How do Tarot cards work?

Anyone who has spent time with the Tarot can’t help but wonder if they are imbued with some mystical or spiritual power. Too often, it seems that the randomly chosen cards align perfectly with the aspect of our life we are exploring for it to just be a coincidence; as if some unseen hand has presented us with just the right cards. But we don’t have to invoke hidden forces to understand how the Tarot works. Some people believe that the cards are simply tools that tap into our our intuition and subconscious mind. This is based on the principal of synchronicity, first proposed by the psychoanalyst Carl Jung, which suggests that random events can be interpreted as meaningful coincidence. Let’s take a closer look at how this might work.

Have you heard of Story Dice? It is a game where you have five or more dice each with six random images on it. The aim is quite simply to turn these random prompts into a story. You don’t need to take the images literally. You can use the dice metaphorically or as representations of other concepts. For example, a slice of pizza could represent food in general, cutting a slice out of something, Italy, gooiness, a chef and a lots of other more obscure things. The job of the dice is not necessarily to provide you with literal objects to work with but concepts to nudge your thinking in fresh directions.

Now, imagine that rather than having five dice you have seventy eight to choose from and each of the images is an archetype, a pictorial representation of the characteristics and key events of human life. And now imagine that the story you are creating is some aspect of your own life. This, in one sense, is how Tarot works – story telling with you as the central character.

You would think that, sometimes, matching the cards to your question would be like trying to bang a square peg into a round hole. But this happens so infrequently that it often feels that hidden forces are genuinely at work. More often than not the querant (the person asking the question )just smiles and nods as soon as the cards are revealed saying to the reader (the person interpreting the cards) ‘you don’t have to say anything, the cards say it all!’.

It is said that the brain receives 11 million bits of information every second but it can only process 50 at a time. In this regard the brain is a huge filter with almost all the information it receives being discarded .In the same way, there are aspects of our life that we never touch upon or aren’t even aware of. Most of this information is simply lost in the noise but sometimes it is deliberately hidden from our conscious mind. If we could sum up the tarot in one word I believe it would be ‘Attention’. The tarot shines a light on those hidden corners of our mind and makes us pay attention. The cards encourage us to think laterally and consider aspects and possible solutions to the question being asked that might otherwise be missed.

In conclusion Tarot readings can help individuals gain clarity, explore different perspectives, and uncover hidden influences or patterns in their lives. The cards are not meant to predict the future with absolute certainty, but rather to offer guidance, possibilities, and potential outcomes based on the current energies and circumstances.

It’s important to note that Tarot readings are subjective and can vary depending on the reader’s interpretation and the individual’s personal beliefs. Some people view Tarot as a tool for self-reflection and introspection, while others may see it as a way to connect with higher spiritual forces or receive messages from the subconscious mind.

Ultimately, the effectiveness and accuracy of a Tarot reading depend on the reader’s skill, intuition, and the willingness of the individual seeking guidance to engage with the insights provided.