Digging In Deep

My daily draw today was the Hermit (with Liz Dean’s Golden Tarot).

This is one of my favorite cards, so it was a welcome sight.  So what does this card mean to me?  Well, as usual, it’s very fitting!

Golden Tarot - Liz Dean

I’ve been studying Tarot intensely for a while now.  I’ve read books, absorbed online resources, practiced analyzing different ways of understanding spreads (elemental dignities, numerology, etc.).  These have all been extremely positive for me.  But I’ve reached the point where it’s time to go within.  It’s time to spend alone time with my cards, to study their images and what those images mean to me – not just what the books and websites say they mean.  Yesterday evening I settled down with my tablet and thought: “What site will I spend time on today?”  I drew a blank – I wasn’t being pulled anywhere in particular.  I had the feeling that I’d already explored everything valuable online.  Having all of that knowledge about various card meanings is great, and forms a wonderful foundation for Tarot study.  I adore reading (and will continue to read) other Tarot readers’ blogs to hear about their experiences and learn from the manner in which they work with the cards.  And in the future I’ll use the internet to take the plunge into free reading.  But it’s time to dig in deeper.  My intuition is exploding, and the trust I place in it is growing rapidly.  

Two nights ago I read a real-life sample spread on a popular website, and treated it as if I had received the question from a querent, and pulled those cards.  I worked my way through each one, thought about the story being told, and came to my conclusions about what I would tell the querent if she were my own client.  Afterward I read through other people’s interpretations.  Many were similar, but veered away from mine in various ways – and of course that caused me to doubt myself, and what I was seeing in the cards.  Then I finally read the feedback from the original client, and it reflected my interpretation almost identically.  All those areas where I had second-guessed myself were actually right on.  It was a rewarding moment, and I realized that I can actually do this with people I don’t know.  I learn from reading others’ takes on spreads, so it’s a valuable learning experience.  But I need to focus more on my own intuitions and discernment, and how the cards speak to me.  

So it’s time to swim beneath the surface, delve deeper into my own personal relationship with Tarot.  The hourglass hanging from the tree, and the light of the Hermit's lantern are saying "slow down, and take time to deepen your understanding." This is what the Hermit represents to me today.