I didn't know the word spirituality when I was young, because I lived in East Germany.

But somehow I was always interested in mystical stuff, because of my great grandma.

She always told me about her experiences when she was sick. She went to a “Witch”, by full moon, secretly, in the dark.

I was always fascinated with her mysterious encounters, and stories.I would always pay great attention to them. Her secret world entered my mind as she spoke about it, and I was hypnotized! I was just a kid. But I was open to learning and experiencing things. And my great grandma was the only one who shared her stories with me.

This is my great grandma. I called her "Oma Elsa". And yes, the baby on the picture is me. Yes, I had no hair :)

Later on...

I think I was a bit over 20, my friend said: “Hey, did you know that there’s a Witch that lives not far from your place? She does healing on people, and Fortune Telling with Cards.”

“What? Really?”
She lived in walking distance, in an older part of the city.

So we went there together. We wanted to see what she was all about.

When we arrived, an older, not very friendly lady opened the gate, and let us in.

She lived on a small property. It had a garden full of herbs, vegetables, and chickens, and an old, untidy house. 

She let us into the house, and it was like when you visit your old grandma, with a lot of antique furniture, and stuff.

We had to sit on a round table. Then she asked for our names, and birthdates. Back then I didn't know what she was doing. She simply included numerology.

So she read cards for me and my friend. She told us things about our past, present and future. And almost every she said was right. At the time, some of the stuff she was talking about I could not agree with. But later on when I remembered her reading, she was actually right.

Of course, Tarot readings are not written in stone, and a reading is just a reflexion of your own conscious and unconscious mind, but I didn't know that back then.

She told us to pay what we could, but a minimum of 20 Marks.

It really felt very secretive.

We got the opportunity to talk a little bit. She told us a story of how she traveled for many years with a circus. And she told us about the many ways she supported people through healing them from sickness; and that the East German government didn't like her, because what she offered to people, was not really allowed back then.

She had to do it secretly. It was very exciting! And at the same time it was sad.

Later on, when I would pass her house, I often saw cars in front of it. In East Germany we didn't have these kinds of cars, so I knew that she had visitors from West Germany, who wanted her help, or a Tarot reading. This was also a big reason that the East German government didn't like her, and wanted her to stop. But she was old and stubborn, and continued to help people. 

I went there once again for a card reading, and after the reading she told me a very sad story about a child that she had taken care off. I liked this lady a lot, even if she was not the friendliest person on earth, because I felt she had a big heart. The last time I heard stories about her was during the time the wall between East and West Germany was falling.

This is my first Tarot Journal back in Germany.

Thinking back to the Tarot card “Witch”, she has influenced me more than I thought.

Later, after the Wall between East and West Germany came down, I set out to learn Tarot myself. It took me a long time to learn and understand Tarot. 

There are so many books about how to read Tarot, and it can be pretty confusing, because every book explained it a bit different.

I studied Tarot for years. I was annoyed that I always had to look in Books to know the different meanings of the cards. Sometimes I gave up, but the cards always called me back to continue. 

After years of self study through many books I was lucky, and I found a Tarot Teacher. Her name is Ilona, and she taught me a good system to understand Tarot. I learned that it is important to combine a good system with your intuition. And learning how to read Tarot is a very personal journey.

Later, when I started to teach Tarot in groups, I was happy when students had the A-HA moment. 

Learning Tarot has lots to do with practicing. This is actually true with anything you learn.
No practice, No results, that's how it works.

Now you know a little bit about how my Tarot journey started. 
Have you started your Tarot journey yet?