The Mechanics of Tarot

Throughout the course of human history, there are two major obstacles that prevent the human race from reaching spiritual enlightenment together.

The first obstacle is secrecy. Many ancient mystical/spiritual teachings were heavily guarded at some point in history.

Keeping occult knowledge hidden made sense during periods of witch hunts and inquisitions – times when practicing the occult can result in one being burnt at the stake. But, unfortunately, this wasn’t the prime reason for secrecy. Keeping knowledge within one’s own clan was a common practice well before the rise of organized witch hunts and continued after these cruel practices ended. For many schools of teaching, hoarding knowledge was a way to ensure one’s own power and superiority.

One might argue, however, that the reason wasn’t always so selfish. Some believed that spiritual knowledge must be kept secret from the masses because the common people were too ignorant to understand the full depths of the teaching. They feared that the sacred knowledge, in the wrong hands, will be reduced to petty superstition and, therefore, will cause more harm than good.

Even if this was true earlier in history, I do not believe that it is still a valid argument in our current times. We now live in an age of information and it is not up to any individual to be the judge of whether the public is worthy of information.

The second obstacle is the dangerous belief that any particular school of thought contains the absolute and only truth. All other ideas are false or faulty.

Personally, I am suspicious and weary of anyone who makes such preposterous claims. I believe that truth is universal. It is beyond language, race, culture or time. It is ever prevailing, meaning that it is accessible to anyone who seeks it.

However, while truth itself is universal, our understanding of the world is partial and incomplete. We all have fragments of knowledge and which pieces we currently hold depends on our unique history and experiences. For those who seek spiritual enlightenment not just for ourselves, but for the whole of our species, our job is to come together and openly share  what we know and learn from each other.

I am comforted to know that I am not the only one who holds this believe. All over the world, people are coming together to teach those who are willing to learn. We see this in every field of teachings that was once highly guarded – from the Kabbalah to martial arts.

I see these changes as a herald to the Age of Aquarius, a period marked by humanitarianism and futuristic thinking. I believe that the human race has the capacity overcome all the hatred, tension and fear that marks our political atmosphere if only we dedicate ourselves to agents of positive change.