Question about tarrot cards... (ok a bit off topic...)

[Gbob]

How do they work? Can your subconscious/spirit guide influence what cards are going to be dealt or something? Surely it's just random.

*Edit* Sorry everyone! Just realized I should have posted this in 'Welcome to Metaphysics!' - that's where this question belongs.

[Yamabushi]

From my studies in Eastern and Western mysticism, the subconscious is generally thought to be a link to (or at least, capable of becoming a link to) the higher planes of existence and the Higher Self by whatever name you may call it. The theory behind Tarot divination, then, is that by shuffling and cutting the deck, you are subconsciously "tipping" the deck such that the spread will symbolically lay out the information you wish to divine. This would therefore also require a thorough memorization and internalization of the cards and their meanings such that the subconscious knows how to work with it to tell you what you need / want to know.

In the Golden Dawn magickal system you are advised to invoke the Divine (in the case of Tarot, an angel named HRU) to establish this link between your subconscious and the higher planes.

[Harrif]

I think that tarot cards serve as a door for ones own intuition. Surely the cards have some common interpretations, but they serve as base for your own interpretations of the cards. They have many kinds of characters, scenery, items, moods, colors etc. so one card can be seen from many perspectives depending how it relates to the other cards on the spread and which part of the card seems to catch your attention in the particular reading. It would be hard to catch the same ideas without the external aid of the cards.

The question remains if you somehow 'choose' the right cards for the right reading with the help of your intuition/subconscious/supraconscious/spirit guide/etc, or perhaps you just make up the story from random cards which you happen to choose. Maybe it depends who is doing the reading. I don't know.

Anyway, I still think that even if tarot cards didn't have anything more to it than cards with pretty pictures on them, they are a useful tool for anyone. They present possibilities you may have not thought about. Doing the readings for yourself each day keeps you present in your day, alert for new possibilities, may help you get off of your deep rooted routines and belief systems.. and these are great gifts for anyone. Of course you don't need the tarot cards to achieve any of that, but I think it would be highly beneficial for most people. People tend to get unconscious, live their days in any other time except the now, which is all there is.. wasting the precious.

Of course one could use the tarot readings as infallible predictions of the future and use them as a excuse to make potentially bad choices/hurt people etc.. but that would be quite.. immature.

-Harrif

[Xanth]

Basically, you subconsciously give a rhyme or reason for each type of card... then as you're choosing cards, it's actually your subconscious controlling which you choose.  Then you read the "rhyme or reason" that you've chosen for that card.

It's really all in the interpretation though.

That's my jist of it, at least. 

You don't need a "Tarot" deck, persay... you can do it with a regular deck of cards, as long as you give a meaning to each specific card.

[gdo]

Gbob,

The correct spelling is TAROT.

To answer your question 'how do they work?', the Tarot is a collection of symbols that were created around 1200 A.D.   The symbols on the tarot are older than that.  ONE of the purposes and uses of Tarot is divination.  There are other uses! 

The Tarot is considered part of the Western Mystery School tools.  (differentiated from Eastern Schools)

You have your personal subconciousness that you idenitify with, and then there is THE SUBCONCIOUSNESS which encompasses your personal version. 

The pictures on the Tarot cards represent states of Conciousness that are inherent in THE SUBCONCIOUSNESS. 

Many people have a gift of divination and Tarot can be used as a tool to enhance or make a divination.  It would probably be a good idea to read up on Tarot, it is a lifetime study, if you want to take it seriously.  Use Google to look up Western Mystery Schools/ Tarot  and see where it takes you.

Before you do that though spend 5 or 10 minutes on looking carefully at the cards, The Hierophant and then the same time on THE STAR.

Then do your search.