Tarot: Does it work? How?

[chongjasmine]

For me, tarot card is a connection between me and an older brother of mine.
I want to learn how to read tarot so that our bond will deepen.

 

[JackofWands]

I think if you look too closely at *how* something works, it stops working. Scientists seem to think that observed scien tific phenomena work differently under observation to when they are not under observation. Someone concentrating on muscular movements at the gym or during dance who thinks about their body very often finds their skill deserting them until they forget about it and go back into automatic mode. And how many of us actually *think* about braking, accelerating, turning or changing gear in a car? - we don't, it's all automated through the limbic system, and when it isn't yet (as an inexperienced driver) and we are thinking about what we do, we are not so good at it.

Personally, I disagree with this, and I think that Trzes pointed out why quite nicely. Thinking about something doesn't make that thing stop working. If it did, engineers would be terrible drivers, doctors would suffer from chronically bad health, and physicists would find themselves no longer bound by the law of gravity. In my opinion, stopping to ask "why?" is always helpful; it's led us to a world that's not flat, to a human body more complex than just a sack of humours, and to the thousands of personal conveniences that make life in the modern world so much more pleasant than life in Europe in the Middle Ages.

I don't buy this idea that Tarot works, and that's it. If it works, that's great, but why stop there? Why not at least make an attempt to understand the mechanism behind it, the source of this mysterious "working"? Even if a reader comes up with a theory and it's wrong, implementing that theory will allow her to form more specific ideas about her use of Tarot, and to implement Tarot as a tool more effectively.

Personally, I actually don't agree with the assertion that Tarot "works" in the sense that it can supernaturally provide a reader with knowledge that she didn't previously have. I remain skeptical on that point. I do think that Tarot can stimulate thought on the part of the querent, and can directly affect an individual's choices, but I don't see any magical mechanism behind it. If the Eight of Wands comes up in a reading, then the querent reflects on recent creative projects, maybe decides to push a little further with them, and ends up pursuing the arts as a career. In that sense, Tarot "works" because a reading has affected the querent's actions in the real world. But as to why the Eight of Wands came up, and not another card? I know I differ from most of the rest of the forum on this point, but I personally have never found reason to believe that there's a guiding mechanism behind it beyond simple chance.

 

[Zephyros]

I don't think that pure scientific reasoning and Tarot are compatible. I see Tarot as a tool having to do with introspection and faith. One just might as well ask if art "works," or if prayer really does send people to heaven.

But perhaps watching things does, in fact, change their behavior. For example, the half-life of uranium really does change according to whether or not it is observed, as if it is watching back. Maybe it is.

 

[LeFou]

Thinking about something doesn't make that thing stop working.

That seems reasonable (in general) but does it extend to activities which require "flow" (deep focus)? Or for that matter things like muscle memory? Sometimes a "context switch" (change of focus from doing something to thinking about it) is enough to make something stop working.

 

[foolMoon]

Come to think of it, I cannot explain or prove how it works. But I started studying Tarot, because it got right a few years ago, when I had absolutely no idea what it was about. The Tarot reader did readings for a few people in the party, and it was my turn. What she read for me was happening one by one in real life soon after, and I could not believe it. I was so impressed, that took it up for myself.

All I can say now is, after studying and reading a little about Tarot and Magick, that I have subconscious mind which can tell when to stop for the question when I am shuffling for the reading. And when the cards are drawn, their symbolism interacts with my mind or HGA in order to come to answers. This is just my guess, which I believe to be happening, from some of the books I read contributed to my presumption - no proof. Not every truths can have proofs, and not every process in universe can be known.

 

[Zephyros]

Not every truths can have proofs, and not every process in universe can be known.

The problem with that statement is that it is a dead end, and more or less kills any further investigation. It assumes that all the processes that can be known, and the truths that can be proven have already been done so. It also invites rather supernatural considerations where none are inherently necessary. People used to attribute natural phenomena to the whims of the gods, surely we can do better?

Can everything be known? I don't know, I'll know the answer to that when I know everything that can be known. If I still have questions after that, they will by default be unknowable. Until then, let us not be in such a haste as to make such far-sweeping statements as that.

 

[foolMoon]

I feel that a bit of supernatural considerations and skepticism motivate us search for the hidden knowledge and the light in the darkness of the universe

 

[violetdaisy]

Strange things happen when I'm in charge of shuffling and dealing a regular deck. I usually end up with what I want. (And win) My daughter pulled the hanged man 3 weeks in a row for her weekly draw (I was only using majors with her for this exercise). So I do think something's up but I don't know how to define it really or explain it. I also, when faced with a pool of cards go-fish style, used to pulll patterns if I concentrated. However, I am now medicated and can't feel like I used to so that doesn't happen any more. (I'm ok with that because I function all of the time this way.)

 

[Obsydian]

I can't really read tarot for myself, it doesn't click and I draw huge blanks. Sometimes I'll ask for a message and I'll get something that I can relate to an event, or one of my guides's cards will appear.

I'm not quite sure how it all works however. I can read just fine for others most of the time. I am one to believe that I can get messages from deities and spirit guides with the cards and that I'm tapping into a universal power source.

 

[garfield585]

I don't know if it work for me bcoz I am still a newbie. But my strategy to approach tarot is seeking advice or clarify my confusion. If it makes sense, I will take it. If it doesnt make sense, or I don't like it, I just forget and let that reading go lolz. Still remember the reading but don't take it seriously to turn my own choice, my own life upside-down. Maybe with that strategy, I hardly learn and progress in reading. I just simply.keep learning from mistakes separately with my emotion.