morgan_dhu | Tarot and Me, Take Two (Reply)

So this Tarot/birthday meme has been making its way through my flist, and I've been watching people posting their card without much commentary, and thinking about what, if anything, it actually means.

This is actually a rather unusual way of using the Tarot, and I find myself wondering - since I do feel that there are ways to use Tarot symbolism to assist in understanding one's self and making choices about one's life - exactly what it would signify to have a particular Tarot card associated in this way with one's birthday. Tarot cards are usually used in a situational manner, and are interpreted in terms of current, changing circumstances. But a birthday is a permanent characteristic, not an ephemeral circumstance, and so there should, strictly speaking, be some essence of permanence to the interpretation of a Tarot card that's so associated.

My initial theory would be that, if there is any meaning to it at all, it would be an indication either of some essential and defining personality characteristic, or of a recurring theme in one's life, or possible a direction or goal that, if worked toward would help bring about positive personal growth over the course of a lifetime.

At the moment, I know of two Fools, a Hermit, a Moon, and my own World card - does anyone who has looked into the symbolism associated with "their" card - or who has worked with Tarot symbolism in the past - have any sense of what its meaning might be within their own life or personality?

As I noted earlier, there's certainly a tension in my own life surrounding my ability to be in the world. More than that, I have a long history of activism in a variety of areas, such that it could be said that one of my on-going life-themes is in fact a form of involvement in the way the world works, and how to try and change it so that people's needs are better served, either on a local or a national/global level. I can see for myself a number of ways in which The World does represent persistent themes in my life. Of course, there are other cards that I could say that about - but only a few, and there are a lot of cards that really don't represent major on-going life-themes. So it's not completely a case of being able to pick any set of symbols and make them work.

But is there any real correspondence? Any thoughts out there?