Reykjavík Grapevine - jan. 2022, Blaðsíða 23

23The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 01— 2022
Guidin! Others
Throu!h Tarot
If you’ve ever wondered what happens during a
reading, here's your chance to find out
Strolling through the shops of Reykja-
vík, you might have noticed that Tarot
cards are sold in many places. The
cards can be used as a way to tell for-
tunes, as they are believed to yield mys-
tic powers and esoteric wisdom that is
revealed to those who have mastered
the art of Tarot. I paid a visit to one of
these people, Natalia Grociak, who has
become an expert on the topic. What
started as a fun hobby has evolved into
a part of her daily life, through which
she’s able to help others.
Modern day fortune teller
Interested in hearing what the cards
have to say to me, I set up a date for a
reading with Natalia. Upon arrival at
her apartment, I cannot help but notice
that this place is home to a spiritual
soul. Warm tones of the decor together
with all the plants and art pieces wel-
come you into a serene yet mystical
scene. This is exactly what you would
expect from a venue where fortune tell-
ings take place—apart from the lack of
crystal balls, of course.
Natalia guides me to the living room
and offers me a seat near the coffee
table. She puts on calming, meditative
music and lets me pick incense to fur-
ther set the mood for the reading. As
the dark, flowery smell suffuses the
room, Natalia lights candles and gath-
ers everything needed to the table: a
bowl of crystals and several different
card decks.
“Each Tarot deck is split into two
parts: Major and Minor Arcana Cards.
The Major Arcana are the pillars of
Tarot, representing the archetypal
figures and themes that have the big-
gest influence on our lives. The Minor
Arcana cards in turn work as a tool for
the reader to explain the issues of the
Major Arcana cards in detail. It enables
the reader to see the person’s situation
in depth,” Natalia explains.
Natalia arrays all the decks on the
table and reaches out to the bowl of
crystals. She selects crystals from her
collection and places one on top of each
card pile. When I ask the reason behind
this practice, she tells me that the crys-
tals are said to keep the deck’s energy
in place throughout the process.
Now we’re all set for the reading that
will tell me everything I need to know
about the upcoming year. “Okay, let’s
figure out what the main energies are
for your inner self, work and love life in
2022,” Natalia says and starts shuffling
the Major Arcana deck. I get to draw
three cards from it, which will work as
the base for the reading.
Reading the cards like an
open book
Apparently the Chariot represents my
inner self, Justice is work I will do and,
last but definitely not least, Death de-
scribes my love life in 2022. “Don’t be
disturbed by the last card; death actu-
ally represents transformation,” Nata-
lia calms me down. “Let’s see how the
other decks explain these cards that
you picked,” she continues.
Natalia shuffles the decks with
accustomed hands and picks up any
that are dropped during the shuffling
process. She fills the coffee table with
these cards and explains what each of
them mean by themselves and how
their denotation changes when they
become a part of the reading as a whole.
Unlike the other Tarot readings
I’ve received from my friends, there’s
no Googling involved in this one. Na-
talia knows everything by heart. It’s
astonishingly easy for her to explain
the details and move on to describing
the bigger picture of the reading. She
remarks on every little thing, such as
the fact that I drew a lot of cards featur-
ing the numbers eight and nine. That
suggests this year is going to be about
abundance and self mastery—which I
obviously welcome with open arms.
Using her talents to help
others
“I’ve always been quite spiritual and
interested in everything mystical,” Na-
talia says. “As I started to learn the art
of Tarot, I felt like this was something
I needed to share with others.”
She began reading the cards for cus-
tomers when she worked at Bodega.
That’s when she realised she can help
others with her talent. “People have told
me that my readings have clarified cer-
tain situations they’ve been in, or that
they’ve gotten an answer to a question
they had in mind,” Natalia remarks.
“I truly believe that doing Tarot can
nudge you into the right direction in
life.”
However, not everyone is open to
Tarot. Natalia has encountered her
share of skeptics. “Nobody has to be-
lieve in anything they don’t want to,
and I understand that Tarot is not for
everyone. However, it would be great
if these people could recognize that
there’s a lot of us who find these read-
ings helpful and guiding.”
Maybe the whole point of Tarot is
not to get airtight revelations of one’s
past, present and future, but to be a tool
to help people reflect on their lives. My
future might not look exactly like the
reading I got, but one thing is for sure:
Natalia’s reading gave me confidence
and hope for 2022.
If you’re interested in getting a read-
ing, you can contact Natila through her
Instagram account @moon_astery.
Natalia Grociak
Words:
Reetta Huhta

Photos:
Natalia Grociak
and
Justina
Skorupskait"
(Instagram:
@shotby.juste)
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