Let's talk about Reiki and Tarot for a bit.

I posted this photo up on Instagram recently as part of a challenge i'm doing for #gypsytarotchallenge.  The challenge photograph was to picture the High Priestess of a deck with a book.  Because I was busy researching something in The Reiki Manual at the time this seemed the perfect book to use and of course sitting alongside it was The Shadowscapes Tarot.  Perfect for a photograph.

This picture got me thinking that i've not spoken about my experiences with the Shadowscapes Tarot and how it relates to me and me to it as a Reiki Master Practitioner.

Before continuing, let me stress that I DO NOT combine Reiki and Tarot as a treatment.  Reiki is something I prefer to keep as simple and uncomplicated as it was originally intended, with no need to add or enhance it with anything.   Likewise for my work with Tarot.  

What I want to talk about here is the subject of Tarot and one of the observations I have made in decks having a quality that lends itself to something completely unexpected.

If you've been following my blog since the start of this year you will know that i'd received the Shadowscapes Tarot at the end of 2014 and where I wrote about my excitement at having it.  However during the immediate months that followed I found reading with the deck difficult and this was a disappointment to me at that time.  It just proved something that happens to us all at some point or another, that a deck you love sometimes just doesn't relate.

Fast forward on a few months and a moment of magic occurred which showed me that this deck was meant to be used by me in an entirely different way than originally expected.  I noticed that after each self-healing session there was a need for me to spend time in the post treatment relaxed state either with crystals or cards (tarot or oracle), and each time felt that all my decks seemed to be too loud at that moment.  However, one evening I reached for the Shadowscapes Deck tucked away at the back of the shelf and suddenly realisation dawned that this deck was perfect for my moments of contemplation and meditation after Reiki. The gentle ebb and flow of the colours and imagery captures the nature of Reiki energy so beautifully.

Reiki encourages a person to be involved in their own healing  and encourages us to watch over and treat ourselves with love and respect, paying attention to mind, body and spirit.  I find meditating or spending time with the Tarot after a self-healing session allows me to focus on and process thoughts and feelings that may have come up during the self-healing session, thereby being mindful of my mind and spirit.  When i'm mindful of these two, the body benefits from the more peaceful state of being.

Please share your thoughts on and about things that you have found compliment each other in a similar way.