My astrologist assures me that tarot is nonsense.

I have studied Tarot for decades, and I find the subject, and the artwork in the many different decks out there, to be fascinating.

I hesitate to use the words, "believe in," but can an atheist make use of Tarot? That depends on what you expect of the cards.

If you expect the cards to predict your future, then I doubt you are truly an atheist, because that implies belief in a mystical power attached to a stack of cardboard rectangles.

If you expect the cards to trigger insight or intuition in the person reading the cards, then Tarot conflicts with atheism no more than Rorshach ink blots conflict with atheism.

The images in Tarot draw on archetypes from the collective subconscious. The reader draws on that archetypal imagery to spark intuition. For interesting reading, see Carl Jung's thoughts on the subject.

Tarot cards appeared in the early 1400s in Europe, at a time when most people were not literate. The 22 cards of the Major Arcana (the strongly archetypal cards) were likely developed first, and at a different time and/or region than the Minor Arcana (the remaining cards in the Tarot deck, corresponding to our modern playing cards). It is likely that the original use of the cards was as a religious or quasi-religious story-telling device; of course, almost everything in the 1400s had religious connotations. We do know that they were not the product of the Catholic Church, so it is entirely probable that they originated from some medieval occult organization, probably -- based on certain symbolisms -- with roots in Judaism. The history of Tarot is murky, but we do know that much.

There are three main avenues which Tarot can take:

1.) Entertainment and Fortunetelling: this is the realm of the huckster "fortune-teller." This is properly done for fun. Unfortunately, many clients look at this as the ability to actually predict the future. For the reader, this is almost always a bait-and-hook endeavor, differing from New-Agey Tarot readers in that the huckster's focus tends to be on claiming to predict future events, and these huckster readers also offer "solutions" to foreseen problems if the client purchases special candles, or other services offered by the reader at an additional and often hefty price. For example, if one went to a "fortune teller," wondering if one's girlfriend would be faithful, one would pay for a reading, and then be manipulated into purchasing an expensive "blessed love candle" and faithfulness-securing spells from the reader. Most often, this is the sort of reader you see with a big sign on the side of a small building semi-rural area, or a storefront in a questionable part of town, with a big sign sporting images of crystal balls and buzzwords like LOVE, MONEY, HEALTH... KNOW YOUR FUTURE.

2.) Advice: this describes people who use the cards to trigger intuition. Use of the cards in this manner includes readers in New Age bookstores reading cards for a reasonable fee, without manipulating their client into additional purchases. These readers typically give a client insight into their lives (rather than "telling the future" ). Typically, this sort of reader lays out the cards and draws from the imagery to provide advice on a question, so if my question was about how to impress a potential new employer, the reader would look at the images, thinking how those archetypes could apply to a practical matter rather than to an emotional matter. Unlike the huckster, these readers do not try to play on a client's hopes and fears in order to draw them into additional, large expenses. One could argue that this is little different from asking advice from and objective third party, like your neighborhood bartender. One could also argue that, considering the cost of two cocktails these days, a Tarot reading is the better bargain.

3.) Meditation: this user draws a card to choose the theme for their daily meditation. "What do I need to focus on today? Hmm, what is the imagery on this card about? I pulled the Queen of Cups. Cups represent emotion and the subconscious, and Queens represent maturity in my interactions with others. How can I use that insight today? Hmm, I have a meeting at 10:00 with a difficult client. Perhaps I should meditate on being calm and gracious, and not letting my emotions get the better of me when I deal with this dude."

In the same line of thinking, one could randomly open a coffee-table book on fine art and look at the imagery in a painting, consider its symbolic meaning, and apply that to one's real life, too. Or one could fill a deck of index cards with words like "peace," "negativity," "focus," "conflict," "finality," "maturity," "achievement," etc.. Then draw one card each day, and meditate on applying (or not applying) that concept to the day.

Tarot is an awful lot like Rorshach cards. The viewer either sees something in them, or not. The cards are just images on cardboard. The images merely trigger the intuition or subconscious of the viewer.

One could probably do a graduate dissertation on the difference between hucksters, advice-oriented readers, and using tarot in meditation, but I think this covers the basics.

People are wired to detect patterns, even when patterns don't exist. Whether it's Tarot cards, tea leaves, planetary motion, reading entrails or casting wands, people see things in the patterns, and those usually reflect a hopeful desire in the pattern reader being "confirmed" by the pattern. As a tool for intelligent introspection, Tarot cards are as good a device to focus attention inward as anything else. But that's all they are. Good luck in your endeavors.

Well, I believe that they exist. I've seen them and held them. But, believing that they might actually divine my past or future...(insert expletive here).

They worked on James Bond in "Live and Let Die" in predicting he'd get the girl. Oh, wait, he always gets the girl and he enabled the game to work in his favor. Nevermind.

I'm not sure belief is necessary for Tarot cards. The truth is they are imaged cards designed more for triggering ideas and thoughts that might not have occurred to the reader or the querent when having some issue to work out. It works as much on psychology as it does anything else.

I played poker with tarot cards once. I got a full house and 2 people had heart attacks

I believe they exist too.

...im pretty sure I 100% believe...

Its fun when people don't understand stats.

I'm with David1955 in wondering how they "work." The client comes in, the reader shuffles the deck. As he or she shuffles, what is happening? Is the universe guiding the reader's hand to get them in the right order? Or are the images magically shifting from one card to another? Because at the end of the shuffling, the cards are in the proper order to predict the future, right?

If the universe (or whatever "power" is operating in this scenario) is so powerful it can A: take control of a person's body and physically shuffle the deck into a proper order, or B: move the ink images from one card to another to get them into the right order, then why...after all this powerful magic...is the result so vague?

there definitely are tarot cards in the world. i own a pack. the cards are pretty. when i used to resd them for people, i did NOT, as someone suggested below, ask questions. i read them cold. however, the cards have no magic powers whatsoever. as has also been suggested below, they provoke thoughts and feelings. they enable me, the reader, to give decent advice, and insofar as one can predict predictable things (no, you should not murder your husband or you'll go to prison) it can help in that regard, but it cannot enable me or anyone else to make predictions about things beyond our control. it is not, i repeat NOT, magic, or connected with spirits or spirituality, or anything supernatural. those who have no affinity for the cards will find them useless. those who have unrealistic expectations of them will find them useless. those who want to attribute powers to them will be disappointed.

g

Cold reading is a thing, I find awesome the capacity of these readers to discover things from us based on our reactions and hints. It is amazing how much information we share without conscience of it.

Nothing wrong with that. I’ve studied it over the years and have found it very helpful and insightful. The main detractors will be those who have not studied the dynamics, and those afraid of the insight it can bring forth.

I read Tarot for years, until a couple bad experiences with seeing too much. Still have them carefully stored.
I do not think a help to ones' intuition has Anything to do with religious-ness

Yes, IamRolling my eyes.... LOL

Why?

In 2003 a numerologist looked at me and started telling me things which sent shivers down my spine.
99% of All she told me was true. There's certain things about me, no one knew, not even my friend whom I accompanied. It was mind blowing.

Ha

I'm a 100% believer in Carrot Sticks!

Like newspaper astrology?

I am pretty sure you do also, have you a story behind that belief or a reason for it?

I believe the tarot is a tool to peak into the probility of coming events ie destiny . I enjoy reading them for people that i am unattached to emotionally , because i worry emotions will cloud my reading.

I Ching, tarot, numerology, horoscopes, and Rorschach are all venues for reading into randomness. They can be used by you or others to learn about your thoughts and what you wish to be true. They can tell us nothing beyond that. Tarot seems like a creative improv writing exercise crossed with a card game; you draw archetypal characters and make up a story that will of course subconsciously relate to you or anyone, because archetypes are broad elements that we all have experience with by definition. If you think it’s revealing any outside absolute truth or information that you don’t already contain, please try to exercise your skepticism a little more so you don’t get scammed. If you enjoy tarot and feel you learn about yourself with it, cool; practice it yourself and don’t pay a charlatan for it though. They seriously don’t have any better idea than you would.

"Now let explain that some cards are symbolic and not to be taken literally"
"Show me the card"
"As I said many are symbolic"
"JUST SHOW ME THE CARD"
With trepidation the reader reveals the card and the lady sees what it is.....the gullible cow