As a Catholic school girl, I grew up believing tarot cards were a pure evil, a sacrilegious instrument for the devil himself to gain direct access to one’s soul, so I kept far, far away from them. Then, I eventually lived a little and realized how silly a notion that was.
For most of my adult life, having my tarot cards read was something I had always wanted to do, but just never got around to because I was never really sure if I could trust the reader. Before I moved to Italy, I only ever had two readings in my life: One not so great, while the other–at a company holiday party just before I moved–was pretty spot on.
Over the last six months or so, the word tarot kept popping up left and right, and I thought perhaps I should get my cards read the next time I’m in New York. But then, a couple of months ago something better happened! My friend suggested a tarot reading with Melissa DeLynn with whom she took a yoga class when she was visiting Savannah. We did the reading via Facetime, and I was blown away. Not only was Melissa incredibly accurate, but she gave me invaluable advice. I had read somewhere that anyone can learn to read tarot cards but if you don’t do it with someone who has good intuition, it’s like listening to someone play the violin who has no rhythm….Melissa’s intuition is sharp!
I have since started to make positive changes in my life, such as honing my intuition, tuning in to my subconscious and expanding my mindfulness. As a result, I was inspired to take up tarot cards myself and thus my newfound obsession was birthed.
So to get started, I got the most traditional deck of them all: the Rider Waite deck, which dates back to 1910. They say it’s the the best to learn from as most of the resources out there refer to the images on this deck. Now, I get my tarot on daily! I draw at least one card every morning, and most recently, I’ve been reading cards for a colleague, and I just have to say how wild it is. Believe me when I say that the cards don’t lie. It never ceases to amaze me how if I don’t get an answer I like, I “try again” and will either pull cards that have the same sentiment, or cards that I previously pulled. It’s mad! Also, Melissa pulls from different decks, and when she pulls the same card from a different deck, you know that those universal powers are trying to tell you something. I know there are skeptical naysayers out there, but I’m telling you: A bigger force is at work! I still have volumes to learn, and I’m loving every second of it.
To up my learning ante, I took a tarot lesson with Melissa, and in addition, I started taking Little Red Tarot’s Alternative Tarot Course, which is great. The cards have inspired me to do so much reflecting and writing, that I’ll be starting another blog soon for all of my tarot ruminations, so stay tuned on that! Until then, I might post an occasional tarot refection on here. We’ll see.
However, I have to confess: One deck just wasn’t enough. I visited Namaste Bookshop in New York, and returned to Milan with a few new crystals in note (most notably black tourmaline, selenite and opal), an amethyst mala for meditation, and three other tarot decks: The Universal Tarot of Marseilles, Celtic Tarot and Morgan Greer.
The Marseilles tarot is super old, and since I love old things, I just had to have it. Plus, this deck originated in Northern Italy (where I reside!) and is believed to have found its way to France (a country I heart) after the French conquered Piedmont and Milan. I live in Milan, and adore both Piedmont and the South of France, so this deck was just calling my name. These cards are very hard to read as the suits don’t have pictures, so I’ll get to them once I feel more confident. Given my Irish heritage, the Celtic Tarot seemed like a no-brainer.
Plus, the first-ever tarot deck was created in Milan! The Visconti Sforza deck was created in 1450 by Bonifacio Bembo for the Duke of Milan, and the family’s emblems can be found throughout it.
Melissa mainly uses the Morgan Greer deck, and I love its artwork and colors; it’s a little different from Rider-Waite, and I was drawn to the Queen of Swords cover image, a card Melissa pulled during my first reading. Needless to say, I just had to have a Morgan Greer deck in my possession.
However, it doesn’t end here. There are so many fascinating decks out there; I had no idea what a world it was! I’m loving the Art Nouveau deck (got one when I got back to Italy) and I really really want the Fountain, Shadowscape and Klimt decks. I’m also dying to get my hands on the out-of-print Tarot of Bologna. All in good time…
