One card to rule the blog! (And then another…and another.)

I’ve been wanting to start a Tarot blog pretty much since I started using the cards, which was somewhere around late September of 2016. What’s taken so long? Well, I can be a bit of a perfectionist, and I wanted to know how everything should be organized before I wrote anything. And it takes quite a while to figure out everything. (Note: I still don’t know how “everything” should be organized, or quite how to do it, from a technical, how-to-use-Wordpress perspective, even if I did have a comprehensive bullet point outline of the blog structure in my head. Which I don’t. But hey, I gave this blog some tagline about a FOOL and her journey, so I’m finally just jumping in and writing something. Okay, back to the back story…)

I wasn’t even sure whether I wanted to share this as-yet-imaginary blog with others or have it be just a private journal. So (of course) I drew a card, asking, “What do I need to know about starting this blog?” I mean, how else would any self-respecting Tarot student start a project about the Tarot? 😉

When the first card didn’t fully answer my question, I drew another, then another. I will describe this process below, but here are the three cards I ended up with:

First card: Wheel of Fortune. This represents the beginning of a new phase for me – one in which I am actually recording my Tarot journey all in one spot, as opposed to taking notes here and there, in random blank books and online journal apps, without ever having a cohesive narrative. I love that the first card to help me explore my new Tarot blog idea actually has the word “Tarot” on it! I took this as an auspicious card for a new beginning. But it didn’t tell me much about how to approach the blog, which was my real question, so I drew another to tell me more about HOW to make it a good start.

Second card: Two of Cups. My intuition is that this card, at this time, represents me. “The Two of Cups personality is compassionate, co-operative, respectful and caring. This person understands the healing powers of love and the importance of relating with others. They are likely to treat you with deep respect and ensure that you feel involved and heard. This is someone who is deeply connected with their inner self-love and who is not afraid to share their loving, compassionate energy with others.” (from Biddy Tarot’s Ultimate Guide to Tarot Card Meanings book)

This helps me see that my deepest motivation in blogging about Tarot is not just to create a private record of my thoughts, but to share my loving energy with others — first by chronicling my thoughts and feelings as a student of Tarot, and later by being a place I can offer Tarot readings to others who want to use the cards to make loving choices in their own lives. It was good to have this clarification on what the purpose of the blog would be. I asked about how to start, but Tarot gave me the “why.” It’s typical of Tarot to give me answers to questions I didn’t quite ask, but should have.

But I still wanted one more card for a little more practical guidance, for the “how” to go with the “why” of this second card.

Third card: Three of Wands. “Preparation, foresight, enterprise, expansion.” (Biddy Tarot again. She’s my main resource right now for Tarot card meanings, other than my intuitive response to the images.)

Here’s my take on this card as practical guidance: THINK BIG. Think long-term. Expand your horizons. Be a visionary. Be open to new ideas. Do some research and buckle up for a long-term journey. This all still feels a little “high level thinking” for a question about how to get started, but I’ll mull it over and see what I come up with for an actual game plan. Or I will just keep putting out blog posts and see what evolves! haha Both of those approaches seem like “me.” I don’t know much about astrology yet, but I do know that I’m a Gemini, and I identify with a lot of the duality inherent in that sign.

All in all, this is a very encouraging and inspiring spread for an initial look at how this blog will help me along my journey. One more note…I’m not yet well versed in numerology, but a quick last glance at these cards has me noticing the numbers at the top of each: The Wheel of Fortune is 10, which simplifies to 1 (1+0=1), and the next two cards are “2” and “3.” Such a lovely progression for a spread that asks about how to get started! It’s as easy as 1-2-3, right? Except, of course, it’s quite deep and not easy to do the work of honest self-reflection that you then share with others. It takes courage, and it takes faith in the importance of both the journey itself and the process of making my experience available to others.* I think I have those, but the faith is stronger than the courage** right now. Let’s see how it goes!

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*Note to anyone just starting out: don’t procrastinate recording your beginner’s        thoughts and experiences! It’s amazing how quickly one can forget how it felt to take that first glorious plunge into a new experience. Good thing I have so much to learn yet that one day these early posts will still seem like baby steps.

**I just remembered that “courage” does not mean “lack of fear,” it means that you proceed despite the fear you feel. So I’m all set, after all. ❤ In my next post I will try to remember and describe how I got started with Tarot in the first place.