This post originally appeared on The Carterhuagh School of Folklore & the Fantastic’s blog. And can I just say I’m swooning at the magical cuteness of the graphic they made and let me steal away?

Last week, Sara and Brittany asked those of us taking the Everyday Magic Challenge an important question: What fairy tale are you?

Being a tarot-inclined bruja, my eyes went directly to the divination deck sitting on my writing desk before they even finished asking the question. The tarot, you see, is its own folktale. It’s a timeless story and an ever-evolving one that starts with the Fool and follows him as he journeys into the great wide world, much like Joseph Campbell’s traditional hero’s journey… only waaaaayyyyy cooler.

Here’s the fun part about the Fool’s journey: It plays with the staid template of the hero’s journey. The tarot, at its heart, has a lot of trickster energy in it and resists anything too literal, always pushing you to think creatively, poetically, magically rather than in stifling narrative boxes.

For one thing, the Fool is not about completing A Journey but A Series of Journeys. We are always beginning and ending phases of our lives, leaving something behind to embrace something new. We don’t just stop when the chapter ends.

And we don’t always have to leave home to go on an adventure!

That was a comforting thought for me during the pandemic when we literally couldn’t leave our homes during lockdown. My journey had to be an internal one and, thank the powers that be, an online one—where would I be without my internet friends? Or the tarot, for that matter?

I am grateful to have many quiet, soul-nourishing conversations with the deck each morning as I enjoy my first cup of coffee and bask in the early-dawn hush of a day full of possibility. And I always love it when my familiars join me. They are two black cats that represent the duality of the tarot: Smoke (aloof and mysterious) and Juniper (playful and mischievous). Together, we explore the next chapter in our story, at home in both the sage advice and puckish riddles the cards reveal to us. The beauty of this ritual is in knowing that as soon as I finish one journey, either out in the world or in my inner dreamscape, there is always another calling to me to bring me a deeper understanding of myself and the world around me.

Here is the other delightful secret of the Fool’s Journey: We are always in a state of unknowing AND a state of familiarity. We take comfort in the magical items that protect and heal us, like beloved amulets or soothing pots of tea. We feel a thrill of excitement in the unexpected enchantments that come our way—an invitation, a chance meeting, the first apples of fall. And yes, sometimes we feel fear when we take a wrong turn and find ourselves in a dark, haunted wood. But the cards are there to talk with you. To help you find your way back into the light and sometimes make your home in the darkness, as much wisdom can be found there.

Then we wind our way home, either to our literal sanctuary or sense of self or both, content to have completed an important journey… and the cycle begins again.

We are not stagnant beings. We do not stop growing. Each new milestone, each new curve in the path, in fact, only reveals how little we know. Now that might sound like a terrible fate—being in a constant state of unknowing—but I assure you, it’s delightful. Consider the wild woods of folklore or the enchanted treasure troves of myth. Half the fun of them is in the fundamental understanding that we will never know the whole of them. Think of all the mysteries hidden in the heart of the woods! Imagine all the treasures buried at the bottom of the sea! We will never know the whole of life’s wonders and so we are always able to be delighted and awe-inspired by what we find. And when the world feels too big, as it can sometimes, we have the safety of our sanctuaries—our constant state of familiarity—to retreat to before beginning our next adventure.

Folklore is something that makes peace with mystery, the great numinous unknown.

So, too, does the tarot. The more we let go of finite narratives like the hero’s journey, the more expansive we become. The more we can see our personal myth as an ever-evolving unfolding story that deepens in meaning and resonance over time, the more we can begin to see ourselves as dynamic, expansive beings with a multitude of stories within us. In the same way, the meaning of the cards can change over time as we develop our relationship with the deck and become more attuned to our personal journeys.

We are all made up of stories and the Fool represents, in many ways, the stories we tell about ourselves. The major arcana begins with the Fool leaving on a grand adventure and ends with the World. The message is clear: By the end of any good journey, we are at home in the world, at one with ourselves and our place this wild and wonderful universe.

Isn’t that what a good story does for us? It reminds us that we are connected to worlds outside ourselves and within. This is why I’ve begun to think of myself as a story witch. Between conversations with the tarot and conversations with beloved folklorists and fellow writers, Sara and Brittany, I’ve come to find story magic can help us re-enchant our lives and reimagine the stories we tell about ourselves.

For example, I was once a burned-out educator and people-pleaser. Now? I’m taking my power back and becoming the main character of my own life again, thanks to the incredible community that is The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.

It makes me SO delighted to offer up a little magic of my own in their latest Enchant course.

I’ll be contributing a special series titled, “Conversing with the Tarot to Conjure Main Character Magic.” This Enchant tarot series is designed to help those suffering from burnout and stress to recapture their main character energy by consulting the deck. The cards are the embodiment of story magic and, by conversing with them—exploring the stories and iconography that overlap with folklore—we can learn how to reclaim our own story and find enchantment—and empowerment—in our daily lives.

Come join us on a journey into the expansive world of stories!

Note: The link I provided for the course has a special code so that a portion of the price you pay will support me and my work as a professor, writer, and bruja.

The Bruja Professor, a witchy take on literature, the occult & pop culture, is the scholarly sister to Enchantment Learning & Living, an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you.

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