Tarot is one of the most widely known and practiced forms of divination. Although most people are only familiar with them in terms of 'telling the future', this may represent their most superficial application.

Rather than asking "what's going to happen to me...," a far more fruitful approach is to pose the question in terms of: "What are the ramifications of my doing such and such?"

Many modern, educated people may question how a mere deck of cards could possibly convey any information of true value. The answers are so multitudinous I scarcely know where to begin.

To start with the most mundane applications, I frequently use the cards to help me overcome writer's block when creating fiction. I simply shuffle the cards, asking: "tell me a story," or "tell me how to resolve such and such a situation...." The results, for me, have always been fruitful. For example, the Barbara Walker deck suggested the situation I used for Survival Skills, in which one woman in a love triangle is actually the father, of the other woman's child." I would never have thought of that myself!

Every deck tells a different story, or expresses its truths in its own inimitable way. From the earliest  Visconti-Sforza decks to the more modern, the imagery presented represents deep, collective archetypes that cover the gamut of human experience, interaction, and emotions. Hence, it is small wonder that they can reveal coherent and resonant stories.

This suggests a second, totally mundane, way in which the cards can be of value to us. Pondering the images and their meanings can help us release deep-seated issues from our psyche that would otherwise remain buried in the subconscious. In this model, the answers are interpreted as already existing within ourselves (possibly an aspect of ourselves that transcends our corporeal experiences), and the cards are simply a vehicle for establishing the line of communication.

Moving into more speculative interpretations, one can apply Jung's concept of synchronicities to explain the efficacy of Tarot divination. As Quantum Theory, and Bell's Theorem prove, the universe is interconnected in subtle ways that are not evident to the physical senses. Hence, it does not stretch our credulity unduly to speculate that the combination of deck/reader should, in some unknown manner, participate in these universal connections.

Considered in the light of the many-world model, the Tarot takes on yet another perspective. If every alternative exists as a distinct and equally real world-line, then the cards can be seen as a navigational aid: Given where I am, where will such and such a decision take me? Is this where I really wish to go?

Hence, regardless of how we approach the matter, there is no reason to doubt that, intelligently used and interpreted, Tarot can reveal valuable real-world insights.