I walked through the door and heard bells chime as the door slide closed behind me. I stood a few feet away from my future, surround by candles and other mysterious looking magical stuff. As my eyes pivoted around the room, The friendly woman who would do my reading greeted me. That day I decided to be brave and try the unknown. I was going to have my Tarot cards read.

We have all seen mysterious psychic shops sitting on random corners of busy streets, where the windows always seem dark and you want to venture in, but you are too frightened to try something new and unfamiliar to your everyday way of life. After passing by these shops for years, I finally gave in to my desire and made an appointment. After all, I read my horoscope every morning and always find meaning in the phrases that are suppose to direct my life no matter how disconcerting they can be.

“Great, you had your Tarot cards read, but what exactly are Tarot cards,” you wonder?

Tarot is a time-honored tradition of using a set of cards to gain insight and achieve greater control over issues involving relationships, opportunities, and life changes. The origins of the Tarot card deck are hidden in mystery. The time, place and circumstances of its creation are largely a matter of speculation. Some people say that the deck dates back to Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations, where the ancients used the decks to symbolize the secret teachings of their mysterious religions. However, the most popular belief is that Tarot cards were brought to Europe by fortune-telling gypsies that came from Egypt or India.

However the cards came, they were widespread in Italy, France, and Germany by the later 14th century. The Tarot card deck consists of 78 cards, which includes 56 Minor Arcana cards and 22 major Arcana cards, each type carrying different meaning.Okay, so what can the Tarot cards tell you? First of all, they cannot tell you the future. I was hoping that after my reading, I would be able to have a direct path to venture down, a path with no relationship what-ifs and career dilemmas. I learned from my reader, however, that the cards almost never tell you a certain future, but they can be used as a tool to explore what may happen if things go a certain way. Why can?t we receive a definite answers if these so-called “psychics” have magical power and can see or feel the future? Because only you as an individual control your choices.

I enjoyed my Tarot card experience, it offered me a new insight and new things to ponder. My reader explained to me that most Tarot card readers will not tell you what you should do. They will raise possibilities and options about what you, as the sole controller of your life, should consider in order to make your own choice. On my particular visit, I was offered two options to take control over a certain ongoing situation in my life. My reader was very supportive and informed me of the outcomes that I could experience on each side of the path. She never tried to steer me one way or another, although at times I wish she would have just told me what to do, so I wouldn?t have to be responsible for my decisions.

If you enjoy reading your daily horoscope, then I would recommend experiencing a Tarot card reading to widen your horizons. If you do not read your horoscope, take a small step and start. Before you know it you too will be hearing the bells chime as the door closes behind you.

Predict Crystal Clark has her lines crossed? E-mail her at [email protected].

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