Positive Bias

When I did my Tarot and Emotions Research Project several years ago it became clear that the RWS deck was clearly biased towards the pleasurable emotions. Since most tarot readers would like to ameliorate situations, and people are better able to meet stress and challenges if they have a positive outlook, this has worked in our favor, but a few have wondered whether it would be better to have a deck that is more evenly featured.

So, while reading Daniel Goleman's new book _Social Intelligence_, I was struck by the following quotes from Harvard's Jerome Kagan, that sum up a great deal of recent research:

"Although humans inherit a biological bias that permits them to feel anger, jealousy, selfishness and envy, and to be rude, aggressive or violent, they inherit an even stronger biological bias for kindness, compassion, cooperation, love and nurture—especially towards those in need. . . . This inbuilt ethical sense is a biological feature of our species."

Perhaps the RWS is not biased after all, but actually reflects human proclivities as they are. Any thoughts or comments?

Mary

Interesting question.

Research keeps confirming that those who "always look on the bright side of life" in fact are better off all around when it comes to health, longevity, etc.--even if the optimistic attitude comes at the expense of truthful assessment of the situation, one which might rationally deserve a more pessimistic attitude.

This irritates me no end and makes me even crankier than normal.

http://www.thebards.net/music/lyrics/Always_Look_Bright_Side_Life.shtml

Debra -

That song is priceless! I agree - sometimes it's really annoying to always be positive - makes me bitchy.

Mary

Teheuti, I really like this, it confirms for me my own beliefs. In my own Tantric meditations, I had human emotions explained to me this way:

Emotions are expressions of personal energy; they reflect our "energetic signature."

Our emotions are our compass. They show our soul's proximity to the Source - or "where we're coming from," how we are currently operating. The closer we grow to the Source, the faster our emotions can be visualized as vibrating (like sound and light waves).

When we are closer to the Source, we feel emotions of the highest frequencies; joy, bliss, charity, love. In response, our energetic signatures become more bouyant in nature, and we feel very "up beat." We are the guitar string at full thrum.

When we are sad, enraged, jealous, depressed, we are emitting an energetic signature of a very low vibration. We are much further from the Source in these times.

In any given lifetime, our soul's path will seek to evolve towards God, and in doing so, we continually align and readjust ourselves to the Source and to experiencing the higher emotions. It is described by many mortal men as "the search for God," and as a result, we become more like God.

Humans find the lower vibrational emotions so uncomfortable, they usually do something to change what's happening; this is meant to act as a built-in "evolutionary" model for our soul's path(s). We are programmed to be "biased" to seek an upwards path, to use the same words as your post.

While our "upward" evolutionary path is what we are destined to take in any incarnation, if another force acts upon the soul and inhibits this path, this is where true human suffering is found. Then, the need for anesthetics (drugs, alcohol, addictions) kicks in when our path is inhibited and we perceive ourselves as helpless, unable to realign ourselves to the Source (Devil).

I love that I hear my Guides' lessons echoing in what you are sharing here; as usual, the Tarot is expressing in microcosm what I believe to be happening in our World (Universe).

Very cool!

Teheuti said:

Perhaps the RWS is not biased after all, but actually reflects human proclivities as they are.

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I believe this. The images are archetypal and as such reveal deeper truths.

I'm not sure the RWS was ever created with a bias toward the warm and fuzzy. Most of the books recently have tended in that direction because of a spiritual trend that is completely uncomfortable with anything that smacks of the negative. Such an approach is doomed to failure in my view and anyone with any depth of perception will eventually come to this conclusion on their own.

Where's the sex?

The thing with the RWS--I just can't find the SEX in it.

There's hes and shes at all levels from high to mundane but no one looks like they ever get it on. In that sense it seems naive and "positive" only in the sense that if one thinks sex is bad, there's not any of it here.

In contrast, in the older Marseilles decks you (well, I) can definitely see that the Kings and Queens cavort, and the Knights and some Pages are on the lookout for a good time.

Jeepers, compare the King of Wands RWS with Jacques Vieville, my newest love. Both guys have got those really big WANDS but who do you think is more virile, in all senses of the word?

Abrac said:

I'm not sure the RWS was ever created with a bias toward the warm and fuzzy.

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Personally I wouldn't use the express "warm and fuzzy" to describe the RWS deck - but it does have a marked slant toward the more positive emotions.

In my research project people were to match an emotion-word to each card. I provided 98 emotions to choose from. Here's my summary of the overall tendency of the deck:

"The two words that were used the most times and for the most number of cards are: determined and expectant. After that come: hopeful, resolute, cautious, fulfilled, secure, and wondrous. The words that were used least are equally revealing: jealousy, guilt, hatred, spite, disgust, and envious. These are emotions that are least likely to be revealed through the cards of the RWS deck. Certainly, a querent may come to a reading with negative emotions at the forefront, and they can be depicted by the cards. As a whole and on the average, however, the deck [based on the most words chosen] will most likely to lead a querent to 'an expectancy to determine a hopeful resolution, cautiously yet securely fulfilled in a wondrous manner.'"

Mary

Teheuti said:

When I did my Tarot and Emotions Research Project several years ago it became clear that the RWS deck was clearly biased towards the pleasurable emotions.

Click to expand...

Im just wondering Teheuti, could you clarify how this was assessed, and what elements where considered which identified the bias?
Was it from the pictures of the cards, the colours, the scenes depicted
or the wording of the interpretations - or both?
Was it from the perspective as a reader or a querant?


I hope this comment is relevant ...

To give an example ...
For the querant: (my comment comes through monitoring querants reactions). RWS Cards which depict a prescribed response for example: Empress, Sun, Ace of Wands, 3 of Cups - not seemingly unhappy cards - which in this case related to a pregnancy and birth ... I have had the experience of a querant look at the cards and be literally horrified and fearful, which in turn has changed the way I express the interpretation.

Is this what you mean by the RWS 'biased towards pleasurable emotions'?
The cards relate a prescribed response (embedded emotions) in some cases - which can be contrary or different (to use a term) to the actuality of the emotions expressed by the querant.

Teheuti said:

Since most tarot readers would like to ameliorate situations, and people are better able to meet stress and challenges if they have a positive outlook, this has worked in our favor, but a few have wondered whether it would be better to have a deck that is more evenly featured.

Click to expand...

Maybe there is an element of responsibility here with the interpreter, and how the RWS cards and interpretation are relayed to the querant? ... where the mediator (reader) is emotionally unbiased - (this is not to assume that the reader is detatched compassionately - but to be unconditional towards the querant) and the querant can be responsible for their reaction or response (emotionally) to the message at the time and afterwards in hindsight, regadless of the assumed emotion/s of the card. It is the message they take with them and not the cards - and I think to prescribe how they 'should' feel (if that is what is taken from the card), severes to some extent, the true emotions they have regarding the information from the reading.

It is only one aspect of the RWS which I see as being a variable of the deck.(concerning prescribed and embedded emotional responses and reactions)

I hope I understood your enquiry correctly.

Blessings Elven x

Elven said:

I think to prescribe how they 'should' feel (if that is what is taken from the card), severes to some extent, the true emotions they have regarding the information from the reading.

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I agree with you entirely.

I don't want to get into the whole project here but I asked participants in to match emotion-words with the cards based on how they thought most people would respond. In other words, the general cultural emotional context and not an individual response. Of course, some people didn't get the distinction (despite examples) and one person couldn't see any emotional relevance to any card. I'm sure that many people responded more personally than I would have ideally liked (i.e., the Empress & fear).

I was looking for trends and not absolutes, and I wasn't suggesting that these emotions be used in Tarot readings. A different deck would have generated a whole different trend (imagine the Giger Tarot).

Having done interactive readings for over 40 years I'm very familiar with the the range of responses that people give. For me, an unusual emotional response is very significant (and often key to a reading). I'd never try to convince someone that it wasn't valid.

You can find an early report on the project (which I later took much further) at:
http://www.tarotpassages.com/emotionsmkg.htm

Note: I am not a scientist - just a person who would like to see more research done on Tarot and am willing to make a preliminary and very rough stab at it.

Mary

Teheuti said:

So, while reading Daniel Goleman's new book _Social Intelligence_, I was struck by the following quotes from Harvard's Jerome Kagan, that sum up a great deal of recent research:

"Although humans inherit a biological bias that permits them to feel anger, jealousy, selfishness and envy, and to be rude, aggressive or violent, they inherit an even stronger biological bias for kindness, compassion, cooperation, love and nurture—especially towards those in need. . . . This inbuilt ethical sense is a biological feature of our species."

Click to expand...

I haven't read the book but I immediately suspect that the research is in itself biased towards Western culture and certain Western countries in particular. Having lived in the East for many years I do not agree with the above statement and think ethics are part of our early social conditioning and vary according to our environment. However, that seems to have little to do with the RWS deck...which I also do not think is biased towards the warm and fuzzy. I'm confused as to where this perception came from.