smw
Aww...spoilsport, was just a bit of fun. I particularly liked the insert of 'Sausage double speak'
I'll take it down
Randomness in Tarot
Aww...spoilsport, was just a bit of fun. I particularly liked the insert of 'Sausage double speak'
I'll take it down
chaosbloom
I hope the sausage fight has been averted for now.
On a related note, I was shuffling before a spread yesterday and I accidentally got a look at the Death card. I thought to my self that I haven't seen this beautiful card in any spreads recently and that it would be funny if it came up now. I shuffled four extra times to lose the card in the deck again. The first card I pulled for my spread was the Death card. Obviously, the first thing that came to my mind was "Did I somehow cause this?"
Whether someone believes that Tarot can link you to the supernatural or not, I think we can all agree that it's a very strange animal.
On a related note, I was shuffling before a spread yesterday and I accidentally got a look at the Death card. I thought to my self that I haven't seen this beautiful card in any spreads recently and that it would be funny if it came up now. I shuffled four extra times to lose the card in the deck again. The first card I pulled for my spread was the Death card. Obviously, the first thing that came to my mind was "Did I somehow cause this?"
Whether someone believes that Tarot can link you to the supernatural or not, I think we can all agree that it's a very strange animal.
JackofWands
And on that note, I think it might be best for us to draw this thread to a close. I greatly appreciate everyone who added a voice to this (extremely interesting) discussion. For those who think that Tarot can (and/or should) be tested--most notably trzes, chaosbloom, and myself--this thread has provided some really interesting insight on the ways that different experiments could be constructed to test for different things, and on potential problems that would need to be addressed in each of those experiments.
For those who argue that Tarot can't or shouldn't be tested, thank you as well for your input. I always like seeing others' points of view, and there is no better place than AT to find such a diversity of considerate and articulate opinions on a matter like this.
The conversation can still keep going, of course, and could probably continue indefinitely. If someone has something new to add into the fray, by all means, post away. But I think that for myself, I've said all I have to say on the matter (for now, at least), and it looks like the rest of the conversation is starting to wind down, too.
Thanks, everyone!
fractalgranny
what a fabulous discussion! thank you so much for starting it, jack of wands, and for bringing such an open minded and curious tone to it!
my first little psychology research project (it seems like 5,000 years ago) used tarot cards; it was simply because i had very little time and therefore needed to do a project that was hassle-free and easy for me to do, so i used tarot cards because they were small and at hand the question was whether i could use tarot cards to incubate my dreams. i think that is a bit similar to what you describe above, eyeameye. the question was not, can tarot predict my dreams but can it influence my dreams. i realized that i didn't even know whether the cards influenced my dreams, but most of the cards gave me a framework, a reference point for looking at the dreams. the tarot can thus be used as a - perhaps random - way of sorting through the myriads of impressions that hit us during the day (or in the dream) and can suggest - "look, there was a tomahawk in this card [i used the native american deck], and there was a hatchet in the dream, isn't that interesting, and do we want to make something of it?"
on a gut level, i have real problems with questions like that, as well. it bugs me that aeclectic is, in principle, such a fertile ground for practicing tarot, but when people ask, "what does bob think of me?" or "should i go out tonight?" it sets my teeth on edge.
HOWEVER. there are many people who i take seriously who do suggest that at least for study purposes, it IS a good idea to ask about whether you should eat pizza. i find that a bit confusing.
my first little psychology research project (it seems like 5,000 years ago
) used tarot cards; it was simply because i had very little time and therefore needed to do a project that was hassle-free and easy for me to do, so i used tarot cards because they were small and at hand the question was whether i could use tarot cards to incubate my dreams. i think that is a bit similar to what you describe above, eyeameye. the question was not, can tarot predict my dreams but can it influence my dreams. i realized that i didn't even know whether the cards influenced my dreams, but most of the cards gave me a framework, a reference point for looking at the dreams. the tarot can thus be used as a - perhaps random - way of sorting through the myriads of impressions that hit us during the day (or in the dream) and can suggest - "look, there was a tomahawk in this card [i used the native american deck], and there was a hatchet in the dream, isn't that interesting, and do we want to make something of it?"on a gut level, i have real problems with questions like that, as well. it bugs me that aeclectic is, in principle, such a fertile ground for practicing tarot, but when people ask, "what does bob think of me?" or "should i go out tonight?" it sets my teeth on edge.
HOWEVER. there are many people who i take seriously who do suggest that at least for study purposes, it IS a good idea to ask about whether you should eat pizza. i find that a bit confusing.
