Tarot as a Healing Art

I was talking to some friends a couple nights ago, and in the course of conversation I made the comment that I considered tarot to be a healing modality just like Reiki, which I also practice. Both my friends were surprised but intrigued by this idea. Each said that if they needed healing they would go to one person, but if they had a question they’d go to an entirely different person. My friends said that it had never occurred to them to ask a question of their healer nor expect healing from their reader. I explained that both healing and reading connect the client to the Divine Source. The transformative truth of the reading arises from a connection identical to the link that an energy healer establishes to receive the flow of spiritual energy for healing. Simply put, in both cases the practitioner is a channel for Spirit.

In what way can a tarot reading be healing? When I’m reading tarot for myself or for clients, one thing I try to do is dig deeper than insight. There are layers to a reading. First we encounter the literal truth of what is going on in the client’s life, sometimes with a slight refraction towards the past or future. Then there is practical advice on how to achieve the outcome that’s best for all involved. Below that is the insight as to what caused the situation and how it can be maintained or transmuted depending on the client’s wants and needs. This insight level begins the foray into healing, as awareness — the result of insight — is the primary prescription for restoring a shattered sense of self.

But true soul-level healing can arise when the reader continues on to the layer of highest expression. By giving voice to the unassailable inspiration of these cards, whatever stories they may have already told, we shed the light of Divine Unity on the shards of self, and fractured parts reflect the perfect whole. Each and every card in the deck has its highest expression, its own glimmer of godhead, and the tarot healer can speak this spiritual vibration directly to the heart of the client. This technique is not “making the best of what we’ve got,” nor is it “wishful thinking” — neither of these levels of interpretation, the first generally quite helpful, the second usually distracting, will connect the reader or the client with the healing energy. Only when the client feels energized, motivated, empowered, courageous, and fully inspired have you found the healing frequency.
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Joy Vernon is a Certified Professional Tarot Reader in Denver, Colorado. To schedule an appointment, please visit JoyVernon.com.

© 2010 by Joy Vernon