The Empress. The Hanged Man. The Chariot. Judgment. With their centuries-old iconography blending a mix of ancient symbols, religious allegories, and historic events, tarot cards can seem purposefully opaque. To outsiders and skeptics, occult practices like card reading have little relevance in our modern world. But a closer look at these miniature masterpieces reveals that the power of these cards isnt endowed from some mystical source—it comes from the ability of their small, static images to illuminate our most complex dilemmas and desires.

女皇、倒吊人、戰車、法官，這些有幾世紀歷史的肖像和古老的符號，宗教預言，以及歷史事件相雜糅，使得塔羅牌顯得那樣的神秘。對于外行和懷疑論者來說，閱讀卡片上的征兆這種神秘主義的行為和現代社會顯得格格不入。但是最近的研究表明，卡片上精美的微縮圖畫所具有的力量并不神秘——那小小的畫片本身正具有反映我們內心困惑和欲望的能力。

Contrary to what the uninitiated might think, the meaning of divination cards changes over time, shaped by each eras culture and the needs of individual users. This is partly why these decks can be so puzzling to outsiders, as most of them reference allegories or events familiar to people many centuries ago. Caitlín Matthews, who teaches courses on cartomancy, or divination with cards, says that before the 18th century, the imagery on these cards was accessible to a much broader population. But in contrast to these historic decks, Matthews finds most modern decks harder to engage with.

和外界所想的不一樣，卡片上預言的意思隨著時代變遷不斷改變，在不同的文化或者不同的人手中也不盡相同，顯示出不同的寓意和對現實事件的反映，這也是塔羅牌對于普通人來說不易理解的一個原因。Caitlín Matthews，一個教授紙牌占卜的老師，或者說算命師告訴我們，在十八世紀以前相信塔羅牌占卜的人數比現在多得多，而且和那些古老的塔羅占卜相比，現在的塔羅牌更加不容易理解。

The Empress. The Hanged Man. The Chariot. Judgment. With their centuries-old iconography blending a mix of ancient symbols, religious allegories, and historic events, tarot cards can seem purposefully opaque. To outsiders and skeptics, occult practices like card reading have little relevance in our modern world. But a closer look at these miniature masterpieces reveals that the power of these cards isnt endowed from some mystical source—it comes from the ability of their small, static images to illuminate our most complex dilemmas and desires.

女皇、倒吊人、戰車、法官，這些有幾世紀歷史的肖像和古老的符號，宗教預言，以及歷史事件相雜糅，使得塔羅牌顯得那樣的神秘。對于外行和懷疑論者來說，閱讀卡片上的征兆這種神秘主義的行為和現代社會顯得格格不入。但是最近的研究表明，卡片上精美的微縮圖畫所具有的力量并不神秘——那小小的畫片本身正具有反映我們內心困惑和欲望的能力。

Contrary to what the uninitiated might think, the meaning of divination cards changes over time, shaped by each eras culture and the needs of individual users. This is partly why these decks can be so puzzling to outsiders, as most of them reference allegories or events familiar to people many centuries ago. Caitlín Matthews, who teaches courses on cartomancy, or divination with cards, says that before the 18th century, the imagery on these cards was accessible to a much broader population. But in contrast to these historic decks, Matthews finds most modern decks harder to engage with.

和外界所想的不一樣，卡片上預言的意思隨著時代變遷不斷改變，在不同的文化或者不同的人手中也不盡相同，顯示出不同的寓意和對現實事件的反映，這也是塔羅牌對于普通人來說不易理解的一個原因。Caitlín Matthews，一個教授紙牌占卜的老師，或者說算命師告訴我們，在十八世紀以前相信塔羅牌占卜的人數比現在多得多，而且和那些古老的塔羅占卜相比，現在的塔羅牌更加不容易理解。