It's an inside job

Happy Saturday! Here's a quick 'lil hit for your weekend reading pleasure :)

People are often put off by "woo" and esoteric things. Even Tarot. Which is some pictures on cards. Why is that?

Well, it seems modern, Western culture has equated anything woo or esoteric as dealing with some sort of external entity or authority that is deemed "spiritual." Sort of like Christianity, but weirder. Maybe even occult! 👻

I know quite a few people, including family, who when they hear the words Spiritual or Divine are immediately put off as it reminds them of the religious dogma they grew up with.

It's a good reminder of how powerful words can be.

But, what if those words—Spirituality and Divine—don't have anything to do with Religion or some individuated entity? What if they point to an inner authority rather than an external one?

Those are pretty big questions, so let's bring it back to Tarot—some cards with pictures on them. How does Tarot work? If I buy into it, does that mean I'm irrational? Am I now "woo!?"

Or, is Tarot just a visual language that tells the story of the Hero's Journey? Or, in this case, the Fool's Journey. The cards depict enactments of archetypal characters found throughout human history still found today in each of us—in all their various permutations.

When we see the Fool about to leap into the abyss with nothing but a sack and a little dog, we're able to dig into our own minds—particularly the unconscious—to see where we feel like we're about to take a leap. Or, where we need to take a leap—metaphorically, of course.

And, this happens almost automatically. When you learn the language of the Tarot and you pull a few cards, they can almost instantaneously form a story that resonates with your own subconscious and unconscious.

The Tarot isn't woo because you're tapping into some external authority or entity that is guiding you. It's woo because it's a tool for tapping into our own, individual unconscious and guidance. Our unconscious, typically out of reach, can be tapped into with a deck of 78 pictorial cards. Weird!

I don't like to make blanket statements, but this thinking can be applied nearly, if not entirely, to all esoteric and woo tools, practices, rituals, etc. They aren't tools for speaking to an external authority or entity, they're tools to speak to your own unconscious—for understanding and getting to know yourself better.

They're tools for going inward, not outward.

Now, go far enough inward and the lines between objective and subjective, or even the lines between individual and collective, get kinda fuzzy. But, one step at a time friends! Getting to know one's own unconscious is already a massive undertaking.

So, do any of you use Tarot, or meditation or any sort of woo-esque rituals to tap into your own unconscious mind? Are you put off by words like Spirituality and Divine? If you reframe it as an "inside job" can you take another look at some esoteric ideas or practices? Let me know, I'd love to hear about it!