The Psychology of Tarot

The following is my own personal opinion, based on my own observations.

I have been reading Tarot for over a decade.  Initially I consumed book after book on the symbolisms of the cards, but I quickly came to realize something you'll hear many long-time readers say. "The cards have a personality".  And it's kind of true.  For the purposes of this blog, when I say "energy" I mean that each person has their own unique electromagnetic field, if you're scientific, or aura if you're not. We each have our own energy.

So, the cards pick up on that energy.  Not because they have a mind of their own, (though, I do occasionally wonder..) but because the energy being put into them does.  I'm going to assume that people reading this don't know anything about Tarot, just to make it easier on everyone.

There is 78 cards in a deck. 14 cards per suit- Ace through 10, and Page, Knight, Queen, and King.  The names might be different but that's the genera principle.  There are four suits. Earth(Pentacles/Coins), Fire(Wands), Water(Cups) and Air(Swords) that are all pretty straightforward. A lot of reading tarot is reading the symbolism. Some is excruciatingly obvious, some is not. Air cuts things, and the King and Queen of Swords can represent someone who is very vicious or sharp with words or thoughts, for example.

Anyway, there are also 22 Major Arcana Cards.  They range from the Fool, which is about the beginning of a journey, to the World, which is true enlightenment. They're all about the journey of life, and different points along the way. Concept cards.

Now, different people have different methods with their cards. Some people wrap theirs up in some sort of cloth to protect them from everyday energy. Some don't bother. Some put them in a box, or leave them out under moonlight to cleanse the energy, everyone's different. (Hey, some people are more mystical than others. Whatever works for you and your cards :) )

Some people don't like to shuffle their cards so that they also can be reversed. It just feels wrong. That's their intuition talking.  My intuition has depended on the cards, but most often, I always just shuffle so they're all facing upright. Some people think if a card falls reversed, it is a negative meaning of that card. I disagree.. All the cards have different meanings. Also, the meaning and tone of the cards can be vastly different from deck to deck. I've gone through many decks. My most recent, I don't even know the name of, it was a gift.. and it works beautifully.

Now, when people talk about the cards being "blunt" or something, this is them reading the symbolism of the cards. Sometimes a message comes about very clearly, other times it's very vague. It all depends on the reading.

For example... I just picked a card. 6 of Cups.  In this deck, it is of a man drinking from a cup. A dragon is behind him looking like it's sneaking off into the background behind him(to the left).  When I read the cards, I read from left to right if it's a straight reading(I do two different kinds.) as if it were from past to future. This card is all about memories, thinking on times past.  I see this card, depending on the other cards around it, as being about letting it go, or remembering good times. Sometimes, if the other cards are foreboding, it seems as though the dragon is about to attack him.

This is all about the symbolism and how you(or the reader) perceives things. People rarely see the same thing the same way.  Someone else seeing this card might notice the scorpion I didn't notice, right behind him, and think that memories are sneaking up on him. Another person might notice that he took his hat off and looks totally at ease.

Tarot is all about symbolism and intuition. Some people don't have a strong connection with either, and make guesswork out of it. To me, Tarot has become almost a beautiful science. A good tarot reading leaves me feeling fulfilled and happy.

Now, there's another type of tarot reading I love to do, that's not "normal".  I shuffle the cards until it feels right, and then I flip the cards onto the floor until it feels right. When the cards land face down, it means that it is something that you aren't aware of or is happening behind the scenes. I look at the way the cards are laid out, and find the starting point. It's usually pretty obvious. I've had them fall in the shape of the US when I was moving a lot, a spiral for one person, a forked path for another, two waves for me, and all kinds of things.  When cards land in clumps, they're connected. When cards point to other cards, they're affecting each other.

Tarot is all about perspective, and the longer you do it, the more you learn.