Alta
My personal opinion is that a tarot app or using scans (shuffling a deck you have then using the scanned images) should be fine.
Do you need "real" cards to be able to read?
Chiriku
Your technique of randomizing the "concepts" and then going back and applying the corresponding image to them is exactly what we do anyway when we shuffle the same deck we use for the reading. There is just more physical/geographic space between the two prongs when reading in the way you suggest as opposed to the standard method.
No, in my mind, there is no need for physical interaction with the self-same deck---not if the goal is to get at the interpretation that the image inspires in the reader.
As an aside, I doubt that anyone who regularly runs a reading circle thinks that there's a material difference in the readings that result from your method versus the standard method. They probably did so to preempt any potential protests from a person whose personal spiritual/divinatory beliefs are more card-based. As we know, there are many people who do NOT have a "it's just paper-and-ink" philosophy; this and perhaps other online tarot communities do not represent many of the beliefs still circulating in full force among tarotists "in the real world." Out of respect for the latter, the organizer may have denied your request.
Just a hunch.
No, in my mind, there is no need for physical interaction with the self-same deck---not if the goal is to get at the interpretation that the image inspires in the reader.
As an aside, I doubt that anyone who regularly runs a reading circle thinks that there's a material difference in the readings that result from your method versus the standard method. They probably did so to preempt any potential protests from a person whose personal spiritual/divinatory beliefs are more card-based. As we know, there are many people who do NOT have a "it's just paper-and-ink" philosophy; this and perhaps other online tarot communities do not represent many of the beliefs still circulating in full force among tarotists "in the real world." Out of respect for the latter, the organizer may have denied your request.
Just a hunch.
MaineGirl117
I saw the question and answer on this too.
You mentioned that you would pull the cards from a physical deck that you have, then translate it over to another deck by which to perform your reading. A lot of my reading style is based on the images of the cards that are pulled for the reading. If you're pulling from one deck, then I think there is something behind the cards that come up and the images therein. Not just the interpretive meaning of the card, but what lies in the image as well. My thoughts are: There might be something "lost in translation" by applying this method. I would not be opposed to seeing this method applied in the Experimental Techniques forum.
You did not say that you were using an app generator to pull the cards, which I would see as a different scenario. Am I understanding the context correctly?
Just my 2 cents.
You mentioned that you would pull the cards from a physical deck that you have, then translate it over to another deck by which to perform your reading. A lot of my reading style is based on the images of the cards that are pulled for the reading. If you're pulling from one deck, then I think there is something behind the cards that come up and the images therein. Not just the interpretive meaning of the card, but what lies in the image as well. My thoughts are: There might be something "lost in translation" by applying this method. I would not be opposed to seeing this method applied in the Experimental Techniques forum.
You did not say that you were using an app generator to pull the cards, which I would see as a different scenario. Am I understanding the context correctly?
Just my 2 cents.
Chiriku
'MaineGirl, would your opinion change if the reader were randomizing and drawing from 78 index cards or paper slips with only the card title and number written on them?
Indeed, that is the method I assumed before Anna shared the deck substitution method.
I believe your point is valid however, if while shuffling the reader mentally focuses on the remote deck, I believe that psychologically, they have prepared themselves for images from that deck, and thus there is no cognitive dissonance (in a different tarot philsophy, you might say "loss in translation") resulting from the physical substitution of a different deck.
Indeed, that is the method I assumed before Anna shared the deck substitution method.
I believe your point is valid however, if while shuffling the reader mentally focuses on the remote deck, I believe that psychologically, they have prepared themselves for images from that deck, and thus there is no cognitive dissonance (in a different tarot philsophy, you might say "loss in translation") resulting from the physical substitution of a different deck.
VGimlet
Aside from the compensation issue, I don't really understand why it would matter.
I have used my tarot phone apps for reading a few times when I haven't had cards. I use the images to read with, and personally if it's on a computer screen or physical cards in front of me, I guess I don't see the difference. Although I like physical cards better, but for a project like this...really? Just my opinion.
Of course, I am one who prefers playing both solitaire and monopoly on screen.
I have used my tarot phone apps for reading a few times when I haven't had cards. I use the images to read with, and personally if it's on a computer screen or physical cards in front of me, I guess I don't see the difference. Although I like physical cards better, but for a project like this...really? Just my opinion.
Of course, I am one who prefers playing both solitaire and monopoly on screen.
MissJo
I've tested this for myself, personally... I've found virtual cards just as accurate as physical cards.
So no, I don't think it matters. Whatever forces lie behind Tarot don't care, so I don't care either. Whatever works, right? There are tons of different ways to read the cards, this is just one more.
So no, I don't think it matters. Whatever forces lie behind Tarot don't care, so I don't care either. Whatever works, right? There are tons of different ways to read the cards, this is just one more.
Zephyros
Not to sound condescending, but I don't think it's fair for an entire thread to analyze a circle leader's decision, and such things would be better kept between you and them, or the moderators if you wish to make an appeal. You already said you respected their decision, but it is one thing to ask a theoretical question, quite another to "take them to court" as I feel this thread is going.
GoldenWolf
I have two decks that I own as both a physical deck and as a Tarot app, the Rosetta and the Mystic Dreamer. I am satisfied with the readings that I do for myself using either of the two types are equally valid and reliable. I haven't tried using them to read for others, but the OP's question has me curious now. So I guess I will experiment with my unsuspecting boyfriend this weekend and decide for myself. Even if there is a difference though, I have certain decks that I would only use for my own readings and not for other people. As long as there is a way to randomize the cards, I think it's roughly the same thing.
The only real objection in such a case that someone could raise is the copyright issue in the case of scans. Although I'm strictly an amateur artist, I do think that artists, including deck creators, deserve reasonable compensation for the time and energy put into creating the deck or the app.
The only real objection in such a case that someone could raise is the copyright issue in the case of scans. Although I'm strictly an amateur artist, I do think that artists, including deck creators, deserve reasonable compensation for the time and energy put into creating the deck or the app.
lilangel09
I don't need real cards to be able to read.
Also re: shuffling. You can get the app the deck creators made that should have a shuffle function with it, you can just use the randomize function that is an option in slideshow views, use website that shuffles their cards for you online, or get creative.
Also re: shuffling. You can get the app the deck creators made that should have a shuffle function with it, you can just use the randomize function that is an option in slideshow views, use website that shuffles their cards for you online, or get creative.
Anna
You have misunderstood my intention in starting this thread.
I am not questioning or analysing the circle leader's decision. It is the issue of reading with scanned images as opposed to cards that I wanted to discuss.
