I have a confession to make: before I started working with Liminal 11, I was pretty close-minded when it came to tarot cards! I grew up in southern Missouri – the buckle of the Bible Belt – which means my first impression of all things tarot came from a totally uninformed place. In fact, my experience with tarot was, up until a few months ago, limited solely to a fairly silly scene in the movie Now and Then (an old favourite of mine and nearly every ’90s girl I know).
Even as a much older person with a far more open mind, I wondered if tarot cards could ever appeal to my ‘rational’ side. It just never occurred to me that I could benefit from using tarot cards until I started really looking into it
by Sarah Wray
After watching Tracy’s video where she responded to a series of questions about her relationship with Tarot I decided to follow her lead and talk about my new relationship with Tarot.
How did you get into Tarot or Oracle?
Many years ago I participated in a Jungian course at Monash University and the Head of English talked about her experience with Tarot. I was sufficiently intrigued to buy some Tarot decks and a book by Rachel Pollack but I confess that all this material sat on a shelf, unused.
It was not until I was completing a placement as a part of my Masters of Social Work that I was reintroduced to the magic of cards by my supervisor. She introduced me to Carolyn Myss’s Archetype cards and a beautiful set of Patchwork Life Cards. I didn’t take me many moments to appreciate how I could apply these in writing classes. It quickly became apparent that cards acted as activators in these classes and led to some wonderful work.
Needless to say it wasn’t long before I remembered that I had a small collection of decks that I had picked up and I began to look more closely at what they had to offer.
In December 2019 I made the commitment to learn about the wisdom of Tarot and the alchemical effects of working with it. I found the Tarot Community on YouTube and here I am, claiming to be a Tarot Midwife who uses Tarot to assist people birth their creative ideas.
Are you drawn more to Tarot or Oracle and why?
I am drawn to all kinds of cards and over the past twelve months I have invested quite a lot and added to my collection. It has all become quite addictive.
When I was binge watching YouTube videos during December and then as Australia burned during January, I came across Ouroboros. I was fascinated by the quality of all of Natalia’s videos, but when I watched her video about the psychology behind binge Tarot behaviour I identified that I was becoming a Tarot Junkie. I couldn’t deny that I was drawn to imagery of decks and that I found myself ‘needing’ to buy yet another deck that I had seen featured in a YouTube walk through.
I realised that these cards were feeding a malnourished inner aspect, helping to quench a thirst for a spiritual connection. They not only satisfied the inner child, who never did have the swap card collection other children in the small country town where I grew up had, but actually soothed me. They provided support as we seemed to face one crisis after another. They helped me adjust my perspective.
I enjoy pulling cards for myself and I have felt exhilarated when I made ‘appointments to write’ with people from my classes, pulled cards and saw how these cards led to really stimulating dialogues. Sadly the pandemic has put an end to some of these meetings but hopefully we will get back to being able to meet for coffee and cards again soon.
If you could create your own deck what would it be?
There are hundreds of decks on the market and I am not sure that there is a need for another one. However, having said that, back in the day when I (the Enchantress) led people through a portal into the imaginary world of Lemuria (each number has a hyperlink) I spent a lot of time drawing ‘my journey’. My pencils have lain idle for far too long.
I would like to get back to drawing. There is no doubt that I have the time to do this. However, the ‘noise’ that has been generated by the global pandemic has made it harder for me to concentrate. At the moment I am satisfied to be able to complete an activity like this.
If I can bestir myself I would love to create a deck for myself that captures the magic of the journeys led by the Enchantress.
Show us your first deck whether it is Tarot or Oracle!
The Tarot Midwife 