Welcome to our MVUU Tarot Altar

Like altars, tarot has many interpretations and meanings in different cultural contexts. In popular culture they have an ominous meaning, often paired for the drama of some cards like Death, the Tower, or the Devil. We have been learning from Alice Vath, local reader and teacher, a different context, one where the cards reflect back to us like a mirror. Instead of seeing our physical face, instead we can see our own mental, emotional, and spiritual faces. In this context the imagery of the cards is meant to evoke meaning from within, instead of having a meaning from outside.

This altar invites you to use one, two, or all three decks to do a simple reading for yourself in response to the question, “What do I need to know about the rest of my day?” Follow these steps and be open to your own internal responses.

1. Examine the imagery of all three decks. Is there one in which the imagery speaks to you more than the others? Perhaps more than one does, so use one or all of the decks. If none of them feels right, work with the one that is least outside of your perspective.
2. Ask the decks quietly, “What do I need to know about the rest of my day?”
3. Shuffle the deck(s) you are using for this reading and cut them. There is no right or wrong way to shuffle and cut, just do what feels right to you with the deck(s) you have chosen.
4. Consider again the query, ‘What do I need to know about the rest of my day?”
5. Turn over a card* from a deck and arrange it so you can take in its image. What do you feel in response? What does it draw to mind? There may be a deep recognition within the image, or it may be something to ponder for a bit. If you are using more than one deck repeat the process for each.*There are no “bad” cards. This is not about divining your future using someone else’s meaning, it is about what the cards you have flipped can help your recognize within yourself about the rest of your day.
6. Your reading is done. You may wish to take a picture of your card(s) with your phone to glance at later, or to look up what it means in a book or on a website.
7. Please return the decks to single stacks, so the next person can share in the altar.