The Long and Winding Road

Recently I began reading the Tarot. I've been asked by a couple of people what led me to do this. Both times I've answered,"...I don't know. I was reading some books..." Well, I've figured out why I was having difficulty answering the question.

In the last year or so I've felt strongly that I want to experience the spiritual world, and not simply read about it or describe it in conceptual terms. I've begun more directed meditation, and learning what I can, where I can, about the spiritual worlds.

Given that "spiritual" ordinarily means "religious", and given my own identification with Christianity, this learning has had an interesting tension to it. First, Christianity has so narrowly defined - I would say constricted - the notion of spirituality that any teachings of the sort I am looking for about spiritual worlds is not Christian in perspective. Second, I nevertheless still gravitate toward Christian-oriented literature.

That brings me back to the Tarot. In the clearly non-Christian books I've been reading, I came across occasional references to the book "Meditations on the Tarot". I was in Barnes and Noble looking in the New Age section - like I said, wanting to experience the spiritual worlds doesn't necessarily lead me to Christianity, and more likely leads me away - and came across "Meditations on the Tarot." The title seemed vaguely familiar, so I picked it up. Then I read the subtitle: "A Journey into Christian Hermeticism." That's when I decided to buy it.

Once I started reading this book, I was satisfied that I had made the right decision. It is a wealth of practical knowledge about experiencing spiritual worlds. Once I was satisfied with that, I began to think about the Tarot specifically. It wasn't long - chronologically or conceptually - before I bought my first Tarot deck.

As it turns out, I've learned that two close friends also read the Tarot. The spiritual worlds are indeed invisible, and close by.