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tarot_scholarhttp://skepdic.com/coldread.html
http://www.skepticreport.com/psychicpowers/confessions.htm
My biggest struggle is reconciling the mystic with the scientific. A good cold reading can be extremely impressive and, at first glance, look and feel extremely "real"; not all cold readers are as clumsy as John Edward. The myriad of ways we communicate without even knowing about it, the sheer volume of information we radiate when we talk (and often when we don't), is really an exciting and mind-blowing concept. Things like our dress and posture convey so much, and our body language even more. Check Amazon for books on topics like "body language" or "non-verbal communication" and you'll find plenty of sources.
The fact that a skilled interpretation of these cues, in addition to standard "cold reading" methodology, can sound very much like a "good" Tarot reading, is a bit troubling (at least for me). How can you know you're reading Tarot cards instead of a person? Is that all there is to it?
The line is blurry for me, especially since cold reading and Tarot reading have one big thing in common: interact with the querent.
A cold reader will toss out a bunch of general statements and then periodically ask for confirmation from the querent. In addition to a simple yes or no, the querent often volunteers additional information: for example, the cold reader says that something traumatic has happened recently in the querent's life. He stops and asks for confirmation, and the woman says that her father died of cancer last year. The cold reader than picks up that specific fact and runs with it some more. Repeat that for a few more general statements.
This sounds a little too familiar, doesn't it? The 3 of Swords shows up in a querent's reading, and we say that there's some kind of heartache going on. The end of a friendship or relationship, death, what have you. We ask for the querent's input and they say yes, they had to leave a job they really liked. We then take that fact and incorporate that into the rest of the reading.
What's the difference between the two?
After all, any and all good Tarot readings could be cold readings in disguise; people who think they are psychic just have a natural "knack" for cold readings. There are a fair amount of "psychics" who have admitted as such.
True, the Tarot reading has at least some restrictions built in by virtue of having visual cues to go by. Instead of just starting with random generalizations that apply to anybody, there are now specific (though still general, in a way) situations outlined by the cards. If you have, say, The Wheel of Fortune rx, The Tower, and Death in a simple three-card spread, you're not going to start with sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. The combination of those cards is pretty clear, and pretty clearly not fun. The cold reader has no such "requirement" to limit (or guide) him.
Even without this information fishing, people are designed to make sense out of chaos. Give a general enough outline of a problem or situation, and people will do most of the interpretation themselves to apply it to their own lives. That, and people are often unsure of themselves; if an "expert" tells them that they are this or that way, they will be inclined to agree just to make sense of themselves. Consider the Forer/Barnum effect:
How many of these statements would you say were true about yourself? How accurate would you say this description of you is? Consistently, people have given this "result" of a personality test very high ratings, anywhere from 4 to 5 on a scale of 1 to 5. Never mind that it's just a bunch of randomly chosen but very general statements.
Likewise, there are certain situations that people are more likely to see a Tarot reader about: career, love, health. Often times when I am faced with a relationship question, for example, the advice I'd give without reading the cards is the same as I would without: back off, cool your heels, this person isn't a good idea. Maybe this means I need to work on reading what the cards actually say instead of fitting them to my own preconceived answer, but nonetheless the commonality of human experience is not easily ignored.
So I find myself in a predicament where, while I know all of this, I can't help but believe, somehow. I have gotten plenty of readings that seemed little more than cold readings—here I'm thinking of a five dollar palm reading I got for shits and giggles at a music festival from a heavyset Latina woman who told me to go into real estate—but other ones I've gotten seem so much more than that. Ones over the internet where there is no interaction or questioning, but where very specific situations have been picked out with a minimum of generalities, and no methods of "hot reading" (illicitly searching for information on the querent, like going through wallets and coat pockets, etc) were available to them.
So then, to the original question: What is the difference between a good cold reading and good Tarot reading? I don't have the answer, and I don't think I ever will. But I will keep plugging away.
http://www.skepticreport.com/psychicpowers/confessions.htm
My biggest struggle is reconciling the mystic with the scientific. A good cold reading can be extremely impressive and, at first glance, look and feel extremely "real"; not all cold readers are as clumsy as John Edward. The myriad of ways we communicate without even knowing about it, the sheer volume of information we radiate when we talk (and often when we don't), is really an exciting and mind-blowing concept. Things like our dress and posture convey so much, and our body language even more. Check Amazon for books on topics like "body language" or "non-verbal communication" and you'll find plenty of sources.
The fact that a skilled interpretation of these cues, in addition to standard "cold reading" methodology, can sound very much like a "good" Tarot reading, is a bit troubling (at least for me). How can you know you're reading Tarot cards instead of a person? Is that all there is to it?
The line is blurry for me, especially since cold reading and Tarot reading have one big thing in common: interact with the querent.
A cold reader will toss out a bunch of general statements and then periodically ask for confirmation from the querent. In addition to a simple yes or no, the querent often volunteers additional information: for example, the cold reader says that something traumatic has happened recently in the querent's life. He stops and asks for confirmation, and the woman says that her father died of cancer last year. The cold reader than picks up that specific fact and runs with it some more. Repeat that for a few more general statements.
This sounds a little too familiar, doesn't it? The 3 of Swords shows up in a querent's reading, and we say that there's some kind of heartache going on. The end of a friendship or relationship, death, what have you. We ask for the querent's input and they say yes, they had to leave a job they really liked. We then take that fact and incorporate that into the rest of the reading.
What's the difference between the two?
After all, any and all good Tarot readings could be cold readings in disguise; people who think they are psychic just have a natural "knack" for cold readings. There are a fair amount of "psychics" who have admitted as such.
True, the Tarot reading has at least some restrictions built in by virtue of having visual cues to go by. Instead of just starting with random generalizations that apply to anybody, there are now specific (though still general, in a way) situations outlined by the cards. If you have, say, The Wheel of Fortune rx, The Tower, and Death in a simple three-card spread, you're not going to start with sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. The combination of those cards is pretty clear, and pretty clearly not fun. The cold reader has no such "requirement" to limit (or guide) him.
Even without this information fishing, people are designed to make sense out of chaos. Give a general enough outline of a problem or situation, and people will do most of the interpretation themselves to apply it to their own lives. That, and people are often unsure of themselves; if an "expert" tells them that they are this or that way, they will be inclined to agree just to make sense of themselves. Consider the Forer/Barnum effect:
You have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.
How many of these statements would you say were true about yourself? How accurate would you say this description of you is? Consistently, people have given this "result" of a personality test very high ratings, anywhere from 4 to 5 on a scale of 1 to 5. Never mind that it's just a bunch of randomly chosen but very general statements.
Likewise, there are certain situations that people are more likely to see a Tarot reader about: career, love, health. Often times when I am faced with a relationship question, for example, the advice I'd give without reading the cards is the same as I would without: back off, cool your heels, this person isn't a good idea. Maybe this means I need to work on reading what the cards actually say instead of fitting them to my own preconceived answer, but nonetheless the commonality of human experience is not easily ignored.
So I find myself in a predicament where, while I know all of this, I can't help but believe, somehow. I have gotten plenty of readings that seemed little more than cold readings—here I'm thinking of a five dollar palm reading I got for shits and giggles at a music festival from a heavyset Latina woman who told me to go into real estate—but other ones I've gotten seem so much more than that. Ones over the internet where there is no interaction or questioning, but where very specific situations have been picked out with a minimum of generalities, and no methods of "hot reading" (illicitly searching for information on the querent, like going through wallets and coat pockets, etc) were available to them.
So then, to the original question: What is the difference between a good cold reading and good Tarot reading? I don't have the answer, and I don't think I ever will. But I will keep plugging away.
