Pulling the Death card out of a Tarot deck is more than disconcerting; it sets my spidey sense on fire. Saturday morning at five, I pulled card XIII. Not long after, I read that the US had attacked Iran. The Death card always forecasts an end. But sometimes Death is death. That’s when I feel my soul crawling around inside looking for a way out.

There are countless ways of incorporating Tarot into our life. But the four Tarot practices I find most useful are: sorting out daily life, dreamwork, divination, and magick. These four techniques often overlap. Only divination involves making a blind draw and this is Tarot’s most common use. The other three, though, I feel are just as important. I look through the deck and pull-out cards that help me interpret my daily life, dreamwork, and to practice magick.  

Carl Jung is helpful in using Tarot, especially his method of active imagination. The imaginal is our access into the realm of the invisible and the Tarot is our chariot that transports us there. In his Red Book, Jung encounters figures like Salome, Elijah, and Philemon. He had conversations with each image and their multi-layered personalities. Having dialogue with an invisible character can be difficult for some of us. The Tarot, however, steps in and provides a visible image of an invisible archetype. You want to have a conversation with a father figure, pull out the Emperor, or one of the four Kings. Want to have a conversation with your lover, or love to be, surely one the cards can represent that person. There are 78-cards each with their own image and representing various archetypal symbols. Set your imagination free.

The Four of Cups showed up this morning: emotional waters are unpredictable; rethink allegiances, restlessness, rediscover will power. What’s your interpretation?