Throughout 2023, I’m focusing on continuing to challenge myself by trying new things. With a flotation tank, stage karaoke and a writing retreat already under my belt, April involved attending a session in Brighton during which I learned more about tarot with a group of friends. Here’s how I found the experience…
Tea and Tarot at Metrodeco
Kemptown’s Metrodeco hosts regular “Tea and Tarot” sessions, and Jo organised one via Co-Women. Four of us attended, which was a great size for the group as we got to ask lots of questions and delve into detail. With over 20 teas to choose from, we were spoilt, and I opted for a beautiful hibiscus-based tea whilst we got stuck into learning.
Tarot cards for newbies
Fiona gave us a brilliant introduction to the cards and how they’ve been designed. I was the only one who hadn’t experienced tarot at all previously, and I was grateful to be among more experienced readers but also to be learning something brand new. I had no idea that there was so much history to the art form, and that there are all sorts of ways of approaching a reading. We were encouraged to have a question in mind, and think broadly about what we saw, as well as not being afraid to really say what we thought.
Resources to help
Fiona’s designed an excellent placemat-style sheet that guests get to take away with them. My biggest challenge was drawing a version of the first card I picked out, as I have absolutely no artistic flair when it comes to drawing and painting, but fortunately that wasn’t being judged by anyone but me, so I was free to be as detailed or basic as I wanted. We got to think about colours and imagery, and what it is that we’re drawn to. We were also encouraged to think about things that we liked less, or frightened us, and to face up to those things as being important factors in the reading, rather than just going for what appealed to us.
Cake and more
After a cake break, we continued learning and developing more practice at reading, with another resource provided – Fiona’s own “cheat sheets” which include her main interpretations of each card, allowing us to craft a narrative and draw conclusions from the three cards we’d picked out during the session. It was fascinating hearing what other members of the group said – where the similarities and differences between us lay, and what we could learn from both each other’s readings and questions of the cards.
Importantly: will I be back?
I’ve always considered myself to be “a little bit” into things that a lot of people consider to be “woo”. I love a good horoscope reading (although I always take it with a generous pinch of salt rather than living my life by any traits rigidly), and tarot falls along that line for me. It’s fun, and lighthearted, and gives you a chance to think laterally as much as anything. I don’t regard it as a play by play fortune telling experience and this session, like some of the other experiences I’ve already gained this year, was as much a chance to spend time with friends as anything else.
However, I had the privilege of winning my own deck of tarot cards, so I do now have a set to play with and explore, and I’m very tempted to go back to Fiona for a full reading in good time. Plus she has floated the idea of setting up a regular reading practice group so, as another opportunity to meet new people and continue thinking about life a little differently, that sounds fun to me!
What’s next?
May is jam packed for me, and I’ve got a few things in my diary which fall under the banner of new. Once I’ve absorbed them all, I’ll make sure to blog about at least one of them to share what I’ve learned, and perhaps inspire something for you too.