Tarot

(A Personal Manifesto, December 2015)

1. Tarot evolved from playing cards. 
2. In its journey from playing cards to what we see today, it went through a process where allegories of life and spiritual journeys are projected onto them. 
3. Tarot is a tool, which can be used for many things. 
4. This includes self reflection, meditation, creative exercises, and much much more. 
5. I use them as a tool for self reflection and meditation. 
6. I do not believe in fortune telling, but I believe in divination.
7. I do not practice divination. At least not with tarot.
8.  I believe in the power to self determine, the miracle of free will, the magic of hope, the fate-bending power of free will, and the ultimate power of love and light.
9.  I believe tarot and other reading cards can assist in reflecting back what we already know, but did not know we know. 
10. I do not believe 'cleansing' or 'recharging' my decks. 
11. Card-stock is very important to me. As a physical tool, a deck's tactile quality is highly important. 
12. As a tool of the senses, their visual quality is also important. 
13. As a tool of the mind, the artistic representations of a deck's philosophy must not only make sense, but its aesthetic must be relate-able to our own personal taste.
14. The theme of the deck must be relate-able to my own belief system. It does not have to represent it.
15. I prefer to call oracle decks "reading cards". "Oracle" means something more powerful in my own tradition and heritage. 
16. I think for some, creating oracle or tarot decks is a mean to advertise one's art portfolio, with the possibility of a profit margin. 
17. I think some 'oracle' decks are total farce.
18. I am yet to make up my mind about where I stand with regards to lenormand. Although I found that it can be helpful at times, I am not sure if it is always good for us to know everything all the time, because of our exposure to self-fulfilling prophecy. In truth, lenormand scares me a little. This is the only divination I practice, and strictly for financial matters only.
19. I am a self confessed collector.
20. I believe that it is ultimately ourselves that we read in the cards. Even when you read for others, or have others read for you.
21. Therefore, I believe that the power of intercession lies with the reader, not the cards.
22. My main interest in any reading decks is to understand the artists' and creators' perspective of the universe. 
23. I then use those to reflect on my own existential musings; or to help others with theirs.
24. Therefore, tarot, is not only a little like Rorschach for archetypal explorations, but also acts as how can fairytales and folklores function in our lives. 
25. Except that with tarot and reading cards, I am looking at stories of real people, sometimes their inner most thoughts, in a series of pictures.
26. This is how I see tarot. Which is very distinct from other forms of cartomancy. 
27. How others see tarot is none of my business.