How does the Tarot work?

The basic idea behind the Tarot is very simple – a deck of Tarot cards is made up of 78 cards, each of which has a specific meaning relating to a particular concept of life, or experience. In a Tarot reading, the cards are shuffled, and then laid out in a ‘spread’ – that is a pattern on a table, where each position represents a particular aspect of life, for instance ‘the recent past’, or ‘current emotions’. The reader then looks at how the meaning of a card corresponds to the position it is in, and tells the client what the spread appears to be saying about their current state of life.

This is a simple thing to describe, but it does suggest one very major question – how does it work? How do the cards arrange themselves into a ‘meaningful pattern’? Why should some pieces of cardboard with some pretty pictures on them be able to mysteriously rearrange themselves into an order which tells us about our life and experiences in a detail that often exceeds what we are consciously able to observe?

The first and most important thing to realize is – no one knows for sure. However, it works. Interpreting the Tarot takes many years of practice; depending upon the way in which the cards fall or are laid out in a spread has great bearing on their individual meaning.

Obviously you

can ask the tarot what you like, although it is in fact a vehicle for exposing what you already know. Any card drawn in response to an issue is a direct reflection of what you are sometimes unable or unwilling to recognize at this time. And yet it is only through recognition (without judging as right or wrong) from a detached perspective that you can begin to fully experience your height and depth – all the colors of your rainbow being.

Want to know more about the Tarot?  Well, probably the best way is to have a reading.  Or if you'd like to learn how to read the Tarot yourself I do offer some lovely courses.  Alternatively, if you enjoyed what you just read you can read more like it over on my blog.