To be honest, I never believed in past lives.
I felt it was a bit of an ego trip.
Even though I read Tarot and consider myself psychic, I also tend to question everything and need things to be proven to me. So past lives was in that list of …..hmmm not so sure. Until I had my first hypnotherapy session doing a past life regression. My friend wanted to prove me wrong and he was qualified to do so. Being scientifically minded I decided to ‘test’ his theory.
Well I was blown away. Apparently I had a past life as a sailor in 18th century Bristol, England. The details I told my friend and the landscape I was in was very clear. At one stage I held a coin and the year was 1789. I knew the name of the King, the trade routes, the streets of Bristol. My accent was a strong Bristol one and impossible to replicate when I came back out of the session. My name was John Humphries. My uncle who does genealogy for a hobby told me that our ancestors hailed from Bristol. Years later I visited Bristol and the hairs stood up on the back on my head when I found myself in the old port area. I recognized it. Uncanny.
I have since explored other past lives and come to the conclusion that I am still not sure in myself if they are a genetic memory or an actual soul past life. It does not really matter because I learned so much from each lifetime I explored. It explained to me certain patterns and habits I have in this lifetime.
Tarot can help you understand your own past lives if you do not have a hypnotherapist on hand to bring you back into the past.
Here is my handy Tarot technique to find out about your last past life before this one. You can also adapt this technique to explore any past life. For example you could ask to explore your past life in Medieval Europe, the Caves times or ancient Japan.
Before you start, decide what deck you want to use. I recommend the Rider Waite if you are exploring your immediate past life.
If you want to explore potential past lives further back in Egypt, Ireland etc, use an appropriate deck with similar pictures to that time in history. Then you would specifically ask about your past lives in Egypt. If the cards feel really strange and you cannot make head nor tail of them it may be because you did not have a past life in Egypt. Not everybody can be Cleopatra!
Get your deck of cards and split the deck into three packs – Major Arcana (22), Minor Arcana / Pip cards (40) and the Court Cards (16). Light some incense. Sandalwood is excellent for opening up the third eye. Allow yourself to gently get into a relaxed state. Play some meditative music if it helps.
Pick up the 16 Court cards and shuffle them. In your mind or aloud please say the following: “Please tell me about my last lifetime before this one”. When you are ready, spread out the cards face down and pick one card. Do not turn it over yet.
Next, pick up the Major Arcana deck and shuffle the cards. In your mind or aloud please say the following: “Please tell me about the MAIN THEME in my last lifetime”. When you are ready, spread out the cards face down and pick one card. Do not turn it over yet. Place it directly under the Court Card that you picked.
Next, pick up the Minor Arcana deck and shuffle the cards. In your mind or aloud please say the following: “Please tell me about my experiences in my last lifetime”. When you are ready, spread out the cards face down and pick four cards. Do not turn them over yet. Place them directly under the Major Arcana that you picked.
Now turn over the cards…
Court Card
If you were male or female in your last life. A King is a man. A Queen is a woman. A Knight is a teenager. A Page is a child. The age is the indication of how long you lived. For example a Queen of Cups means you lived to be a mature woman. A Knight of Wands means you lived to be a teenager. The element of the card can also tell you more about yourself. Was home and money a focus in your life (Pentacles) or your relationships with others was most important (Cups).
Major Arcana Card
This is the main theme around your life. Was it wild and potentially addictive (Devil), abundant (Sun) or hard (Tower). See what feelings come up around this card. Perhaps write a few words about what you think this card means for you.
Minor Arcana Cards
These four cards show the experiences that you had in that lifetime.
What do you feel? What do you sense? Are any pictures coming to you? Country? Place? Time? Language?
You need to allow your mind to really be free to do this exercise and do not censor the feelings / pictures / impressions that come up.
If you want to explore past lives more find if there is a local therapist who does past life regression in your area. Make sure they are registered, qualified and have insurance.
Also consider reading up more on past lives and how to do self regressions by checking out this book by Ted Andrews. Self regressions can be hard to do at the beginning but with practice they become easier.
I also highly recommend this Tarot book by Edain McCoy on Karma and Past lives.
There is even an Oracle Deck specifically for asking about Past Lives. It is called Past Lives Oracle cards by Doreen Virtue and Brian L Weiss.
Enjoy discovering your Past Lives and learning and growing from the wisdom you receive. I find this is a very simple but profound Tarot Spread that can tell you a lot about who you were.
