Divination is a way to predict and sense information about the future, what is unknown and hidden. The Tarot is one of many tools used to practice this art. There are 78 cards in a tarot deck – all having different meanings and energies. They are shuffled and laid out in a spread which is then read by the tarot reader. Tarot can be used in many different ways, for journaling, divination, path work (a type of meditation where you enter into the card’s landscape) and is also used in writing stories for visual inspiration. Tarot is most often used as a tool to reflect on our inner world, psychology and sometimes this can also lead to divination.

From the Dali Universal Tarot, Juan Llarch, Salvador Dali, US Games Taschen 2014

Divination has been practiced across the globe in many cultures, each practice having their different singularities, traditions and belief systems. For example the highly regarded Oracle of Delphi (The Pythia) in Greece, where high priestesses would channel information for their clients who came to visit them at the Temple of Apollo, between 1700 BCE-1400 BCE. Other practices across the world include the Throwing of Bones (Osteomancy) in Africa, the Pagan practice of Haruspicy in the Middle Ages where one would divine using the sacrified entrails of animals, Geomancy (reading the land, stones, soil) Astrology (reading the stars), Oneiromancy (dream interpretation), Palmistry (reading the palm of one’s hand)… In Meso America, the Aztecs would practice the art of divination by using a body of water or mirror to gaze in and use the technique called Scrying. As you can imagine, there are many more tools of divination, with all different origins. But divination is as old as time and has always been part of our collective history.

Tarot was first seen simply as a game and a deck of playing cards. It is in the 15th century in Italy and in France that tarot first originated in the form of a deck of card with four suits and court cards, each court card representing an actual living person from a rich family. It is in the 16th and 17th century that it started being used as a divination tool called Cartomancy. The system evolved in the 20th century when the occultists of the Golden Dawn started designating specific interpretations for each card. It’s in 1909 that the famous and well-known Rider Waite Smith Tarot Deck was first published. Now, Tarot is a mainstream phenomenon, used by many.

In today’s contemporary world – divination has lost a bit of its sacred aura. When we think of divination, we think of the shops in town by the sidewalk with a sign that says ‘’psychic’’ on it with flashy neon lights. Divination has become a bit of an entertainment phenomenon, and while I believe we do have talented and ethical psychics, tarot readers and intuitive of all types in the community – I feel we’ve lost our deeper connection to its sacred origins.

From the Sacred Isle Tarot, David Higgins, Self Published in 2007

In a world where our attention span is limited to short format videos such as the ones we find on current social media platforms – divination has become a way to predict an outcome that our ego desperately seeks to fulfill in order to feel safe in the confusing world we currently live in. People want to know what their future looks like, so that they can control it and nicely tuck themselves in the box of that manipulated future. In brief – the art of divination is no longer what it was in the past. The people that seek divination services then often become disappointed if their reading goes in a different direction than they thought. Heck, even reading tarot and divining for yourself can be confusing! I remember when I first started reading tarot for myself at the very beginning of my exploration with this tool, I was in a romantic relationship with someone and it was not going well. I remember consulting my cards, seeking clarity and maybe a bit of hope on the matter… and I got cards such as the 9 of swords, 10 of swords, 3 of swords. I was immediately very displeased with the reading, began reshuffling the cards to try and get a different interpretation. But in my heart I knew that the tarot mirrored exactly what was going and I was afraid to truly face it. I did not know how to accept my difficult feelings, or how to integrate the messages the cards were transmitting. With time, I learnt how to detach from a need for a certain outcome – and it helped me receive and integrate the messages of my tarot readings with much more ease.

Divination requires us to integrate our higher spiritual aspects and a higher spiritual perspective. Rather than answer to the smallness of the ego – it expands us into all that we are. Divination at its best helps us navigate the world informed by a strong connection to our soul and spirit. It is the integration of our soul, of our shadow, ego, emotional and physical body. It is not always future oriented, in predictions of a happy white picket fence and American dream kind of future. Sometimes divination simply mirrors the way we feel in this present moment and validates our internal psychological state. Divination then becomes a way to peek into the spiritual energy behind all forms, to connect back to our soul, back to our true nature and purpose. Instead of trying to find out if we’ll get everything we desire – Tarot becomes a way to check in, reflect, clarify (and …sometimes predict). I personally use tarot in my personal readings to reflect on how I feel and what I’m currently experiencing – it helps me to then make adjustments when needed, or if I see that I’m going on a path that feels unaligned. I’ve come to realize that my cards will often call out what I can’t yet admit to myself, while also helping me to accept the difficult feelings or situations I’m going through, helping me contemplate and problem solve them in a creative way.While our psychic awareness do sometimes give us clear cut information on the future – it is not always the case, and nor is it always needed. I find that the predictions that do arise are often about some important piece of information about our purpose, our path, or it can be a warning that if we continue the way we’ve been doing, we’ll be heading down into a difficult situation.

From the Visconti Tarot, A. Atanassov, Giordano Berti, Lo Scarabeo 2002

Divination is a sacred art and needs to be respected for its deeply mutative nature – as we are free will beings who can shift our future with any change of path, action or thought. It is also important to understand that not all tarot readings are divinatory in nature. Tarot readings and predictions are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes the cards depict a clear trajectory, outcome and future, at other times it is rooted in the present moment because that is what we have most power on! We don’t always need to know the future to be empowered and sovereign beings. In fact, knowing the future might be overwhelming to an unprepared person, and might divert them in a way that is unnecessary. Predictive readings can fall short when we only focus on trying to predict the future details, without tying it in with the present moment. It can become shallow - as there are so many possibilities for the future, and it can shift. We all have the willpower to take ourselves in the direction we want to be.

I personally use Tarot not simply for divination, but as a tool for contemplation. I see the cards as mirrors to my psyche, both my conscious and unconscious parts, both my shadow and light. Rather than trying to predict exactly what is going to happen, I let myself observe how the card’s energy will play out during my day (I pull a tarot card every day for contemplation and observation). I believe that sometimes the cards depict something more energetic and emotional – while at other times this energy thread translates into a physical and tangible outcome that one can read (we can see this especially in tarot spreads). In my personal observations contemplation and observation plays a big role in our ability to practice the art of divination. Predictions cannot be guaranteed, and as we acknowledge that timelines can always shift and change, we rely less on predictions to live out the life we desire to live.

Do you use tarot as a tool for divination? How do you feel about making or receiving predictions during this new age? Let me know in the comments below.

With Love,

Mary Iris Jane

What is Tarot Divination?