Tarot readings (birthday)

[michel]

Originally Posted by robtex

First part of the question. I am assuming, and maybe wrongfully so, that there is more than one type of deck. If so, what types do you use and what do you look for in a deck .

For instance I play regular cards with a standard 52 card deck. If you were to ask me what I would look for it would be

1) one that has a coating making it easy to shuffle
2) one with large face cards cause many of the people i play are older and don't see as well
3) one with standard playing card faces as opposed to commerical advertisements.

Your pack of 52 cards is a direct descendant of the Tarot pack. An ordinary pack of playing cards has four suites; clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades. http://www.learntarot.com/cards.htm is a pretty good site to show the correlation between the Tarot and playing cards.

The strange thing is that the Spanish still use the Tarot symbolism on their playing cards!

I use the Rider/Waite Tarot pack, which is the generally accepted 'original' pack; I love the sybolism. My avatar is one of the major Arcana (Trumps in playing cards); there is (for me) a lot of ritualistic religious association with the Tarot.

[Evenstar]

Originally Posted by Mike182

the design of the cards can differ tremendously, but the meanings are the same, and the number of cards/suites are the same in every deck - as far as i am aware

i use a vampire style deck of tarot cards, with a nice glossy coat at the back making them easy to shuffle, and the cards are bigger than the cards in an average pack of playing cards

HA! Knew you were a vamp from the start

[Mike182]

Originally Posted by Evenstar

HA! Knew you were a vamp from the start

i don't know what you mean

[Feathers in Hair]

For some reason, this is something that my brain has 'blocked'. I keep trying to memorize the meanings of the decks, but I fail miserably. I wonder why I have such trouble with it, when I can usually learn such things fairly easily.

I've had a reading done, but I didn't really like the 'feel' of the reader. She seemed to have a negative aura. Maybe it was just because she told me that I wouldn't get married until later in life that I didn't like her, though, hehee.

[Katzpur]

But they're just cards! How do those of you who believe they work explain how they work? I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I just don't follow the rationale behind being able to tells the future through a deck of cards. If I went to one tarot reader and then immediately afterwards to a different one, would their readings be the same? And if not -- particularly if they contradicted each other -- how would I know which one to believe?

[Ðanisty]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

But they're just cards! How do those of you who believe they work explain how they work? I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I just don't follow the rationale behind being able to tells the future through a deck of cards. If I went to one tarot reader and then immediately afterwards to a different one, would their readings be the same? And if not -- particularly if they contradicted each other -- how would I know which one to believe?

Well, if (and I don't know if this is true for you or not) you believe everything happens for a reason, why can't the cards shuffle and lay out the way they do for a reason? You can call it anything you want...God, spiritual energy, magick, the collective subconscious. The idea is that the magick isn't in the cards themselves. The cards are just the tools. You may very well get two different readings because some of it is up to interpretation by the person reading the cards. If you aren't asking an entirely abstract question though, you more than likely will be able to tell if the reading was accurate. Of course, tarot is not the final say in anything. You are free to make changes and if you do the final outcome will likely change. It is not written in stone.

Have you ever had a tarot reading?

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Ðanisty

Well, if (and I don't know if this is true for you or not) you believe everything happens for a reason, why can't the cards shuffle and lay out the way they do for a reason? You can call it anything you want...God, spiritual energy, magick, the collective subconscious. The idea is that the magick isn't in the cards themselves. The cards are just the tools. You may very well get two different readings because some of it is up to interpretation by the person reading the cards. If you aren't asking an entirely abstract question though, you more than likely will be able to tell if the reading was accurate. Of course, tarot is not the final say in anything. You are free to make changes and if you do the final outcome will likely change. It is not written in stone.

I appreciate the explanation. I guess I'm just a skeptic.

Have you ever had a tarot reading?

Yes, once several years ago. I can't even remember what the reader told me or if it turned out to be accurate or not. I pretty much just did it for the experience.

[Circle_One]

Originally Posted by robtex

Do you believe they let you see the future or give you the ability to percieve what you could not without them? Tell us more about Runes. Any links you can post for this thread?

I believe they give us a push as to what could possibly happen in our lives, should we choose certain paths.

As for Runes, I don't think I could give them a proper explanation without carrying on for sometime. If you wanted to learn more about them though, a few good websites:

http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/
http://www.tarahill.com/runes/

[Master Vigil]

Originally Posted by Michel

Although I tried the I Ching, I was not particularly keen on it.

The I Ching is quite difficult, and really makes no sense unless you understand the chinese culture and mindset. I have read the I Ching many times, and while I feel tarot, runes, i ching, etc... are mere methods of meditation, I find the need to "know" the future a bit boring. But that's just me I guess.