Yes. Like most other forms of prophecy or fortune-telling, Tarot uses symbols & archetypes as plot devices for storytelling. As "fundamentals of human experience" they can be woven together into narratives that will seem to have personal significance to someone who is motivated to look for certain meanings & feelings.Tarot cards appear to have been designed very specifically, with common tropes and archytpes in mind. Many of the concepts they embody or personify seem to reflect what I would say are the fundamentals of human experience: — Benj96
I believe tarot cards do the same. In this way perhaps random chance is compensated for, because all you could ever draw is a card that is relevant to some principle embodied by all the components - every card pertaining to one facet of the same thing. — Benj96
But not necessarily you, and not necessarily now, and not necessarily relating to the question you want answered. — Vera Mont
as often in interpreting them, one is lead to new or novel combinations of thought, new points or reference or forms of framing something that may decidedly make the orignal question more redundant, instead revealing new insights into aspects of experience you had not considered to be relevant. — Benj96
I find both the Tarot and astrology interesting as providing a kind of vocabulary or system for thinking about aspects of human experience and personality. — bert1
That was also my experience. Although skeptical of the stellar mechanism, I was impressed by the array of symbols & archetypes that had been assembled over time into a relatively simple, but sufficiently comprehensive, pattern of options from which to assemble a meaningful story. Consequently, found the personality charts of sun signs more useful than the astronomical data. For example, I typically view Donald Trump as a prideful Leo*1, but he could also be a two-faced Gemini, depending on your observations & assumptions.I was into astrology for a while in my late teens, and I found myself seeing people's star signs in their personality. I suspected myself of confirmation bias so I tried predicting people's star signs before they told me. Absolutely hopeless. My success rate was probably worse than chance. — bert1
I find both the Tarot and astrology interesting as providing a kind of vocabulary or system for thinking about aspects of human experience and personality. — bert1
“No,” Bohr replied, “but I am told that they bring luck even to those who do not believe in them.”
Tarot cards appear to have been designed very specifically, with common tropes and archytpes in mind. — Benj96
Gypsies used the old game decks for divination before they were adopted by occult people. Obviously the deck has been redesigned a thousand times since then, so Benj is correct. — frank
What I'm saying is that those cards started out as playing cards. — Ying
Yeah, I know. They almost disappeared altogether until some guy saw gypsies using them for divination and he decided they must be ancient wisdom from Egypt (I guess because the gypsies he knew were Egyptian.). Through him the cards travelled into occult groups like the Golden Dawn. — frank
Any deck you see now is decorated with symbols that link them up to astrology and/or cabalism, so Benj is correct that as we've received them, tarot decks are designed to ping archetypes as they appear in astrology.
Yes. It was originally a deck for card games. You appear to be enthralled by that fact. :lol: — frank
And you seem to be "enthralled" by some vague recollection of shards and snippets of the life of A.E. Waite (you called him "some guy" earlier). — Ying
Anyway, yeah, I focus on the issue that tarot cards are playing cards. Because it might just be relevant to the discussion. Or, we could just talk about imaginary tarot cards with a made up history or something. I know I'm bowing out then. — Ying
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