Self-Reflection Spread
- Christy Kato
- Jun 4, 2020
- 3 min read
Blackout Tuesday came and went and most of us realized that it was doing more harm than good. For those of you that didn't hear- the hashtag for blacklivesmatter, that used to hold important information and voices, was being drowned in rows and rows of black squares. Thankfully enough people flocked back to their Instagram accounts to delete their posts.
But the sentiment was there; people were trying to show their support in the simplest way possible. A lot of us chose to take the day to pause, listen, self-educate, and self-reflect.
I struggled with having conversations with myself; sometimes it's difficult for me to see myself, my actions, and my words from an exterior perspective. How can I break down these invisible barriers I have with myself? Tarot!
Since the 18th century, the art of tarot has been used as a means of divination. Divination in of itself is to either try and divine future events, or (as it is more commonly used) to uncover hidden knowledge about oneself.
For my friends who are still new to tarot; don't let that dissuade you from doing your own reading! First and foremost, it's most important to trust what the cards are telling you. What imagery on the card speaks to you? How can you interpret that? After doing your own interpretations, sometimes it's helpful to pull up a tarot card cheat-sheet on your phone. You may find that the universal interpretations of the cards are rather similar to your own; and if not, it's okay! Trust. Your. Intuition.
The spread that I created for myself is a launching point- an icebreaker in the conversation you may want to have with yourself. I placed the cards in this order: left, right, middle, and then an oracle card. If you don't have an oracle deck, that's totally okay! You can always just pull a fourth tarot card.
LEFT: Where am I coming from? What part of my past self should I be aware of?
RIGHT: Where am I currently? What part of my current self should I be aware of?
MIDDLE: What should I focus on moving toward?
ORACLE: What requires more self-reflection and attention?
I definitely recommend journaling about this. Keep the conversation with yourself going. You may want to check in with yourself using this spread every so often, or develop the spread further to dig even deeper. If you don't have a tarot deck, feel free to reach out to me and I will be happy to do a spread for you. A quick disclaimer about that: the reading I'll pull for you won't be MY advice on what you should be focusing on, reflecting on, or working on. I would be happy to give you my interpretation of your cards, but I always recommend interpreting them on your own as well.
Below I've shared several resources that I've found helpful when educating myself:
Revolutionary Witchcraft by Sarah Lyons- currently on Google Books for $12. https://books.google.com/books/about/Revolutionary_Witchcraft.html?id=BIeLDwAAQBAJ
Black and Blue: Exploring Racial Bias and Law Enforcement in the Killings of Unarmed Black Male Civilians by Alison V. Hall, Erika V. Hall, and Jamie Perry- free downloadable document.
11 Anti-Racist Social Media Accounts That Are Worth Following an article by Variety
Just Mercy- a 2019 movie about how systemic racism plagues our society is streaming for free on Amazon and YouTube until the end of June.
158 Resources to Understand Racism in America by Smithsonian Magazine
Black Revolutionary Texts a GoogleDocs collection by @alijahwebb (Instagram).
If anyone has any other resources they have to share, please don't hesitate to leave it in the comments so I can add it, shoot me an email, or DM me on Instagram. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions either! Blessed be and fuck the police.
Comments