Why Tarot? The Deck of 78 cards with scientific background.

I prefer to consider a matter of the Tarot system using several perspectives that allow me to be more or less rational in examining the deck of 78 cards whose origins are so obscure that it is almost impossible to figure out where its origin lies. My approach may be a disappointment for those who wish Tarot to be more magical than it is, but if we follow thread of truth and reasonable approach, we find that the real history is interesting in its own right. The most acceptable way to treat the Tarot for me is considerations of linguoculturology, mythology and psychology.

Tarot has become a cultural asset and a piece of art. Every cultural artifact has a unique quality that allows it to outgrow itself and its own source or origin. You must admit that, it is not so important now who Homer or Shakespeare were? Were they real historical figures or a group of authors? But much more important is that their works rose above their authors so much that they captured the minds of many generations, and we are almost “personally” familiar with the protagonists of their writings. All of them are “molecules” of the substance of our culture, “molecules” that enter into an unimaginable number of connections with other elements that shape our spiritual life. There is a large bundle of examples of such ancient and contemporary products of the human spirit. The Tarot is one of them.

Tarot as a linguistic and cultural phenomenon amazes with the profusion of its symbolism. The language of 78 cards corresponds to communication of high level. Each Tarot image represents a deep cultural symbol, and often more than one, or a metaphor or contains a historical matter. Each object of art, literature, sacred texts have this essential quality – to make you think and feel.

Tarot is a set of symbols and metaphors. This symbolism is deep in the consciousness, they are a force that encourages to think and to act. A symbol can even be a single word or letter. One of the outstanding modern linguists, G. Lakoff, says that a person understands the world through metaphors, moreover, “metaphors,” he says, “are a neural mechanism that allows us to adapt neural systems of our brain for abstract thinking.” Metaphors and symbols capture the phenomenon completely, leaving only one word on the surface, and create a whole system of hidden relationships, which is comprehended intuitively through entering into their deep meaning. “A symbol,” writes Jung, “does not explain, but points through itself to the meaning apart, incomprehensible, only vaguely assumed, which could not be satisfactorily expressed by any words of our modern language.” Symbols are like doors, through which we feel pulled out of the smallness of our lives into a part of something bigger. Symbols of Tarot “recognize” our desire to experience more depth in life, when we must take a decision or when we don’t understand the real situation. In this case we would like to feel that there is something more than the mundane.

The journey through the Major Arcana of the Tarot illustrates the mythological journey of the hero, the path of his formation and transformation.

Myth is a linguistic description of the world through the prism of phenomenology, direct experience, as well as religious and philosophical discourse production. Myth is a clot of human knowledge about himself and the world in which he discovered the Logos, the architectonics of existence; myth is the world personally experienced by the subject, his projection of his own mental life onto the objects of the world.

The journey of hero is a universal structure for mythology and religion. It is difficult to find a myth in which the protagonist is not passing through the stages of birth, upbringing, formation, internal breakdown, desolation, descent into the underworld and rising from it renewed and fulfilled. Each of us goes through this entire metaphorical or mythological path, experiencing the corresponding stages of the psychological maturation.

A journey through the Arcana of the Tarot poses the task of finding where came the hero from (the querent), what are his roots and the origins of his situation (archaeology), what is the purpose of his particular way (teleology). Such a goal could be, for example, self-actualization, expressed by the Arcanum Sun (XIX). What is ultimately his goal as a human being, what will be the assessment of his life path or a specific project (Arcanum Judgment (XX)), how to find harmony with the world and achieve the desired accomplishment (Arcanum World (XXI)). Eschatology answers these questions.

The psychological perspective of studying Tarot has become for me almost the most fascinating reason of those already listed. Perhaps this happened because of my commitment to the analytical psychology of K.G. Jung, which I have been studying for a long time for scientific and practical purposes. Analytical psychology has become the rational scientific ground under the feet of the esoteric practice (o maybe background), which has revived the interest of many people, including practicing psychologists.

Psychologists encounter currently in the Major Arcana the archetypes of Child, Trickster, Anima, Animus, the archetypes of Father, Mother, Shadow, etc. The court cards represent personality patterns. The notion of introversion and extroversion are beautifully illustrated. The four elements illustrate psychological and intellectual processes occurring within us.

Tarot cards may help you spark a conversation with a therapist or master, find meaning in your life circumstances, and identify solutions. Tarot cards may have mental health benefits, such as soul care and opening dialogue. You can talk to them like to a good teacher o mentor, but it’s not a replacement for therapy or medical treatment and may not work if you’re skeptical about them!

A certain amount of skepticism, however, must be present in order to soberly relate the information received from the cards to your situation. But if you are absolutely closed to information or you are asking something only out of curiosity without any real need, then the cards will not give you what you want or expect. Be honest with yourself!