Hello, hello friends. Welcome back to Tarot Reflections.
Today is episode 25. That's 25 tarot readings for self-reflection and introspection. 25 lessons in mental health. 25 moments of vulnerability and hard truths.
But in those 25 episodes of sharing messages from the Universe to you, I realized I haven't shared the story of how I became a tarot reader. I may be biased, but I think it's an interesting one. And of course, there will be nuggets of wisdom to guide and support your own mental health journey.
But before I get into that, three quick announcements. First off, the Passion Potluck is this Thursday! If you are in the Chilliwack, BC, Canada area, join us for a community meal and passion-filled conversation. My dear friend Mallory Tomlinson will be Bringing The Passion and facilitating an intimate dialogue on advocating for inclusive communities and spaces. Save your seat at the link in the show notes.
This is a hot topic in my local Chilliwack School Board Election. Somehow, it's even become a controversial topic, though how working to ensure everyone feels as though they belong and are safe became controversial will never cease to shock and irritate me. But that brings me to announcement number three: if you live anywhere in BC, your municipal election is happening October 15. If you live in one of the other amazing provinces or territories of Canada, your municipal election is liking coming up this month too. Municipal politics are vital in community development and growth. So please, learn your local candidate's platforms and go out to vote for the community you want to live and thrive in.
Finally, Find Your Goal'd is back my lovelies! This is quite possibly the most impactful 2-hour long workshop I've ever designed and hosted. Are you ready to (re)connect with your life's purpose, create a powerful vision for your future, and develop a plan that will turn your vision into your reality? Well, Find Your Goal'd gives you the tools and the space to dig deep, get in touch with your Authentic Self, and begin to build a life that cultivates bliss. And it's happening — for the first time since 2016 — on Saturday, October 22 at Wellington Natural Health in beautiful downtown Chilliwack. I'll leave the link in the show notes for how to register.
Now, the story of my journey with the tarot.
I was always intrigued by the cosmic and the mystic as a child. I mean, my imaginary friends were all ghosts or the trees, or the elements of nature, how I didn't see my witchy path coming from a mile away is slightly embarrassing. But my first experience with tarot came the day before my 23rd birthday. It was SeaWheeze weekend in Vancouver - an annual half marathon and party hosted by lululemon that took place for ten years. Before the run, there were all sorts of cool activities and things to check out in relation to the SeaWheeze. One of the free things anyone could participate in was receiving free tarot readings, angel card readings, oracle reading, etc.
And that was the day I received my first ever tarot reading. I won't lie, it wasn't particularly memorable. I don't remember what I asked or what my reading said. Though to be fair, it was a very big, busy weekend with lots of amazing moments and highlights. But I do remember sitting in the chair, under an umbrella, warmed by the Vancouver summer sun, right near the Olympic Caldron. I remember thinking something was happening to me energetically. And I remember getting really deep inside my head as a result of the reading.
Less than four months after receiving my reading, I was standing in line at a small bookstore. Seriously, this shop was in the middle of a dead mall in New Westminster, BC, with a limited stock because it just wasn't that big. And as I waited to make my purchase, I spotted this kit on a shelf with the title "Learn to Read the G*psy Tarot".
I want to take a moment to pause here. The word G*psy evokes many images which stem from its racist origins. For those who are unaware, G*psy is a racist term, especially when used by folks who are not of Romani decent. I've included a link in the show notes that dives into the origins of the word and why it is a term of oppression. So from here on out, I will be referring to my first deck as a Romani Deck.
On a whim, following a strong gut instinct, I grabbed the kit. It contained a set of Romani Tarot Cards — a smaller deck compared to your traditional tarot deck — and a guidebook on how to read the cards.
I tore the kit open when I got home and devoured the book. I loved learning about the Romani deck, its history, what made it different from a traditional deck. I started learning through one card draws and testing out different spreads on myself. When I felt bold, I would do small spreads for friends for fun. I particularly remember offering readings to my friends over the phone for New Year's Eve that year. Before I read for one friend, she told me her and her husband had started trying for their first kid. They'd been trying for months and reached the point where they were starting to use every old wives' tale trick in the book without luck. A handful of minutes later, I read for her. And with very little faith in myself or the belief in any ability I would have to predict the future, I read that she would be successful in conceiving within the first few days of the New Year.
Folks, I'm pretty sure she conceived that night. Either way, a kid popped out roughly nine months later.
But I was very shy with my readings. I didn't feel comfortable using the cards to "predict the future" perse. I did enjoy the messages and themes of this very small deck. I think it only had about 27 cards for me to learn, and slowly over time I was starting to understand the imagery and themes. I loved the stories behind them. I loved the metaphors that carried through all the years the deck had been in existence.
But for me, it really was just play. It didn't feel real or significant. It was something silly I would do, for my own personal enjoyment.
That is until I wrote a blog about it.
Oh blogging, how you constantly changed my life.
I wrote about how spending the past year playing with my tarot deck had been a new way for me to reflect on my life and my goals. Really, the message of the blog aligns with my philosophies and tarot uses to this day. And in that blog I wrote about the deck I used, how it was different from the traditional tarot, and how it felt special to me.
My Oma, which is Dutch for grandmother, has always been one of my biggest blog readers. So when I published that blog, she reached out that day.
Growing up, I knew my Oud Oma (or Great Grandmother) was always a little bit... eccentric maybe? The woman rocked a beehive hairdo until she wasn't able to do her own hair anymore and she played the accordion like a boss. I had vaguely remembered being told she made a living back in Holland reading people's tea leaves, and I always wished I had been able to have her read for me before the Alzheimer's took away her gift.
But the day I published my blog, my Oma told me that my Oud Oma had read a tarot deck too. And while the deck was in Dutch, my Oma had it in her possession and offered to give it to me as part of my University graduation gift.
The cards were old and many of them had begun to disintegrate. My Oma had them laminated for preservation, but far too many were too far gone. But it didn't matter. When I pulled my Oud Oma's deck from the leather pouch that protected it, I immediately recognized that I held a Dutch version of the Romani Tarot Deck. It was my 27 card deck.
My Oud Oma read the same tarot deck as I did, she just read it nearly 100 years before I did.
That's when I knew there was something more to this tarot reading journey I was taking.
What really makes this story weird is my inability to ever find a Romani deck again. Four years later, when Smudge was a kitten, he knocked my Romani deck into a sink full of water. Destroying my personal deck. To this day, I have sought out a new Romani deck, I have gone into some of the most unique metaphyz stores in Toronto and Vancouver, and the shop keepers look at me with bewilderment when I ask if they carry any or if they could get one in for me. It seems like no one knows of this deck. Honestly, if it wasn't something my ancestor read before me, I would think this kit I had found made the whole thing up.
Of course, my life felt empty without my tarot so I did eventually pick up a traditional tarot deck to learn and here we are today. I may never find another Romani deck again, the deck that started me on this path. But I am grateful to it and the time we did get together. And I am grateful to my Oud Oma. I assume she is here beside me, guiding me on my tarot journey.
Sometimes our paths take us to unexpected, unpredictable places. It can be exciting but it can also be very, very strange. I look at those moments in time as little nudges from the Universe, guiding me and getting me into the right place for what I needed. I often wonder - if I didn't run the half marathon that year, would I ever have received a tarot reading? If I didn't trust the pull to buy that starter kit, would I have ever purchased a deck? If I hadn't published one, small blog post on this new "hobby," would I ever have learned my ancestral connection to the cards?
Sometimes, moments in life don't always seem significant. Sometimes, the reasons for things happening take years to become clear. And that can be stressful. It can cause anxiety in our lives. But having trust in the Universe, or at least having trust in yourself, makes that unknown journey a little less scary.
So, on to today's readings.
Our message from the Universe for the week ahead comes through the... Eight of Pentacles.
Okay, this is a week of learning ahead. It's a week to buckle down, focus on your goals, and learn a new skill in order to level your life up. This is a card that indicates hands-on learning is in order here. Get your feet wet, get your hands dirty, jump fully in and start trying to do the thing you want to do. Seek out guidance from those who have learned it before you. Be diligent in your work.
We just started October, which marks the beginning of the final quarter of the year. Now is the perfect time to reflect on the goals you have set and figuring out a game plan for how you'll move closer towards them in the next three months. I bet you within that reflection, there's something you need to learn still. That is where you should focus your time this week.
And our message for building mental resilience is from... the Four of Wands.
What a perfect card to pull for the week of the last Passion Potluck of the year. The Four of Wands is all about community. All about home. Spend meaningful time in your community this week. Be with the people who share your values, passions, understandings, and global goals. Find ways to give back to your community. I know that community care is a form of self-care. That when our community is strong, our mental health is strong. We were just talking about this very topic on the last New Moon Renewal Bonus Episode! If you haven't caught that yet, I'll link it in the show notes. But our community is meant to be there to help lift us back up when we've fallen down. How can your community uplift you this week?
This wraps up another episode of Tarot Reflections. If you've enjoyed this or one of the other 24 episodes of this podcast, please consider leaving us a rating and review. Give us a follow. Share us with a friend. I love the community this podcast is building and I am honoured you are a part of it. You can find me on Instagram or Twitter at meganmentally and I'm over on TikTok at tarotreflectionspod.
If you are ready for more quick, easy, digestible bits of mental health guidance, you need to check out my weekly newsletter Permission to Thrive. It's your permission slip to do what you gotta do in order to care for your mental wellbeing. Sign up today, you know where to find the link, it's in my bio!
Until next time friends.