How Tarot Is Like A Good Murder Mystery

September 2021

A fun little ditty for you at the end of this quarter - and what a quarter its been. ..

Garnering Gratefulness

New Zealand has had its first experience with the delta variant of Covid-19 - and lockdown has been the theme for the last two months.
I surprisingly found myself spending my lockdown away from Whangamata, back in Auckland. And as I write this, we are still in Level 3 lockdown (heading into our seventh week of lockdown overall), secretly hoping that we shift alert levels next week so that we can head back to Whangamata for a bit (wishful thinking I think!). This has been a very different experience compared to what I experienced in last years first Covid-19 lockdown in Whangamata - although both challenging situations,
I am bereft at not having the bounty of natures gifts just beyond our door. Have not felt the sea air in a long time. Or walked on a beach or through the bush. Or just sat in the sun! It has an effect on your state of mind and general wellbeing for sure.
Regardless of this, we keep on keeping on - continuing to be resilient and persistent with the ultimate goal in mind - to keep Covid-19 at bay. And I know that this experience has made me even more grateful for the beauty and healing properties of nature that we often take for granted.

In addition, we have just started to emerge from the throes of a Southern Hemisphere winter; the weather has been moody, cold, wet and introspective. Quite good for lockdown to be honest - a good excuse for a bit of self introspection, hibernation, good movies and TV shows, Cosy times.

‘Moider’ Mysteries…

You may not know this about me, but I love a good murder mystery - my sentimental favourite collection of murder mystery stories has to be the wonderful masterpieces crafted by Agatha Christie - particularly the Poirot and Miss Marple stories/TV shows.
When I put them on, its like an instant feeling of calm, familiarity and happiness. A deep satisfying breath out. No matter what has happened during the day, these little gems will pull me out of whatever funk I might be in.
I don’t even need to watch them to know whats happening (I may have watched them a fair few times - yes, every episode) - so they are perfect for multitasking - mala making, tarot reading etc. can all happen without missing any key plot points or favourite lines.
So you know for sure that I’ve been rewatching these little masterpieces regularly over the last few months.

As part of my regular musings on the ‘goings-ons’ of the world during lockdown (I’m sure we’re all doing this lately?), I found my mind wandering a bit while watching one of my favourite Poirot shows (Sad Cypress - the New Zealand references are purely coincidental he he he). And suddenly I was laughing as I realised that many of the things I love about these shows and stories is what I also love about Tarot reading/divination.

So, here is my list of 8 reasons (I’m sure there are more…) why Tarot is like a good Poirot or Miss Marple murder mystery!

1. Visually Pleasing

I’ve always been a bookworm, but what got me into Agatha Christie stories to start with were the translations of these stories into their respective TV series’.  Poirot and Miss Marple TV shows have been the clincher for me and ever since I started watching these shows, I’ve been hooked.
The visual beauty of these shows and time period agreed with my aesthetic.  The architecture, the costumes, the colours (especially in the later seasons).  Brilliant.  These also got me digging into the stories more by reading the books to find out more about these fantastic and beautiful worlds and environments.

Tarot is so similar for me.  My initial foray into Tarot happened because I’ve always loved cards (the sound, the feel of them) and the beautiful art on every card. The way they tell a story with their imagery.  I love the variation you can find for the same card across other decks, and the different stories that they can tell, even within a similar system.  The beauty and uniqueness of each deck drew me in.  Eye candy for sure.

(Tarot deck: The This Might Hurt Tarot Deck)

2. Relatable Characters

This is a no brainer – Agatha Christie stories always have interesting characters – characters that you want to know more about.  What drove that person to commit a crime?  What happened to the victim? Why is the Major so shady?
And of course the main repeating characters throughout the story are lovable, memorable, intelligent, interesting and smart.  And we begin to care about them. And see ourselves in them.

In Tarot, we have all the characters, their attributes and human behaviours available to recognise our own life experience.
They provide guidance, no matter what situation we find ourselves in.  Interesting characters, dark and light characters.  No one is perfect (good and bad attributes are part of human nature) – which helps us to see ourselves in these characters too, makes them relatable. 
It draws us in, and in some cases, will make us want to know more about each card.

(Tarot deck: The Wandering Moon Tarot Deck)

3. Sense of Humour

In both Poirot and Miss Marple TV shows, the main characters often either make jokes, smart quips, or their behaviour/personality makes us smile.  Even characters like Captain Hastings or Miss Lemon or Chief Inspector Japp all have their comedic moments.  It makes us relax, smile and buy into the characters.  It makes us want to see what happens to them, and what they get up to next (What will Miss Marple’s housekeepers break next? What crazy money scheme will tempt Captain Hastings in this episode? Who will dare to call Poirot ‘French’ in this story? etc.).

Tarot is the same.  Sometimes you’ll have readings and you’ll think ‘O.k funny guy, I understand’.  In life we need to learn how to laugh at ourselves, not take ourselves too seriously, find laughter in things to release the tension.  And tarot teaches us to do this too.  The number of times I’ve pulled a card and smiled or laughed out loud – because its called me out, in a way that I can relate to. Its one of the things I really love about tarot. People may call it ‘being dragged’, I call it ‘being seen’.

(Tarot deck: The Foragers Daughter Tarot Deck)

4. Mysterious

I know people say they can easily solve Poirot or Miss Marple mysteries.  And although I’ve watched every single one, and could see the formula, I was never able to definitively confirm ‘whodunnit’ before it was solved by the protagonist.
For me, these stories always have twists and turns, and it keeps the mystery mysterious.  Nothing can be taken for granted.

Tarot as a practice is also seen as mysterious – unable to be predicted, not logical, working on intuition and ‘luck of the draw’.  I’m not a psychic reader, so I can’t predict what cards I’m going to pull for anyone I read for.  So when I turn the cards over, its as much a mystery for me as it is for the lovely person I’m reading for.  And that is exciting.  If I knew what was coming, things would be pretty boring I reckon. My job is to interpret the cards and their message(s) once they show themselves and facilitate a conversation. Once we see the cards, they guide us through a story that only they know the path for.

(Tarot deck: The Crow Tarot Deck)

5. Beginning, Middle and End

There is a formula to writing a murder mystery - generally you start with a body and the main questions - ‘What happened? Who committed the crime? How did they do it? And for me, most importantly ‘Why?’ (Motive!).
From there, somehow, our heroes are drawn into the situation to answer these questions and begin to investigate. Whether its ‘using the little grey cells’ or using the guise of being a nosey old lady to find all of the relevant information, they apply a tried and true method to be able to unravel the mystery. This is where the action happens. We meet all the characters and are given all the clues we need to solve the mystery - and we begin to draw our own conclusions about what happened.
And as is expected in these stories, we want to make sure we get the answers we need, and ideally a confession and an arrest. I get so frustrated when I watch shows where they draw you in, and then there is no outcome!!!! No chance with these beauties - there is always an ending. Sometimes not as satisfactory as you would like (I love a good twist in the story!) but an ending regardless.

Tarot readings are absolutely the same - we start with a question (what do we need to know?).
From there, we apply our knowledge, our intuition, our method to the questions to find answers. We prepare our space, prepare the cards (cleanse, shuffle etc.), select a spread to use (if necessary) and pull the cards. We then read them, discuss them with the person the reading is for, find out more from them about what the cards could mean for them, and then start to draw conclusions.
And of course, we must draw conclusions or at least summarise the messages received. The cards will always provide you with advice and guidance, but its up to the person who the reading is for to take action, whatever feels right or relevant to them. They take the conclusions drawn from the cards and take their own action accordingly. Whether there is a twist in the tale or not is up to them.

(Tarot deck: The Wayhome Tarot Deck)

6. Reassuring – bordering on addictive

I have probably watched the Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries thousands of times.  No kidding. 
If I’m cooking, I put them on.  If I’m working on malas, I put them on.  If I can’t decide what to watch, I put them on.  They are my go to for a relaxing and comforting watch.  As such, I’m pretty sure I’m an Agatha Christie addict.  Much to the chagrin of my partner. 

Tarot for me has a similar quality.  If I need a little advice or direction, if I want to see something beautiful, if I need a safe space, if I need some time to focus/ground and change my mindset – I pull out a deck of cards.  The joy I get just from shuffling the cards (I could shuffle for hours if I had time) I can’t describe.  But its exactly the feeling I get when I push play on the DVD player and the Poirot theme song blasts out of the TV speakers.
Because I love tarot so much for this reason, I also get the same little ‘boost’ when I buy new decks – totally an addicted collector.

(Tarot deck: The Divine Feminine Tarot Deck - Diurnal)

7. Twists

Twists in TV shows for me are a must – I kinda feel ripped off if the story teller hasn’t taken me along a certain path only to surprisingly switch things at the last minute.  So satisfying!  Murder mysteries naturally have this as part of their DNA – a straightforward outcome will always be a less enjoyable ride than one that tricks you and maybe tells you something you hadn’t expected. A surprise.

Tarot is exactly the same – although we often want some reassurance that the cards understand what we are going through, we often want a surprise or a twist too if we’re honest.  Something interesting in our lives to work on or look forward to.  If we knew for sure what we wanted or what was happening or going to happen, we would likely not need tarot.  Tarot sometimes gives us the opportunity to consider whether we can create a twist in our lives. Something that could possibly change our path, encourage us to take a risk and maybe shoot for something unfamiliar, different…..and better?

(Tarot deck: The Weaver Tarot Deck - Ascendant Edition)

8. Longevity

The Poirot and Miss Marple TV shows are series which have been around for years and still continue to attract fans as the years progress.  They also were long running series, ensuring that as many of Agatha Christies stories were incorporated into the TV shows. Although they are set in a certain time, people still relate to the stories, the characters and the satisfaction of a great tale. There is a formula to their success.

Tarot has been in existence for many many years also - derived from a card game and evolving into fortune telling and divination tools for those who need guidance.  And these tools will very likely be around for a long time to come as well.  The fascination we have with magic and being able to predict the future (or guide the future) is not something that is likely to fade and die out. It is in our nature to want to know what is going to happen next.

(Tarot deck: The Divine Feminine Tarot Deck - Nocturnal)

So there you go - who knew that there could be so many similar themes to consider when comparing Murder Mysteries and Tarot (and if I really pushed myself, I could probably find more). It makes me love them both all the more.

So what am I trying to say?

Nothing too deep I don’t think (because this was supposed to be a fun little (short? Oops…) blog piece!). However, I guess for me there are two key happy thoughts I have after thinking about the meaning of all this:

• Its good to have things that you love and to think about them and celebrate them when you have the headspace. Even things that don’t seem related in any way. These things perhaps indicate something about your unique personality and viewpoint. Your point of difference. And that deserves celebrating. Embrace these things, especially when you may need something to help you get through tough times or challenges (shout out to everyone who is in a lockdown situation due to Covid-19 right now! Hang in there, stay resilient). Stay mindful of what makes you feel good, happy and safe.

• As mysterious as Tarot can be to some, its also a system. A system that you can learn to use. Its accessible to all who are open to what it can provide. And when used properly, it can open doors and opportunities for those who have the motivation and notion to listen and observe, consider options, take action, and make change where necessary. All things that I’ve noticed Poirot and Miss Marple do a lot too in order to solve a ‘moider’ mystery - always an open mind, always methodical and always listening.

Oh - a quick note too - all of the decks featured in this blog post are available for purchase here on the website. Go take a look!

I hope you enjoyed this random flurry of musings - I know I did! Until next time.

Kristel x