Men and women have consulted tarot readers for hundreds of years and most seek out this form of divination for one reason – guidance and reassurance on major life issues.

On our website, we find that about 90% of our visitors are women, but there would seem to be an increasing number of men who are also finding comfort and reassurance from the Tarot. This has certainly been my experience over the last few years of face to face readings.

Consisting of 78 cards the Tarot deck has two parts:

the Major Arcana consisting of 22 ‘trump’ cards
the Minor Arcana consisting of 4 suits of 14 cards (Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles)

Simply put, the Major Arcana represent major issues or events in our lives and the Minor Arcana represent the more day-to-day issues.

As with most forms of divination, the Tarot can be a very powerful and useful tool to help someone reflect upon their emotions and thoughts, as well as providing illumination and understanding.

What is important to understand, is that Tarot does not provide ‘absolute’ statements or predictions. Many people visit a Tarot reader naively expecting a precise and comprehensive disclosure of their future – "What job will I get, what date will I get it and what are the names of the people I’ll be working with" !! Once a person has accepted that this cannot be done, they can begin to appreciate the true gift of Tarot.

My personal opinion is that the Tarot cards reflect the querent’s current ‘energetic state’, their thoughts, feelings, emotions, projections etc that are busy creating their experience of life - like a snapshot of the current moment in time, with past influences and projections of ‘possibilities’ for the future.

I have found that the Tarot cards are best used to address current issues, or issues that one might face in the short term i.e. within 6 months or so. For longer term forecasting, I would tend to favor astrological charts.

So how can Tarot help you with your self-development, self-empowerment and developing a greater sense of self-love?

Nowadays, Tarot readings can be accessed in many different ways; face to face, by phone, email, cassette tape, online chat and even automated software for your home PC or via websites.

Alternatively, you can buy your own Tarot deck and learn to read the cards for yourself and others. There is a plethora of books, tapes, and internet sites that offer advice and help to learn tarot, much of it free!

A good tarot reading should help you to gain a little more clarity and understanding of your thoughts and emotions about certain issues in your life.

Most of us never make the time to stop and reflect or meditate, to quiet the noise and babble of our conscious minds. In the stillness of silence and with a focused mind, we can begin to form a clearer mental picture and feel deeper emotions which help us perceive our life from different perspectives.

I have found that Tarot often helps people to begin this process of looking inwards, and illuminates the thoughts and emotions that tend to rule their behaviour.

By exploring this established and respected form of divination you will begin to discover many wonderful things about yourself and how you interact with other people and the world around you. Maybe, like me, you will find that the Tarot becomes a portal to your journey of self discovery.

Article Courtesy of Lotus Tarot Library