Several people have been blogging about their experiences as they go through my book 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card. It’s a great way to share your insights and get feedback from others. Personally, I was delighted by the story resulting from Step 4 as recounted by “Tarot Dude” (Roger Hyttinen) on his blog—read it here. Using The Gaian Tarot‘s Seeker [Fool] card, Roger began with a fantasy tale about a young woman named Sally who went to work every day in a cubicle. But, in the second part of the exercise, when it came time to retell the story in the first person/present tense, the story became very personal:
My name is Roger and I go to work every day to a cubicle. Oh, I had planned on going to college, but things just didn’t work out the way I had anticipated. A bad breakup and the lack of my parents’ ability to provide any financial assistance forced me to take an office job performing menial tasks. “It’s only for awhile, it’s only temporary,” I tell myself.
But my heart aches. I feel out of sorts with the rhythm of life. I have the strongest feeling that I am not doing what I was put on earth to do. I really can’t explain it – but everything just feels wrong about my life. . . .
The story continues with the appearance of a little red fox who tells him about dangers to the world and eventually asks if Roger will accept going on a journey:
“Journey? What journey? I just can’t pick up and leave. I’ll have to pack. I’ll have to tell my family that I’ll be leaving. So many things to do.”
“Impossible,” says the fox. “Time is of the essence.” He nods toward a tree. “Behind that tree is a small blue bag that contains all you will need. Mama Gaia will provide the rest. You need to have faith that all will work out. You need to know that you are following your destiny – and your destiny, my little man, is to save the world.” The fox pauses. There is sadness in his eyes. “Please, do not let fear prevent you from taking this journey. For if you do not accompany me right now, then all is lost.”
I stare at him but say nothing. I wring my hands together and look off into the distance, trying to decide what to do.
“So,” says the fox. “Do you accept?”
I take a deep breath and nod. “I accept.”
“Well then, let us not tarry. Our journey begins now.”
When you realize it really is about you, such a story can have a deeply transformative effect (I encourage you to read the whole thing). Since Roger really did go to college, the first part of the story is a metaphor asking, basically, what everyday, menial tasks are currently constraining him from addressing the “big” (college-level) questions and issues in life?
Check out Roger’s other posts at Tarot Dude.
Let me know if you are blogging about 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card and I’ll add your link to this post. Also, let me know if you’ve written a review of my book (laudatory or critical) and I’ll also link to it.
Blogging 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card
- Tarot Dude
- Zorian’s Tarot Quest – the posts for each Step are well organized in their own section of the blog.
- Aeclectic Tarot Forum’s Study Group for 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (not actually a blog)
Mary K. Greer has made tarot her life work. Check here for reports of goings-on in the world of tarot and cartomancy, articles on the history and practice of tarot, and materials on other cartomancy decks. Sorry, I no longer write reviews. Contact me
Mary K. Greer's Tarot Blog 
14 comments
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September 16, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Janet Boyer
http://janetboyer.com/21_Ways_to_Read_a_Tarot_Card.html Laudatory, natch. I recommend this book to my students and pretty much anyone within earshot (who want to experience Tarot). :oD
September 16, 2010 at 2:41 pm
mkg
Janet – I love to hear that!!! Great review. Thank you.
September 16, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Janet Boyer
You’re welcome! I usually recommend yours first…and then I remember mine. LOL! :oD
September 16, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Nick
I really enjoyed this article. It opens up so many options,
many thanks,
Nick
September 17, 2010 at 12:04 am
Susan
Hi Mary,
Last winter on the TABI forum, http://www.tabi.org.uk/forum/index.php a study group worked there way through the 21 Ways, Apprentice part of your book. I was a part of the study group and can highly recommend your book as the portal to a wonderfully creative tarot process and experience. Many thanks.
Perhaps I will tackle the Adept portion during the coming winter!
Susan
September 17, 2010 at 11:35 am
mkg
Susan –
I’d love to hear which of the Steps really stood out for you. Of course, the great part of it is that if one technique doesn’t work for you then another one probably will.
I’m not listing the TABI forum in the blog post because you have to be a member to see the discussion. There are lots of benefits to joining TABI, of course—of which this is just one.
September 17, 2010 at 6:09 pm
Roger
Mary – thanks so much for quoting my blog post. Doing this step in the book really affected me. I starting it out as a fun, little fiction story. Then all of those memories from the past came flooding back to me – the time when I DID have to go to a cubicle every day and at the end of each day, I felt as though the very life were sucked out of me. Then, one day I made a decision out of the blue to quit my job and leave it all behind. I remember feeling much like the person in the story – afraid and unsure, yet deep down knew it was the right thing to do. While I don’t think I’m “saving the world” like in the story, I do hope that I’m at least making a bit of difference…one person/querent at a time.
I didn’t realize until I was doing this exercise how much I identified with the Gaian Tarot’s Seeker card (The Fool in other decks) – and that I had been just like the figure in the card not so very long ago – apprehensive perhaps, but ready to make an unknown journey.
Really looking forward to working through the rest of the book!
September 17, 2010 at 8:34 pm
mkg
Roger –
Thank you for the follow up on your wonderful story. Thank you for letting me use it. I think it’s important for us to realize that most often the world does get saved ‘one person/querent at a time.’ The important thing is acting as if the little things matter and realizing that some ways of life are conducive to our doing our best and some aren’t.
September 20, 2010 at 4:21 am
Susan
Hi Mary, In answer to your question above, I found each and every part of ’21 Ways’ wonderfully enlightening. I am an old woman and some of the questions took me back to my childhood and its’ haunts, brought me forward into new understandings of my present, which has in turn given me much more substance with which to meet both my mundane and spiritual futures. Some of my answers to the questions brought my understanding of the Tarot onto a totally new level of intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and indeed mundane (physical) understanding. I often refer back to my own work and to your book.
I very much relate to your own statement:
“As a reader I try to be a ‘Midwife of the Soul’, because I use my skills and knowledge of the cards to ask questions, so that the querents’ responses ‘Give Birth’ to their own wisdoms.”
I have learned to work with the cards from a phsychological perspective and your book, ’21 Ways to Read a Card’, certainly gave me many more tools to work with, and for that I thank you. And I will move forward into the Adept portion of the book shortly.
Many blessings, Susan
September 20, 2010 at 9:59 am
mkg
Susan –
A suggestion for the Adept portion of the book:
There is more variety to the exercises. Some are exploratory — like laying out the whole deck on the floor and looking for overall patterns. Don’t get hung-up on any one exercise or process! If you don’t have time for a long one, then skip it and go on to a shorter exercise and come back to the long one when it appeals to you to do so. You can also skip around to which ever of the 21 Ways that most interests you at the moment. Be playful – although it sounds as if you already get that. It’s in the play that you can suddenly find yourself going deeper than you ever thought.
I’m so glad to hear about your experience with the book. It’s exactly what I hoped would happen.
Mary
September 20, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Susan
I will certainly take your advice for the Adept portion of ’21 Ways’. Your idea of approaching the exercises more loosely and being more playful has actually really motivated me! There is nothing like the release of having fun in the midst of seriously deep learning. Can’t wait to get my teeth into becoming an ‘Adept’!! Will let you know how I proceed. Many thanks for your input Mary.
September 22, 2010 at 9:34 am
Barbara
I am so glad I ran across this today! I was just getting ready to dig in for a nice study session with my Gaian Tarot. I’ll have my copy of 21 Ways right beside me.
I always imagine borrowing one or other of the Ways and building a workshop around it. These are often so fun to do in a group. Really gets the ideas and revelations flowing.
Barbara
September 27, 2010 at 1:37 am
Stellaire
I also write a review: http://stellaire.pixnet.net/blog/post/25515811, but it is wrote in Chinese. I just want to let you know that I really love your book. It inspire me so much.
September 28, 2010 at 3:45 pm
mkg
Barbara –
Yes – please do build a workshop or class session around any of the techniques from 21 Ways. They are meant to be used and shared. Of course, I always appreciate the mention of me and my books, even though many of the techniques are classics or even developed independently by others (new ideas often emerge with several different people around the same time).
Stellaire –
Thank you so much for your review in Chinese. I was thrilled to see it!