psychic and tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 Oct 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

loveinspirit	23 Oct 2004
i know you dont have to be psychic to read tarot. how can you tell if you are psychic and when reading tarot does it bring more of the psychic out.? can you stop the psychic side coming through when reading tarot, or does it help more in the reading when it does?

Mesara	23 Oct 2004
Just my opinion... I think everyone is psychic to some extent, and tarot cards are simply a *medium* that helps us tap into our subconcious, extracting visions and knowledge which are psychic in nature but remain dormant until stimulated by our use of the cards (or other mediums). Why would you want to stop the psychic process while reading cards? Im just curious.

witchywomyn	23 Oct 2004
I agree with Mesara - I think psychic is a really heightened intuition - I think everyone has an innate intuition - the tarot is a great medium to hone our ability - to learn how to trust our intuition - and the more we trust our intuition - the more psychic we become - and the more effective our readings can be )of course, this is a matter of opinion. Many Blessings

OakDragon	24 Oct 2004
I think it depends on what you mean by "psychic". I tend to associate that word with mentally accessing information from unknown sources. To me, intuition has to do with psychologically known (or at least moderately accepted) methods of acquiring information, i.e. through memories, associations, the subconscious, etc. Psychic things I tend to associate with the "mystical" acquiring of information, i.e. acquiring with unexplained methods. The reason I make the distinction is that I do one or the other or both when I do a tarot reading, depending on the type of reading I want to give. The intuitive part (as I have defined it) is for me very easy. The psychic part is not... I can't always access it at will and it takes different forms. Sometimes it starts as a physical sensation which I translate into information. Sometimes it is a sudden emotion that washes over me. Usually it's simply information that I suddenly know to be true, though I don't know how I could have possibly known or where the knowledge came from. Any of these phenomena could, I suppose, be explainable somehow; they simply remain unexplained, unlike what I call intuitive knowledge. The cards do help me stimulate access to both intuitive and psychic phemomena, but they are not necessary for either. They are simply well-designed tools for the purposes. -- Edited for spelling

lawguy51	25 Oct 2004
Knowing if you are psychic is kind of like knowing if you've ever been to France. OK, that was dumb but in my experience, people who are truly psychic spend most of their youth either afraid or in denial of their special gift, then, as adults, they come to terms with it and most tend to use it in very altruistic ways, such as becoming Tarot readers. If you are psychic, you know. And I agree that all of us who read Tarot are intuitive. But psychics use cards, in my experience, much differently than a tarot reader does. I have a friend who is an internationally acclaimed psychic and for her, the cards act more as triggers than as part of a story. In fact, she says I know more about Tarot than she does, but she 'sees' things in a way that I have no experience in. Lawguy51

seaofclouds	25 Oct 2004
I don't know. I think that there are situations that people can go through where they will *devellop* a certain psychic gift. I have always had prophetic dreams and instances of sort of deja vu feelings. But it wasn't until fairly recently that I really started noticing other sorts of "psychic" phenomena in my life. I think because I grew up in a very sheltered and conservative family, I pushed all ideas of anything beyond what I could touch or see aside. Tarot cards were forbidden, and I remember being chastised when I was young for having them in my possession. When I left home... oh, five years ago, my dreams started to become more vivid. But I found myself in a horribly repressive relationship (that ended with a great deal of psychological abuse). Now that I am comfortable and safe and more open to what is happening, it's been a floodwash! And the more I read with tarot cards, the more it is a *trigger*, to where I can pinpoint certain things... My problem being that I lack confidence to say what I am feeling/thinking. But back to the question: I have a friend who does not claim any psychic ability and he is a wonderfully gifted reader who simply says what he sees in the pictures in the cards (I should note, he is *not* a card reader, in fact, he's more of an expert in symbology -- however, his readings are very accurate, and he has no idea where it comes from). Wow. That was rambly! I've spent the last ten hours at work and I'm exhausted! Forgive me! ~Sea

mysticali	25 Oct 2004
It surely all depends on how you define psychic. If psychic is that which cannot be explained away by 'science' then when you break that down it does not necessarily depict a gift - but it could be. Having realised that the tarot makes sense for you may be psychic in itself, whether you call yourself psychic or not. Similarly those that intuit or 'know' things with or without cards could be psychic - or not. Surely there can be different degrees of psychic ability like there are different degrees of artistic ability or beauty (and similarly how can his be defined?) It is a good question - i would not claim to be a psychic because of what other people infer from that term more than any other reason and i suspect that goes for others also.

loveinspirit	26 Oct 2004
psychic seems a difficult subject to approach when there are so many different meanings to the word psychic... seaofclouds i can understand where you are coming from the same things kind of happened to me...and now years from being cooped up into being something im not, and having the freedom to be myself again, with a supporting partner. from when i was little my mum and dad knew as i put it i was different, but they stopped it. it does freak me out when i can tell somebody about past loved ones, something they have never told me before. i still lack confidence and worry that people think im going mad..... when i have done tarot readings not only do i read the cards for them i now can tell them about relatives who want to give them a message... is this wise to do this?, or can the psychic side be stopped while giving readings? i am now trying to teach tarot its not going to well as i pick things from the people in the class, not sure what to do...

shelikes2read	26 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Mesara Just my opinion... I think everyone is psychic to some extent, and tarot cards are simply a *medium* that helps us tap into our subconcious, extracting visions and knowledge which are psychic in nature but remain dormant until stimulated by our use of the cards (or other mediums). Agreed -- I've always likened Tarot cards to my glasses. My eyeglasses aren't the reason I can see in the first place. My eyes, thank God, work well enough that I can see. But the glasses help me to see more clearly. Ditto for the Tarot cards... I believe that we all have psychic ability, by whatever name we choose to call it, and that our perception is not defined solely by the five senses. The cards are not the reason that we are able to perceive information above and beyond what our five senses are telling us. But they're able to help us perceive it more clearly.

SeraphSarah	27 Oct 2004
I always tell people that being Psychic is like being a great painter like Picasso or Vang goh Everyone can splat paint on a canvas but not everyone can create an mazing art peice like those great authors can..however..by using paint by colours and things like that others can get better at it and progress to reach their own potential but may never reach the extrems those famous painters did. Because, being a painter was their gift given to them..as those who can play sports better then others, or write better then someone else, or sing like Celiene Dion. Everyone can try those things and do it--but not everyone reaches the intensity someone with that natural gift can. So, Just like this a psychic has a gift and can use it naturally to te extreems, where someone else may have to work extra hard at using their abilities and may only be able to work with their intuition. I believe Tarot is just a tool to help bring about psychic awareness. You don't need it to read the cards, but it does help..A LOT. And the more you use the cards the more you are able to tune into your psychic abilities. And those who do this naturally can move on to "knowing" things without the cards..as Syvia Brown or James VP can do :)

Sillanza	28 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by loveinspirit when i have done tarot readings not only do i read the cards for them i now can tell them about relatives who want to give them a message... is this wise to do this?, or can the psychic side be stopped while giving readings? i am now trying to teach tarot its not going to well as i pick things from the people in the class, not sure what to do... It sounds like you've got a lot going on! I can also "know" things about people I see wherever, and I certainly don't need this information for anything, and I doubt that the information would be welcome. I don't think it's as much a problem for me as it is for you, however! Performing some kind of a grounding exercise/prayer before you begin your classes might be helpful, asking to only share your knowledge and not receive any about your students during the class. As far as during readings, you could simply ask the querant if you could share some information that is not contained in the cards. When someone is coming to you for information, why would they refuse? Good luck!

Original Destiny	28 Oct 2004
I have always been wary of the label "psychic", to me it seems to have been hi-jacked and devalued. (just how many internationally renound psychics can there be...and how come i have never heard of any of them befor) So i describe myself as an "empath" and "sensitive" this seems nearer to the truth. for if you are empathic and sensitive to your clients needs to them you might well appear to be psychic.

Kit	28 Oct 2004
I like Original Destiny's way of putting it best...a good tarot reader needs to be emphatic and sensitive, at least in a profane, everyday sense. Yes, I think everyone has some "psychic" ability, but I am wary of using the word. It has so many stereotypes. I like to consider myself intuitive, emphatic and sensitive. I beleive most people are, to an extent. shelikes2read's eye analogy works well and I might have to borrow it to explain: how much you see depends on how much you open your eyes. Raeven

SeraphSarah	28 Oct 2004
Well, psychic is a broad term. There are different kinds. I'm clairovoyent, empathic, And clairodiant. Sometimes I can be reffered to have medium abilities. I like the term psychic, and dont really see a problem with using it if you are infact it. I think a lot more people are psychics these days then before, it's just more accepted in todays society when it use to be taboo.

Kit	29 Oct 2004
Sorry, I didn't mean the term psychic shouldn't be used, Sarah. :| I just meant I don't think it should be amplied loosely. Naturally, if someone does have heightened psychic powers, then you should feel free to refer to them as psychic if that is the title they choose to use. The thing is, many people carry around with them the stereotypical misconception of the very cartoon-like old woman, huddled over her crystal ball making outrageous predictions. The word has been misused and misinterptreted many times. Raeven Edited to add: Nothing against crystal balls, by the way. :)

shelikes2read	29 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Raeven Edited to add: Nothing against crystal balls, by the way. :) Yeah, I think they're easier to use than the rough edge of broken-off square of chocolate (see the "Weird Oracles" thread in the Divination forum). At least I can scry on the crystal ball without being tempted to eat it. ;) I'm still gonna scry on a piece of chocolate one of these days, but not when I'm hungry. I learned that lesson. ;)

SeraphSarah	29 Oct 2004
Lol, I prefer Mirrors. :)

The psychic and tarot thread was originally posted on 23 Oct 2004 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.