Mystical Angels

How do Tarot Cards work?

I just don't get how they work. What produces the answers you get. Is it just chance, our inner self, or a helpful spirit?

Public Comments

1. You can look at it different ways. When I learned to read tarot, I learned to trust the cards and feel what they are telling me. It's pretty much the spirit of the cards. I read my cards in a positive light however. I don't do reversals, stops, anything like that. Everything is based in a positive manner To read, you prepare a spread and each spot stands for something pertaining to the question that you've asked. And of course each card has it's own meaning. You take what the meaning of the card is and combine that with the meaning of the spot on the spread and you've got a part of your answer.
2. It's your inner self, aka your intuition. It causes you to pick the cards that relate to your questions and/or predict outcomes.
3. You have to first visualize your question. You have a situation that YOU understand, a wide range of experiences that make up your past and an equally wide range of aspirations, hopes and dreams that make up your future. The Tarot cards each represent a generality, with the interpretation of the cards mainly left up to the person that the reading is for. There are no predictions, "You will sprain your left hand playing racket ball tomorrow" for the Tarot cannot see the future, nor the past. It can offer up a vague generality, in which you can key in on whatever part pertains to you (and conveniently ignore the parts which don't). There is nothing which can see the future, neither cards, bumps on your head, tea leafs, psychics with crystal balls... nothing. People are very intelligent, yet enjoy being fooled. Sometimes our own intelligence is our worst enemy, as imagination is a vital part of it.
4. Each card has 7 to 10 upright meanings and 5 or 6 reversal meanings--but the card also has a general 'theme' as well, as does the suit the card is in. Your spreads have meanings as well, each card position stands for something, and the 'reading' of the cards depends on all these. Since each deck is a little different than the others (or a LOT different, it depends on the deck you get) if you learn using one of the common decks like the Rider Waite, you have a slight learning curve to adjust to for any other type of deck you get after that. Rider Waite decks do not have the same meanings per card as the Thoth decks do , for instance. So pick a deck, learn the card meanings, and work with the one deck for a while. Metaphysical shops may have classes in how to read, so check that out. Or find someone who does read cards, to help you learn.