Tarot is a beautiful and fantastic messenger that many people turn to in times of need. However, it’s important that we recognize that we are using tarot as a tool, and it is not the medicine itself. Only you can distribute the medicine prescribed through tarot, or any spiritual tool for that matter.
I think it was February or March that I realized my year’s card was the Moon, meaning that I had a lot of inner stuff to work on and sort out this year. That was part of the drive for my hiatus, was my own personal inner work and discovery.
Jordan, my unofficial tarot mentor (who does really great video reviews of deck on her store’s Facebook page here) once described the Moon as that which makes the shadows darker. In the night, when we’re struggling to see, the Moon shines a beautiful glow over the world, but where there are shadows, they are even darker in the night contrasted with the moonlight. So while the Moon can give us direction in navigating the subconscious, it can also be the key to finding the areas that just aren’t letting any light in.
These shadowy places are what scare many people when they see the Moon. But they’re just places in which the subject of the reading need to do some extra work.
With the use of the Tarot as a tool, a querant can be guided toward the work they need to do, but in knowing what needs to be worked on, the task still needs to be fulfilled. It is not uncommon for tarot readers and those who turn to tarot readers for answers to see Tarot as answer to their problems, rather than the guidance system. And it is important to know that when you have the map laid out for you, you still have to travel along the roads in order to get to the destination.
Too many times have I had people ask questions regarding whether their partner will come back to them, if they’re being cheated on, if they’ll be able to obtain x, if their job will work out, etc., only to get their answer but do nothing toward what the cards have expressed.
To return to my example of the Moon being my guidance for the year, I could simply have acknowledged that this year is for my shadows to become prominent, and that be that. But the message of the Moon is that now is the time for me to deal with those shadows. While accepting that they’re there is a great first step, it doesn’t do anything to sort them out and address them. The message and guidance of the Moon is that this is the year that my attention should be turned toward them so that I can move on to the Sun next year (that’s the exciting part!), which will then come with new things to address.
It is the same with any Tarot reading. A spread saying that everything is going to be alright, generally isn’t all there is to it. One can usually expect some homework that comes along with the reading, such as ‘everything will be alright so long as you don’t allow x to interfere, as it’s want to do.’ or ‘everything will be alright once you face y within you/at your job/in your relationship/etc.’
Spiritual Tools
I once did a reading for a person who was very worried about the outcome of a situation, and the reading confirmed a few of those worries, as well as some advice on grounding in order to resolve the worries. I gave the client a list of grounding techniques that I personally found beneficial, and directed them to some resources, only to be met with the response that they were fine because they carried a grounding stone with them.
I am by no means saying that a grounding crystal won’t do the trick, but crystals, like Tarot, are a tool. A tool won’t do the work for you unless you are putting it to use, and carrying it around with you isn’t necessarily the way to put it to use.
Consider hematite, whose properties are to draw in and transform negative energies into neutral or positive energies, grounding, mental stimulation, courage in women, balancing, calming, protection, and is helpful with self-confidence and self-worth—just to name a few. These are the energetic properties of the crystal, that which works on a vibrational level. This is different than say an herbal tea that we ingest, in which case would be working in the physical world and having an effect on our physical bodies. However, because the use of spiritual tools in a metaphysical manner is energetic, then it requires our energies to meet it part way, to direct it, so to speak, and be the operator of this tool.
Thus, if one believes that simply wearing a crystal without the intention of working on the issues the crystal is meant to be addressing, then the energy of the crystal is directionless, and thus might not be as beneficial as one might think. If you have an emergency carrier of fuel in your car so you don’t run out of fuel, it doesn’t mean your gas tank won’t run dry. It means that if it does get too low, that you, the wielder of the tool—the carrier of fuel with an emergency supply of gas in it—will have to direct the tool toward the fuel tank and pour it in. This might not be the best analogy, but I think it gets the point across: just because you have a tool, doesn’t mean it will do your bidding without your influence.
This isn’t just crystals, obviously, but with any action. If you write a book, it won’t publish itself. You have to do the work to get it published, however that might be. If you self-publish it, you have to get it into the hands of the right audience, you have to direct its energy. Furthermore, you have to channel your energy into the right avenues in order to put your book in the right hands.
If you’re using meditation as a healing mechanism, while simply stilling the mind and remaining in stillness does absolute wonders for the mind and body—there is no disputing this—in order to meditate for a specific purpose such as discovering a past life, a life purpose, meeting a guide, etc., the meditator has to direct their meditation toward their goal. Thus, the meditator is required to meet their goal half way via meditation in order to achieve it.
Doing the Work
So what does ‘doing the work’ mean?
It means meeting the energy you’re wanting half way. In the example of grounding, it means that while yes, you might have hematite to help you to ground, you need to also be making the mental efforts and putting in the exercises to practice grounding, and recognize that the hematite is just something to assist you in achieving the goal, but you are the one who has to operate the tool.
In metaphysical circles, the Law of Attraction is used as a method of understanding this. The LoA states, by many people and in many ways, that we are the co-creators of our realities. The very simplified and shortened idea is that when we put ourselves out there, then the energies of the Universe will meet our energies. It’s kind of like at an old bar job I had—on Christmas and New Years, any tips that we made, our boss would match, thus doubling our tips. It’s kind of the same idea. If you put in the work to ground yourself, then you’ll bring grounding energies to you. If you put in the work to ground yourself, then your hematite will be that vessel of grounding energy for you.
In my personal situation, I have been working on stress-release, as well as healing past wounds. I’ve been working on letting things go in order to make way for better things. I recognized that holding onto past hurts was hindering my ability to make new connections. I have been working on letting those go, and new connections have, in fact, made their way into my life.
I have a whole other post about my theories and thoughts on co-creation, the Law of Attraction, and energetic return coming up at some point, both arguing for and against many of the popularized ideas regarding this subject matter. However, what I will say is that our mentalities affect how we see the world, and thus affect what opportunities we witness. We all have the ability to heal our mental and emotional wounds, and there is no right or wrong way about it. For some of us, it’s medication, and that’s ok. For others it’s therapy, and that’s ok. For some, it’s meditation, and that’s ok. For others it’s nutrition and exercise, and that’s ok. The important thing in all methods of healing that is prevalent in all of the above mentioned is that the individual is putting in the work themselves. One can’t just buy a treadmill so they can strengthen their cardio. They have to actually use it. They can’t just go to the doctor and get the prescription for the antidepressants. They have to actually go to the pharmacist, pick them up, and take them as prescribed.
Likewise, you can’t get a Tarot reading, assume the reading itself is your dose of medicine and call it good. No, the Tarot reading is the prescription. You have to actually get the damn meds and take them.
If you’re interested in using Tarot as a deliverer of medicine messages, I strongly recommend you check out the Tarot for the Wild Soul podcast. She has some truley beautiful healing messages every month. You can check out the link above, or you can read my review of the podcast here.
