“If not to predict, then what are they used for?”
“Most believers feel they are a tool for divination, for spiritual exploration.”
“And you? What do you use them for?”
“Examination. Examination of people, mostly, of human nature. I find it interesting, the things the cards make us think about. Within this first section, we can see your past. More specifically, it’s a way to gain insight into past events. Your present will help you to see what goes on right now, and of course, there is what you may expect in the future.”
“All of the cards have what looks like a court jester or a joker painted on the back. What’s that supposed to mean?” Baylor asked.
“Very observant, my friend. That is the Fool. There are many ways and spreads to the tarot. I choose a traditional way called The Fool’s Journey. It’s like a story.”
“And I’m the fool, I take it?” BJ raised one eyebrow quizzically.
“Don’t be offended, dear Baylor. We are all fools when we start out on a journey. Did you know that the word ‘fool’ used to be used as a term of honor?”
Baylor shook her head. She vaguely remembered her high school Latin and recalled that the Fool played a big part in medieval literature.
“Afool was someone who was pure...protected. Do you recall the story of Parsifal?”
“Yes. He was the knight who found the Grail.”
“Exactly. Parsifal was a knight of the Round Table. He found the Holy Grail, yet he was known as Parsifal, the Holy Fool. His name actually meant ‘naïve fool.’ You see, his mother kept him sheltered and protected from the hurts of the world.”
Rebecca turned over a card from one of the piles. “I’ve selected a very simple way of reading the tarot for your first experience. Next time, we’ll try something more complex.”
BJ nodded, never questioning the fact that there would be a next time. She watched as Rebecca chose a number of cards from the pile that represented the past. She carefully turned them all face up before speaking.
“The Emperor, the Tower, Strength, and Death. You display fairly strong elements in your past. Some would say your past has been an intense journey that has left its mark on you. The Emperor represents your earthly father.” Rebecca watched as BJ’s upper lip twitched into a sneer. “Sometimes it simply means a person in authority. It can even mean a certain control or structure that you have had to deal with.” She pushed the card aside.
“My father and I had a very...strained relationship.” BJ had no idea why she said it. The words seemed to pop out of her mouth as if her voice had a will of its own.
“How unfortunate. Fathers and daughters...those can be such complex bonds. Your father has passed on, hasn’t he?”
“Yes,” BJ said with a tightening of her jaw.
“Let’s move on. The next card is the Tower. Usually, this represents a shattering of the structure in your life. Perhaps something traumatic, something life altering. This seems to indicate that the event centered on your father.” She slid the card next to the first.
BJ’s silence told Rebecca all she needed to know. She moved on to the next card. “Strength. It means exactly what its name implies. Given the first two cards, it’s no wonder that you had to develop strength to help face the situations in which you were placed.”
“Since I’m still alive, I guess the Death card is wrong, huh?” Baylor asked.
“Death can mean an ending or a change. It is not so much about the physical death as metaphorical. Oddly enough, this is one of the three most misunderstood cards in the Major Arcana of the tarot. Many times, Death can be a good thing, meaning that something you no longer need is gone from your life. It can be a way of life, a habit, maybe a relationship, sometimes innocence. The one thing to remember about death as it relates to change is that when you fight, it can be painful. If you accept it, however, you can move upward and onward in enlightenment.”
“Yeah, well, so much for the past,” BJ said uneasily. Rebecca’s reading was doing exactly what she had predicted. It was making BJ think. She had once believed that she had put all those old terrors to rest, but clearly that wasn’t the case. “How about the present?”
Rebecca turned over four cards from the second pile. “The Magician, the Chariot, the High Priestess, and Temperance. The Magician represents a teacher who tries to help you see your potential. You have all the tools and abilities to face life, Baylor. You haven’t accepted that fact yet. Your teacher will help you see the power that lies within yourself.”
BJ sat listening intently. She didn’t notice that Rebecca had begun to personalize the information. “I don’t suppose you see a name there, do you?” She leaned over to examine the card.
“I’m sorry, dear, but it doesn’t work that way. It could be a friend, a lover, or a relative. The usual pattern is that it’s a person who has earned your trust, someone who believes in you. Suddenly, this person will appear to you in a different light.”
“A little vague, but I guess I can live with it.” BJ smiled. “Okay. Next?”
“The Chariot represent conflicts, decisions, possibly travel. The conflicts will be within you, Baylor. The tarot is not as concerned with the battles you fight outside of yourself as the ones inside.
“Next we see the High Priestess. She is your spiritual mother, mystery you will never be able to explain. It is she who calls to you in those moments of intuition when you follow your instincts but don’t know why.”
BJ stared off into space. Rebecca’s words had ensnared her.
She could see herself, not actually see, but she could feel. She was throwing caution to the wind and acting on instinct. For the first time in her life, she wasn’t worrying about the consequences.
Rebecca’s voice cut through BJ’s vision. “Finally, there is Temperance. It is indicative of the balance between our inner decisions. The mortal lesson that causes us to know that there is more to justice than right and wrong, guilty and innocent.”
“Well, that was pretty painless,” BJ said.
“You see. It can be great fun, even worthy of some honest introspection when we don’t take it too seriously.”
“How about my future? Anything I should look out for? Any long trips I should put off?” Besides the one that got me here in the first place?
“Let’s take a look.” Rebecca drew four cards from the final pile. “The Sun, the Devil, the Hermit, and the Lovers. How very interesting...all entities. What an exciting place your life will be.”
“Really?” Rebecca’s enthusiasm for the cards had infected BJ. “So what do these mean?”
“The Sun is a most favorable card. It shines upon those who have suffered during their journey. The Sun’s brightness indicates finding ultimate joy or prosperity. It shows that happiness will find you.”
“Don’t you mean I’ll find it?”
“No, not this time. Happiness is like the butterfly that constantly eludes your grasp. When you finally sit back, relax, and open your hand, it settles comfortably in your palm.”
“Huh.”
“Next, the Devil.”
“Now that sounds more like me.” BJ grinned at Rebecca. “The Devil isn’t so much a person we can blame, but rather
the hell and suffering we create in our life. There is an old saying, ‘we make our own devils.’ Most people don’t want to take responsibility for their life by saying they are where they are because of themselves. It’s easier to say ‘the devil made me do it.’ That way, they release themselves of any responsibility.
“Some of these cards depict the devil in ropes or chains. You have drawn a card with an image that is free of such bindings. This expresses an ability to escape your hell, to break away from the negativity. We make our own demons. We can destroy them, too.”
BJ found herself asking a question to which she feared the answer. “Do you believe they can be destroyed, Mrs. Ashby? Can it be that simple?”