Shuffling perspectives
The specific universality of tarot cards 

There are unlimited ways to shuffle a standard deck of 52 cards. In a tarot card deck, there are 78 cards and the number of possible shuffles is even more unfathomable. I’m sure there is a way to know exactly how many shuffles mathematically, but who cares? At a certain point, big numbers are just too big to bother about.

The point is, when you shuffle a deck of cards, the randomness of the shuffle is entirely unique to that moment, yet still exists somewhere in a very very large, but finite set of possibilities. Tarot in particu- lar plays on both the seemingly coincidental connec- tion to your own unique set of circumstances, as well as an understanding that we all share a set of univer- sal experiences.

There are two types of cards in a tarot deck, the major and minor arcana cards. The minor arcana has 4 suits like a standard deck of cards. They sometimes go by different names but traditionally they are wands, cups, pentacles and swords. Each suit (and each card) has lore and symbolism attached to it, and this is visible through the evocative artwork on the cards. Wands can represent labour, tools and guidance. Cups are often depicting celebrations, indulgences and choices. Pentacles can mean money, growth and potential, and swords show speed, protection, strength and sometimes violence. This is by no means an exhaustive list of interpreta- - tions, but simply some of the general themes which concern us in everyday life.

The major arcana consists of 22 cards which parallels the archetypes and pattern of the hero’s journey. The first card in the deck is the fool. This card often shows a happy-looking character starting off on a new adventure. The other cards are characters and situations one might encounter throughout their journey. There are lovers, lessons, magic, tribula- tions and cosmic entities which the hero must experience until reaching the last card, which is the world.

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Tarot cards can be an incredibly useful tool for artists and storytellers who

find their characters stuck and are unsure of what to do next. One might

look at the ‘hanged man’ (number 12) and realize that the next card is

‘death’ (number 13). Through that, they’d know that death is not the end of

the deck, but may just be the next step in the story.

The complexity of tarot cards comes from the complexity of stories. There’s something about telling and retelling the hero's journey, which we all seem to be travelling both together and alone, which fulfills our deepest spiritual needs. The existential uncertainty leads us to look for wisdom and guidance. The hope of new beginnings and the terror at the prospect that it might be over soon, only to realize that the wheel will keep on turning, even after it seems to end.

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It can become easy to obsess over the future and rely so heavily on the cards that you stop trusting your reality. Or even worse, you become so certain of a specific outcome that you abandon your agency in shaping your own life. With a highly saturated market of readers and the occasional grifter, manipulation is a very real problem. That manipu- lation isn’t necessarily consciously intentional, or even malicious, but when people are being paid to interpret your life for you, there are certain things the customer is going to want to hear.

For example, social media tarot readers all say basically the same things. Anytime a potentially ‘negative’ card shows up, they’ll say that it represents a challenge you’ve had to overcome in the past. Any ‘positive’ card is a reward that’s coming in the future, and it’s going to be here really soon probably. “How soon?” you ask, well, it could be anywhere from a few hours to a few years. So be patient. Take everything with a grain of salt. The readings are vague and generalized to appeal to an audience as wide as possi- ble. Every claim comes with a caveat that it may not apply to you and your situation, and to only take what resonates while leaving everything else.

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Tarot relies on a belief in both an unseen order of the universe, and the ability to glimpse at pieces of that order. It becomes dangerous when someone is claiming to understand that order in a way that is impossible for anyone else to access.

When you shuffle a deck of tarot cards, it’s almost certain that no one else in the history of the world has shuffled a deck in

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the same way. Still, everything you’ve experienced has been experienced before and will be experienced again. Tarot cards can be a way to gain introspections into your own life. They can teach you things about yourself and the world. They can reveal what you want, what you’ve been through and how to move forward. They can be a meditative tool, an artistic medium, and maybe even a way to connect to something larger than yourself.