Does Tarot make you smarter?

mac22 said:

Thanks!

There is so much MORE to Tarot than just pictures on pasteboard!

mac22

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No there is not. All they are is pictures.

What's special about tarot is not the pictures of pasteboard but the pictures represent.

yup

I think Tarot has increased my ability to see patterns, to translate visuals into words. So I would have to say some type of intelligence is strengthening here.

One of the reasons I asked this, orignally, is because as a youth my grades went up when my friend and I started leaving off certain childish things and started reading sci-fi, using tarot cards, reading Tolkien and memorizing the runes by heart. I also notice my grades flew up to A+ and honour rolls when I started playing Dungeons and Dragons. Now that was over 20 years ago when there was less battle and more creativity involved with the game, and I had become a Dungeon Master because I loved creating my own campaigns rather than slashing and grabbing the wealth! Point being, doing that sort of thing-creativity, imagination, having to really use your brain, reading more, learning (even if not school related) it brought my grades up to highest scores, and when I stopped...I felt like my brain had gone somewhat to muck! So, I would have to say, I am a firm believer that tarot, if studied, read, etc., feeds the brain in a very good way, and must somehow sharpen our skills.

I think it also helps to enhance emotional intelligence, which is something not so easily measured, but every bit as important... doing Tarot readings encourages us to interact with others, listen more attentively to someone else's problems, and be more open to another's emotions and feelings.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/intelligence/emotional.shtml

elnor

HearthCricket said:

One of the reasons I asked this, orignally, is because as a youth my grades went up when my friend and I started leaving off certain childish things and started reading sci-fi, using tarot cards, reading Tolkien and memorizing the runes by heart. I also notice my grades flew up to A+ and honour rolls when I started playing Dungeons and Dragons. Now that was over 20 years ago when there was less battle and more creativity involved with the game, and I had become a Dungeon Master because I loved creating my own campaigns rather than slashing and grabbing the wealth! Point being, doing that sort of thing-creativity, imagination, having to really use your brain, reading more, learning (even if not school related) it brought my grades up to highest scores, and when I stopped...I felt like my brain had gone somewhat to muck! So, I would have to say, I am a firm believer that tarot, if studied, read, etc., feeds the brain in a very good way, and must somehow sharpen our skills.

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Sounds like you, like I, discovered Jung's "active imagination" early.... And yes it does enhance all our skill sets.

mac22

Using the tarot does not make you more intelligent but it does give you new knowledge and at the same time exercises your brain.

I think that my brain gets hungry for knowledge just like my body gets hungry for food...so, if it isn't tarot, it's gonna be something else that nourishes my mind. However, since it is tarot that I am drawn to, my mind is consequently very well fed.

Tarot is so interconnected with symbols, myths, and belief systems that it is virtually impossible NOT learn something fresh with each new deck, book, or forum discussion. It's one of those subjects that, if truly appreciated, forces one to read more, research more, and just generally question more. I like how the things I learn because of the cards inexplicably come up somewhere else in my life. And, sometimes, I might actually seem pretty smart when that happens, LOL.

It happens with other subjects, too, though. Like my mom, who is an art buff. She knows a little bit about tarot, just like I know a little bit about art. That's because her art knowledge expands over a wide range of related and not-so-related topics. It's another one of those areas of study that feeds the brain well.

So, yes, tarot expands my knowledge, just like any other subject in which I might choose to immerse myself. Like I said initially, if it wasn't tarot, then it would be something else. Fortunately, there's plenty to learn in the world, but I'm especially grateful that there's tarot.

I don't know if tarot makes you smarter but I do think it opens your mind to other possibilities. Before I started to learn tarot I knew nothing about colour or number symbolism and now I do.

I'm interested in scrying, which is something I hadn't tried before starting with the tarot. I regularly do my biorhythms - and visit a host of other sites on other forms of divination, dice, runes, dominoes - all things I hadn't done before learning tarot.

So for me I can say tarot has broadened my mind.

I'm currently working on a book for teachers. I'm using brain-based learning.
According to brain-based learning the brain needs to be exposed to something new every 15 minutes to keep it stimulated. So--- I would say
that studying tarot not only makes us more intelligent metaphically but also
physically.

The way a tarot reader's mind works, with each new idea we expose ourselves to we end up meandering down the metaphyscal road, and we
never know what's going to be around the next turn.

So we all should be geniuses by now !!!!

Shadow Wolf said:

I'm currently working on a book for teachers. I'm using brain-based learning.
According to brain-based learning the brain needs to be exposed to something new every 15 minutes to keep it stimulated. So--- I would say
that studying tarot not only makes us more intelligent metaphically but also
physically.

The way a tarot reader's mind works, with each new idea we expose ourselves to we end up meandering down the metaphyscal road, and we
never know what's going to be around the next turn.

So we all should be geniuses by now !!!!

Click to expand...

Very Interesting!!

mac22