How Does Tarot Work?

I don't think I really questioned how tarot cards work. Ever since I started practicing tarot, I trusted tarot. It was almost an act of faith-trusting synchronicity to impart on my hands the exact number of times I should shuffle in order to receive the right message at the right time. I trusted the cards to deliver the necessary insight to me. I mean, it wasn't a process that I needed to question because it worked. It worked and it never failed to answer my questions every time I needed it.

So for years I've been content with this half-assed "explanation" of synchronicity and a chest full of trust and wonder. Not that knowing the "answer" or the full extent of the explanation would really change anything for me. Tarot is still tarot. It will always be tarot. A deck of tarot still functions as a deck of tarot cards will function. Nothing is amiss.

And then I found Ryan Cropper's video about tarot and how tarot works. He offers a fascinating and totally reasonable explanation that I deeply resonate with. First he explains how a tarot reader is able to extract information from you and channel insight from the cards. Tarot readers are usually empaths, and empaths are able to "read" the information, feelings, attitudes and habits that surround a person's auric field. Once the reader makes that connection and tunes into you, they are able to utilize tarot as a channel or a tool to make a deeper connection with you, and interpret the symbolic messages that are shown by the cards and shed light on your situation. What a tarot reader does is that they help you see what you can't see for yourself. In that given moment, at that particular junction of your reality, that particular intersection of all your life experiences--they guide you to locate your inner resources, tap into the strengths you innately have, and allow you to explore potential solutions or paths towards problem-solving or self-betterment.

Tarot, or a tarot reading, gives you clarity.

It shows you what you are capable of, it shows you the patterns in your life that are affecting you, and it points you to the right direction.

Secondly, Cropper talks about how tarot cards physically work. In a nutshell, he talks about how the nature of reality changes as soon as you observe it. Once you begin to participate by perceiving, you begin to interact with the frequencies and energies and vibrations that make up your reality. And by perceiving it, you change it. You create interaction. You create flow. If you apply this to tarot cards, once you are holding a deck of cards in your hand, or once you are paying your attention to it and setting your intentions forth towards the process of tarot, you actually increase the probabilities of certain cards popping up, cards that will create a symbolic reflection of your current reality.

I dabbled in quantum physics a while ago, so I am familiar with some of the concepts that he's mentioned in his video. It made so much sense to me. In a way, it's almost a "behind the scenes" look at the concept of synchronicity, although I am not sure at this point (since I don't understand the two concepts enough) that I can actually categorize them in this way. But what he said aligned with a lot of the new age spiritual ideas out there: the power of intention, the power to create, the energetic reality, all that jazz. He never mentioned or used any of those terms in his videos, but what he said allowed me to tap into a deeper layer of what I already know.

So that's how tarot cards work. It feels like I have always known the answer, even though I have never once actively searched for it. It's like Cropper simply articulated it and manifested all those thought forms into language. I'm really impressed and inspired right now--you have no idea. Like, wow! I mean, tarot has always been a huge part of my creative identity and it is the bulk of my spiritual practice-but after watching this video I really have a deeper appreciation and respect for tarot. It's like having a best friend for a decade, but all of a sudden you discover that they have a middle name, or they have a talent that you never knew about. I'm really stoked to see how this insight will shape and deepen my tarot practice in the future.