You might be wondering, what kind of a monstrosity title is that? Buddhist Tarot, especially when the Buddha specifically discouraged the usage of mystic powers? I'll tell you what I mean.
Today I was demonstrating one of the resources I made to my business coaching community. It's a simple tool meant to demonstrate the freedom and creativity you can get to have when you use today's advanced technology services.
The resource in question is a tarot learning tool. It was inspired by my writer friend Elizabeth who shared a spread on her Substack. Many people want to get into tarot but don't know how to build the reps, so this is a simple way to build the reps.
To show off the tool I drew 3 cards. One for the past, one for the present, and one for the future. I drew without thinking (which is unironically the best way to draw) and I was really surprised to have pulled these 3 cards.
Huh.
You might not have any idea on why this is significant. Well, a tarot deck has 78 cards. 22 out of those cards are the Major Arcana, identified by their roman numerals. The rest are like playing cards, they have a suite and a number. So this makes the major arcana a statistical minority.
To draw 3 of them in one reading is about a 2.02% probability. That's already pretty insane. So there's the first reason why I was surprised.
The second reason is, the cards are so appropriate in the situation I'm in. I'm not at liberty to talk about it yet, but there's a situation I'm waiting for to happen in my life. To see Death in the present and to see The World in the future, this is foreboding of a pretty good sign.
I don't do a lot of tarot readings these days because I'm more focused on mindfulness. So if I had picked these cards up when I was doing more readings, I would have been super excited and antsy about the seemingly good vibes that come from this pull.
But here's where I noticed a difference today.
What if this has nothing to do with the situation I'm considering right now? I'm so tempted to look at this situation from my current context. It's as if this pull is fated, this pull MUST mean something good for me is happening in exactly the way I'm seeing it.
I'm unconsciously believing in conditions and inherence, when reality is freer than that. Let's think about this. The Hanged Man is generally a card that symbolizes pause, suspension, reflection, and et cetera.
So I think something must be lingering. For example suppose I was contemplating renewing my lease at my apartment or moving. Based on my intuition at the time of the pull, I feel strongly inclined to consider this as a sign of suspension. The card seems to suggest that I spend more time in this in-between state to learn more about the situation. Then something happens: My landlord kicks me out.
In this case, it's tempting to think 1) I suck at reading and 2) all of this is fake. But this is the limitation in myself I realized today: there is something to explore in the theme of suspension in this eviction experience.
A card may suggest an abrupt change, so I anticipate a life event; but a few months of nothingness continues and again, I may be inclined to think that I suck at reading and all of this is fake. Again, I'm missing out on the fact that there ARE abrupt changes in the lull of nothingness, it's just that I'm not looking for them.
During today's lesson I felt my heart rate slightly rise and I felt a bit sweaty. Then this realization of "what if this is actually an invitation to think more freely, instead of trying to bind a reality to a definition I'm forcing?" happened and I was able to connect to mindfulness again.
Joy can be found inside of sorrow. Plenty of comedians will demonstrate this. Beauty can be found inside of filth. I saw it firsthand at the Ganges river in Varanasi.
When you draw a card and start your reading, try to see the meaning of the card regardless of what unfolds in reality. You'd be surprised at the newfound flexibility and unexpected surprises in readings.
Want to try reading yourself? Check out my tarot learner tool right here! You need a deck to pull from, or find an online card puller. Want me to add that feature in the tarot learner? Reply and let me know!
Billy Seol
July Life Coach
julylifecoach.com
