Intuition, Tarot & You
After doing a reading last week where I focused on intuition, I came to the realization that the concept itself is shrouded in mystery, dramatized by pop culture, and can seem about as clear as mud. This had me distracted and daydreaming about it for a few days until I realized I could just write a blog post series all about intuition. In this series we will be diving into what it is, what it isn’t, and we will start with some practices that you can take up to help find better access to your own internal wisdom. While I do have an idea in my head of what direction this series can go in, I am very open to hearing about the thoughts of my readers and clients.
First, I would be missing a big opportunity if I didn’t discuss straight out the gate what intuition is not. People often have these preconceived notions that intuition is something that is possessed by “gifted” and psychic people, and it is outside of possibility for the everyday person. This could not be further from the truth. You do not need to come from a long line of witches, psychics, intuitives, or need to belong to any specific heritage, background, or lineage in order to access your intuition. While it’s true that some families may seem to be very gifted on the surface, it oftentimes comes down to passing along certain traits, like openness, curiosity and surrender within the family that can make it seem like it only comes to those special ancestral lines. It should also be said that being born to parents or even one parent who has strong intuition only increases your chances of embracing the concept at an early age and can give a very clear advantage in developing it further. Intuition is truly accessible to everyone, and you can start embracing it at any age and from any background.
So, where does intuition come from, exactly? What exactly is an intuitive person “tapping into” when they seem to conjure up ideas and pictures in their mind’s eye? I think this answer is a little more complicated and personal than a single answer given the myriad of different backgrounds, religious upbringings and experiences of our personal lives. As for me, I am inclined to consider it some mixture of our unconscious mind making sense of input that we may not even be consciously aware of, and having access to something that lives completely outside of ourselves. If you’re familiar with the late Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, you might already know that I am talking about the collective unconscious. This can be seen as a different type of unconscious state that doesn’t live within the body, but rather is a conglomerate of the greater whole that we are all connected to. If you’re not familiar with Carl Jung’s work…well, you should take a look. At the very least, it’ll be a good exercise in expanding your mind and imagination.
Let’s touch upon an important part of why you likely think you aren’t intuitive, or you may feel like tapping into your intuition is difficult. You likely don’t feel like you are intuitive or that it isn’t possible for you to learn because of the society we currently live in and the very deep-seated programming our impressionable minds were given while we were busy learning about all the rules and structures this life has to offer. We were taught certain “truths” as children that we accepted at face value. Here’s a few examples: It’s rude to ask certain questions, being truthful is bad etiquette, you shouldn’t question people who are in positions of power.
We quickly learn as children that certain behaviors are rewarded with praise, attention and positivity, while others are ignored, shushed, or pulled away from. Most of the rules we have accepted and implemented in society are very productive and help give order to chaos, but some things can really damage your intuition.
If you’ve ever had the personal experience of feeling that pit in your stomach- like you just went down an invisible roller coaster hill, only to quickly look around and realize that you are not on a rollercoaster, you’ve likely felt this invisible superpower. Let’s go over an example or two of how intuition presents itself, as well as how we continue to stifle it out of our ability:
You’re 12 years old and out and about with your friends. You’ve reached that age where you look up to highschoolers, freedom, and you’re starting to experience the growing pains of puberty. You and your friends meet up behind the little league baseball field in the woods. One of your friends pulls out a 6-pack of beer from their backpack. The group cheers and erupts in excitement and bewilderment. Where did they get that?! Your friend asks if you dare them to try it, and of course everyone does. The energy ramps up even more as everyone has so many questions. What does it taste like?! Can they feel anything?
As the excitement and heat of the moment continues, the first beer is passed around and when it gets to you, you suddenly feel a rush of adrenaline, you feel strangely weightless, and your hands shake a little bit. Despite being genuinely curious, you have this fraction of a second of doubt. Is this a good idea? Will you get caught? Maybe you’re also a little scared of feeling any way that isn’t with your wits about you. Yet, given this tiny moment of hesitation, you see your friends expecting you to joint them and take a sip, too. The need to fit in overrides your gut instincts to say no, and you go along with the pressure to join your friends. You take a big sip and – YUCK! Despite the bitter and grassy taste, you continue to pass the bottle back and forth until you are suddenly caught by a little league coach who was following the sounds of children doing something they shouldn’t.
That feeling you experienced- the one that seemed all the wiser and gave you that split-second feeling of “don’t do it” was likely your intuition. Maybe you didn’t even recognize that you knew deep down that you’d likely be caught, and you were also really scared of getting drunk. This is the perfect example of the ways that we teach our intuition that it isn’t valued or wanted. Intuition whispers- it doesn’t yell. It’s easy to give in to peer pressure and go with the flow than to come across as rude, silly, scared, or stupid in front of an audience. When push comes to shove, we tend to behave in ways that the people around us will respond positively to and we dismiss anything that might give us negative feedback. \
The same can be said when we meet someone, like a stranger, and we instantly have a bad feeling about them. Everything in our body tells us to run. The hair on the back of our neck may stand up, our body language gives subtle clues; our feet point away from them, we cross our arms to protect ourselves, and yet…What do we do when they ask us a question or try to exchange pleasantries? We usually cave and tell ourselves that we have no reason not to be nice. We play along with the rules we have learned, and we ignore all the signs our intuition gives us. And this is how we starve and hide our intuitive capabilities.
In my next post on this series, we will discuss some exercises in flexing that intuitive muscle and help dig it out of hiding. Until then, feel free to join in the discussion. Have you ever had a moment where your intuition was sending you signals that you ignored, only to realize that your gut instincts were correct? How about a time where you did listen to your intuition. How did that go?
