I have had an incredibly busy week in crazy Colombo. It is hard not to feel alive when you are hurtling through the colourful bustling streets in a bumpy tuk-tuk. The people of Sri Lanka are generally happy & inspiring, all the stimulation of my senses & interactions have left little time for me to wallow in self reflection. When I have had time to ponder where life is leading me my mind has been incredibly clear, everything seems possible in the sunshine & heading back to the UK for the inevitable wind down in to winter & the darkness & cold, is filling me with a little trepidation.
After darkness must come light
However it is inevitable that out of darkness must come light. I have been researching different aspects of The Major Arcana. The Darker archetypes of the Tarot, The Tower, The Devil, Death etc are pivotal aspects of the progression & are totally representative of darkness before light. One of my favourite sayings is that it is always darkest just before the dawn. As individuals we all have a darker side to our personality, when the Devil pops up in a reading I always enquire about any habits or personality traits that are troublesome to the questioner. Often they will deny any behaviours or attitudes that they think represents their ‘dark side’. If we try & suppress or deny those aspects of our personality that have a negative effect on revealing our authentic self we are only giving power to those aspects. Everything & everyone consists of dark & light, on our journey to become the best version of ourselves, by exposing the darkest parts of our persona to light, admitting our shortcomings, we are diminishing the power of ‘the devil inside’.
The Tarot for personal transformation
The Tarot is of course considered first & foremost as a donation system, used primarily to offer alternative paths for a questioner to follow during periods of indecision. My focus with the Tarot is as a personal development system, using the Tarot as a mirror for the subconscious revealing different aspects of the personality & challenging behaviour that may be limiting a person, preventing them from moving forward with their lives.
Duality in our personality
After night comes day, after winter comes spring. Good & evil, love & hate every positive has an opposite negative, inevitably we must choose which elements of our personality we allow to drive us. We all have aspects of our personality, male & female, Yin & Yang, by embracing & exploring our whole persona honestly we can break free from any bonds that hold us back & strive forward in to a more fulfilling future.
Use the Tarot to reveal the ‘real you’.
When you begin to embrace your real personality, the ‘real you’ hidden behind the layers you have built up to protect yourself, you can only feel empowered. When I am working with clients through the Tarot, building a rapport, I am regularly surprised by how often people are ‘playing a part’, either what they think is expected of them, or some imaginary version of themselves. The truth is we all do this to some extent, presenting a ‘version’ of ourselves depending on circumstance. I can honestly say that the more we can be true to ourselves, the more of our authentic self we can project, the more the Universe conspires to present us with positive experiences that nourish us & give us the confidence to strive towards our goals. Should I pull the World card, as I did for someone today, as a significator, I can be pretty sure that they are in a phase of their life where completion of a phase leaves them feeling satisfied with their journey & experience. This can be such an empowering place to be, feeling literally on top of The World & ready to take on the next phase of your adventure inspired & energised.
Just as the darker cards of The Tarot allow us to investigate more challenging aspects of ourselves, there are many cards that encourage us to embrace the positive aspects of ourselves. The Magician, The Star, The Sun to name but a few. If opportunity presents itself, surely it is our duty to grab it with both hands. So many people allow their inner darkness to torment them with ‘what might have been’, ‘if only I had’. The more you allow these doubts to creep in the more energy you are providing the darker side of your personality to drag you down. when a negative thought pops up, consciously try to mentally intercept it & think ‘thank you for coming, I appreciate what you are saying & then actively replace it with a positive. For example instead of ‘Oh no I have to go through this again, I was rubbish last time, I’m certain to fail…’ reprogram me yourself with “Well with the experience I have acquired from previous scenarios I am much more prepared & am guaranteed to pull this off this time”. Try & stay in the moment, don’t regret what has passed, you can’t change that. By staying in the moment & doing the best you can do in any given situation you are laying the groundwork for building a brighter future. Imagine yourself as the person you desire to be & mentally visualise yourself absorbing that person in to who you currently are, allow the new energy in to yourself, enjoy the new feelings that will replace attitudes that are no longer relevant, accept that life is good & grab every opportunity.
The more of your authentic personality that is revealed, the more you can feel yourself released from any behaviours or attitudes that have previously sabotaged your progress, the more you can really set yourself free to enjoy life. We have all met those people who light up a room, who you see in the street dancing to their own internal tune. This really can be you, move out of the dark & in to the light, you can live the existence you desire, the only person who can hold you back is there every morning in the mirror. Are you ready for fast forward ? It really is up to you .
