The Tarot began as a playful deck of cards, similar to today’s playing cards. Only later did it gradually become associated with mysticism and divination. Fortune tellers chose tarot cards as a divination tool because they believe that the images of tarot cards can evoke people’s deepest subconscious.

At the same time, the ease with which the images can be interpreted has allowed the Tarot to spread widely. Let’s take a look at the history of tarot cards, finding out how it became a popular, universal, and easy-to-understand divination tool!

Tarot cards are held up as a tool for dialoguing with the Holy Spirit because the images are made up of the elements in the nature of the earth. Before the arrival of scientific society, we all believed that the world was run by the gods who had mastered it, such as the gods of wind and fire. This was the law of nature and the law of the universe. When the world in front of us is surrounded by some unseen forces, we will be willing to believe in some supernatural forces and discover the rules.

As you can see in the example below, people tend to interpret the natural elements in the cards as having fixed meanings. Click on the dots on the image to see the corresponding elements and their meanings!

Some people believe that tarot card readings are accurate because of their ability to trigger mental and emotional responses in individuals. The symbols, images, and imagery in tarot cards can stimulate people’s intuition and subconscious mind, thus helping them to better understand current situations and future possibilities.

Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology, hold the same thought. He believed that the Tarot did not create archetypes, but rather appropriated the subconscious archetypes of people in their lives in order to generate the existing graphics of the Tarot. For example, the collective subconscious believes that sharp points can easily injure people and that cups hold objects, so the interpreter would equate the symbol “sword” with injury and “chalice” with gain.

However, those who hold another view believe that tarot card diviners usually speak in classes of generalized, universal terms, making it easy for people to assume that this describes them.

One theory that explains this phenomenon is the “Barnum effect”, named after the magician by Bertram Forer, which refers to the idea that people generally feel accurate about vague or universally applicable descriptive statements and believe that they apply to them. These descriptions are often common in divination or assessment tools such as astrology, tarot cards, and psychometric tests. People tend to perceive the results of tarot card readings as accurately revealing their character, destiny, or future circumstances, even though these descriptions are usually vague, applicable to most people, or open to interpretation in a variety of ways.

Despite their inaccuracy, the universality and ambiguity of tarot divination results can provide some psychological comfort. Even if these results are applicable to the majority, people may feel understood and supported by believing that they apply to them.

“A successful divination is the one that gives the asker the courage and comfort, supporting them to overcome obstacles on the basis of the interpretation of the cards.” Mira said.