Tarot - Leading us to Authenticity

We are born – separated from the safety and nourishment of our mother alone into a world full of harshness, enticement and lessons. We then begin searching for that missing warmth and nourishment we lack through our human inability to amalgamate the dualities we experience.  The illusionary concepts that keep us separate from that “missing piece”, that need to be complete and whole.

We journey on and on trying to find it in another human, or in glory, success, wealth or whatever we think will fill the void and complete us.  Yet we are only satiated momentarily and we begin to feel longing again.

As babies, we are encouraged to learn and do things independently. We are nurtured and guided each step of the way. By the time we are proficient, it is time to fall in to line and to conform.

Someone else dictated what was important to us in our learning at school, our religious beliefs, our principles, morals, fashion, taste in music, food and so on. We learned to live our life in expectation of approval or disapproval from the external guidance we depended on.

All of this was intended to make us suitable and acceptable members of society. (Of course there are exceptions to the rule, as there always is.) Yet throughout all this molding and conditioning, what went on within our minds, and our hearts – that was ours and ours alone.

If we think back to childhood, many of us were ill prepared to lead an authentic truly fulfilled life; one in which we saw ourselves as enough.  Not  being aware of all the wonders that make us exactly who we are – whole and acceptable. Measuring our worth and value through what we accumulate, as well as our successes and always through the eyes of others.

There comes a time, in all our lives, when we pause and question all we have been trained to follow. We may even realize that all that time whatever we thought, felt and believed belonged to us with free will to do with it what we choose – whether we were aware of it or not, and that each of us is powerful beyond words.

The cards teach us that the journey brings us back to where we started… with our Self. The circle is complete when we discover that all we need to feel whole is within. We must learn about our spirit, our soul, our authentic self and our connection to our Source. We must be the alchemist of our own life. Turn our base metal into refined gold. Find our way home in a sense.

All of this comes through learning and awakening. Shedding the ego that drives our compulsion for fruitless fulfillment. A peace and completeness comes when, after we have been battered and bruised and taught what matters, we finally stop searching outside ourselves and just listen. Open our eyes. Feel with all our being. We slowly emerge to become our true authentic wonderful self.

From the Fool, The Magician to The World and all the minors in between… all the answers and guidance are there, hidden away in our vaults of knowing, waiting for the moment we are ready to be present. The Tarot is able to help us draw out this knowledge, helping us to heal, to find our purpose and embrace our authenticity.

Perhaps this is one story in our journey through the cards?

In order to understand and apply the principles in our lives, and on a deeper level, first we must draw on the evidence played out constantly in the world around us. By doing this we can see evidence in action. The cards show us this by linking in seamlessly with life.

The result? Amazing!

However we choose to use the Tarot, it will be a trusted companion and guide on our personal journey through this life. 

This first appeared on TheAwakenedNetwork.com