Tarot for Everyday Life
Tarot for Real Life: Use the Cards to Find Answers to Everyday Questions by Jack Chanek
Jack Chanek is an exciting new voice for Llewellyn. You may already be familiar with his name from his first book, Qabalah for Wiccans. Or perhaps you met him as I did, through his blog, particularly his articles on Baba Yaga.
In this book, Chanek takes a fresh approach to tarot by putting as much emphasis on the minors as the majors, hence bringing our attention to where the archetypal energies manifest in the real world. By weaving his teachings on the practical aspects of tarot reading through the suits, we experience a beautiful unfolding. The practice and sample readings throughout the book help us learn to divine useful answers to pressing questions.
Here is an example from one of my favorite cards (from the book):
The Three of Pentacles is a card of teamwork and dynamism. Where the Two taught us moderation and balance, the Three encourages us to grow and test our limits. This card depicts an architect consulting with a couple about the construction of an archway. It’s a card of cooperation, of exchanging ideas with other people and learning from them in order to make our work bet- ter. The architect in this image is the expert. He is a master of his craft, and he has the confidence to do what he does and do it well. Nonetheless, he chooses to coordinate with the other figures in the card, soliciting their input on his project. He knows that as good as he is, he is made stronger by the help of others.
It can be difficult for us to work with others, to ask for their ideas and to take those ideas seriously—sometimes at the expense of realizing our own. Nonetheless, the Three of Pentacles reminds us that other people have strengths we don’t have. They can see things we don’t see and come up with ideas we’d never have considered. Working with other people can be a hum- bling experience. So often we have a vision in our minds of how we want our work to turn out, and we don’t want to surrender that vision to the influence of other people. It can feel like abdicating our autonomy. But cooperation is not subjugation. When we work dynamically with other people, we don’t give up our own vision; we merely add other perspectives. If we can bring ourselves to accept the help of others, and to work as part of a team rather than trying to go it alone, the result of our labor will be that much the better.
Sometimes, teamwork grinds to a halt. People have difficulty communicating and working well together, egos get in the way, and we can lose sight of the bigger picture. In circumstances like these, the Three of Pentacles appears as a nudge in the direction of humility and cooperation. All the cards in the suit of Pentacles demand work of us, and the Three demands the work of being with other people, which can sometimes be the most difficult task of all. This card reminds us that we cannot, in fact, do everything on our own, and that other people are there to lift us up rather than drag us down. It also reminds us that we have a reciprocal duty to lift others up and to help them in their goals just as they help us in ours. More than anything else, this card tells us that our strengths are to be found in our connection to other people and in fostering partnerships that are mutually supportive, encouraging, and beneficial. Humans are social animals. We’re at our best when we’re together.
