Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Tarot Love Affair


I am in love. Hopelessly, irrevocably, head over heels in capital L O V E. After spending the last five days in New York attending the Readers Studio, an annual tarot celebration and intensive study event presented by the prestigious New York City-based Tarot School, my love affair with the tarot has risen to new heights of passion and devotion. This is not some adolescent crush, it is no brief assignation, but is instead, like all true loves, a deeply transformative relationship.

There is a powerful alchemy which takes place when several hundred tarot people gather. In this case, there were Tarot scholars and historians, psychotherapists and social workers, professors of psychology, and some of the world’s most influential tarot authors, teachers, and Readers, all gathered together under one roof alongside Tarot enthusiasts from half a dozen countries, including Australia, China, and India. The combined energy of the group felt like an electromagnetic soup, drawing me into its swirling mix and infusing every cell of my body with enthusiasm and vitality.

What is it about the Tarot that has such a profound effect on me and so many of my friends and colleagues? It is, after all, just this innocent little stack of paper and ink images, some of them iconic, to be sure, but many of them merely quaint, or even abstract, depending on which version the deck one considers. What’s all the fuss about?

For me, the real answer lies in the intersection of Tarot and human relationship. When you bring the tarot into your life for the purpose of introspection, spiritual development, or divination, you begin to see your life and the people around you in new ways, as though from a broader and more expansive perspective, and the very landscape of your life seems to unfold in new ways outward toward distant horizons previously unexplored. Tarot brings a sense of adventure into my life. Along with meditation and prayer, it gives me one more way to investigate my inner world, and provides a contextual language with which I can enter into dialogue with my clients. Over the years, it has become for me a way to communicate with the spirit world, a tool for accessing past life memories, an aid to dreamwork and shamanic journeying, and a basis for profound intuitive counseling work with hundreds of clients. Unlike many of colleagues, I do not remember a time when I was unaware of the existence of Tarot. It seems as though it was always there, just another fact of my life, like the childhood doll I carried everywhere, or my grandmother’s hand always reaching out to me as we walked across the street. Likewise, I cannot imagine a life that doesn’t include an ongoing relationship with this little stack of paper and ink. 

Want to fall in love with Tarot for yourself? Join me this Thursday for 


Tarot Fundamentals
with Heatherleigh

A fun and energetic look at how to use the tarot deck for personal development, meditation, spiritual growth, and more. Banish the myths and superstitions, learn the origins and history, and see how this esoteric tool has very modern uses in everyday life. This is a great class for anyone interested in learning more about tarot reading for your self or for others.
Class is open to anyone 16 years or older.
Heatherleigh is the owner of Boston Tea Room in Ferndale, MI, and the
co-founder of the Detroit Area Tarot Guild, a tarot advocacy organization
currently more than 300 members strong.

Thursdays in May, 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, from 6-8pm
Classes held at 195 W. 9 Mile, Suite 102, $88 per person
Call 248-548-1415 to register.

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