Drawing a “Death” card from a tarot deck doesn’t predict your imminent demise. Instead, Janina Majeran, community outreach librarian at the Belmont Public Library, wants you to know it’s not as scary as it may seem.
“Death” is one of 78 illustrated cards in a typical deck, each depicting specific symbols and characters that originated in Italy during the 15th century, according to CNN.
The intimidating armored skeleton/Grim Reaper on horseback from the classic 1910 Rider-Waite or Waite-Smith deck certainly looks ominous, but it actually means change, not a gruesome end.
All images in a tarot deck are “rich with … meaning,” said Majeran, who has been reading cards for friends and family for 20 years.
While attending Salem State, it was easy to visit “witchy” shops, she said. It was during one of those outings that tarot really grabbed her attention.
“That’s what happens when you’re in Salem – it kind of seeps into your blood,” she said.
Majeran recently started a tarot study group at the library, which has been attracting both novices and longtime enthusiasts.
Asked why she thinks people are drawn to the practice nowadays, Majeran said, “We live in very uncertain times right now, and I think people are looking for clarity and guidance.”
On a recent rainy weekday, a group of enthusiasts listened to Majeran as she offered advice and suggestions on how to read and interpret the cards.
After dimming the lights, she began the class with a meditation “to ground everyone and shift their mindset from whatever was going on in the day, to tuning into their intuition, and getting present in the moment and in their bodies.” She also shared that everyone’s practice for preparing for a reading is different.
After showing videos by experts on the topic of the study group’s meeting – the Minor Arcana: Suit of Cups, which focuses on emotions and relationships – Majeran asked the group to shuffle their decks, turn over a card, and begin the process of interpretation.
“Knowing what the suits represent helps with determining what the card will be centered around,” she said. “So, if you know what the suit represents, then you know, OK, I have cups and cups has to do with emotions and love and relationships, so what is this card telling me in relation to any of those things in the context of the surrounding imagery?”
Interpreting tarot cards is “like learning a foreign language,” said Belmont resident Ann Tierney.
She recalled a time when she kept pulling the same card – the Eight of Cups – which can mean abandonment or walking away from a situation.
“There’s something that they [the cards] want you to know,” said Majeran.
“I haven’t figured it out yet,” said Tierney as she continued to consider the card’s significance in the context of her life.
Belmont resident Katherine McCartin, who became interested in tarot during the COVID pandemic, decided to pull three cards during the meeting. She said each morning, she flips a new one to practice and contemplate.
“You learn more from how you interpret [the card],” she said.
Majeran also pulls a card each day and said she will reflect back on how it fits or doesn’t fit into the events that occurred earlier.
“There are times when it’s almost spooky,” said McCartin.
However, even when the meaning of a card seems inevitable, Majeran reassuringly said, “You still have free will and the opportunity to change course.”
The next tarot study group will take place on May 6, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Waverley Oaks Meeting Room (112) of the Belmont Public Library. The topic is “Minor Arcana: Suit of Wands.” Register online through the library website.
