How Do Tarot Cards Work?

How do Tarot Cards Work, Anyway?

One of the questions peopple most often aske me is "How do Tarot cards work?" In a way, this is sort of like asking "How does a hammer work?" Tarot cards, like hammers, are tools. They're inanimate objects. They don't work; they just sit on my table. I work with them.

Over the phone or in IM, I like to have you talk or type to me as I shuffle to help connect with your energy and get it into the cards. I then lay them out in a spread in which each position represents a facet of your question. I'll look at environmental factors, influence of family of friends, recent events that are affecting the situation, even influences from your own subconscious. I then look at what the likely outcome would be if you continue on your present course. I'm a great believer in the idea that we create our futures by the decisions we make and the actions we take in the present. My hope is to guide you toward choosing actions that will bring about the best possible outcome in your life.

Then, of course, I have to read the cards. Reading Tarot is an interpretive art. Most decks are illustrted with scenes that are rich in symbolism. Many others have pictures that more resemble the playing cards from which The Tarot cards directly descend. While each card has a "traditional meaning", often the interpretations in the books do not fit with the question asked. As a reader, I will draw on my knowledge of symbolism, mythology and numerology as well as my own intuition. Many other readers also incorporate astrology into their readings, but I feel that the astrological correspondences were somewhat forced onto what started as a deck of playing cards, so I tend not to combine the two disciplines. I will also look at the way a card falls in a spread. Two human figures facing each other can indicate harmony and agreement, but if the same two cards fall so the figures are facing away from each other, it would more likely indicate the people have turned their backs on each other.

As an example, take the nasty-looking Ten of Swords. Depending on the question asked and where the card falls in the spread, I might interpret as a betrayal, or as the point where things have gotten as bad as they're going to get and can only get better from here- "the night is always darkest just before the dawn".

Ultimately, the reading comes from you. It's your energy that influences which cards are drawn and where they fall in the spread. The imagery reflects your thoughts, feelings and emotions, as well as clues from your environment and peoples' behavior that you may be picking up on a subconscious leve.l I'm just the interpreter. The information that comes from the reading is yours to use as you will. The future is yours to create!

Om Shanti,

Diti Kaal - 600766