jmd
I have not read all the responses yet, but thought I would reply by considering fairyhedgehog's post first... I'll probably make another post later too. I just thought that fairyhedgehog's opening post already included so much that to read the other posts first may be, for me, too much to try and combine.
fairyhedgehog mentions that she is a secular humanist. I suppose that part of what this entails is attempting to see the world and each of its events in ways which assume a particular ontological view - a view of the world as composed solely of matter and energy, each being in some way but a different manifestation of the other.
When fairyhedgehog says that when we read the cards she believes that what is occuring is the innate 'human ability to make sense of things by making up stories', I personally also tend to agree. Where we may diverge in our views is the ways in which one explains how this is not only possible, but that the 'stories' are strikingly relevant.
As someone who personally holds a fundamentally spiritual view of the world (though this wasn't always so - and of course people have fluctuatued in both directions in their ongoing views), I would account for both the ability to narrate relevant meaningful stories, and indeed the ways in which events may at times unfold (including, possibly, which cards emerge), as guided, no matter how veiled, by impulses emerging from the spiritual realm. A realm which sustains and makes manifest the physical world, by the way.
Of course, you mention that part of this poll is to find how other secular humanists view and explain their usage of Tarot... I have therefore not responded to the poll, though I tend to be far closer to secular humanist explanations of the physical world than may seem to be the case. Of course, fundamentally, my views as to what sustains such existence varies to the physicalist's view...
As to reading for people, your own description as to what you 'see' will be narrated in ways which will undoubtedly suggest a particular world-view... to begin a reading by suggesting: 'a different way of viewing the situation may be to...' is quite different to stating: 'I see ...'. Even to state that you see the cards as providing images which are means by which the human mind may see a meaningful story or stories unfold, though this reflects human abilities in 'meaning-making', and not what is necessarily the case. Maybe reading for others - especially those with whom you may share a (more or less) common secular humanistic framework, may be quite a refreshing experience.
Personally, to read amongst a group of people who are secular humanists, and see how and in which ways various narratives develop, are connected to one's life situation, and strive to account for not only the 'mechanisms' in which the reading operates, but how useful it may be, would undoubtedly be wonderfully rewarding...
...now to read the other responses. I look forward to seeing how this thread develops
fairyhedgehog mentions that she is a secular humanist. I suppose that part of what this entails is attempting to see the world and each of its events in ways which assume a particular ontological view - a view of the world as composed solely of matter and energy, each being in some way but a different manifestation of the other.
When fairyhedgehog says that when we read the cards she believes that what is occuring is the innate 'human ability to make sense of things by making up stories', I personally also tend to agree. Where we may diverge in our views is the ways in which one explains how this is not only possible, but that the 'stories' are strikingly relevant.
As someone who personally holds a fundamentally spiritual view of the world (though this wasn't always so - and of course people have fluctuatued in both directions in their ongoing views), I would account for both the ability to narrate relevant meaningful stories, and indeed the ways in which events may at times unfold (including, possibly, which cards emerge), as guided, no matter how veiled, by impulses emerging from the spiritual realm. A realm which sustains and makes manifest the physical world, by the way.
Of course, you mention that part of this poll is to find how other secular humanists view and explain their usage of Tarot... I have therefore not responded to the poll, though I tend to be far closer to secular humanist explanations of the physical world than may seem to be the case. Of course, fundamentally, my views as to what sustains such existence varies to the physicalist's view...
As to reading for people, your own description as to what you 'see' will be narrated in ways which will undoubtedly suggest a particular world-view... to begin a reading by suggesting: 'a different way of viewing the situation may be to...' is quite different to stating: 'I see ...'. Even to state that you see the cards as providing images which are means by which the human mind may see a meaningful story or stories unfold, though this reflects human abilities in 'meaning-making', and not what is necessarily the case. Maybe reading for others - especially those with whom you may share a (more or less) common secular humanistic framework, may be quite a refreshing experience.
Personally, to read amongst a group of people who are secular humanists, and see how and in which ways various narratives develop, are connected to one's life situation, and strive to account for not only the 'mechanisms' in which the reading operates, but how useful it may be, would undoubtedly be wonderfully rewarding...
...now to read the other responses. I look forward to seeing how this thread develops
K