Diane Wing: Tales of the Unexpected
Through integration of metaphysical concepts, coupled with the unification of spiritual understanding and your unique perspective, magick can be incorporated into every aspect of life, rather than being experienced as a separate practice. As part of this integration, we need to let go of fear, doubt, and worry, be grateful for everything – and I mean everything – in our lives, and stay open to new possibilities and new perspectives, so we can see the magick that is within and around us. To that end, I’ve created a body of work focused on knowing the self at a deep level in order to build self-trust and self-confidence. My books, both dark fantasy fiction and enlightening non-fiction, hold lessons based in Universal and Magickal Law and energetic consciousness. My games, Pathways and Insight Stones®, are systems of metaphysics designed to facilitate self-discovery, develop intuitive ability, and to enhance self-awareness. The emphasis of my school, Wing Academy of Unfoldment, and of my radio show, Wing Academy Radio, is helping students and listeners learn ways to take metaphysical and personal development concepts and apply them to everyday life in their own distinct way.
OMTIMES: You have a wonderful book about the Tarot. How does the Tarot interface with the work you do?
Diane Wing: Thank you! The True Nature of Tarot: Your Path to Personal Empowerment discusses tarot as a tool of enlightenment and understanding rather than a way to predict the future. Because I believe in free will and personal responsibility coupled with Divine Will, using any tool to predict the future takes power away from the individual. Tarot is a great way to understand the energies around people and circumstances. When used in this way, it reveals hidden aspects that may not be readily apparent by other means. Tarot can identify blocks to progress, factors that may be preventing the subject from moving forward or beyond a situation or set of beliefs. Refusal to address an issue can be noted and revisited later when the inquirer may have progressed far enough to be able to consider its value. It can show the way an inquirer’s energy is affecting their ideal path and ways to clear obstacles. It also shows the higher purpose for what is going on and the lessons associated with the circumstances. The tarot can serve as a powerful insight tool. In this context, it is a source of objective representations of universal concepts that are reflective of the journey we all take from birth (The Fool) to self-fulfillment (The World). Themes throughout the tarot also represent psychological aspects of the self. This allows patterns of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings to be revealed during the reading, making it possible to uncover the true nature of the inquirer and to address what comes to the surface. Deeper understanding is the essence of my work, and tarot is a great complement to the other techniques I use to help my clients gain clarity.
OMTIMES: How would you explain using the Tarot as a tool of self-discovery?
Diane Wing: Tarot can reflect the fears and hopes of the inquirer and the nature of their relationships with others. By identifying underlying issues or aspects of the self, it is possible for the inquirer to recognize that which is the essence of her core self. In this way, the cards assist in self-awareness, spiritual understanding, and personal growth. Additionally, the type of deck selected reflects the type of energies the individual resonates with. The idea that a tarot deck must be gifted is a myth. It is best to choose your own deck based on what feels right to you. When interpreting the cards, the types of associations made with the images reveals the underlying beliefs, life experience, and degree of understanding of the reader. As deeper understanding and perspective change is achieved, the way the cards are seen and interpreted is modified and provides a gauge to assess developmental progress. As the vibrational level of the person shifts, the deck is likely to be replaced to match the new frequency of the reader. Being aware of the way you relate to the cards shows changes in your mindset overall.
OMTIMES: How did you awaken to this “unexpected reality”? Were you accepted by your family and immediate community?
Diane Wing: I was attracted to magick from a very young age. I dreamed of healing others and of learning the secrets of tarot and astrology. I read books on the supernatural and psychism. My mother let me sit with her friends as they discussed metaphysics, spirituality, and the nature of life. They would recommend books for me to read that became the foundation of my spiritual understanding. I was surrounded by teachers of mysticism and magickal practices, including my grandmother, who practiced a ritual to remove the evil eye. Around nine years old, I remember seeing colors around people and telling my mother. She encouraged me to share what I was seeing without judgment. My neighbor taught me energetic techniques from age seven and told me that she “knew” who I was and felt it was important to teach me. I wrote stories and papers for school about supernatural and alternate worlds and received high grades from my teachers. Even in graduate school, I wrote a paper on precognition for research methodology class and aced the assignment with a comment from my professor that he was surprised how the topic leant itself to the exercise. My world was filled with magick, and those around me accepted my curiosity and abilities from the beginning, and so I accepted it as a natural part of life. I was very fortunate in this regard, as I have met many people who were shut down by their families and friends regarding their intuitive gifts. It fostered doubt and fear in their gifts and forced them to wait until they were older to develop them. In these cases, it takes longer to achieve self-trust in relation to messages that come through.
