Tarot - A basic introduction

Whenever I tell anyone that I have developed interest in Tarot and trying to learn it, they give a confused look and ask " how can a deck of cards tell you anything about anything ?" I laugh because even I too had my doubts about the tarot earlier, but i found out that the cards can make a real difference in the way you perceive and deal with the challenges in life.

The origin of the tarot is a mystery. Although the roots of the tarot are in the occult tradition, in the last few decades it has included many different perspectives. The tarot is most commonly used as a tool for divination. Whatever you read about tarot are all merely an outline which must be completed with the results of one's own observation and meditation.

A tarot pack consists of 78 cards. 56 minor arcana are divided into four suits: wands(clubs), cups(hearts), swords(spades), and pentacles(diamonds). 
Each suit includes four court cards - king, queen, knight, page and ten spot cards, numbered from Ace to Ten. The spots usually grouped in geometrical designs are sometimes combined with pictures illustrating the divination meaning of the cards. The rest of the pack - major arcana is a series of symbolic pictures. Each has a special title and bears a number.

	Correspondence	Element	Energy	Season	Class
Wands	Creative energy, personal Or professional development	Fire	Active (Yang)	Spring	proletariat
Cups	Emotion, sentiments, interpersonal relationships	Water	Passive (ying)	Summer	Clergy
Swords	Ambition, aggression, strife, conflict Or intellectual or ideological energies	Air	Active (Yang)	Fall	Nobility
Pentacles	The material world, our finances & Property, wealth, security.	Earth	Passive (ying)	Winter	Artisans, Merchants

There are two types of reading - open reading & question reading.
Open reading - addresses the larger aspect of your life rather than a specific problem area or question. They are usually done when you are entering a new phase of life.You can direct the reading if you have a general area you want to cover such as career, health etc, but that's as specific as the direction gets.
Question reading - here you are addressing a specific question. Tarot is not intended to answer specific  'yes' or 'no' questions; tarot shouldn't be used to make a decision, but instead should be used as a guide to help you make the decision yourself. 
Here are a few points you need to keep in mind when you ask questions during a reading - 
 * your question must be focused but not overly detailed; rather than looking at one particular aspect of a problem, find a way to look more broadly at it.
* If you are reading for yourself make sure your question focuses on you rather than on someone else who you might think as a root of your problem.
* ensure your questions are neutral and not convey any preconceived notion that your view is necessarily the right one.
* make sure your question is stated in a positive way. Instead of asking why a specific event hasn't happened , ask what you can do to help make that event happen.
The cards give you guidance if you ask for it.

Many of you might ask where does a meaning in the reading comes from. I believe that most powerful sources of information comes from within, there is an aspect of the unconscious yet to be know. Tarot aids in coming in contact with one's 'higher-self'.

I used tarot because it is one of the best tools I have found to make my inner guide more available consciously.  The ideas, images, feelings  that emerges as I work through a reading are my inner guide. How do I know there is a message and its not my imagination? I don't know. I can only trust my experience and see what happens.

But i truly believe that an answer to any of our questions are almost always within us and one can employ any method to tap into it.
Just play with the cards and see if you experience a few surprises.

Acknowledgement - complied from learntarot.com and scienece.howstuffworks.com

You are your own celebrity!

The myth of Bollywood celebrities being the epitome of fashion, them being called fashion icons just shoots above my head. The current trend in Indian fashion is very contradictory to old school design process where one never knew what would actually inspire them,today designers draw inspiration from movies.

Gone are the days of trend forecasting and researching street fashion. All one needs to do today is watch a movie to get started with a new collection. Collections inspired by 'size 0' skinny girls, which are meant to look good only on skinny girls. 

where is fashion democracy? 
Fashion is something a designer offers 4 times a year, style is what you are comfortable in - true essence of style.
Instead of blindly following what is thrown out there,  one should create their own identity,  their own style and carry it with confidence. 
Instead of crowing bollywood as epitome of fashion , turn around and be your own celebrity! 

Beauty in everything!

I stepped into the world of fashion as a freshman in a leading prestigious fashion institute in India and was instantly awed & inspired by the works of a creative genius 'Alexander Lee Mcqueen' the  ‘L’Enfant Terrible’ of the fashion industry.My initial projects were also about him or inspired by his craziness, that gave me a sense of belonging. While working on one such project I came across a quote that has stuck with me for life.

I truly hold by this quote, one can never say what inspires a creative outburst, the weird texture on a reptile or a piece of junk in a garbage can, what a normal person calls ugly might actually look beautiful to a creative mind! I am not saying that all individual are not creative, but there are a few exceptions who just happens to think differently and happens to see beauty in everything.

Life is beautiful, open up and observe the beauty around; smile & get drunk in it!