Does the Tarot work?

Rachel Pollack (one of the most revered Tarot authors) famously answered this question with a simple Yes*. My answer would be the same, with one addition: "depending on what you are using it for".

Fortune-telling? I don't know. I have come across some really strange coincidences between events and Tarot "predictions", but I am not sure that these cards can actually and accurately predict the future. But using the cards for any of the applications mentioned in What else can you do with a deck of Tarot cards? --- yes, it does work. Exploring relationships, situations, problems, finding patterns and rhythms in life, gaining self-knowledge --- yes, for this the Tarot does work.

Let me give you an example:

I ask a simple Yes/No question about a relationship, a decision I need to make. For this, I choose a 2-card spread, the first card for Yes, the second card for No. This is what I get:

The Ace of Cups reversed, and Death.

Now, since this is problem-solving and not fortune-telling, the Death card does not bother me at all :-)

Also, there is no one meaning that is the "correct" meaning for these cards, particularly not when they are used in brainstorming, so there is no need to be familiar with meanings that have been traditionally ascribed to them. I can use any or all aspect of the cards, the symbols on them, or the way they are laid out,  to spark ideas and thoughts.

The first thing I note, is that one card (the Yes card) is reversed, while the second (the No card) is upright, suggesting that the answer could be No. The second card is also one of the 22 Major Arcana cards (also called Trumps), which take precedence, and again suggesting that the answer is No. I'm not looking for the cards to "give" me the answer though, so I carry on.

The first card depicts a cup from which water is flowing. Since the cup is upside down, I think of something running dry. Cups in Tarot usually refer to emotions and relationships. Putting the two together, I get the idea of a relationship that has run dry.

The hand coming from the clouds seems to offer the cup as a gift; since the cup is upside-down, maybe there is a suggestion that something on offer is not welcome? How does this fit the situation? Thinking about the person (who is, in fact, offering something that I am not feeling comfortable with), I realise that I often do feel drained by the relationship. This is not something I have just realised, but thinking about it, I feel it to be an important aspect to take into account when I'm making the decision.

The second card --- Death. What am I to make of that? Death, with a huge grin, on a white horse. The Knight coming to the rescue? No. I think "riding roughshod over people." That does seem to fit the person I'm thinking about. What else? Death and rebirth; endings and beginnings. That makes me think of what has ended, and what has just begun, and needs a great deal of input and attention. In fact, I cannot afford to be "run dry" just now. I also think "I do not want to pause this new beginning".

Using whatever association comes up, this is one way of sparking ideas, and often of pinpointing what is foremost in your mind. These two cards, or rather what they brought to mind, reminded me of two very important factors, two very good reasons for saying No.

I can go on with this exercise, looking at the people on the Death card, for example, or the dove in the Ace of Cups, and considering what comes to mind. Does an upside-down dove suggest the "wrong spirit"? Is that a sunrise or a sunset in the background of the Death card? Why did I, at first glance, see one rather than the other, and how does that relate to what I'm feeling about this person? I can look up the "traditional" meanings of the cards as a springboard for more ideas and associations, or I can compare cards from different decks if I need more "food for thought".

In about ten minutes, by focusing on my question and on these two cards, I feel much more confident about my answer. I have sorted out what is important from all the other "pros and cons". The cards did not tell me what to do, and neither did they have knowledge about the situation that I did not have. What they did, however, was to give me something to focus on, something to spark ideas.

Brilliant, isn't it? And no magic involved, whatsoever!

* Related in Barbara Moore's What Tarot Can Do For You: Your Future in the Cards

The two card images are from the 1909 Rider-Waite deck, which is in public domain.