Truth be told, I’m a crazy dog lady. I paint dogs and I walk & hike dogs and I share my home with a dog, and I have studied and practiced herbal medicine for dogs. So when it came time to name my tarot practice, I thought of Canis Major and Canis Minor, which comprise a portion of the night sky – much like the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana, which comprise the tarot. Arcana, Canis… you see where this went.
Our dogs are our mirrors. I learned this first-hand while training and while studying herbal medicine, seeing how dogs manifest issues we have stuffed down into the depths of our psyches. They can see it, even if we can’t, and they reflect it back to us if we pay attention. As do the cards. They aren’t here to tell us what the ego wants to hear, but simply to reflect back.
Dogs also remind us to live in the present, and it’s a great lesson to bring to a reading. Questions about the future are welcomed (part of what I do is planning for the future); but let’s take it from here, now. What can we do in this moment to step forward to that future outcome?
Our approach to tarot should be much like our relationship to dogs – never a fear-based approach, but with an open heart, as theirs always is.
May you always have an open heart to accompany you on the path.
ARCANIS TAROT 