A Fool's Journey and the Tarot

Why do we call this restorative A Fools Journey? Those of us creating this restorative love working with archetypes, and we are all inspired by the images that appear in tarot cards. A typical tarot deck is composed of 22 ‘Major Arcana’ cards that represent archetypal energies or personas, followed by 56 ‘Minor Arcana’ cards that represent life situations. There are some who say that the Major Arcana cards lay out a path and story of a transformational journey.

Here are some links to folks who work with the cards like this;

http://www.learntarot.com/journey.htm

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/fool.shtml

There are also theories about tarot and its history which indicate that the cards were originally a card game, and the order may be random. But sometimes randomness is equally inspiring. A couple of websites that talk about the roots of tarot are:

http://marygreer.wordpress.com/category/tarot-history-research/

http://www.tarothermit.com/

While this indicates that the images may not be necessarily following a linear story, the cards are tools, and provide an opportunity to explore aspects of ourselves. It’s interesting, and helps us learn something about ourselves and others.

We began this restorative with The Fool, the first card of the Tarot, and each year, we hold a place for Fool energy in our work. The Fool reminds us that any journey of spirit starts by following our intuition, opening our hearts, stepping into the unknown, and being willing to laugh at ourselves.

The second year, we worked with the second card of the deck, the Magician. That year we realized that learning is integral to all we do. Our rallying cry became “Use Your Tools, Fool!”, as the Magician is one who studies and works with tools and builds skills.

In 2010, we focus on the High Priestess, and connect with our deep wisdom, the value of listening and empathy, and finding our power inside. She serves the community, herself, and that which is bigger than us.

Aside from the other great links mentioned above, here are some other sites/organizations we like:

Most of us facilitating Fool's Journey read cards and have for a long time. We have also learned from or been inspired by others, who we acknowledge here, as well as some other resources:

http://marygreer.wordpress.com

http://www.rachelpollack.com/tarot/tarot.html

http://www.susanlevitt.com


The Daughters of Divination produce the event Bay Area Tarot Symposium once a year. http://www.dodivination.com

Tarot to Go is a Bay Area resource for readers, classes, fun merchandise, and a blog.

http://tarot-to-go.net or

http://tarotpathways.com

http://www.tarotcalendar.com