Coming from a somewhat Buddhist background, I find that applying the principles and ideas of Buddhism to tarot to be not only be quite enlightening, but it almost feels like it is it's true purpose.  I know I sound like a broken record, but using the tarot to predict the future is such a antiquated view on what tarot really is and why it works so well.  We need to move to more personal, spiritual, and flexible ways of using it instead of the rigid ways traditional tarot reading.

Tarot works so well because it speaks to our psyches with its pictorial representations of life in all of its aspects.  It's something Jung understood quite well in his theory of archetypes.  These archetypes were applies to the major arcana, as they represent the cycle of the regular human life.  The Minors are also archetypes, but instead of major ones, they were more basic, representing us in our basic human emotions, needs, and mundane activities.  That's why the tarot works.  Every aspect of life is represented in every single card, so every single card applies to us.

I am also a student of psychology, and I can clearly see how Buddhism and psychology overlap, especially in the tarot. Buddhism is not mystical (as the tarot shouldn't be).  It's got a strong basis in psychology, which again, like the tarot, why it works so well.  Anytime you have a tool that speaks to the human experience as a whole?  You will find a system that is more perfect than flawed.  Especially if that tool is as flexible as Buddhism and the tarot are.  This means, as long as you can make it your own?  It will be the most powerful tool you'll ever have to work with.

Why?

Because everyone is different.  And if we don't have tools that are flexible, then that means they are rigid.  And since when did something rigid work for everyone?

When you use the tarot, instead of immediately letting your brain go to "What is this card's traditional meaning?" you see the card for what it is.  Every little bit of it.  You take it all in and see how it applies to what you're wondering about in your life.  Every single reading needs to be, as Mary K. Greer says: RITE (Readings should be Interactive, Transformative, and Empowering).  I believe in this wholeheartedly with every single reading I give or do.  This means that a reading should have everyone involved in the reading (you and your client or just yourself), it should foster authentic change, and you (or your client) should know by the end of the reading how to be in control of your own destiny.  I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment, which is why I completely changed the way I read to what you find today on my blog.  Traditional readings do not foster this type environment for the person getting their cards read (for yourself or your client).

So, how do you get your readings RITE?  

You need to remember the first name of my website: RAINY.  This will help you create some transformational tarot readings that leave you feeling empowered.


R: Relax.  Nothing is complicated here.  Nothing needs to be perfect or controlled.  You can't mess up something that happens naturally.  If you only you allow it to happen naturally.

A: Allow. Allow your mind to wander.  Make up scenarios of the people on the cards.  Let your mind travel to anything that comes up.  Just allow it to happen without you trying to control it.  Allow your feelings.  Do not judge them, just let them surface, then investigate them.

I: Interact/Investigate.  Interact with the people/animals on the cards. Have a conversation with them.  Get into their heads. Investigate their motivations.  Because their motivations are your own. Investigate your own emotions during a reading.  Follow the rabbit down the hole without judgment.  See where it leads.  Be open.

N: Nothing.  Sit with your feelings. How does what you just learned make you feel?  Just sit and let all you just learned absorb into your soul.  If more feelings come up, go back to the investigation part again.  Draw a new card if you need to. 

Y: Yield.  Take a pause.  Ask yourself, do you really need to draw another card? Rather than automatically drawing several cards in a reading, draw one at a time. Stop when you've figured out your issue.  When using the SA method, you'll find that you'll use way less cards than you do when using the traditional way (I find that I usually only need one card anymore, when I used to automatically draw 12 for my "house readings"...it's quite a different experience!). 

The Buddhist Perspective

1. Seeing things as they are, not as we want them to be;
2. Having our intentions be true and not selfish;
3. Speaking compassionately instead of talking without thinking;
4. Practicing ethical conduct so the pain we cause other living things is minimal;
5. Working a job we're proud of, not one that effects others negatively;
6. Recognize our negative behaviors and work hard to fix them;
7. Using mindfulness to stay in the moment instead of thinking of the past or future;
8. Practicing loving-kindness and keeping the mind on things that matter instead of worrying, etc.