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Please, if your going to poll, please post why you chose that too...

I have been thinking about tarot recently and have come to the conclusion that the use and practice of tarot divining is a false practice. That is because I believe that the cards meanings can be turned around to mean anything. Please realize that I do not intend for the interpretations to be correct, rather for me to prove that people are able to turn any tarot reading around into anything they want to hear.

Allow me to explain.

First off, let us look at a card spread that I have done about my job life.

Let me first give you a background about what I did in the past, and what I do now.

In the past according to my memory, all I really did was make my bed, mow the lawn, and other menial chores. I didn't get money as much as I got to just go the places I wanted to and have my mom buy me stuff when I did the chores.

The present is not much different. I just unload the dishwasher every day, and my brother is also supposed to help now. Which he doesn't do. So now I make hard cash of $5 a week, and the above.

The future, sorry, I don't know that yet.

Anyway, here is what I get for a three card spread of past, present, and future. Now I am going to represent these explanations in two ways. The way I feel when I look at the cards pictures, and what I read from my manual. I am using a standard Rider Waite tarot deck.

Card one (past): Nine of Pentacles. When I look at this card, I see a happy lady in the meadow with a content look on her face, that could mean I was happy with my job. And that I was content with what I got from doing it.

When I read the manual on it, this card is supposed to represent prudency, safety, sucess and accomplishment. That makes sense, I was sucessful in doing chores, and I had obtained rewards from it.

Card two (present): Knight of Cups. When I look at this card, I become confused, after thinking about it a little bit, I come to the conclusion that I am going to be the recipient of the cup (or money) or that I am doing something honorable dispite what the volcano (my brother) is doing in the distance.

When I look up what the card is supposed to represent, I see that it means arrival, approach, propositions, and invitations. Now I suppose that since I have invited my brother to do his chores, it could represent that, and that propositions could be the deal my brother has about him mowing the lawn and that I do his morning chores. Which I said no to. Or it could mean that I have changed the dealings which grant me money with my mother.

Card three (future): Ten of Wands. When I look at this card, I see hardship, more tasks than seems possible, but I seem to accomplish them. I can not relate this to anything now, but I may think that it may signify that I am going to be unhappy with my job, plus a workload at school....

When I look up the meaning of the card, I see that it means honor and good faith, but also oppresion, but still gain of some kind. Or disguise, and suffering. Same as above.

Now let us see if I can relate these same cards with my brother. Who has not done any chores until the present. And may or may not do work in the future.

Card one (past): When I look at this card, it would mean leisure activity. No work involved, and still getting things you want.

When I look at the meaning of the card. I see that it would mean he was safe from doing chores, and still got what he wanted.

Card two (present): When I look at this, I see that he is still getting what he wants, and barely does anything. Because he does. And that the knight is giving him a reward for it.

When I look up the meaning of the card. I see that it means arrival and approach, so it could mean that the dealing between us is with him too, which it is...

Card three (future): This really means the same thing as above, just that he may be getting what is coming to him because of karma and him being lazy.

As you can see, I believe that tarot cards are a false form of divination, and that divination in general is a false practice. Premonitions/deja vu may be a different story. But I believe tarot is false.

That would be a good theory, BUT...what about when you pay someone else to do it, and this person for sure has no information on your personal life? I've seen very specific readings being given like that.

Now, I know this will seem like a load of total crap (and, heck, it may be. xP), but I'm also going to use personal experience for this. I did two of the same spread on the same question, and got three different cards each time, but each of them had the same general meaning. Which would support your argument at the moment. But, let's get to my point here. The cards can be twisted, yes, but there are some with completely and totally different meanings. I drew (I use a set of animal cards) the llama and the hippo for that slot, signifying strong friendship. But, let's say I'd drawn the spider. That one would represent more than friendship. If I'd drawn the ant, that would have meant something more like the person in question and myself becoming business associates later and nothing more. There are a bunch of other cards that could have given me the message of "friend," but there were too many that could give me another message to believe it was a simple fluke. The other two slots remained generally the same, and I even drew one of the same cards for the same slot that go around. And I did shuffle the deck properly.

But, as for what you've posted, yes that is true. You could probably give them to anyone and have them signify anything that's happened so far. But try multiple goes. See what happens. You might keep getting similar cards. Or, if you're trying to be specific, just do it again if something seems wrong. The chances of getting every divination that you do correct are slim to none, after all. That second card seemed a little out of place, to me, at least.

Right, right, I get that part.

What I'm meaning is, there are only about three or four cards in the entire deck that have the same meaning like that, though. I did another reading, and got the same card in that spot.

The past and present cards, though, are the ones that I can't give you any argument for. They can be given for any situation that has passed or whatnot, so you are correct right there.

So...I sort of agree with you, but at the same time I don't?...er...yeah... sweatdrop

ah... tarot is fake...
that explains why my grandma predicted the exact date I was born with tarot xd would've never guessed it...
and why guitarhero's reading was accurate... and why I did a internet tarot reading and it described me perfectly...

yes, I agree with you with the theiving gyspies out there trying to take everyone's money... but pros like my grandma and other people aren't out there to get your money when they do a tarot reading for 100 gaia gold stare

No, I am saying that it is fake from how the cards have all these different sorts of meanings. As proven above in my first post...

And I didn't mean it was undeterminable, I just couldn't find a word to say what I thought about it...

I wouldn't so much say that the culprit is that cards have similar meanings, for I don't find that to be the case (especially with the Major Arcana). The culprit is the plasticity and adaptability of the human mind and its ability to draw connections between things where there may or may not be a justified reason for doing so. Tarot, and all other methods of fortune-telling, are non-falsifiable. You cannot prove the reading false, but you can find a number of examples that will fit the cards you have spread out on the table.

However, I don't find the value of tarot in fortune-telling, but introspection and discovery of the inner self. And from that angle, the fact that tarot allows for such interpretive flexiblity is what makes it WORK well for introspection and self-guidance. How you interpret the cards dosen't just tell you something about your sittuation, but how you're THINKING about the sittuation as well as some things about yourself as a person.

I don't even remember the reading I gave you lobo, I used to give so many peopl readings, but I was told by a higher spirit to wait on doing tarot readings until I know more, I think i'm almost to that point.

Tarot cards go into the category of "focus" for me. It gives the rabidly attentive conscious mind something to latch onto so that the rest of the mind can unfocus, as it were, enough to see a bigger picture. Like any other ritual magic, it allows the more right-brain gestalt functions of the mind to express themselves without the left-brain accountant functions ruining it all by overinterpreting.

So yeah. Tarot is bullshit only in the hands of the aggressively conscious. Not that that makes you bad. It just means you're not a medium. I rarely get good results from divination either. But I know people who do, so if I need a reading, I ask them.