Regardless of what you believe about them, they are still very interesting, full of historical, artistic and philosophical value, and fun to work with. The artwork in some decks is incredible (I have started a personal collection based on the artwork alone!) and most decks cost less than twenty bucks. There are countless books on the subject, providing lots of info on card meanings, different spreads you can do, and how the cards can be used for meditation and for opening pathways to the unconscious mind.
The most fascinating aspect of the cards for me is the possibility that the random aspect of repeatedly shuffling the cards combined with my thought intent when using the cards does have an effect on what cards I see, and what they mean to me. A good analogy that I like to entertain is the idea of a two-way radio with the quantum universe – a way for it to communicate with me personally, and for me to communicate and ask questions of it as well – all in a very non-threatening and graceful way.
As for telling the future… well, if you accept the ideas presented in quantum theory, you know that the future holds an infinite number of potential possibilities. So, with that in mind, a particular reading could only point to a general direction, or to just one of those potential futures. Some say that the cards point to one particular likely future if the situation being applied to the cards stays basically the same. I tend to lean toward a more pragmatic view – that the cards help to visualize possible futures, and that nothing is certain.
Footnotes
1 Tarot card dating found within the instructions included in the Cary-Yale Visconti Tarocchi deck. The instructions and history were written by Stuart R. Kaplan. Published by U.S. Games Systems.
2 The Tarot – pp. 26. Author: Richard Cavendish. Publisher: Chancellor Press, 1986.
3 Mind into Matter – Fred Alan Wolf, PhD. Moment Point Press, 2001. The Spiritual Universe – Fred Alan Wolf, PhD. Moment Point Press, 1999.
For further reading:
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom – Rachel Pollack. Element/Harper Collins Publishers
The Tarot Workbook – Nevill Drury. Thunder Bay Press
Tarot and the Journey of the Hero – Hajo Banzhaf. Samuel Weiser, Inc. Publisher
Tarot for Self Discovery – Nina Lee Braden. Llewellyn Publications
Bill Vincent is a media producer/creative geek with a passion for life, love, and the big questions of life, and a self-professed perpetual beginner regarding both Quantum Physics and Tarot. page 1 2 3 4
