Well, what do you think of THIS?

I found this clip on YouTube called 'Tarot Card Reading is Bullshit':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0PifTv-oiw

I have to say I was surprised by the performance of the readers I saw. There was a LOT of negative energy from the skeptic, of course, and then there was editing, but it certainly did look like a lot fishing was going on. What do you think of this clip? (Apologies if it has been posted and discussed before, and if the readers in question are present on this board, I would love to hear their version of what happened).

Wow £200 is quite expensive for a tarot reading.

I would probably have said to him that if you believe that certain things are meant to be in life, if you believe that coincidences are meaningful as in synchronicity, if you are open to things like this, then there's a chance that the cards turned over will have a message or insight that is meaningful to you and will help your life in some way. Because of your intent to gain something from the reading and my intent to read.

Although to be honest in front of such a skeptic, I'd have probably flailed around and not come across very well.


I bet if someone had've said he was adopted, or hit the mark in some way, he would've still said, "well yes they got that right about me but I'm still not a believer."

That said, I did feel weird about seeing the so called 'fishing' thing, I didn't realise people did this.

It was quite depressing to watch that.

I don't believe that certain things are meant to be in life or the synchronicity of coincidences, but I do believe that tarot works, and that is because I believe that tarot taps into the archetypes in our minds. It also reflects the totality of the human experience. Now, I don't know what the reader in the clip was on about with the very, very dark hair or very, very light hair, or predicting two children with the pendulum. But I know that tarot can help you identify where you are in the totality of your own individual human experience, it can help you explore your own psychological, social and spiritual development and help you figure out how to cope with the pains and joys of that growth. That's way better than predicting that you'll have two red-haired kids.

That's just what I believe.
For a long time I've believed in synchronicity and believed that coincidences aren't just chance occurrences and have meaning.
To me that's how the Tarot works, I think having the intent to read the cards, then getting in touch with your subconscious through meditation then the fact that it's not just chance which cards turn up is how a meaningful reading is done.

But that's just me.....that's just how I've come to explain it to myself.

I also agree with everything else you've written though.

I believe that we see meaning in everything. I believe that there IS meaning in everything, but the meaning is its own reason for being. Its relation to the small details of an individual life are pure coincidence. Everything happens because it happens, not because it's 'meant' to happen. That's what I think, anyway. I may be unusual in the tarot community for my way of thinking, I don't know.

How that relates to tarot readings I'm not sure. I think just because we are able to tap into a sort of univeral energy and shed light on small details of daily life, that doesn't mean that there is some grand plan or destiny involved, or that the details have any special significance. And because the details are constantly shifting, outcomes are unsure so predictions are merely tentative, based on current conditions. That suggests that are no grand plans. The important thing is learning how to deal with how you feel about what's happening to you, making peace with your journey, and continuing to grow. But that's just my opinion.

I'm just disappointed that not one of the readers tried to engage the skeptic on a philosophical level about tarot and its uses, rather than attempting to predict how many kids he would have.

I love hearing different people's views on Tarot. It always gives you something to think about.
Sorry I think I made this whole thing go off topic. We have very different views generally but I like what you say here.....

The important thing is learning how to deal with how you feel about what's happening to you, making peace with your journey, and continuing to grow.

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I believe that's the important thing also.

I was also disappointed for the same reasons, unless like you said at first that it may have been edited that way.
I found it strange also the guessing hair colours and didn't like the way they said that you can just get a deck, learn the meanings of each card and that's Tarot.
I wonder why nobody has anything to say on this thread?

Jack said:

I wonder why nobody has anything to say on this thread?

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I think they are exercising a judicious circumspection.

I agree with the people on the video that you can get a deck, learn the meaning of cards and that's tarot. I would add, though, that your accuracy increases when you relax and go with those very, very subtle instinctual flashes of insight that occur as you work with the cards. I believe everyone has them, though--not just people who say they are 'psychic'. It's just that good readers have learned to notice them and move with them. (And I'm not saying that some people aren't psychic. Just that I don't think you have to be in order to be a good tarot reader).

I tried reading on my thoughts and feelings caused by this video. I posted the reading here:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?p=2752573#post2752573

I agree -- if one of the readers tried to take the conversation to a philosophical level, it would have been edited out. Everything shown in the segment was to support and prove the agenda that the Skeptic went in there with.

laura_borealis said:

I agree -- if one of the readers tried to take the conversation to a philosophical level, it would have been edited out. Everything shown in the segment was to support and prove the agenda that the Skeptic went in there with.

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True. I suppose I was expecting too much of the presenter to think he would try to give the readers a chance.

That was painful, with some horrible editing, though I thought the whole "has either dark hair or light hair" was pathetic... I would never say something like that while doing reading, that just leaves you open to ridicule.