Purpose of Tarot

[Eternus Discipulus]

Strolling around this forum I realized that many people use the tarot totally different from me. Most are concerned with predicting the future somehow, getting a prediction on their career or love life. That is totally not my cup of tea and I find it funny to imagine Crowley doing a spread on whether some girl loves him.
reading. This is something that has held me back.

In fact, Crowley used I-Ching to check whether a certain day was suitable for a dentist appointment. And when "the sticks", as he phrased it, told him to cancel he did.

 

[Tanga]

...I see it as a visual book of clues containing 78 nodes of experience or situations - these can be occurrences that manifest in a variety of ways, physical or psychological challenges, states of consciousness, interplay of forces, etc. All card have a message/s or situation, and a positive and negative. a problem and a remedy, a situation and a way to deal with it, inbuilt into the gnosis of the card. The clues ( of symbol and symbolism on the cards ) can unlock (help to be remembered) all the knowledge related.

How beautiful ravenest. How magickal!

Some girls ( and women and boys and men ) are fascinated by the dark and mysterious, dont need no cards or palms ... just 'that look' in the yes . They say Crowley had 'that look' .... but really, it takes 2 to tango '

"That Look" eh? Hmm.

That's because Crowley was already deeply convinced that everyone was in love with him.

My post was too confrontational, sorry. I deleted it, I hope that's not against the rules. I expressed myself too harshly.

(Whatever it was) it's delightful that you recognised this and did something rather than dug your heals in.
I've done the same on occasion.

In fact, Crowley used I-Ching to check whether a certain day was suitable for a dentist appointment. And when "the sticks", as he phrased it, told him to cancel he did.

Ah yes - I completely forgot about that.

I sometime use tarot cards to decide what to wear.

 

[ravenest]

How beautiful ravenest. How magickal!

"That Look" eh? Hmm.

Yep ... that look ... those eyes !

I transfixed a checkout chick with it once. She just stood there for ages like a vacant rabbit in headlights , then my GF slapped my arm and said 'Stop that!'

I could have reached over and emptied the till ... but now I only use my powers for good

 

[Snaut]

I notice it says you are in Germany. Is your outlook similar to the Tarot Culture, whatever that may be, in that part of the world?

I suppose you mean me, since I am the only one from Germany here. Unfortunately I really do not understand your question. Can you please try to phrase it differently?

 

[ATerribleOwl]

This forum is pretty inline with how Tarot is used, or how I have seen it used, in my part of the States. You have a different outlook on it, so I was wondering if your outlook had its routes in the culture you are from. Or it could just be your outlook, all yours.

I feel quite strange about referring to Germany as some sort of outside culture, I don't know if I have phrased it any more aptly.

Edit: Changed a word

 

[Lucas Prince of Cats]

I usually tell people who don't have any idea of tarot, that they're a deck of cards that can be used to get answers to questions, give advice, and tell the future, because most epopel think of it as predicitive, but it's about mor ethan the future. Anyways, I use it for money, but as for the questions I use it for myself, I use it for advice, and to know what to expect. I never ask it big questions such as about god and the universe, bu t more personal as an advice tool, for my friends, and for customers.

 

[Fiver]

I use tarot as a means to get others (and myself) to open up to my past, my surroundings and all things that can effect our lives that often get overlooked. I got exposed to tarot from my psychology background and it's early uses as a means for therapy. It can be a wonderful guide in getting ppl to open up.

 

[Tanga]

This forum is pretty inline with how Tarot is used, or how I have seen it used, in my part of the States. You have a different outlook on it, so I was wondering if your outlook had its routes in the culture you are from. Or it could just be your outlook, all yours.

I feel quite strange about referring to Germany as some sort of outside culture, I don't know if I have phrased it any more aptly.

Edit: Changed a word

He's not really that much of an oddball on this forum (and I'm not just talking about myself).


I have a friend, who just having gotten his head around the idea that I love tarot, read tarot, and have a decent tarot collection - when the subject comes up - keeps introducing me by saying "she can read your future". Aaargh!!!

@ravenest - that sounds naughty (shame I haven't quite mastered that "look" - or perhaps I should say I'm cautious about walking in such territory. LOL.)

 

[Snaut]

This forum is pretty inline with how Tarot is used, or how I have seen it used, in my part of the States. You have a different outlook on it, so I was wondering if your outlook had its routes in the culture you are from. Or it could just be your outlook, all yours.

I feel quite strange about referring to Germany as some sort of outside culture, I don't know if I have phrased it any more aptly.

Edit: Changed a word

I never thought about how my culture influenced the outlook i have on tarot up to now. Germany is mostly an atheist, unreligious nation, where tarot is considered as a form of superstition. I would certainly get weird reactions, when talking about tarot openly. I assumed in USA, this is the same.
The only place where one can find tarot is in some corners in bookstores or in the TV on some bullshit as Astro TV. Here, it is more associated with women. Basically tarot is feminine, like horoscopes are. Things that people stuff in themselves to not be confronted with the harsh reality. Stuff people use to feel safe and create harmony. Personally I would even argue, that if using tarot lets you feel safe, you are using it wrong.

We also have some magical signs which you should not wear when being in Germany. After we lost the war, most of the nazi-symbols were forbidden and today's nazis use other folkish Germanic symbols like runes or black suns as distinctive marks.

Magical thinking among men is more or less non-existent here. At least in the usual sense. Of course we have males with a strong magician archetype, like me. But there is nothing like initiation rites or usage of tarot/magick. Magical societies like Freemasons are also very rare.
German males act out their magician archetypes when acquiring secret knowledge to beat the stock market or writing some program code.

Not sure if this explanation helps you at all.

 

[Nemia]

I'm a German myself, and I have to ask you: are you sure that you don't see women as inferior beings? I noticed that in the course of this thread, you make fun of women or look down on them. And I confess that a hidden but palpable attitude of many German men who still believe that women are irrational, not quite equally gifted creatures drove me into the arms of a non-German husband LOL. (For this attitude we have the nice word wohlwollende Herablassung... benevolent superiority.)

In Germany, quite a number of men work alternative health care or other areas that are influenced by belief systems. But I agree that in general, Germans have transferred their spiritual needs to non-religious areas like nutrition, political correctness, sports etc. All very honorable but when approached as substitute for religion, not without problems. Tarot has quite a stigma as hoax in many peoples' minds and is associated with the big business of esoteric practices... where serious efforts and mumbo-jumbo mix.

I don't mind it. If people ask me and show real interest, I use the Rohrschach metaphor and talk about Renaissance and archetypes. That takes away the superstition stigma. A bit at least ;-) I have weird interests and I don't seek anyone's approval. I'm happy that I found the Internet niche of AT where I don't have to explain why I find tarot so fascinating.