Hi :) I'm looking forward to being part of this community, I practice Tarot as a business (check out www.fortunesbymaria.com if you're interested) but that doesn't mean I'm not a woman of science lol.

I hope it's okay to mention my website, I saw nothing against it in the rules, but I promise I'm not here to spam, I'm just eager to be part of the conversation :)

Nice to meet you all!

I can help you if you need me send me an inbox

Hello, I am starting a tarot study and would love to have people who are interested in the same! Person with any level of experience is welcome! We'll work with every card of the deck and more! 🌸💞😊🌼

Since there will be people in the group outside of Reddit, it was decided to have the forum on a independent platform.

Other than the forum, we will also have weekly online meet ups.

You can signup to https://www.thenurturingsouls.com/ if you wish to join!

Are you a reader who works with tarot from a scientific, psychological or logical perspective? I'm a narrative/reflective reader looking to learn a bit more about others' reading styles.

Tell me about your practice, how you got started, your perspective on of reading. I want to hear whatever you'd like to share.

So my beliefs are a little complicated

I am an atheist, have been since I was 14. I don't believe in ghosts, anything mystical whatsoever. But tarot really really appealed to me. And I have a bit of a "superstition" with them, although I realize it's silly. However, even as a new reader, people have told me what I said was very insightful/made a lot of sense, which makes me happy. I've also gotten really freaky "coincidences," for example: I asked if I should go to grad school and pursue my dream (even if it falls apart) or stay in the corporate world. I pulled the page of pentacles...literally, a student. Best way to describe him. That freaked me out. I also pulled knight of swords when trying to figure out if I wanted to move to Seattle as encouraged by my friend, Josh. The description according to Rider Waite is "a dark young man," which is admittedly vague but describes him perfectly. I understand that from a psychological standpoint that is just how I'm interpreting it, and my beliefs/hopes come across very clearly. So that is how I mainly view it, just looking at a situation from a new perspective and exploring complicated feelings that may not readily present themselves. But some of these really obvious markers freak me out, such a coincidence!

Hell yeah, thanks for this new sub. It is exactly what I wanted without knowing it. I wanted to start reading seriously since one or two years but never found someone to help me and I find mystical advices difficult to grasp and even more difficult to use since I do not believe in the power of cards. However, I believe in human brain and I have basic psychology knowledge. I did a reading once and it was really appreciated, because I did use APF without knowing that. The querent was really happy with the reading and it was great. But when I tried to do it again, I could not. I see now that the second time I was too focused on the meaning of cards and trying to appear as a mystic instead of guiding the querent reflexion. I bought a wonderfull deck recently and I am going to use it with some friends. Any advice?

TL;DR: I start reading today, does any of you have experiences, advices or thoughts to share with me?

I love love love the iphone and ipad app for my tarot. I feel like I get really good readings from it. I am really into technology and feel like a random number generator is just as random and mystical as actual cards.

Anyone else use an unconventional "deck"?

Tarot Science is a subreddit for those who want to practice the art of tarot, but from a logical standpoint. If you're unsure of what this means, please continue reading.

Tarot has been a tool for psychics, mystics and your average Joe/Mary for some time now. It's become a very common trend, but unfortunately the nature of this trend has alienated many people who don't believe or wish to be associated in a New-Age movement.

Fortunately, Tarot doesn't have to be about mysticism and psychics. It doesn't need an invisible force to work, and the reason behind it's success is simple and deep. We'll get into these reasons later, but for now I'll sum things up:

Tarot invokes unique psychological phenomenons between the reader and querent, and is easily explained through logic. Furthermore, anyone can develop and use Tarot as a tool.

###What's the difference between Logical and Mystical readers?

From this point forward I will refer to non-paranormal readers as "Logical Readers" and paranormal as "Mystical Readers". This is simply a way of classifying both groups and does not represent whether either party is a logical thinker.

Mystical Readers believe that tarot cards get their "powers" from somewhere else. There are many theories from these groups about the source of tarot's powers, ranging from pixies to their own psychic prowess. This process can be complex for those who take it seriously, but it's almost always very simple:

• Learn the meanings behind all 78 cards (or develop intuition)
• Memorize some spreads.
• Optional: Card pairings, astrological signs, reverse card meanings etc.

Logical readers view tarot as a psychological tool, but one they must take responsibility for. Tarot is no longer a tool for predicting the future, but rather a gateway into the mind when used properly. For this to happen, several conditions must be met:

• The reader must develop good intuition and have at least a vague understanding of the situation in question, unless they plan on letting their querent come to conclusions on their own (which is viable, by the way).
• The reader must have a basic grasp on the meaning of Apophenia, The Forer Effect and Pareidolia to understand why the cards work.
• The reader must learn when to be vague and when to give direct answers.
• The reader must basically take a crash course on entry-level psychology. Sorry reader.
• Both parties should be aware that the answers are not originating from the cards, but rather from their own perception of the situation.
• The querent must WANT to solve the problem in question.

###How does Apophenia, The Forer Effect and Pareidolia HELP people?

Apophnia - The experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data.

Pareidolia - A psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant.

The Forer Effect - The observation that individuals will give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored specifically for them, but are in fact vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people.

Let's abbreviate these three effects into a single word: APF (Apophenia, Pareidolia, Forer).

Normally when you combine Apophenia and Pareidolia strange stuff starts happening. People start believing weird things, like that an image of Christ has been burnt into their toast or alien life-forms are trying are to contact us through interpretive dance. Throw in a little Forer Effect and you've got an amazing psychic experience waiting to happen. Take away the mysticism, cut out some of the Forer and add tarot cards. You'll get a window into the mind.

So why do tarot cards work so well? To explain this, I'll introduce what I call "Wild APF". This happens when the viewer is unaware that they're effected by APF and often results in wrong conclusions. Take away the "Wild" and they come to their senses; APF ceases to exist. But what if we could tame APF and use it to our advantage? This is what makes tarot cards so unique; they do this naturally.

When you look at the confusing images on tarot cards with the intention of making connections to your own life, you create a situation ripe for APF. Suddenly the knight on the white horse is a metaphor representing your need to transform into someone stronger and gallop away. These conclusions are often logical in nature, but in the wrong hands it can lead to the querent believing the cards are telling them what to do. Instead of following their own interpretation, they listen to the reader.

This is why it's important for the reader to know what they're doing, or to simply act as a catalyst. Your querent doesn't need to understand what APF is or why they should care, they just need to be aware that their interpretation is what matters. If you're a psychologist, or confident in your conclusions, you can interject your wisdom.

To summarize: The human mind is complicated, but knows what it needs. A good psychologist can help most people solve their problems, and tarot is a great self-help tool when you know how to use it.

###Does this mean I can't read for people without a degree? And what about long-distance readings?

Of course not! Anyone can read tarot for their friends and family, but it's important to remember that the cards don't hold the answers and unless you're 100% sure... neither do you. Sometimes not even the querent will know what the correct course of action is, but tarot at least offers some ideas that might spark creative or correct solutions. And it's fun!

As for long distance readings, they DO work but require more communication to occur. You should have a decent amount of information about the situation and when explaining the cards (especially to a stranger) try not to be conclusive. Tell them what the card is, what the scene is, and then ask them questions.

###Can you give me an example?

Sure! Suppose I get a request from a stranger. They want me to do a one-card reading and their question is "What job should I choose?". We exchange some messages and I find out she's stuck choosing between a law firm and a bakery.

I draw a card and out comes the 2 of Wands. I respond:

In the 2 of Wands we can see a young man looking out across an ocean from atop a stone wall. Behind him is a lush green land with houses, almost as if he's in a village. In his right hand he holds a globe of Earth and in his left he gently grasps a staff. To his right there is another staff shackled to the wall, securing it firmly in place.

To me this card represents the ability and desire to move forward. The man holding the globe can see there is more to the world than what he has, and he's planted his first staff already. Perhaps he lives here and desires to move forward to plant yet another

Will he choose to stay where he is, secure and comfortable? Or will he seek new horizons? He holds the world in his hand and the outlook is good for either scenario; maybe he simply needs to make the decision.

As you can see, this could offer clarification to a common question that perhaps hasn't been thought through, yet it does not drive the querent to anything drastic. She might take the job she's comfortable with, or maybe the idea of seeking out new lands and experiences will entice her to choose something unfamiliar. Maybe she had aleady thought of these things before, but never pictured them on such a beautiful, grand scale.

###What about card spreads and connections with other cards?

Let's face it, without a spread of some sort you're not getting very far. Or are you? The answer is yes and no. The more complexity you add to a reading, the more direct it becomes. Remember that sometimes being direct is bad and other times it's good.

Spreads give cards a direction to fly in, it's like shooting a well-aimed bullet instead of a shotgun. While the shotgun might hit more targets, the single bullet is much more impressive and meaningful when it nails the very center of one.

Using a spread usually means we sacrifice one thing to gain another, and this sort of move can be considered strategic. To explain how this works, I'll use the classic 3-card spread as an example: Past, Present and Future. The moment you lay a card down in "Past", you're confining it's meaning to something in the querent's past. The same for Present and Future. You're gaining "direction" and losing "vagueness", so the card will have a stronger meaning if the querent can make connections and it guides the querent's attention to that point in time. Since it's stronger they will also gain confidence as the cards seem more accurate, and this will encourage them to make more connections.

As the reader it's your judgement call. You get to decide whether you want to use a spread or not, and furthermore you can choose ANY spread. You can even make up your own (I often customize my spreads to match the querent's story or question).

Now, with the introduction of spreads we come to a fork in the road: Do we use each card's meaning individually, or do we combine it with other cards in the spread? After all, "Past" "Present" and "Future" can be connected, right? The answer is yes, you can do this. In fact you can easily weave answers from the stories generated by connecting cards, but there's a catch: You risk falling into the mystic trap by making it seem like the cards are explaining the querent's life.

To counter this, simply use the connections as supplements to the individual card meanings, and then keep that supplement vague. For example, let's say I draw my 3-card spread as follows: The King of Cups - The King of Pentacles - The Emperor. Nobody can deny the connections here, they're all male figures, they're all rulers and it looks like they're "progressing" through ranks. But instead of turning these connections into the focus, I explain each individual card first and then point out the card connections: "Also it's curious that all of these cards are rulers, and it seems to show a progression of some sort. Perhaps in the past your personality was different than the present. Do you see yourself as an emperor in the future? Is that something you want to work toward? Could it mean a new position at work? Do you think it represents someone else?"

It's also helpful to remember that tarot may cause the querent to answer other questions in their life. If they can't find connections to their question it's highly likely they will try to find connections elsewhere. Be open minded, go with the flow and use spreads with connections wisely.

###Can I have a TL;DR now?

TL;DR - Tarot is complex, psychological and fun. Some people just want some direction in their lives and others want to find solutions to their problems. Most of them know the answers, and tarot can help with that when used correctly, so make sure you know what you're doing. Mysticism and psychics aren't needed to give good readings.

Feel free to ask questions here or post on the subreddit, I'd love to hear your feedback and as with all sciences I'm open to perfecting this method. Be safe and have fun.