Stuff in Steve's office (#3)

[sleigh]

On one of the writers email group to which I belong a discussion on Tarot cards recently erupted, and I was surprised to find how many writers owned a Tarot set (or several) and that they seemed to regularly get them out.

The Tarot has always interested me as well; I have three decks.  You can see them in the picture below.  From the top and moving clockwise:

-- one version of the Rider-Waite deck, which is probably the most popular deck in use, and the one you generally see as the ‘generic’ Tarot deck.  I was given this one long ago, my first deck, and though I’m not a great fan of the artwork and the rather Christian symbology of the deck, it was my first introduction to the Tarot.

-- the medieval Scapini deck.  It’s a lovely-looking deck, which Denise gave me as a present.  She has a good eye for the kind of art I like.

-- Aleister Crowley’s Thoth deck, which is the one to which I’ll usually gravitate.  I’ve had this one for some time (and I believe that, again, Denise got it for me after I expressed in interest in getting the deck.)

I’m not one who believes that the Tarot has the ability to foretell the future -- in truth, most Tarot devotees might agree with that statement, as most look on the deck being able to show a possible path through the near future, a kind of “if this goes on” situation, but not one that is fixed and unchangeable.  The Tarot is generally supposed to act as a guide.

For me, it’s more an occasional meditation exercise:  I’ll look at an array and the symbology of the cards, and think about what import they might have for me.  It’s far less ‘fortune-telling’ than a way of giving me something on which to focus.

Plus, often they have some lovely art on them -- which is why I prefer the Crowley deck. I’ll might pick up a deck if I like the images, but I’m neither obsessed by the Tarot nor much of a believer in its fortune-telling abilities (nor very practiced at ‘reading’ the cards).  But they do pique my interest...

Comments

[podling]

I think of tarot as more a way to open up your thinking on a topic/problem. Most of us get stuck in a rut with some topics, and I find that tarot provides some alternate trains of thought. At least that's how it's worked for me. It does require some level of being open to changing your thought process though.