How does the Tarot contact the Higher Self? What is the Higher Self? In magical circles, the notion of the Higher Self introduces the concept of the Holy Guardian Angel, who is supposed to ‘look over’ the Adept. Just what the Higher Self is, and how one is supposed to contact it, is not clear. Besides, in a divinatory reading it presupposes both the diviner and the client have Higher Selves, and do these Higher Selves communicate with each other? I am not so sure.

The obvious definition of tarot is a set of cards used for divination purposes – nothing to disagree with there. Divination is primarily concerned with connecting to the Divine; the secondary purpose is finding out about future events, or events not known to the diviner or client. Certainly in my tarot readings, I place great importance in understanding my client before embarking on potential future scenarios – the plurality is important – because there can be many futures, depending on how one understands the present and the past.

According to the Golden Dawn:

“The most powerful sources of information come from within; the Tarot aids in coming in contact with one’s Higher Self.”

There are many attributions, both magical, esoteric and spiritual, to each tarot card, primarily through the system of Liber 777, which is a condensed version of the Golden Dawn system, but it is rare for these symbols and attributions to have any meaningful contribution in a tarot reading. Still, the idea exists that Tarot comprises all occult and esoteric knowledge. I have my doubts.

So, do Tarot cards have any magical or spiritual powers? After many years of contemplation, I have had to come to the conclusion that it has none. Does this mean that I have abandoned the Tarot for divinatory, magical and spiritual usage? Quite the contrary.

For me, the tarot is a system that works in way similar to a Google search – type in some keywords, and out comes links to websites. The Tarot works in a similar way; it accesses a field that contains all information and knowledge, using keywords specific to the client, but not known to the Tarot Reader. The more specific the keywords, the smaller number of potential outcomes, and it is the sequence of Tarot cards presented to the Tarot Reader who must determine what those outcomes may be.