thinbuddha
In another thread that discusses the pros and cons of letting others handle your tarot cards (or not) there are several that explain that they don't let others handle their cards because, essentially, energy or vibrations can pollute the deck.
I don't mean to pick on any one person, but Fatima's post caught my attention because of the question asked:
Well, as one that doesn't necessarily buy "the notion of vibration" (which is different than not understanding it) I'd like to take a moment to explain my position on tarot- how it works, how it doesn't work, and why a belief in the interaction between energies and cards isn't necessary to get something out of tarot cards.
Truth be known, I'm on the fence about this issue. I'm leaning on the "anti-vibration" side of the fence, but before this is interpreted as an attack on the beliefs of anyone else- know that I'm kinda-sorta partially with Fatima (and others) on this issue in some ways. (Don't you love the conviction in my previous statement?) For now, I'll play devil's advocate, and give the counter arguement to the "pro-vibes" crowd:
In his book, "The Hero With a Thousand Faces", Joseph Campbell claims that all myths- from every culture- tell different versions of the same story. He further states that there are a limited number of story threads, and that every myth uses variations of these story threads to make up their culturally specialized version of the story. I don't believe that Campbell was the first to make this arguement (I believe that Jung preceeded him in this matter) but Campbell was perhaps the first to break down several myths from several different culures and explain how they fit into this theory......
Oh- and the key to Campbell's theory is this: that every myth speaks to a universal truth about what it is to be a human. People who do not have a background of belief in a myth (from whatever tradition) will have their own versions of the *very same myths* play out for them when facing a personal crisis- These personal myths will play out in the form of dreams or delusions- but they will just as easily fit into the same story of the "hero with a thousand faces" as myths from any culture will.
So basically, it could be said that the major elements of these myths- archetypes- each speak to very real *needs* that humans cannot meet by logic alone. These archetypes are universal. Even if they are cloaked in a foreign tradition, one can strip them down to their core meaning, and the archetype will speak to you. Now obviously, you know where I'm going: the tarot cards (especially the trumps & courts) represent archetypes. In decks where the pips can't or don't represent archetypes, it could be said that they modify the archetype cards.
I really don't think that anyone here would make the arguement that tarot cards do not speak universally- But what does this have to do with vibes? How could anyone (especially someone going by the moniker "thinbuddha") argue that vibes aren't a necessary part of the tarot experience? Isn't it *necessary* for the cards to be selected in a special way- with vibes or spirits or energy somehow influencing the card selection for a reading to be meaningful? It MUST be, right?
Uh.... not necessarily:
I would arue that *perhaps* that might be the case if you are trying to PREDICT a future path. Or if you are trying to determine something that would be impossible to know without some sort of psychic element comming into play. But what if you don't address such questions to the tarot? What if you use the tarot (when you apply it to the real world) as a tool to explore your own thoughts about a given issue? What if you use tarot as a objective friend- whom you discuss situations with, and you then process what the friend "says" about the situation?
Let me explain with an example- Lets say I am having a personal conflict at work. It has me hot under the collar, and I can barely think straight. How could (X) be such an unreasonable jerk? So the situation has me angry enough that all I can see are shadows and back-stabbing as the reason for the way that (X) is acting. But when I consult the tarot, I can explore- what is it that (X) is doing- why is he doing this? The tarot presents a *possible* answer. A rather non-specific open-ended answer at that. Tarot, in short, presents a certain way to frame how I look at the issue at hand (a different lens to see the situation through). No need for special card selection- the special part about it is that a reading forces you to look at something in a completely different way than you otherwise would have, and the "magic" is that you can come to a greater understanding of a situation that you really (deep inside) already know the answer to. That answer isn't necessarily directly correlated with what the tarot spread says- maybe the spread even seems to say something totally contradictory to reality- but the interaction with the cards serves to expand your awarness of a situation by forcing you to look at the situation through another lens.
None of this necesitates any kind of divine intervention in the card selection process. Vibes need not apply!
Now that's just the real-world application of knowing the tarot. Now imagine yourself as a fiction writer. You are a bit stuck on a character- what is his personality? What will he do? How will he react with the other characters? What will happen in the plot? Tarot is a perfect brainstorming tool because it is open-ended and non-specific, but at the same time, it is full of depth. And using tarot for developing works of fiction certainly doesn't need divine intervention in the form of vibes, spirits or other energies in order to work....
-tb
I don't mean to pick on any one person, but Fatima's post caught my attention because of the question asked:
Fatima said:
Well, as one that doesn't necessarily buy "the notion of vibration" (which is different than not understanding it) I'd like to take a moment to explain my position on tarot- how it works, how it doesn't work, and why a belief in the interaction between energies and cards isn't necessary to get something out of tarot cards.
Truth be known, I'm on the fence about this issue. I'm leaning on the "anti-vibration" side of the fence, but before this is interpreted as an attack on the beliefs of anyone else- know that I'm kinda-sorta partially with Fatima (and others) on this issue in some ways. (Don't you love the conviction in my previous statement?) For now, I'll play devil's advocate, and give the counter arguement to the "pro-vibes" crowd:
In his book, "The Hero With a Thousand Faces", Joseph Campbell claims that all myths- from every culture- tell different versions of the same story. He further states that there are a limited number of story threads, and that every myth uses variations of these story threads to make up their culturally specialized version of the story. I don't believe that Campbell was the first to make this arguement (I believe that Jung preceeded him in this matter) but Campbell was perhaps the first to break down several myths from several different culures and explain how they fit into this theory......
Oh- and the key to Campbell's theory is this: that every myth speaks to a universal truth about what it is to be a human. People who do not have a background of belief in a myth (from whatever tradition) will have their own versions of the *very same myths* play out for them when facing a personal crisis- These personal myths will play out in the form of dreams or delusions- but they will just as easily fit into the same story of the "hero with a thousand faces" as myths from any culture will.
So basically, it could be said that the major elements of these myths- archetypes- each speak to very real *needs* that humans cannot meet by logic alone. These archetypes are universal. Even if they are cloaked in a foreign tradition, one can strip them down to their core meaning, and the archetype will speak to you. Now obviously, you know where I'm going: the tarot cards (especially the trumps & courts) represent archetypes. In decks where the pips can't or don't represent archetypes, it could be said that they modify the archetype cards.
I really don't think that anyone here would make the arguement that tarot cards do not speak universally- But what does this have to do with vibes? How could anyone (especially someone going by the moniker "thinbuddha") argue that vibes aren't a necessary part of the tarot experience? Isn't it *necessary* for the cards to be selected in a special way- with vibes or spirits or energy somehow influencing the card selection for a reading to be meaningful? It MUST be, right?
Uh.... not necessarily:
I would arue that *perhaps* that might be the case if you are trying to PREDICT a future path. Or if you are trying to determine something that would be impossible to know without some sort of psychic element comming into play. But what if you don't address such questions to the tarot? What if you use the tarot (when you apply it to the real world) as a tool to explore your own thoughts about a given issue? What if you use tarot as a objective friend- whom you discuss situations with, and you then process what the friend "says" about the situation?
Let me explain with an example- Lets say I am having a personal conflict at work. It has me hot under the collar, and I can barely think straight. How could (X) be such an unreasonable jerk? So the situation has me angry enough that all I can see are shadows and back-stabbing as the reason for the way that (X) is acting. But when I consult the tarot, I can explore- what is it that (X) is doing- why is he doing this? The tarot presents a *possible* answer. A rather non-specific open-ended answer at that. Tarot, in short, presents a certain way to frame how I look at the issue at hand (a different lens to see the situation through). No need for special card selection- the special part about it is that a reading forces you to look at something in a completely different way than you otherwise would have, and the "magic" is that you can come to a greater understanding of a situation that you really (deep inside) already know the answer to. That answer isn't necessarily directly correlated with what the tarot spread says- maybe the spread even seems to say something totally contradictory to reality- but the interaction with the cards serves to expand your awarness of a situation by forcing you to look at the situation through another lens.
None of this necesitates any kind of divine intervention in the card selection process. Vibes need not apply!
Now that's just the real-world application of knowing the tarot. Now imagine yourself as a fiction writer. You are a bit stuck on a character- what is his personality? What will he do? How will he react with the other characters? What will happen in the plot? Tarot is a perfect brainstorming tool because it is open-ended and non-specific, but at the same time, it is full of depth. And using tarot for developing works of fiction certainly doesn't need divine intervention in the form of vibes, spirits or other energies in order to work....
-tb
