Katrina’s Approach to Tarot
Interpretations of cards and spreads often differ between different tarot readers. They also have different philosophies upon which they base their practices. Read on to learn about Katrina’s personal understanding of tarot, but keep in mind that you do not have to agree with or fully understand her personal beliefs around tarot and spirituality to benefit from or use tarot.
My approach is based on my belief that tarot is an interface between the physical realm and what I consider the primordial consciousness – that is, the underlying spiritual essence of all existence in the universe (some call it the collective consciousness, universal consciousness or source). The primordial consciousness is past, present and future – it is the foundational layer of the universe. It knows everything because it is everything and has always been everything. I believe that pieces of the primordial consciousness are incarnated into the physical realm – all animals, plants and other forms of life have a piece of the primordial consciousness within them which keeps them connected to everything else in the universe, as it is shared by all. Here in the extreme density of the physical realm, we can easily forget our source. But the eternal knowing is still there within us, and we can access it if we choose.
Tarot is therefore a tool for us to commune with the eternal spirit within each and every one of us, that connects all forms of life in the universe. It knows all – which is why I always say that you already know the answers – tarot just lets you see them. You are a living piece of the universe – you only need connect to your own inner knowing to find your path (which, I understand, is harder than it sounds). Tarot facilitates this connection.
But if tarot is an interface to connect us in our human animal form with the universe’s spiritual essence, why does it not give us direct, specific answers to all the knowledge we seek? Why can tarot be so mysterious? Because tarot is, at its essence of universal forces, a feminine* tool and practice. Tarot itself can be described, using its own terms, as a combination of The Moon and The High Priestess. These feminine* cards relate to the mysterious deep inner knowing within us all – all is not revealed outwardly upon demand, but rather is sensed with intuition, unfolded over time, and beyond the capacity of a physical incarnation to fully comprehend. Structure and concrete direction are energetically masculine* concepts, while the undomesticatable feminine* ebbs and flows, dancing through cycles.
Like the feminine* forces of the universe, tarot works in cycles. The Major Arcana are the 22 out of tarot’s 78 cards that represent each essential stage of every spiritual cycle we undergo throughout our lives, beginning at The Fool and ending at The World. This cycle is repeated with every new truth, learning and development we experience, all of which take us closer to alignment with our whole, true selves – our primordial essence. Through each cycle, we come back to ourselves a little more.
Tarot cannot tell you exactly what will happen and when – as a feminine* tool and practice it is more mysterious than that, and it never presents a fixed destination that you are doomed to reach. You always have agency over your path and have control over your choices and future. Tarot helps you recognise what is happening in your life for what it truly is. It shows you where you are in The Fool’s journey, and where you are heading based on your current actions and beliefs. Tarot reveals only what you are supposed to know right now. It nudges, hints, suggests. This, however, does not diminish its value. On the contrary, it ensures that you walk your journey yourself, as I believe is necessary for all of consciousness to grow, learn and experience itself as a life form. I cannot read you your ‘fortune’ like the script of a play. I cannot take you from The Fool straight to The World. You must walk the full journey yourself.
My role as the humble translator is to help you figure out what area of your life the cards are pointing your attention to, so we can work out what actions are in your best interest to pursue. But it is you, and only you, who can, and must, walk the path and do the work.
*The terms ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ here refer to ancient Eastern concepts of universal forces or energetic principles, not to modern Western ideas of men and women. These concepts describe complementary ways of moving through the world, such as intuition and structure, flow and direction. They are non-hierarchical, and both are necessary. Masculine and feminine forces exist within all people and all forms of life.