Birthday Readings

Yesterday was my birthday, so birthdays are on my mind.

If you've been working with Tarot for any length of time, you know a number of spreads for birthday readings. You might, for example, pull twelve cards -- one for each coming month -- as a way of previewing your upcoming year. Another method involves pulling cards, arranging them in the shape of the astrological glyph that corresponds to your sun sign, and interpreting these as an "overview" of what you need to know.

I'd like to suggest something far more simple -- but perhaps even more powerful. The next time you have an opportunity to do a birthday reading, give this a try:

1) Find a quiet place. Breathe. Slow down.

2) Shuffle the Tarot deck of your choice.

3) Draw the top card.

4) As quickly as you can, interpret this card as one of the following:

- A lesson you've learned during your years on this planet.

- A gift you've received from others

- A gift you've given others

- A lesson you need to learn.

Repeat steps 3 and 4, drawing one card for every year you've lived. (If you're twenty-eight, you'll draw a total of twenty-eight cards.) The insights you glean don't have to come from the associated year; any card can suggest a lesson or gift from any year you recall.

If you're older than 78, you can use one of the bigger decks (The Transformational Tarot, with its 100 cards comes to mind) or shuffle the deck and begin again.

This exercise is quick and simple, but the insights -- and the feeling of centeredness and gratitude -- are profound.

PS: If you really like the idea, why wait until your birthday? This is an exercise you can do any time of year.