The Principles Behind Tarot Card Predictions
Many tarot card enthusiasts are often amazed by the accuracy and reliability of tarot cards. Some believe that their accuracy stems from an “unknown mystical force” guiding them, leading to various unusual behaviors. Some people avoid tarot cards out of fear of this “mysterious force” (believing it to be controlled by “demons”), while others seek to enhance the accuracy of their tarot readings by harnessing this mysterious force through rituals such as making hand gestures, reciting incantations, practicing black or white magic, and performing various ceremonies. Some prepare strange symbols like the Big Dipper or a pentagram before divination to ward off the threat of this “mysterious force.” Others believe that tarot cards rely on intuition for prediction, training their intuition and inspiration through various methods: from tai chi to crystal balls—any practice that enhances one’s “spiritual energy” and “power” is acceptable, while elaborate rituals can be disregarded. Others argue that the accuracy of tarot cards stems from the diviner’s rigorous logical reasoning training and extensive life experience. There is nothing mysterious or supernatural about it; so-called “intuition” is merely random guesswork, and the notion of a “mystical force” is nothing more than unnecessary worry.
Strangely enough, Chinese people do not find the accuracy of I Ching divination surprising, considering it natural. However, they are shocked and obsessed by the accuracy of tarot card divination. This is likely because tarot card divination is easy to learn. With just a deck of cards and an instruction manual, anyone who can read Chinese characters can follow the book’s instructions—from shuffling the cards, laying them out, to interpreting their meanings. People seem reluctant to believe that such a simple method, requiring little time to learn, could allow anyone to become a master of accurate predictions. Additionally, the tarot cards feature various fantastical and dazzling patterns, and the “Death” and “Devil” cards in the Major Arcana, it’s no wonder people say there’s a mysterious force behind it, making them both love and fear it. Recently, a middle school girl fell from a building after using tarot cards, sparking rumors and rumors, which has piqued the curiosity and fear of many young people. Everyone is asking: Are tarot cards really that accurate? Will playing tarot cards have any negative consequences?
To understand this question, we must first study the basic principles of divination. A birth chart or birth chart itself does not speak and does not provide any information. It is the “person” who interprets them who speaks, analyzing them to discern prosperity, adversity, fortune, misfortune, and regret.
Similarly, tarot cards themselves do not speak. It is the “person’s” “divine and enlightened mind” that understands the meanings of the cards and makes predictions. The human mind is the most wondrous thing in the universe, capable of knowing the past, present, and future, hence it is called “divine.” The causes and effects of events are clear and evident, hence it is called “enlightened.” However, the human mind is often polluted by one’s own subjective opinions and various forms of knowledge, causing the mind to lose its “divine” and “enlightened” qualities, and thus its ability to understand the past and predict the future.
In psychology, the human mind is divided into the conscious and the subconscious. The conscious mind is merely the tip of the iceberg, while the subconscious contains immense energy and is a gathering place for various mystical forces, yet people are usually unaware of its existence. When the human mind comes into contact with the symbolic symbols and patterns of divination, they are transmitted from the conscious mind to the subconscious mind. The conscious and subconscious minds work together to understand the past and future of events, as well as their causes and effects. This is the basic principle of divination.
The subconscious mind can be classified in several ways. In Jungian psychology, it is divided into the “personal subconscious” and the “collective subconscious.” The “collective unconscious” contains thousands of years of human culture, habits, and memories. The structural elements of the “collective unconscious” are called “archetypes.” Archetypes are universal, collective, and primal forms of thought. They encompass many emotional components and create numerous images (images or visions). We can say that the various symbolic symbols in divination are based on the “archetypes” collectively recognized by the human collective unconscious. For example, everyone recognizes flowers as symbols of beauty, but no one has ever heard of using “feces” as a symbol of beauty. When these symbolic symbols and rules of divination are perceived by humans, the unconscious resonates with them, thereby exerting predictive capabilities.
Ke Yunlu, a renowned researcher of human paranormal phenomena in mainland China, has the following views on divination prediction:
Everyone possesses a “spirit,” which is the “subconscious mind.” The subconscious mind is interconnected with the collective subconscious mind of all humanity and with the subconscious mind of the universe.
The subconscious possesses predictive capabilities, but in most cases, these predictive and intuitive abilities are difficult to manifest. This raises the question of how to activate the subconscious for prediction. More precisely, it is about how to consciously manifest the subconscious’s intuitive and predictive abilities.
The essence of divination lies in entering a state where the subconscious mind is activated, invoking the “divine spirits.” This requires relaxation, stillness, devotion, faith in the divine, reverence, and silently reciting the question to be divined. In a state of vague and indistinct awareness, one performs the divination steps casually. At each moment of action, the subconscious mind makes the decisions. This state is akin to a qigong state.
Now we can understand the factors behind the accuracy of tarot card divination: whether the subconscious mind has been successfully activated and whether the qigong state has been entered. The various rituals involved in tarot card divination are all designed to help one enter the qigong state, where all thoughts converge into one thought, and that one thought converges into “no mind” and “spontaneity.” In a natural, relaxed state with minimal subjective opinions, the subconscious mind is more easily activated, and the tarot card divination becomes more accurate.
Whether in Eastern or Western divination, when interpreting or explaining the cards, emphasis is placed on being “lively,” “saying whatever comes to mind,” and “using one’s intuition” to describe this state of activating the subconscious mind. Tarot card divination can be said to be a form of qigong practice. Within this, “heaven and earth resonate,” connecting with the universe’s subconscious, and “unity of self and object”—the subconscious conveys its intentions through the tarot cards. The renowned Japanese tarot researchers, the Kai couple, have stated that they practice tai chi and qigong daily, believing it is to enhance their ability to achieve this state.
Chinese philosophical master Mou Zongsan’s views on divination techniques are as follows:
- Symbolic intuition rather than mechanical deduction
- Weak mechanical elements with no fixed standards, relying entirely on mental clarity and sharp intuition
- The method is loose and unimportant; even techniques can approach the Dao.
The simplicity of tarot cards does not hinder their accuracy. Moreover, the patterns on tarot cards are the result of generations of tarot researchers delving into the collective unconscious of humanity to concretize their archetypes. Using them for divination allows one to enter a state of harmony between heaven and humanity, which is the state of the “Dao.”
Based on the above understanding, we can further explore some issues:
Some people, after performing Tarot readings for others multiple times, experience physical exhaustion or even fainting and require medical attention. They attribute this to “divine retribution” or the influence of “mystical forces.” In reality, this is simply the result of excessive energy depletion. Tarot divination involves entering a state akin to qigong. Under ideal conditions, one’s mental state should improve with each reading, as the subconscious mind connects with the universe, which continuously supplies abundant energy to nourish the body and mind. So why does excessive energy depletion occur? The reason lies in the immense pressure felt when reading for others, worrying about inaccuracies, and fixating on card meanings, which diverts energy to the conscious mind. This constant tension and “talking” depletes one’s vital energy, leading to this “divine retribution syndrome.” As long as one has sufficient theoretical knowledge, relaxes the mind and body, and does not dwell on whether others deem the reading accurate or not, this situation will not arise.
The principle that the same question can only be divined once within a short period of time. This “iron rule” known to all tarot card readers originates from the hexagram and line texts of the I Ching: “The first divination is answered; the second and third are an offense; if offended, it will not be answered.” The first divination is done with faith in the divine, and accurate results are obtained. However, if one cannot accept the results of the divination and wishes to re-divine, hoping for a favorable outcome, one’s subjective opinions play a significant role. Rational interference prevents the subconscious from being activated, so the results of the subsequent divination are unreliable.
The so-called “rigorous logical reasoning” is not actually “logic,” as it is a form of “symbolic correspondence thinking.” Due to the activation of the subconscious, inspiration flows continuously into the conscious mind, giving rise to “symbolic correspondence thinking.” For example, using the Magician as a symbol for a new opportunity, but the Magician can also represent communication, design, or advertising. Why choose only “new opportunity” as the correspondence? Because under the temporal and spatial conditions at the time, the subconscious mind made the decision that such a correspondence was necessary. For instance, when Li Bai composed a poem for Yang Guifei, he compared “clouds” to “clothing” but did not compare “clouds” to “illusion.” This is a decision made with a pure heart, without any conscious thought. Memorizing meanings rigidly prevents one from making such decisions with a pure heart and thus prevents the flexible application of “symbolic correspondence thinking.”
