What does Tarot mean to you?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 Sep 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Solandia	08 Sep 2003
"I was going to investigate what exactly this thing called Tarot was all about. After reading a dozen books I still had no definitive answers. Those darn pictures still meant nothing to me!" [ [url="http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/articles/tarot_and_you.html"] read more of MystiqueMoonlight's article [/url] ] What does Tarot mean to you? Is it an expensive way of collecting pretty pictures? Another way to access the psychic centres of your brain? An essential aspect of your personal spirituality? Something else entirely...?

Inana	08 Sep 2003
What means tarot to me? Thats a difficult question, but one needed to ask myself at this point... Thanks for making me stop and think about it , Solandia! I think at this moment tarot to me is mainly a tool to understand better myself and the human mind/psyche wathever, through the archetypes and the symbolic language. Im concentrating more into the cards study than in reading with it actually. And I have to thank the existence of it because it has been helping me a lot to find more balance. I started using tarot for some months ago now. My life was at a deep stagnation point then (and still is) but im moving forward slowly. So... i've used it like a kind of therapy? I dont know, but now is a piece more in my life and something im starting to love. It helps to grow in an inner sense.

Mimers	08 Sep 2003
This is a very good question. Primarily, Tarot is for me a tool for self growth. It widens my perspective on my life and my Self. It also is a tool for helping others. I started a thread a while back where I listed all the perks that Tarot has brought me. Here you can read many ways that Tarot has touched the lives of people. http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15844 PS I also like collecting the pretty decks! :)

Kiama	08 Sep 2003
At first Tarot was simply a 'cool fortune-telling tool' to me, but then I was only 9 years old so you can't blame me! ;) After that, Tarot became a way to analyse my life and the situations I was in, problem-solving, etc. After that, Tarot became a hobby. Then suddenly I realised that I was incorporating the teachings of the Tarot into my spiritual path... For instance, if I went through a particularly rough patch spiritually, I would think about the Tower and learn something from that. Within the Tarot I began to see a 'diagram' of spiritual evolution, and I saw within the cards stages in that path. The Lovers became the Heiros Gamos, the Fool became the ultimate enlightenment, (or the World, depending on how I feel at the time!), the Empress and Emperor became a Divine Couple reminiscent of the Goddess and Sovreignity/Land and the King of the Land. My ideas of what the Tarot means to me are still changing as I learn more and read more, listen to what others have to say, etc... So I guess I will always be changing my ideas, but I think ultimately Tarot for me has and always will be the 'diagram of spiritual evolution; or 'map of the Universe'. Of course I still use it for divination and self-analysis, and it still is a hobby, but above all of this is the spiritual side of it. Kiama

Dark_angel	08 Sep 2003
I'm still not sure what tarot is to me, but I wouldn't be without it. It's helped me through difficulties without being a crutch, and that makes it a far better treatment for depression than pills have ever been! I've never considered myself to be a spiritual person, but tarot's shown me how to be spiritual without having to be religious. I also think it's made me better at what I do - I'm a medical student who wants to be a psychiatrist, so communication and understanding the mind are very important - and it's made me appreciate beauty so much more; if cards such as the Tower can be so beautiful, how can the events they represent be entirely bad?

matfav	08 Sep 2003
Well, the Tarot chose me when I was 13. I was in a theosophical store looking at world religions when a Deck of tarot fell off the opposite shelf behind me and landed at my feet ! It was the Thoth tarot, Little did I know that Tarot would be my full time career. Tarot IS the window to the soul and a conduit to the timeless energy of all this is

full deck	08 Sep 2003
Quote: Originally posted by matfav Well, the Tarot chose me when I was 13. I was in a theosophical store looking at world religions when a Deck of tarot fell off the opposite shelf behind me and landed at my feet ! I can really respect that. All through my life, there are moments that stand out with this odd clarity, as if I am looking through a telescope that is being shared with other people, like the one moment on a quiet Friday afternoon, when in college, I found myself drawn to the art building, down into the desolate gallery space where we did jam sessions and where art was put on exhibit, I went in and found myself drawn to stare at one painting. Suddenly, it just dropped off the wall and hit the floor, all for no reason. I was the only one to see it and to be drawn there for *that* one moment but since that time I have wanted to know more about the essence of reality, what lays beneath the slick asphalt of our daily lives. This inexplicable event and others has drawn me to experiment, as I may, with aleatoric events, syncronicity and generally what we call reality. Towards that end, I have found Tarot to be an invaluable tool for exploring reality. It also helps me to be more of a mensch.

firemaiden	08 Sep 2003
To me, tarot is much more than a box of pretty pictures, though I thought it was just about the art at first, and began collecting decks with greed and gusto. Then one day Umbrae asked of us all to "sniff" the cards -- and say the first thing that came into our heads. He wrote that we should know why we read - whether it was for secular, or for spiritual reasons. I sniffed the cards, (have always loved the smell of new cards - especially Lo Scarabeo decks) and these words popped into my head: "Stars -- a spark of light from somewhere far away". That "awake dream" as Umbrae calls it, was a minuscule lightening bolt, a flash realization -- that a mysterious voice in the cards could be tapped if I learned how to listen. That moment was the tiny beginning of something very big -- like a teensey crack-opening to Sssssssspirit -- big words from this (previously) hard-core aetheist. p.s. Very beautiful article from Mystique Moonlight, thank you Solandia and MM.

Astraea	08 Sep 2003
Tarot has become such an integral part of my life (even when I go through long "dry spells" and periods when I don't read the cards) that it is a comfortable mode of approach to my own thought processes and psyche. As a symbolic language, tarot speaks on every conceivable level, which is what makes it possible to read for oneself and others, and to contact multiple layers of meaning. It is thus both a way of looking at the world, oneself and others, and a port of entry into those realms.

Maan	08 Sep 2003
For me tarot is a way to slip by my analytical mind and acces my intuition. But its also a way to cannalize al the energies i pick up,a way be inspired, a way to collect pretty pictures, a way to get new insights in how different people see different archtypes, a way to help others, a way to grow and learn and lots lots more ;) Love Maan O and i almost forgot a way to meet nice people like you all on this forum :)

Diana	08 Sep 2003
Tarot helps me connect to the Divine. To Universal Knowledge. It is a tool that allows me to tap into the consciousness of the world. And it is a wonderful fortune telling device. I love knowing the future. :)

MeeWah	08 Sep 2003
Tarot was & is first a means of self-knowledge. That it works for fortune-telling was unexpected, & a bonus. That it can be a link to a limitless source of knowledge; as a key to open a door to cosmic knowledge continues to be the most awesome of its qualities!

Tallarico	08 Sep 2003
For me, very simply, Tarot is Fun, Tarot is Mystery and Tarot is Truth.

Umbrae	08 Sep 2003
To me, Tarot has no meaning. Nothing. Sitting on a shelf gathering dust it carries no weight. Our interaction with Tarot gives us meaning. It’s merely a key that we use to open doors; a crescent wrench to access the service panels of our souls; and should we choose to use it as such – it’s a cork, that we pop to release the bubbly of life. As the novelist Chuck Palahniuk wrote, “What you don’t understand, you can make mean anything.” Our interaction with Tarot – that’s the meat, the weight, the import.

Nevada	08 Sep 2003
For me Tarot is a means of accessing Spirit, and a knowledge beyond my personal earthly experience. It's a way to understand, to be inspired, to see trends, and to *converse* on a level other than the mundane. I use it for creative inspiration, relational insight and decision making, among many other things that I'm learning as I go along. Tarot is a permanent fixture in my life, but one that grows and evolves with me. I nearly always invite a deity to assist me in throwing and reading the cards. I always get an answer, whether I like it or not. ;) I also love the artwork. I need a deck that is attractive to me, but I don't collect every deck there is, only the ones that I think will allow me to see through them into my readings.

zorya	09 Sep 2003
i believe that all things are connected. in a way, the connections work like a web. the tarot is a tool that helps me tap into that universal web. i also believe the tarot helps me interpret messages from spirit guides. it helps me see that which i otherwise may not see, for myself and others.

lunalafey	09 Sep 2003
My dirst experience was with a deck of cards. My ant explained that each card has a meaning and together they tell a story about what is going on. I saw it through the eyes of a 11 yr old and saw it as fortune telling magic. I recieved my first deck at 22. The romantic impression from years ago lingered. Through the years that followed it became a friend who I went to for guidance and words of wisdom. I'm sure just about everyone has had a "Tower" moment when you just can't think any sense into anything. Shuffle & throw the cards, the images speak & interact in a way that brings everything except that 'story' to a stand-still. Reading the cards would relax me and release me from my troubles by shining a new light on the situation and giving me a direction to focus on. .....and yes, they are very pretty & unusual, colorful, amusing, amazing, delightful, beautiful.....*breath*....pictures

MystiqueMoonlight	09 Sep 2003
I'm curious if anyone is reading my articles relating to these questions Solandia is posting on my behalf? I will be writing articles on a regular basis to "coherse" further debate in these forums :) Umbrae; you and I are obviously on the same wave length... MM

firemaiden	09 Sep 2003
I read em, Mystique Moonlight, and I thought they were marvelous. I also said so. :)

Logiatrix	09 Sep 2003
Quote: Originally posted by MystiqueMoonlight I'm curious if anyone is reading my articles relating to these questions Solandia is posting on my behalf? Yes, I read the article, and I agree with your wavelength, MM. I am finally working WITH my tarot cards, and letting them speak to me. In fact, tarot doesn't mean anything to me anymore--I mean, the decks don't, not like they used to. My tarot decks could be lost tomorrow, and it wouldn't be a huge loss to me. My decks are in my head now, anyway. That's where they should have been all along, but I've only just recently realized that. At the risk of sounding like a sappy self-help guru, the REAL tarot is inside me. The neat looking cards I spread out on the pretty cloth are just back-up now. Tarot to me is an internal map. I have a lot of maps. They are sacred texts I've read, such as the teachings of Buddha, the Koran, or the Bible. They are all the tools I know and use, such as runes or prayer beads, the I-Ching or pendulums. Maps give me a vision of the landscape that is my life. However, as I evolve, I come to know the terrain of the landscape, and my dependency on the map is less frequent. I am learning this map (the tarot) well enough that it will go from the images and symbols before my eyes to images and symbols in my heart and in my head. I still check the map to verify that I am on the right path, and I still use it whenever the journey becomes new and uknown again, so I will never part with it. I don't have to, because it is in my heart and my head. :)

Macavity	09 Sep 2003
MM, I think it will be read quite avidly. Of a diversity of opinion, in response, I'm rather less confident. Isn't debate usually heralded by presentation of two opposing viewpoints and the voting (i.e. "who agrees with whom") left until the... uhm, END? :D Yes, perhaps just a technicality and/or anyway unrealistic - But it's a thought perhaps? It may be that you are onto something, so I do wish you well with it... Generally, I think it would be nice to see folk addressing issues raised in posts directly and in a friendly way, rather than the sharing and counter-sharing thing that seems to dominate here? In a recent thread e.g., someone advocated (being tactfully unspecific!) "blah-blah". Fair enough? (Having NO opinion myself!) Less fair (imo) is when someone counters this with the nebulous: "People who advocate blah-blah are not to be trusted" etc. Anyone see what I mean? And, sadly, this seems not uncommon... Perhaps the lack of flame wars is a reason one should value Aeclectic? But I also suspect, it considerably reduces the scope of discussion to (well... basically) the reinforcement of ONE viewpoint, with few having either the courage or persistence to challenge a "majority". And, who knows, this latter might even be discovered to now differ quite markedly from mainstream Tarot opinion? }) Macavity

Sulis	09 Sep 2003
Quote: Originally posted by zorya i believe that all things are connected. in a way, the connections work like a web. the tarot is a tool that helps me tap into that universal web. This is exactly how I view tarot. Zorya has explained in this short sentence how and why I believe tarot works. I use tarot for magic, for meditation and to learn about myself and improve my intuitive skills. I've learned such a lot in the 18 months I've been studying tarot and yet there is so much more to learn. Sometimes I feel as though I know nothing at all. It's also a lot of pretty pictures. Love and light crystalmynx xx

Diana	09 Sep 2003
Mystique Moonlight: I suspect everyone has read your article by now. Thank you for writing it. But of course, the debate here is not your article, but the questions that Solandia posed which came to her, I suppose, after reading your article. And I see a whole range of ideas in the posts here. They have been up to now very interesting..... Some are repetitions of past posts, but put in a different way; others are more novel thoughts. (Macavity: As to challenging a majority, well, I remember a time when I felt very lonely on the forums with my Marseille decks, and my deep dislike for, and distrust of, the Golden Dawn stuff and melodramatic pictures on the minors, and other things in that vein. But I persisted because I thought I am entited to my own opinion however unpopular it is. And you know, I feel less lonely now. :) )

Macavity	11 Sep 2003
Thanks Diana, In response to (even!) the original question, I too derive a great deal of enjoyment from learning about Tarot - At least sufficient to my own rather meagre requirements? I think it would be wrong to end the thread with a BIG debate, since it was mostly about folk relating personal experiences and I believe one cannot (should not) debate such things. Being in a minority is not something new to me, nor one that worries me. But I tend now to remove myself from the debate, rather than e.g. give others unreasonable hope of my ultimate "conversion"! :laugh: But more generally, to my mind, the merits of REAL debate are illustrated by the difference between the two following statements: 1. "Jeeze, Diana YOU and YOUR Marseille decks" :D }) 2. "People who use Marseille decks are only readers" At least one can give some kind of response to the first? Even if it is simply one big fat... :P Macavity

Cerulean	13 Sep 2003
Different Tarot card designs have given me a fresh scope for combining many interests. Art and design, creative writing and many interesting meetings have resulted from exploring tarot topics. Lately, I've been exploring reading the cards for others, and I find it fascinating. People who enjoy using tarot cards in the twenty-first century don't always need to look backwards to how people played picture games six or five hundred years--but it has become a delightful option that I'm enjoying. -------------------------------------------------------------- Now I'm going off to read the articles people are talking about. hen I clicked on the first thread link to this discussion, the link took me directly to the article. However when I went to the articles section from Aeclectic's title pages and clicked the 'read more' after Mystique Moonlight's listing, the link took me to Djerna's article about picking a deck. Mari Hoshizaki

Diana	13 Sep 2003
(Macavity: I'd love to continue our big debate :D, but we would be getting so off-topic. And that would not be fair to the thread....)

Moongold	13 Sep 2003
I was in my local library last year when a Tarot book fell off the shelf and, taken with the images and the few brief things that I read then, I took it home. It was by Juliet Sharman Burke. The next week, I bought my first deck, the Witches Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reed. The tarot is a window to the Divine for me. I know Diana used that phrase but it is one that I've also used for myself for some time. I use Tarot primarly for spiritual purposes.

Marion	14 Sep 2003
Interesting question. It means a lot. It shows me how to think in timeless imagery to help me pull myself out of the sandtraps of the present. It is a part of the way that lets me know that I am in contact with a spirit larger than myself. It helps me relate to others in a more more personal and yet more impersonal and broader way than I could normally access using only my own resources.

mingbop	14 Sep 2003
i cant think of what to write here !! its like being asked "what does your arm mean to you?" !!! its part of me, like my arm !

oceanpoetry	14 Sep 2003
What does Tarot mean to you? Is it an expensive way of collecting pretty pictures? Another way to access the psychic centres of your brain? An essential aspect of your personal spirituality? Something else entirely...? Tarot is a way for me to tune in to higher wisdom and guidance. I have experienced some amazing synchronicities with my tarot decks. It has helped me to open up more direct communication with Spirit. I will do a tarot reading, then follow that up with journal writing on the what the cards mean to me. When I have thrown Tarot for others, I have found amazing accuracy for them, as well. It has also helped me to drawn upon my own psychic ability. The decks I have a special to me, each one has a unique voice. Most often I use Crystal Tarot, Hanson-Roberts, and Nigel Jackson. The cards work, IMO, because they allow us to tap into archetypes and the collective unconscious. We can make to connections to our lives, seeing events in a new light because we are interpreting them through the light of this wisdom.

The What does Tarot mean to you? thread was originally posted on 08 Sep 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.