Umbrae asks: "Why do you read Tarot?"

My reasons for why I read Tarot have changed since I started, and will no doubt change again and again.

Initially it was out of curiosity and the need to know what it was all about, I guess this reason is still with me because I'm still curious and I still feel that Tarot holds some secrets back from me, I'm gradually teasing them out though.

Now, the reasons have multiplied. I read to help myself understand things, to help others with decisions and also to sometimes put their minds at rest, but increasingly I find the Tarot helps my own spiritual journey and helps me to understand other people. I read every day and meditate on Tarot everyday.

... and what a huge book of knowledge it is too, why put a good book down when there is still some excitement to be had out of it.

I wish I could say something deeply philosophical about 'why I read Tarot'.
I have read and re read this thread everytime it comes up. Tarot is so many things as I told someone in chat. It is Art in miniature, it fulfills the collector in me, my love of history is fueled, just to name three mundane things it does for me.
But why do I read tarot? Well when Tarot picked me up with obvious intent some twenty years ago( a poster, a book gift and a deck purchase) I was looking for some expression to having a spiritual belief. I read the book, studied the cards and recognised a symbolic pattern and followed the directions. The directions said how to read for people. So I read for others; that is what I believed you did with Tarot!!! I was competent at it and it made sense. I am a very good paper bag folder. Over the years while I helped others see another way of thinking, I absorbed the lessons and I changed. All the other sidetrack things like collecting came much later. Later still came reading for myself; and I still have difficulty seeing for myself clearly. There is not a day goes by that I do not use my cards. Does anyone remember a game called 'The Magic Robot' 24 sheets of questions and answers - a magnetic mirror and a little robot with a pointer? If you do then you will understand -I am just the little robot and Tarot is the magnetic mirror. ~Rosanne

I wanted to piggy back onto Rosanne's post because once I asked her if she is compelled to read Tarot .

I discovered Tarot by chance three years ago when a book fell off a library shelf one Saturday afternoon. I read the book on the week end and by the following Wednesday had purchased my first deck.

I was compelled, certainly drawn. Eventually I found this site (Aeclectic) and was drawn to reading, and to study.

Once I understood the images, to be honest, the first things Tarot gave me was personal insight. Then I began to read for others, something which has always given me lots of pleasure. These days, I primarily read for myself as a matter of spiritual understanding. A very strange period in my life is coming to an end, and I need to decide where to go from here. Tarot will be a part of that. I want to read for others. How much I do that face to face or how much over the Internet is unknown right now. I am exploring both possibilities.

Considering the possibilities above I have been trying for the last four months to get to know my decks better. I will read primarily with the Marseille (am getting another Heron Marseille just for this purpose) and with the Universal Waite. I have been studying both of these decks for some time, and particularly practising with the Marseille. I have been primarily reading with the Fournier but am now drawn to the Heron, which is more subtle. I find the combination of using Marseille and RWS hugely beneficial and complementary but regard the Marseille as the premier authority.

Umbrae asks Why? . I want to give to others in an unselfish way. I love the Tarot and believe in its infinite possibilities as the voice of the Divine, or of God/ess, whatever term one uses. I have much to learn and the Marseille offers infinite possibilities in learning.

I also like the people who read Tarot. They tend to be interested in similar things, share similar beliefs and to be curious about the world. Tarot offers a unique window between the world and the country of the Gods. At the same time it also offers practical advice about daily living!

Moongold

Moongold said:

I find the combination of using Marseille and RWS hugely beneficial and complementary but regard the Marseille as the premier authority........
....Tarot offers a unique window between the world and the country of the Gods.

Moongold

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That last sentence MoonGold is totally printable!!!! That is the expression of spiritual belief that I was unable to find in the practise of a religion.Please, I do not think Tarot is a religion! It is an expression of a spiritual system for me.It is a guide and a compass, that through reading I have beeen lucky enough to be able to convey to others. I have never considered myself to be a 'Fortune Teller' in the usual conotation of the words.
I have used RWS mostly, and through this forum found the Marseilles. That was an epiphany for me! So I am learning to walk all over again. Then maybe I will read for others again with this marvellous system called Tarot. Meantime I am learning TdM alongside Rohrig as contrast. I am using two modern Decks together(I want a Thoth like deck, without using Thoth )and Major Toms TdM, and I keep my RWS close at hand as a security blanket . ~Rosanne