Art of the Virtual Tarot Reading

While tarot readings have a long history, the concept of the 'virtual tarot reading' is relatively recent. Tarot card owners often develop a personal connection with their physical tarot decks. Some do not even allow others to touch their personal decks in order to preserve the psychic connection they have cultivated with their particular deck. Traditionalists might wonder if a virtual tarot reading can 'work' as well as a physical deck in capturing the intent of the seeker and the energy of the reader.

In other words, can you, sitting at your computer, influence electronic tarot card readings in a way that makes them as effective as using a physical deck for tarot card readings?

While there is no clear answer, several studies have offered evidence that human intent can significantly influence random computer events. For instance, in one study, human intention was found to influence random number generators so that the outcomes were significantly non-random. Another study (done at the University of Minnesota) found in an experiment designed to see if groups of humans could influence a random number generator that "significant non-randomness" occurred in some of the meditation data. (www.scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_21_2_mason.pdf)

An argument could be made that doing a virtual tarot reading through one's physical computer recreates the same kind of connection with the reading that one experiences with an actual physical tarot card deck. In fact, while most tarot users only interact with their tarot cards when they are involved in a reading, the average computer user spends considerably more time 'connected' to their computer. Can a computer then capture one's 'intent' as effectively as a physical tarot deck?

Like a physical tarot card deck, some virtual tarot card readers (such as that found at http:// eyetarot.com) go to great lengths to recreate the randomness AND the intention of a physical tarot reading. In sites like these, each card is a virtual 'object' and these objects are mixed (shuffled) randomly after a question is asked. The user can let the program deal the cards, or add an extra level of personal intent by choosing each card individually from the virtual deck. This offers an experience that may most closely mimic the experience of a physical tarot card reading.