Future of Tarot ?

Its that time of year, 2006 calendars, forecasts and thoughts of what's to come, both to our personal lives and the world in general. So with that mindset I wanted to share what I believe will be a possible future for the tarot genre (albeit far beyond just next year).

Tarot is steeped with tradition but not immune to trends and changes. From the earliest woodcuts, through to engravings, letterpress and full colour offset lithography and onto digital reproduction. The reproduction of the tarot imagery has embraced the technologies that were available. This evolution is continuing today as we see experimentation with computer software for reading such as Orphalese, on line reading offered via the internet etc. One can argue the relative benefits or in some peoples opinion the lack thereof in these trends, but either way the genie cannot be put back in its box.
Indeed I believe the trend will be an accelerated application. I can foresee a time (and within the lifetimes of many members here) when a "deck" of tarot based on set of static images printed on card, might well be a set of 78 wafer thin plastic cards, which when activated by applying pressure or tapping, would reveal a movie of the corresponding image, i.e. The Fool walking up to and over the cliff or whatever, with accompanying optional sound effects and music etc. Indeed some cards might have the principal character talking, i.e. we may listen in to the High Priestess sharing her wisdom to the Fool, and so on as we accompany the Fool on his journey through the majors.

Now one would have to question, all this is very well but would it contribute to the reading process, or simply provide entertainment that in fact might be counter productive by being distractive?
For what its worth I attempted to scratch the surface of this potential with the animated cards of the Tarot of Dreams CD. So using that as a reference I conclude three basic reactions.
1.For some its pure novelty, interesting to look at now and again but does'nt serve any purpose.
2. It serves as an optional extra for some people and in some circumstances. i.e. added a little extra richness for personal meditation, was actually used in some readings accompanying or adding extra insight when used with the actual cards, impressed the customers
3. The third option was probably not realized by many but in my opinion really demonstrated the potential of the medium, and that is the issue of randomness that can be built into the system. Many of the animated sequences have a degree of randomness, i.e. colours and movement vary from one play to another. In many cases this is simply to add variety, but in the case of the Wheel of Fortune, it can truly add extra dimension. On each play of this card, the wheel completes at least on full circle, but will randomly finish on any one of the twelve zodiac glyphs. This extends the natural statistics of a shuffled deck from its basic 1 in 78, times 2 (reversals) to an optional additional multiple of twelve. In the hands of a gifted reader would this provide them with the insight to offer even more detailed interpretations, or simply be information overload ?

The ToD is a very basic attempt and hint of this future, a product of two people, with the limitations that represents. But with the financial and technological resources of say the movie and gaming industry, a tarot deck with the capacity I described wouldn't be far away. The limitations would be more business related (would the potential market for such product justify the production costs), rather than technological.
For those traditionalists who are horrified at the future of their beloved tarot that I'm predicting, I'm not saying its a good thing or bad, maybe its both, but in my opinion either way like the future it will be a part of, its coming like it or not.

Maybe ... possibly ... probably ... but I will remain a tarot Luddite!

mythos

Hey Ciro,

Your point is well taken, but I'd like to offer an alternate view...

While it is true that the technology will make such an "animated" deck possible, even probable, I don't know if that is the future of Tarot so much as it speaks to the future of human incapacity.

It's a little like clothes... someone once said, when most Europeans come West, they dress like theyre coming to luncheon, when Americans head East we dress like we've come to mow the lawn. There was a time, within memory, when people dressed to be out in the world. When men wore suits, when women wore hats, when children were actually polished their shoes before participating in the day-to-day world. Now, we live in an era when the world essentially wears it's underwear/sweats on the street all the time. Comfortable, yes. Modern, yes. Machine washable, yes. But easier, lazier, less disciplined. The world has sacrificed a great deal for drip-dry, lemon-scented convenience. Having said that, I'm not suggesting it's in any way evil to pull on a Tshirt and sneakers to venture forth, but that it removed the majority of the world from the dress codes of the powerful. On the whole, and North America is especially guilty of this, we all dress as if we're doing the laundry on Sunday afternoon...

So too, I have a Buddhist friend who's been trying for years to create aniumated mandalas on the PC because there are images the mere contemplation of which produces elevated states. Why NOT take the simple road and provide a ready-made contemplative experience to people? The technology exists; it's not as if you're cheating by making it available to people.

There's a reason we don't let children use calculators, and instead force them to learn their multiplicationtables. And also why memorizing the periodic table of elements or learning latin is a good idea. Discipline is a part of learning. That doesn't mean the calculator and the translation software is worthless, but that it hobbles the learning process. And frankly, by the time you know ytour tables or your Latin primer, the idea of using a machine to connect the dots seems a little silly. Like buying all your food premasticated so you don't have to tire your jaws by chewing.

What does all this have to do with Tarot?

I think animation could be an interesting mode of exploration. I defy anyone to bar ANY means of creative exploration of a system as multifaceted, and endlessly intrguing as Tarot. But while it may make for interesting exploration, I don't think it actually changes Tarot. Because the truth is (Or my perception thereof) that Tarot is internal to the reader. That whatever wisdom comes from having scratch and sniff Tarot cards or a holographic meditation sequence doesn't get around the fact that any study is work and that work is internal. And more importantly, by prechewing everyone's food for thought, that technology might actually close more doors than it opens...

Just a thought...

Scion

Perhaps it depends on the future of man.

Some of us may move out into the black. Once we move outward, ‘cosmic truths’ change, some become moot. But the Mu of the digital will remain, until we move beyond binary (which could be sooner than we think). However out in the black – the computer may be relegated to tasks such as navigation, searching for volatiles, maintaining life-support.

Some of us may drop off the grid…a CD becomes a target, or a garden wind-pretty.

I cannot see a future where the cardstock deck is replaced by technology. But I’d like to see the card-stock deck embrace our evolution more, and live in the past less…

Like a good science fiction deck. What do we have for that now? I Tarocchi di Robot, and Mage: The Ascension (although the latter is more Dystopia, than Sci-Fi).

Now on Star Treck, they’d use digital decks. On the ‘Serenity’ or the Millennium Falcon, they’d use Card-Stock.

Scion, I share and agree with almost all you points, especially the analogy of using calculator as opposed to the discipline of actually learning the basic math. Indeed that reliance on the machine (calculator) is inherently dangerous, as in cases where say a mistaken entry by inadvertently pushing the wrong button resulting in weird results may go unnoticed without the common sense that comes from enough basic understanding, enough to say hmmm!!! these results don't sound right.
Having said that, combining the initial basic learning and human gift, along with the capacity of technology may provide benefits ?????

Interesting points you all raised. As for me, I prefer using tarot cards on card board and have face-to-face readings although I sometimes do a quick reading at facade.com.

I always carry my main reading decks with me and so I do not depend on electricity or else to make them work.

Look for how many years the traditional tarot has survived, may it be the once and the future tarot (please on cardboard).

**Now one would have to question, all this is very well but would it contribute to the reading process, or simply provide entertainment that in fact might be counter productive by being distractive?**

I think it would be counterproductive. There are some things that just can't quite ever replace the real thing. Like cyber-sex/sex toys/phone sex. Ya just gotta do it the old-fashioned, up close and personal way to get the most out of it.

I dearly love the Gilded tarot and now use it almost exclusively, but it wouldn't be the same to me if it were "technologized". Then it would become like video games---a distraction, but not a real, hands-on experience that really means anything.

I hope I don't step on anyone's feelings here ...

Last night I walked into Wal*Mart and right by the door were $20 gizmos for Christmas gifts - and the one that caught my eye was a 'CORDLESS CHEESE GRATER.' I hate to say this - but my great-great grandmother had a 'CORDLESS' cheese grater - you put the metal thing on a counter and moved the block of cheese up and down and it 'grated.' What makes this a 'CORDLESS' grater is that it is battery powered: you hold the block of cheese and the grater jiggles up and down ....

And so it is with Tarot. Tarot has/does/will evolve to fit the times in which it is used. So whether you shuffle cardboard cards, slip a CD into your computer, or snap you fingers and holographic images dance across your desk - they are merely innovative ideas. However, even if they someday speak out loud in a mimic of your voice or project themselves across a crowded room - SOMEONE still has to do the interpretation of their glitzy antics. The INTERPRETATION of the cards will always be in the hands of and powered by the READER. Even if someday in the future your tarot deck is a jar of pills and you swallow a pill a day and a reading hallucinates in front of you, it will still be your interpretation of that hallucination that matters, not the feel of cardboard or the latest technological doohickie.

Personally, I'd prefer a cordless, cardboard Tarot deck.

Although modern civilization has made great strides and advances in technology, we still are not a paperless world. Books are still published in hard/soft cover form and read that way. Who knows - maybe that's because there are still those of us that get a little head rush (I'm dating myself now ) opening the cover of a new book, smelling the paper and ink, and travelling far away. . . even in our mind's eye. . . to adventures we will never personally experience.

I think the cardboard art images of tarot will be around for a while, and I, for one, will continue to use them.

One thing I love about static images is that it's up to my intuition to decide whether the fool will step over the cliff or not. He might turn, or stop to admire the view, or fall off, or jump off, fall to the ground below, or fly, or continue walking in the air, perpaps as if up a set of stairs, or float gently, or he might be walking backwards, or falling backwards for that matter...

Moving pictures and speach would be interesting, but I can't help but think that it might limit the readings a bit. How many different things to say would the high priestess have for instance? Would they be randomised so that one of these would come out in a reading or would it be the same regardless of the question posed?

Well, that's my quick little 2 cents at the end of a workday..
Luddite as I am, though using the modern tools at hand (thankfully or I wouldn't have found this forum) for what I deem it appropriate for.


Though, having an interactive tarot for learning the basics would be pretty brilliant come think of it.. No searching the little white booklet for meanings, just tap the card and up it comes with some sound and moving pictures..
Good for a teaching tool, especially if interactive (card meets card and see what might take place) but it should also point out that everyone needs to make their own interpretations and that the suggested phrases and meetings are all possibilities amongst the many other possibilities.