There are three basic ways to view the Deck of 52 Cards. The first two ways are commonly known. 

1. The Deck of Cards is seen as a gaming instrument.

When viewed this way, the Deck of Cards is used to play games like Bridge, Gin Rummy, Go Fish, and Old Maid etc.

It can also, at this level, be used for gambling as in games like Blackjack or Poker.

2. The Deck of Cards is used for fortune telling and divination.

At this level of consciousness, the Deck of Cards is used the way Gypsies used to use them -- as a means to predict the future. This fortune-telling practice is sometimes called "cartomancy" or "destiny cards." 

The problem with using the Deck of Cards as a fortune-telling instrument is that it strips the individual of their own agency, their own power, and their own authority. Authority of outcome is assigned to the cards, as in: "Am I going to make money? Am I going to find romance? Well, let's see if it's in the cards for you! The cards will tell you what's going to happen."

So, at this level of awareness, the cards are seen as an instrument that appears to reveal our pre-written fate. There is, in this fortune-telling approach, an accompanying sense of predestination that we are powerless to change. The future is already written, and the cards will show you what is already fated for you to experience.

What happens, then, is that a passive dependency on the "future" is created. People become obsessed with looking ahead in their cards to try to guess their future outcomes. So, this approach not only strips the individual of their own agency and authority, it also takes them out of presence in the present moment, which leads to feelings of stress and anxiety as they await what their "future" has in store for them, a future they may furiously attempt to divine based on what the cards seem to predict.

And yet, the future does not exist, not right now anyway. So, if we're trying to read the future, we're trying to read something that does not exist and will never exist because "the future" is only a concept. It is not reality. Reality is only ever what exists right now.

But there's an even deeper problem with this fortune-telling approach: it's the ego that wants to predict the future. Consciousness wants surprises. Ego wants control. And trying to divine the future is an attempt to control the fears of the present. Instead of living in the moment, having faith in the process and living in the possibility of the mystery, the ego obsesses about anything it does not know. Why? Because anything the ego does not know is perceived as a potential threat that will unsettle and destabilize its existence. What it means is that divination readings aimed at predicting the future (easing the fears of the present) only serve to strengthen the tenacious grip of the ego in the present moment. 

And in reality, the ego also does not exist. Why? Because who you think you are is not who you are; it's a mental abstraction of who you are. That's what the ego is; it's your own mental conception of who you are.

So, fortune-telling readings are essentially one unreality (the ego) trying to control another unreality (the future) -- one abstraction trying to control another abstraction. It's fundamentally absurd.

Finally, when the Deck of Cards is used as a fortune-telling device within a professional context, there can also be a subtle and perhaps deliberate manipulation of power. For, the "expert" doing the card reading claims the power to tell the person what will happen to them in their "future." This manipulation of the "future" subtly but radically disempowers the individual who may be genuinely seeking guidance for their life in this present moment. The implicit message delivered is that in this present moment, you're powerless. The future holds yours answers and then only as a result of interpreting this esoteric knowledge, which you are powerless to do for yourself.

For all of these reasons, is it any wonder that throughout history people who are genuinely interested in their spiritual growth have steered well clear of these cards or condemned their usage outright!

3. The Deck of Cards is a sacred toolkit to help you build your best life.

The third level of consciousness with which to view the Deck of 52 Cards is the way we intend to present and share this ancient, ever-present knowledge: it's the source code of our space-time matrix, the programming language with which our reality is written. It's a conceptual, symbolic model that reveals the underlying sacred geometry that are the building blocks of our reality. It thus provides us with the symbolic blueprint of our soul's journey upon this planet.

It's the reason why we have called these cards, the Source Cards. Because it's what they reveal: the source code of our holographic reality.

Moreover, at this level of awareness, the Source Cards are a vehicle for self-realization and self-mastery. They are a tool of awakening to who we are and why we're here. They offer us an invaluable window into our humanity and our human existence upon this Earth.

Alexander's Experience... 

I remember when I first found out that I am born to play the 9 of Hearts with a 7 of Clubs personality. I was, at the time, a business owner running a holistic wellness center. I was surrounded by healers, but I got to call myself "the business owner." It suited my ego. It gave me something to tell my family that sounded worthy of my Harvard education.

Meanwhile, I was fascinated by the idea of being a priest. I had gone to Roman Catholic seminary. Prior to that, I had worked as a student minister in an Evangelical Christian Fellowship. And later, after some intense psychedelic experiences, I had travelled to India, meditated all day, and took initiation as a Swami.

When I learned the meaning of the 9 of Hearts and 7 of Clubs, I suddenly had permission to live the life my soul wanted to live. My inner yearnings were validated; they weren't just wishful thinking. It wasn't just my imagination. Here was an ancient system of knowledge confirming my inner suspicion that mine was a life path of helping to elevate humanity (9 of Hearts) with spiritual knowledge (7 of Clubs).

And funnily enough, over the years in my professional practice, I've often been presented with opportunities to tell people that being "spiritual" is not in the cards for them. I remember one example when a woman came to me for a consultation because she was thinking of quitting her job as a tax accountant to become a Reiki practitioner. She felt like she should do this because it was a more "spiritual" thing to do. But she actually didn't want to quit her job. She liked being a tax accountant. Still, because she actually liked her bureaucratic job, she thought there must be something wrong with her!

As I explained to her, her Birth Card of the Queen of Diamonds meant that she would find great satisfaction managing money and helping people with their finances. She was so relieved. And grateful. Why? Because she received the same inner validation I had received. She received permission to do the job that was satisfying to her soul. She got permission to like her job as a tax accountant! And that set her free from her own exhausting, constrictive (egotistical) self-judgements.

The Source Cards help us to become aware of what is already present.

The Source Cards give us a lens with which to see ourselves clearly... to become aware of the patterns of our life. To be mindful. Self-empowered... so we're not over-taken by and overwhelmed by the same recurring patterns over and over again... so we're conscious of what's happening... so we can see the patterns!

For... in that simple acting of seeing the patterns of our life, suddenly a space opens. There's a distinction between the pattern and who we are. For... if we are observing the pattern, then we are not the pattern -- we are that which is observing the pattern. And in that space of observation, suddenly we are free to choose. Suddenly, there's an opportunity to choose how we want to engage the patterns of our life, how we want to play out that patterning, how we want to live our lives.

Thus, the Source Cards bring into our consciousness what might otherwise be unconscious.

And as soon as we make these unconscious patterns conscious, we radically alter how we experience them. For, instead of experiencing these recurring patterns as something from which we cannot seem to escape -- something which seems to controls us -- we suddenly gain the consciousness to choose. And with our newfound awareness, we can utilize these same patterns (that used to control us) as building blocks with which we can consciously construct the life we prefer.

With conscious awareness, we have the power! Suddenly we hold the crayons in our hand. We are no longer drawn repeatedly, unwittingly into the same unfulfilling patterns, bad habits, and painful experiences. We now have a conscious choice to choose how we want to play out these patterns of our life.

And there are infinite possibilities for how we can draw our life based upon the palette at our disposal. All we do here, at the Source Cards, is make you aware of what crayons you already hold in your hand.

To change the metaphor: it's as if, at birth, we are each handed a musical instrument. You may be handed the cello; someone else, the violin; someone else, the trumpet; someone else, the saxophone, etc. Now, what will you do with your instrument? How do you play it?

But...

What if you're not even aware of which instrument is yours to play? What if you go through your whole life trying to play the wrong instrument because that's the way of life you were taught is best for you? Worse, what if you didn't even know that you have a particular instrument to play at all?

On the other hand, in the best possible scenario, what if you do intuitively, kinda-sorta stumble your way into figuring out what is your instrument to play in life, then what? How do you find lessons or instructions to play your life right?

We can each play a sweet, harmonious tune with the instrument we have been given to play. Or not. That's our free will. And together, we can choose to make beautiful music, like a complete global symphony. Or not.

At the moment, on our planet, to continue the metaphor, many people are playing their instrument badly, or not at all. The result is a cacophony of dissonant, unpleasant sounds. For example, those who are born to play a creative, artistic role are afraid to create; those who are here to serve try, instead, to lord power; meanwhile, those who are born to be leaders shy away from the mantle of responsibility... etc.

Our intention at the Source Cards is to help you see the game you are here to play, the instrument you are here to play, the picture you are here to paint, the life you are here to live, the person you are here to be. We want to hand you a set of awareness tools to help you to master the art of being human.

For that is the goal of your life upon this Earth: to master the art of being human.

It's the only goal worthy of who you are. It's the only life that will satisfy your soul.