What does Divination have to do with Art Therapy?

Human beings have always had a deep need to ask and seek the answers to

"Why are we here? Who or what controls our destiny? and/or What will

happen in the future?" One way of receiving the answers to these

questions is through divination and all cultures have different ways of

practicing divination.  Methods that have all stood the test of time are

Rune stones, I Chin, Numerology, Astrology, and reading Tarot cards.

Divination systems in preliterate times, were largely the exclusive

domain of the rulers, chieftains, sages, prophets and shamans. Although

belief in magic was practically universal up to and through the Middle

Ages, including primitive divinatory practices of folk magic, knowledge

of divination systems could not spread until the invention of printing.

Divination has always been with us and still is. Even in the Old

Testament, Jahweh uses a sacred set of dice called Uri and Thummim to

make decisions in God's name.

In my twenties I experienced several events that shook my hold on

reality. I searched for answers everywhere and then became intrigued

with the Tarot. As a visual artist, I was entranced with the images and

as a seeker of knowledge; I was drawn in by the complex system of

Archetypes and stories that each card held. Shortly after discovering

these cards we traveled through Europe and North Africa, as did many

people of my age in the late seventies. I read all that I could about

the Tarot throughout our travels and I had my cards read by many

different readers. The study opened up my eyes and mind to many other

spiritual practices and ways of perceiving reality. When we

returned to Canada I thought I would move beyond the cards, but they

just kept finding a way of being relevant in my life. Reading is not

something that I advertise or promote in myself, but it is something

that comes naturally to me and I do it. It is one of the few things in

my life that I don't question, I really don't know why or how

readings work, and for some reason I don't need to know. I also

don't know why it seems so natural for me to read. I love the world

of Archetypes and find the study deep and meaningful. I enjoy the

endless combinations and unfolding of story lines that the 78 cards

create and the fascinating way they reflect a person's life in a

reading. Why they can predict the future, reflect the past and confirm

the present I really don't know. Somehow I am detached from needing to

know. I just accept that those cards work. Not necessarily for me, I am

not good at reading my own cards, but for others. Reflecting on this I

am thinking, hmm, good recipe for life. If you want to be accomplished

at something study it hard, practice it for many years, then learn to be

unattached to your performance and let it intuitively and instinctually

unfold. In other words become highly invested in learning the art/craft,

and then get out of your way to practice it. Are reading cards really

any different than creating art? Divination for me is no more or less

magical than this, being Present, in the flow and unattached to the

finished product. It's just another art form.

Mother Peace Tarot Deck by Vicki Noble