The Gift of the Old Ways of Wisdom
Autumn is rolling in as we speak, with that subtle new freshness in the air, coupled with the official Gathering of The Spiders that always marks the beginning of September.
Since the lifting of lockdown, life seems to have been gathering pace and running away with me almost. Time now to pull in the reins, hunker down, prepare for Autumn which for me is the freshest time of the year, a season when the harvest has been all but gathered and sorted, and space has been cleared for new growth, a time for reflection and journeying inward. It feels good here to put ‘pen to paper’.
Recently, I’ve been learning about the Tarot, and specifically its multiple uses as a coaching tool, not only with my clients, but in my own life too. As a coach, I am always interested in alternative and creative methods of enabling people to answer questions such as who they are, what they really want out of life, and how they are going to get it. When we approach these questions from a logical, analytical point of view, we can end up getting in our own way. Today, thankfully, we humans are beginning to lean away from our left-brained, linear, black and white thinking to our right-brained, creative, intuitive side. We are moving away from the old-school dualistic thinking (black or white, rich or poor, male or female, mind or body) to a more integrated, holistic approach to life - recognising the connections between two seemingly disparate things, such as the mind and body, which do not operate separately of each other, but affect each other in powerful ways - think the tension headache you might feel (body) when you’re anticipating a meeting (mind) with a difficult person in your life. Or the countless examples of executive burnout when the body shuts down after excess stress. Or the inexplicable lack of energy that you feel when you and your partner are going through a tricky patch.
So you may be wondering how on earth something like the Tarot can help us look beyond the surface of our everyday lives to discover deeper patterns, meanings, underlying causes. Its power lies in its imagery. Images, whether on a Tarot card or in an art gallery, or those created in our mind by reading a story, tap into our unconscious in a way that is unique to the viewer/reader. If you and I look at the same painting in a gallery, we will each be drawn to different elements in it. We will each have different responses to it. For you, it might evoke happy memories or feelings from another period in your life. I might notice the colours and textures. You might notice the expressions on the faces of the people. Perhaps one of them reminds you of yourself or a part of yourself.
Tarot is the same - it connects with our unconscious and reveals to us what we need to see, acknowledge, process, reflect on, learn. The symbols seem to call to us from a world just out of our conscious reach. They are a story of what it means to be human. If you look at the 22 cards of the Major Arcana, they form the timeline of the stages that every human being might go through. You may be at the stage of The Chariot - feeling as if you ‘have it all together’, but wondering what else there is to life, as if there is something missing that you just can’t quite put your finger on. Or perhaps you are struggling with unhealthy and unhelpful habits that you can’t shake, as might be symbolised in The Devil card.
For me and my clients, it’s not about ‘Will I meet a tall, dark handsome stranger?’ or ‘Will I win the lottery?’ The questions that the Tarot can help answer might be
What is my role in the difficulties I am currently experiencing in my relationship with my partner?
What resources do I have to support me in starting up my own business?
What am I not seeing about my fear of changing career?
What options do I have in this situation that I might not have thought about before?
What step do I need to take next in order to enhance my health?
What is blocking me from meeting a good partner?
What is the biggest influence in my life right now?
What do I need to focus on today?
Who might I become if I allowed myself to fulfill my true potential?
When I find something on my life journey that excites and deeply resonates with me, I like to share it with others. And so I’m running a 5 week programme called Know Yourself Through Tarot, every Thursday evening online from 7.30-9pm, starting Thursday 22nd September.
In it, I will guide you to learn how to use Tarot cards to find your own answers to life's challenges. I am really excited about offering this programme, and I would love you to be part of it.
Please contact me for more information or follow the link
Autumn journaling questions
- What does Autumn mean to me?
- Is there an area of my life that I feel is approaching it’s Autumnal season?
- What part of my life do I need to lay to rest and what part needs my focus and attention?
- What do I need to put in place now so that I can see its growth in 6 months time?
- Is there a part of me that needs to rest and hibernate for a while? How can I ensure that I serve my own needs?
- What is the overarching theme/challenge/attitude in my life at the moment? Is this something that I want to invite more or less of?
- What is changing in my life at the moment? What feels as if it’s already shifting, or what needs to shift?
Golden words
Your new life is going to cost you your old one, It’s going to cost you your comfort zone and your sense of direction. It’s going to cost you your relationships and friends. It’s going to cost you being liked and understood. It doesn’t matter. The people who are meant for you are going to meet you on the other side. You’re going to build a new comfort zone around the things that actually move you forward. Instead of being liked, you’re going to be loved. Instead of being understood, you’re going to be seen. All you’re going to lose is what was built for the person you no longer are.
Brianna West