Does Tarot Reading Work?

Many Tarot readers are asked the question “So you really believe in all this stuff? For people coming to Tarot for the first time, it can be hard to imagine that a deck of cards might know more about your inner workings than you do! Obviously the person asking this question already knows the answer, but they are looking for reassurance in their decision to try it out. Although there will be no need for that after a good reading, here are some possible answers.

There are many theories about how the art of tarot is able to divulge our most intimate secrets and predict outcomes of situations and decisions. The first idea is simple. Tarot works because there is a higher power at work in the universe. Now this raises the question, “why in the world would a higher power communicate through a deck of cards?”. Well, they wouldn’t. The belief is that this higher power, be it god, goddess, or universal energy is at work in everything, and is constantly communicating with us. The cards are not believed to activate the higher power, but to activate the part inside of us that is willing and able to listen to it. Not only do the symbols and positions of the cards force us to look deeper into our lives, they give us a visual language to understand our problems and habits.

The second idea is a little more new- aged. It is the belief that the deck absorbs the energy of the reader and questioner, and this is what causes the particular cards to come up. For this reason, some people will not let other people touch their cards. For the same reason yet, some readers insist that you shuffle that the questioner shuffle for themselves.

The tarot has also had somewhat of a scientific following since the rise of parapsychology. It is also believed that tarot has no mystical ties whatsoever; that no matter what cards come up, it is the trigger in the subconscious that reveals the answers we seek. This idea is supported by the fact that two people will see two completely different situations when analyzing their lives through the same cards. The mind is applying the suitable names and meaning to the symbols in the cards in order to work out a problem.

Ultimately, it is not a matter of what one believes to be the source of the tarot’s power. The point is that it works. Whether it is used as a fortune telling tool, or a psychological tool, tarot has proved useful for centuries to people who believe either one or a combination of these ideas.

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