Uses of Tarot Cards
Tarot Cards are generally associated with fortune telling, as offered at psychic events, over the telephone, or more traditionally by Tarot readers from various traditions sometimes working in caravans, perhaps at the seaside or other holiday resorts.
There is more to use of the Tarot than such just those scenarios.
Tarot for Personal Development
Use of the Tarot for Personal Development can take two forms.
The first is use of information made clear by tarot readings in order to gain insight into personal situations. This may be accessed either as a sitter (seeker) using the services of a skilled Tarot Reader, or the individual purchasing his or her own Tarot Deck and using it to read for him or herself. In each case, the advice and information accessed may prompt the person to pay further attention or do additional research concerning specific aspects of his or her situation - perhaps considerations that he/she might not otherwise have thought important, or even been aware of.
The second respect in which the tarot may be used for personal development, is for personal spiritual development.
There are many different ways to develop ones's sensitivity to spirit. These include meditation, visualisation, psychic "circles" (group exercises - but choose the group you attend very carefully), learning any form of divination - such as dowsing using a pendulum or rods, reading tarot cards, reading tea-leaves, reading runes, scrying (perception by gazing into a crystal ball, bowl of water, or small pool), and other methods.
All of these and other methods require the abilities to open one's mind and to interpret information intuitatively - and some would add that creative (right-brain) tendencies are also most helpful. Different methods appeal to different people according to their own personalities and interests. The tarot may appeal most to people who like to work with physical images, who appreciate symbolism, and perhaps also those who are interested in the mathematic probability of outcomes and perhaps even in quantifying the "results" of readings.
Tarot for Divination ("Fortune Telling")
The term "Fortune Telling" is traditional, yet also rather old-fashioned. It conveys and inaccurate impression of many forms of divination - including reading the Tarot. This is becausethe Tarot is best used to observe traits, introduce possibly new perspectives, and as such provide insight into a situation (or situations). Obviously this may influence the outcome - in the same way as a conversation with a trusted friend may result in a person then investigating options he/she had not previously considered.
However, the Tarot is not about accessing or defining fixed outcomes. It is not even about discrete questions, but about increasing one's perspective on a situation.
The tarot is a tool that works best with open (e.g. "Please help me to decide how best to progress at work."), not closed (e.g. "Which girl should I marry, Anne or Brenda ?") questions.
Tarot Games
Just as there are many games played with standard playing cards, there are also card games for use with the tarot deck. Some such games are described and explained in good books about Tarot, such as: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Tarot (by Rachel Pollack) which describes "Tarot Charades", "Tarot Rummy" and "Tarot Go Fish".
However: Some users of the Tarot would never use a Tarot Deck to play games because they feel that to do so would trivialize and therefore disrespect the Tarot. This is a personal decision and "Tarot Games" are mentioned here to provide a balanced overview because they are included in some texts and presumably enjoyed by some people.
