of logical reasoning.

The first ever deck of Tarot cards I purchased was a pack that came with a book called "The art of Tarot" by Liz Dean. Perhaps its the beautiful purple box that made me pick this pack! 

It has a simple booklet with explanations that even a child can understand. The cards are beautiful and simple with illustrations that are easy to interpret. Although I bought this deck in 2006 and a few others in the following years I never really got down to studying them or learning how to use them. Pure laziness :-)

A few years later I felt drawn to an Osho Zen Tarot pack in a bookstore and purchased it instantly. The deck felt a little too deep and mysterious for me. I felt I could not learn to interpret the meanings without referring to the accompanying booklet. I stopped using it and stashed it away in my wardrobe.

Last year I bought a Rider Waite deck just because I felt like.  And oh I forgot the deck of Angel cards and Fairy cards I picked up too! Its as though someone or something is trying hard to get me to shake off my laziness and learn how to read tarot cards! Its a thing I just cannot ignore. When something keeps grabbing your attention repeatedly, you really need to sit down and think about what life is trying to say.

 Here begins my journey to learning to read Tarot cards! I am blogging this to document my journey. Maybe someday I can use this to help someone at the beginning of their journey? Amen to that!