Beyond the Shuffle: Tarot, Life & Everything In Between

Tarot Police

• Adrienne Amari • Season 1 • Episode 34

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 13:27

Send us Fan Mail

Have you ever heard that tarot can or can't do something? That it's just a basic tool?

I'm a little fired up this week after seeing a whole bunch of ridiculous comments in various spiritual communities about what tarot can and can't do or be used for.

Key takeaway? One person's personal beliefs or preferences, do not dictate your skills, or the way a tool can be used.

Let's get into it.

Please note, Beyond the Shuffle will take a month long hiatus in August. Episodes will go out on July 22nd, and 29th, and then will return on September 2nd.


Resources & Links:

Social Media:

SPEAKER_00

Have you ever been told that Tarot has to be used this way or that way, or for this purpose or that purpose? Hi there, and welcome to Beyond the Shuffle, a podcast where we explore this wild ride of the human experience through the lens of Tarot. I'm Adrienne Amari, your host, guide, and lover of using tarot in all sorts of different ways. So settle in, open your mind, and let's go Beyond the Shuffle. Over the last week or so, I've been showing up in different Facebook communities trying to have different conversations about Tarot. Sometimes I'm initiating, other times I'm just that creeper lurking in the background reading people's words and opinions. And I hate to admit it, but one thing that's really, really surprised me is the narrow-mindedness of so many people surrounding Tarot. And honestly, it hasn't been narrow-mindedness so much so in definitions themselves. It feels like people are reasonably open to discussing interpretations, but it's in how Tarot is, can, and should be used. And it's wild to me because Tarot is a tool that can and should be used and explored in all sorts of different ways. And I've said something similar before, but Tarot is a tool that has shifted and grown and transformed throughout its years, as a tool should. Tarot is a language, and all languages need to breathe and grow to survive. I don't think we should ignore the roots of where Tarot came from or what some of the influential people of the Tarot have said and taught. But I do think we need to realize that there's not one right way to read the cards. I have witnessed so many condescending replies and arrogant remarks that if I were new to Tarot, it would turn me right off of the practice. And I don't know why you would ever want to turn somebody off of a tool that could be so beneficial to their lives in so many different ways, and a tool that honestly is just a lot of fun. Through Tarot, I have learned so much about myself, about the world around me. I have figured things out that I don't think I would ever contemplate if it weren't for the cards. Or maybe I would have many, many years down the line. I have connected with all sorts of new people, have created community, and I just don't understand why we want to turn people away from that. And if you're thinking, Adrian, you're coming in a little hot here, and I don't have a ton of context, let me give you some examples of what I'm seeing. One thing I've heard a lot recently has to do with time frame of tarot. So there have been people who have said that tarot is only good for a certain amount of time, it can only read current energy, it can only read three months or six months, or whatever arbitrary number they want to throw in there. And I think what you believe tarot can do really goes along with what you believe time is, how you believe the future works, how you believe prediction works. If predicting is even your jam. So while I'm not saying any of those answers are wrong, I can pretty much guarantee that they're also not right. Tarot can 100% look into the current energy. It thrives in that situation. And it can look into things that might happen three or six months from now. It can even look into things that might happen one, two, five, ten years from now. Does that mean things won't shift and change? Of course it doesn't. But to put a random time limit on it seems absolutely ridiculous to me. Not to mention that while we can look at tarot as a tool for looking into the current energy, it's also a tool for the subconscious. It's a tool for creativity, it's a tool for exploration, for storytelling, for game and play. So to say that it only belongs in this one boxed-in category seems wild. I've seen one tarot reader pop up a few times on Instagram saying that while tarot is being used wrong nowadays, and it has to be used for prediction, and it should be used this way, and everyone's doing it wrong. Here's the real meaning of the cards. And that just so misses the point. Prediction isn't something I personally enjoy, but to think that time is linear and that, you know, after three months this timer runs out and tarot is no longer good doesn't make sense. Energy isn't measured in human time. To think that tarot not being used for prediction is wrong or incorrect doesn't make sense. It started off as a game, so it's arguably more incorrect to use it as a way of predicting the future. And no, I don't actually believe that, but you can see my point. The other thing I see a lot too is looking at tarot as if it's a lower grade modality or a lower tool. I've seen things like, well, I don't need tarot anymore, with the assumption that I'm so intuitive, I'm so tapped in that I don't need tarot as if it's some crutch. Some people's minds just work better filtering it through the cards, and for clients, it can be a really nice way to hear the messages without them feeling like someone is judging them because it's not a person saying it, it's coming through the cards. It can give people symbols that mean something, focal points, things to look for. And this may sound harsh, but I do think that anyone that feels like tarot is too surface or can't go deep enough just doesn't really know the cards that well. And I do think that there is a lot of that too. A lot of people learn tarot on a very surface level, and that's not a judgment or a criticism, but it can be used as such a wonderful tool for contemplation, for meditation, and to go deeper and deeper. And you don't have to use it that way. If you only ever want to use it for fun and games, that's okay too. But just because you don't know how to use tarot in a specific way or for a specific reason, it doesn't make it a less powerful tool. It just means maybe it's a tool that's not great for you. Maybe it doesn't click as well as you would like it to, and there's nothing wrong with that. We're all here to find out our own way of doing things. And I'm not saying everyone needs to turn into an expert tarot reader or only use the cards. It's the condescending nature of some of the replies that I think are uncalled for and unnecessary. Let's say somebody has a set of tools and they're wonderful at woodworking. You could give that set of tools to somebody else, and maybe they can't even piece together a birdhouse. The way you connect with your modalities and tools don't make them on a whole more or less valuable. It just means your skills thrive in that area. And how exciting is that? Don't we want people to find something that really clicks with them? So just because it's not your forte doesn't mean it's not somebody else's. And that's why the kind of response of, oh, isn't that cute gets really frustrating. And ranking different spiritual tools and modalities just seems bizarre to me. It seems to be so against that whole exploration nature of a spiritual journey that it feels wrong and kind of wild. Another example of this is Oracle cards versus tarot cards. Neither one is better or worse, they're just different. I personally like tarot because I like the structure. I like how it works together, it makes sense in my brain. Other people like Oracle better, and that's wonderful because it works well for them. We don't need to judge the modality because I think a lot of the time our goal is the same to understand, to hold space, to help people. And we do that using the tools that work for us. There's also this sometimes subtle response, and I think it can sometimes be taken in a way that it's not intended, but a lot of the time I think it is intended this way, where people reply, like, Well, I'm glad it works for you, but blah blah blah is better, but blah blah blah is more powerful, but I blah blah blah blah blah. And it makes me think of the Southern bless your heart, where you're not really saying that. And it's funny because a response like that is so inherently ego-driven. And calling people out on it doesn't get you anywhere, trust me on that one. And you can just take out the sentence following but and let that be that. I'm so glad you found a tool that works so well for you. Another thing that I find so interesting is that Tarot is a deck of cards that illustrates the human experience. I've said this so many times, and I will continue to say it time and time again. And the human experience is filled with so much, from the divine to the mundane, and that's all illustrated within those 78 cards. So why wouldn't it be capable of tapping into so many different things that we experience in this life? Why wouldn't it be versatile and something that we can use in so many different ways? It's literally built into the deck. So if you ever see someone say that tarot has to be used like this or that, or that you're doing it wrong because of some really weird, arbitrary, random reason, you can send them my way. And that's why the tarot lab is filled with experimenting with the cards in all sorts of different ways, so you can see what works for you. Not every method or every technique or every way of working with the tarot is going to resonate with you, and that's okay. It's not supposed to. Some people love love readings, others love predictions, some like to look into belief systems, some want to see blockages, repeating patterns, others just want to pull cards, see what comes up, and have a good time. I know lots of people who use tarot for creativity to map out stories and characters. I've even done it for a DD character before. Others want to use it as a tool for reflection and to understand themselves, never reading for other people. Some people want to use their love and skills of the tarot to help others. You can use the cards to dig deep, to reflect, to contemplate as a meditation. You can use them to map out your next big adventure in life or in fiction. They can help you feel inspired, set goals and intentions, and figure out how to get there. Through the tarot, you can receive messages from spirit, from guides, from guardians, from those who have passed. You can look into your past lives, plan out your future, understand your dreams, create rituals, and connect with your pets. And hey, if you're not too keen on being moral, you can also use them to scam people. That's not where I would go with it, but hey, there are people who do it out there. And of course, there are so many other ways that I haven't listed that you can work with the tarot. So don't let someone tell you that you're doing it wrong, or tarot can only do this or only do that, because that's a load of bull. And this isn't saying you have to use the cards for all the things you don't use them for what works for you. But we really need to start separating what works for me and what I like to do with what's possible and what others can do. Because at the end of the day, we are all better people when we're able to explore, get curious, experiment, and find out what clicks for us. And you know what? It's even more awesome that that's not the same thing for everyone. And this might sound a little bit harsh, but remember that your lack of skills with a certain tool or modality doesn't make it less powerful in someone else's hands. And of course, I mean that with love because there's a lot of modalities that I know nothing about and that I don't really practice or do. Does that mean they're not good? No, it just means they're not for me. And I know other people can wield them with awesome power, and that's exciting. So, in short, whether it's with tarot or any other tool, find out what works for you and don't let others bring you down. And who knows, maybe you'll find a whole new way of working with tarot or whatever tool you love that changes the world. So I hope you enjoyed this little ranting episode of Beyond the Shuffle. And just as a reminder, Beyond the Shuffle will be on hiatus for the month of August. But even though Beyond the Shuffle's on hiatus, the tarot lab, readings, past life aggression, and coaching with me is not. So make sure you're joining me on Instagram to see everything that's going on. Take a look at the tarot lab if you're ready for community and to really up level your tarot skills and work with the cards in all sorts of different ways, or know that you can book with me at adrianamari.com. I'd love to hear your thoughts, your comments. Have you had any of these experiences? Let me know, and I'll see you next week here on Beyond the Shuffle.