Are Tarot Cards Supernatural?

Do Tarot cards possess supernatural powers? Is it possible to communicate or connect with spirits, or even get possessed, using the Tarot? There are many questions and myths regarding the Tarot.

The essence of the Tarot tends to be misunderstood due to how it is portrayed in TV shows and movies. Tarot is often connected with dark energies and entities. But in most cases, Tarot is a tool for spiritual growth and development. 

IS TAROT SUPERNATURAL

Supernatural by definition is something that can’t be explained by science. Something supernatural contradicts the laws of nature. It’s easy to understand that the Tarot easily might fit into this niche. I’m mean, how can the cards be so accurate otherwise?

But let’s take a closer look at how the Tarot works scientifically. By doing this, we unlock the secret behind the Tarot and realize it has grounds in science  – foremost psychology – and is not supernatural.

Tarot is not supernatural or paranormal. It’s a tool to extract hidden truths with the help of psychological methods. 

The Tarot can be seen as a book of life – even though it is a deck. Every card has a human experience connected to it. The Major Arcana holds our spiritual experiences or big life lessons. The Minor Arcana holds our everyday experiences. 

Carl Jung (1875 – 1961), a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, founded the Jungian archetypes. Very (yes, very) simplified, the archetypes reflect human instincts of the psyche; in short, how we decode symbols and images. Similar kinds of archetypical images are depicted in the Tarot.

Tarot is not supernatural or paranormal. It’s a tool to extract hidden truths within with the help of psychological methods.

Sandra Tornroth

The Major Arcana represents, in large, archetypal symbols of the human journey, the “process of individuation” and “the collective unconscious” according to Carl Jung’s system.

The cards are all experiences of human nature, and we will all experience them traveling through life. 

Astrological and Kabbalistic influenced the Tarot system in the 19th and 20th centuries.

When we read the cards or have them read to us, we are forced to reflect on the card in front of us. By confirmation bias, we feel that the cards are spot-on, sparking memories otherwise hidden or forgotten.

The Tarot is built upon symbols and systems that stimulate the reader to think out of the box. We often refer to this as supernatural, but in reality, our psyche lets go of barriers built by the Ego. 

There is nothing wrong or negative with confirmation bias, quite the opposite. Confirmation bias makes it possible for us to penetrate the Ego, and peek behind it. 

The essence of the Tarot is spiritual guidance and helping us connect with our inner wisdom – also called our intuition.

By forcing ourselves to see reality as it is, not as it is in the eyes of our Ego – we can evolve and make well-grounded choices in our lives. 

The Tarot cards are not supernatural; they are a tool for self-discovery and growth, and they work by stimulating psychological mechanisms.

CAN TAROT CONNECT WITH SPIRITS

Tarot decks can be used as a divination tool by psychics mediums to channel spirits and energies. So yes, the Tarot cards can be used as a vessel for communication with spirits and energies. 

Tarot is one of many tools at hand. The cards themselves do not contain supernatural or paranormal properties.The supernatural aspect in divination is within the medium, not the cards themselves. 

The divination tool, here the Tarot cards, might inherit a special status depending on the medium’s belief system. The deck act as vessels or messenger, not the energy or spirit itself. The medium talks through the cards, not with the cards themselves. 

Like all tools of divination, they can hold residual energy from readings. This energy should not be seen as energy “made” by the cards themselves. The energy is created outside the cards, as they have no “life” of their own.

As a final note to this section is an important one. A great misconception is that the Tarot is only used for calling on dark spirits, entities, or energies. This is certainly not true.

Divination rituals also call upon light energies, as spirit guides and angels. Tarot is by no means evil, dangerous, or connected with the dark if used for spiritual growth and development. 

IN SUMMARY

The Tarot cards in themself are not supernatural. The supernatural aspects of the Tarot are added by the reader, the receiver of the reading, or the psychic medium. 

The cards might seem supernatural as they often give accurate readings. This is due to psychological mechanisms connected with confirmation bias.

The confirmation bias has a magical way of tearing down the barriers made by the Ego. Without the Ego in the way, we can see things are they truly are. This is invaluable in, for example, decision-making.

The Tarot can be used as a divination tool to connect with spirits, energies, or entities. But the cards themselves do not contain the powers to produce spirits themselves.

The cards might attach residual energies though. The residual energies can originate from readings, surroundings, divination rituals, and alike.

THE DEFINITIONS IN THIS ARTICLE ARE BASED ON THE RIDER WAITE DECK AND SYSTEM.