Proposal

Reflections

​

The criteria I want to base my reflection off of can be divided into three categories, although one of them will not always be relevant. Some aspects are technical, aspects of the skills that come with practice and experience, while others are more about learning to make connections between the cards and the question asked.

​

Technical

These are more about the cards themselves, the meanings that they have, and my skill in memorizing and associating them.

​​

• I started with very little knowledge of meanings. How familiar with the cards am I now? 

• How are my associations with each card/suit? Can I begin to draw meaning from them without referring to guides and reading materials?

• What part of the reading am I stronger at? (Upfront reading/story based reading/suit & number association)

• Can I see how these cards relate to one another? Does the presence of one card in the reading affect how I read another?

​

Reflection through Reading

This is more about my performance, and how I interpreted the cards and linked them to my personal circumstances to find meaning and advice for self-reflection

​

• How clearly did I find a relevant answer to my question through the cards

• Do I feel this reading means for me to reflect on my past, present, or future?

• Did self reflecting through the cards feel helpful at the time of the reading?

• Did the reading affect actions I took later in the week? If so, what do I think I would have done without the context of the reading?

• Were they helpful influences, or did they fall through?

​

Variable (if applicable)

In the later weeks, there may be variables to account for in the reading. Consider how this may have impacted my method and results.

​

 

• Did the variable change anything on a technical level?

• Did the variable in any way affect how I went about the reading?

• Did the variable change how I felt about the reading in hindsight?

​

Programme:

 

Week 5 - Starting up

 

My first week, I want to briefly touch on the history of tarot as a whole. What it was originally used for and how it changed over time into what a modern practitioner would recognise as a tarot deck. In this introduction I will also briefly cover the significance of the deck I chose to use for the purpose of this journey, the Rider Waite deck.

​

As well as this, I plan on detailing my experiences and method learning how to read the cards themselves in more detail in the first post, going into detail about the method I will be applying to the following weeks so I don’t have to re-explain every week. To my understanding there are several facets to be taken into account, including but not limited to: the image depicted on the card, the symbolism therein, the spiritual meaning behind the number, suits, and depicted scene, and the corresponding portion of the story the deck represents.

​

To both put these skills into practice and to prepare for the weeks ahead, I plan on doing a Three Fates’ reading, and a four-card element reading. 

​

Week 6 - Insight to the present
 

To use tarot for the purpose of self reflection has been lauded as very effective. I want to examine various perspectives on how this might be. I plan on talking to people I know who practice, addressing books I have in my possession written by people who perform tarot for a living, and investigating scientific reasons that tarot might be effective for self reflection.

 

The readings I want to do this week are the Celtic Cross and a Karmic Reading. Both of these layouts are supposed to tell you where you are at the present time, and what to bear in mind and address moving forward. Your strengths, foils, and what’s holding you down. 

​

Week 7 - Looking to the future

 

While tarot’s connection to divination and seeing the future is actually quite recent, it is what the cards are best known for on a pop culture level. I want to explore how this connection with the cards was made.

 

For this week, I will be asking questions that specifically ask for guidance moving forwards and see what kind of advice the cards provide. A four card reading, and perhaps a pyramid will work well for this I think. And another three fates reading to see if anything has changed since the last time I tried it.

 

Week 8 - Reading for Someone Else

 

Reading tarot for another person is a profession and a spiritual experience for all involved. I want to read for at least one, preferably more, people. I will have less emphasis on research this week to leave room for the additional reflection this variable may cause.

​

The layouts I use will have to be discussed with the other person, what questions they want to ask, or if they just want a general reading will change what layouts we use. Their own thoughts and opinions will be documented (with consent) as well as my own.

 

Week 9 - 10 (Two posts) - Channeling a deity

 

This is where the wiccan element truly comes front and center. For research I want to look into tarot’s relationship with religion, specifically wiccan and pagan gods, and look for a diety I might want to channel for a first attempt.

​

The first week will mostly comprise of trying to contact a specific deity, and the following week will be influenced by how that goes. Sometimes reaching a deity doesn’t happen right away, and some refuse to pick up at all. If I am unable to contact a deity in the first week, I will attempt to open myself to any deity who wishes to make contact in the second. If the first week goes well, I may endeavour to maintain contact with that deity, depending on how I am received.  

​

The readings and layouts will, by nature, depend on how the weeks unfold, so it is difficult to predict the ones I will need at this time.

​

Week 11 - Break

​

Week 12 - Final Reflections
 

While my reflections will be affected by how the 12 weeks goes, I want to boil my final thoughts down to answer a few questions:

​

• Was using the tarot helpful for personal-self reflection?

• Do I think I will continue using tarot after this project?

• What was particularly helpful for me, fun, or stood out in a positive way?

• What was challenging to me personally?

​

All of these are very personalized, and the answers will not be reflective of the craft as a whole, but rather my experience with it.