Insight versus Divination with Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Aug 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

mercenary30	27 Aug 2003
I am wondering what some of the different points of view are out there when it comes to reading tarot cards. Many times when I talk with ‘normal’ people about them, they assume I am some sort of seer, trying to tell the future. I use the tarot as a method to look at a particular problem or circumstance, and the cards guide me into looking at the situation from a different perspective or to look at it from a point of view that I consciously avoided. This provides insight, which is not the same thing as divination. What is your take?

Shoshin	27 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by mercenary30 This provides insight, which is not the same thing as divination. What is your take? Or is it? I believe divination is insight in a different direction.

mercenary30	27 Aug 2003
Shoshin From a definition stand point, I concede that you are correct. In general public use, divination usually implies mystical attainment of information, where as insight usually pertains to wisdom.

firemaiden	27 Aug 2003
Hi mercenary30, I think your question offers an interesting twist to our ongoing search to understand how the tarot works, and how we read. There have been some wonderful threads on the topic of intuition. Here is a very in depth thread that may be just the ticket Psychic Powers, Intuition or Common Sense - How Genuine Are We? However your question makes me wonder, how indeed, is "insight" different from "divination?" I came up with this, that insight speaks of result, rather than method -- and this result of insight for example, into a person's life and character could come through myriad different channels, including accute observation using all senses, magic, and of course divination. Yet the word insight is also IN + sight, which to me sounds like seeing, specifically from within. Whereas for some, divine-ation is specifically the art of invoking the divine, allowing a voice to manifest from OUT side -- And if we are to agree for one moment, (and I know most don't) that divination is the search for out + sight, does it not behoove us to quiet all the other channels we use? Or, when we use our insights borrowed from a thousand ancillary techniques, like astrology, numerology, year cycles, analysis of vocal, facial, and physical cues, as well as psychic visions -- how much do the Tarot cards themselves inform the reading. Don't we trust the cards? What if we were to read using the cards and nothing but the cards. Or... is this even possible?

Jeanette	27 Aug 2003
Speaking for myself ONLY, I sometimes wish I could "divine" the future (like people sometimes assume you are able to do when you say you read Tarot cards) or had other "mystical powers;" alas, I do not. So, when I read Tarot cards I believe they help me to look at a problem from a different angle. Sometimes I mention that Tarot cards can be similar to the "inkblot tests" in use by the medical profession. Your reaction to the images may provide some insight to how you are dealing with a certain situation. But I do believe there are gifted people that can tap into certain "energies" more easily than the rest of the general population. But I'm sure there is a burden of responsibility that comes with that gift.

Aerin	27 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Jeanette Sometimes I mention that Tarot cards can be similar to the "inkblot tests" in use by the medical profession. Your reaction to the images may provide some insight to how you are dealing with a certain situation. This is how I explained Tarot to my husband - a kind of mirror of the unconscious so that you could gain access to material that you had not yet consciously processed. Aerin ps your post expresses precisely how I see Tarot as well. Also how I introduce the use of divination for problem solving to MBA students, they don't all run away then

mingbop	28 Aug 2003
WELL, IM THE ODD ONE OUT AS USUAL !!!I USE THE TAROT ONLY FOR DIVINATION, TO TELL WHATS COMING, TO WARN, TO ENCOURAGE. ALSO IT TELLS WHATS GOING ON IN YOUR HEAD/LIFE, YES..BUT I USE IT TO TELL WHATS COMING. ITS THE ONLY WAY I KNOW, HOW I WAS TAUGHT. IM SORRY !!!!

jmd	28 Aug 2003
Glad to see various views... Reading through the posts, I was struck by how insightful firemaiden's post divined into the senses of the two terms... and how careful sensing into concepts used has so many parallels to the ways in which we may sense into Tarot during a reading, utilising not only prior insights one may have, but also opening oneself to the myriad possibilities divined. But I can see I'm not really helping the thread, so I'll just enjoy reading some more ;)

mercenary30	28 Aug 2003
What are you apologizing for? You are certainly not the odd one out. Just because I don't have the talent for divination does not mean plenty of folks out there reading cards can't. If you have the touch, use it!!!!

Aerin	28 Aug 2003
mingbob, I hope you aren't cross, I'm not sure why you are shouting with a frownie. It seems to me that doing what you do is great, I have sometimes wished to and sometimes been scared of what I would see if I felt I could divine the future rather than have insights based on the 'now' (whatever that is). I think everyone is speaking for themselves, and that's fine it doesn't mean everyone has to be the same. As Jeanette says Quote: I do believe there are gifted people that can tap into certain "energies" more easily than the rest of the general population. But I'm sure there is a burden of responsibility that comes with that gift. Aerin

mingbop	28 Aug 2003
i was shouting with a frownie cos i didnt have my glasses and I canny see a thing without them !!!..and just today i found a downside , as you say. my friend tells me im not allowed to bring my cards to her house as her husband doesnt like them ..and says I'm NOT NORMAL !!!

MeeWah	28 Aug 2003
Mingbop: Do ye not listen to such rubbish! Besides, the jury is out on what is "normal". If the mainstream society is representative of normal, then I am happy to be not. If your friend wants a reading, she will need to come to ye.

mingbop	28 Aug 2003
meewah---I love you !!!you keep me sane----em----is that a bad choice of word ???? am giggling here...!!!

MeeWah	28 Aug 2003
Especially appreciate FireMaiden's fine definition of "insight" vs "divination". Both occur, perhaps in tandem. Insight can be equated with the personal internal process & the intuitive forces of same. Divination acknowledges an exterior guidance or power. The "line" between the two--if a such a line exists--is blurred; or at least, to overlap. There are, as FireMaiden points out, a myriad of factors at work so that in the wholistic product that results, there may be little to no difference. The term "second sight" seems to address both insight & divination. That of seeing beyond the normal range of vision.

Scarletpeaches	29 Aug 2003
Who on Earth wants to be normal? As for insight/divination...Well, my view is (speaking for myself only of course) I cannot tell the future as I believe we make our own fate. I use the cards to give advice and to say if you continue on this path, THIS will happen, but if you follow our advice and change your path, then THAT will happen. They present me with a possible outcome but leave the ultimate choice up to me - perfect, if you're a control freak like me! Did that make sense? And if someone told me I wasn't normal - I would take that as a compliment!

mercenary30	29 Aug 2003
I thought I made it pretty clear that I did not consider my self 'normal' in my first post! I was in band in high school, I played AD&D, I knew more about computers than the teachers did in HS. I read Heavy Metal Magazine, collected comic books, played Magic the Gathering. I gave up on organized religion a long time ago, I am currently in a rock band and I have shoulder blade length hair at a time where buzz cuts are in. (No it is not a mullet) I also am learning to read Tarot. Does this sound normal? (the answer is no)

mingbop	29 Aug 2003
im middle-aged, work nights in deserted offices reading horror in my breaks , talk to spirits, listen to AC/DC, have a yamaha M/C, eloped at 16 & married a biker,( still gottim!) got 3 kids and 4 grandschildren....im TOTALLY normal.!

Umbrae	29 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by mercenary30 I played AD&D…I read Heavy Metal Magazine. I still play AD&D (and have for 20+ years), recently gave away my set of the first five years of Heavy Metal Magazine to a young artist friend of mine, have read tarot since before Heavy Metal came out… Not normal? But insight vs. divination. I believe that divination is insight, but insight is not always divination. When we read for others – things happen. Sometimes I can ‘know’ things that there is no way to know. The cards didn’t tell me (but I’m looking at cards), the person didn’t tell me (online readings provide no visual queues), I’m just staring at cards, or sometimes runes, and I know. Sometimes what comes out of my mouth (on onto the keyboard) has no relation to archetypes or images. Is that insight into the life of another? Or is it divination (communication with spirit)? Can I separate them? Classify them? For me, I don’t attempt to. For me – it’s just another form of listening. Or perhaps a more aware awareness. Of course if you ever saw me in my stockbroker suit, you’d think I’m normal…and perhaps I am. Perhaps those who can’t hear the spirit, but live in blind obeisance like automatons are not normal…or those who deny spirit…

Cerulean	14 Sep 2003
I'm a fan of the Lo Scarabeo book that comes with the Visconti Gold. Tibero Gonard's discussion of divination talks about imagination, study, reflection. What I gathered is the process of divination is reflective and an associative action that a student of tarot reading can practice, so they grow to trust their imagination and perceptions. When I think of insight, I think of it as a perception or view that rises and emerges or occurs to someone unexpectedly. I actually think it is very image-based and visual, so I like that term when it comes to tarot pictures. Here's a cut and paste from a 'marketing' site, but I liked the definition: An insight is a fresh and unexpected perspective. "It gets the following reaction from those involved: 'Wow, yes, you're right.' I'd never thought of it like that before, but you're absolutely right. You really understand what's going on here." Just my take right now. I think people can learn divination as a form of study. I also think people can learn to visualize and 'draw' answers from tarot images, and over time, learn other imaginative, associative techniques. I think both Garett Knight and Tibero Gonard's writings help people trust their imagination over time, to arrive at insights or sence a fresh perspective when they study tarot. By the way, both writers were working with non-scenic suit and pip cards, so it might be a bit more challenging and time to 'study' such decks. But I do recommend these authors if some historical decks are attractive to students here.

lunaperse	15 Sep 2003
nobody is normal ... and nothing is normal ... other than perhaps insanity and that's something we all contain whther in the form of a spark or a flame, or a bushfire. as for the cards, for me, they are a different way of viewing the same events, like putting on glasses to adjust my focus. except it's not just sight it's - well it's 6 not one. with the right deck. with some decks i feel like i am trying to read linear b... or braille by scent. (one day i will learn to type and on that day i will be the tower and the world together)

The Insight versus Divination with Tarot thread was originally posted on 27 Aug 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.