Tests of Divination

Tests of Divination

he trick to doing scientific tests of divination is "don't destroy the phenomena." To set up such tight "controls" that the phenomena cannot appear is like looking for glaciers in the Sahara.

fter all in dealing with the activities of the Mind or Soul, we are not dealing with machines, not dealing with blind, mechanical phenomena. If the very design of the test makes the phenomena impossible, what has been proven? Only the stupidity of the observer. So do not disturb the delicate psychological conditions required. It is still possible to make an objective study of the result. I give one instance in a test of the efficacy of tarot reading. This must be done with the New Tarot.

fter a long birth, the New Tarot has now been properly drawn and published in all its glory, together with The Word of One and Revelations of the Nameless One, all online. It is now possible to make a proper scientific study of divination. Unfortunately, I cannot do it, because I am retired on disability. I cannot do it because I am disabled, not because I am retired. The New Tarot is the only deck that is still a Tarot, following the archetypes of the old Tarot, and really new, because the symbolism has been updated to apply to contemporary rather than medieval or classical periods. Most "new tarots" are just the old Tarot dressed up in Mayan or Egyptian garb, while some are not tarots at all.

f a random shuffling of cards produces a deeply meaningful and accurate reading for the querent, describing the six months behind as well as the six months before, then this is a minor miracle. How could this happen, unless the natural world is a thought in the mind of god?

n objective test of the tarot requires finding at least one hundred people who are very different from one another, and likely to experience dramatic events during the course of the coming year. Each keeps a journal for that year, writing down their innermost hopes and dreams, as well as events. In the middle of the year, the reading is done by ten different Tarot readers. For comparison, let a psychologist also interview the querents and see what conclusions a psychologist can draw. Then, at the end of the year, the journals are identified only by a code, and turned in.

he first test is to see whether an independent panel can correctly match up readings and journals. The same will be done with the analyses of the psychologist. A second test is to see whether different readings for the same person agree, not in the cards, but in the interpretation.

nly the best and most experienced tarot readers should participate in this test, and the New Tarot must be used, since it provides the symbolism appropriate to our time.

hat if 9 out of 10 agree? Well, there are no board exams for certified Tarot readers. I think the conclusion would be that the tenth is not good at reading the New Tarot, and his or her results should be thrown out.

hat other tests could be made? We could easily test astrology, but astrology is not yet part of metaphysics, and may never be. Yes, we should test astrology, not as a test of metaphysics, but to see if we ever want to include it in metaphysics.

ere is a simple test of mandalas. Have one metaphysician supervise the creation of the mandalas, being sure to have each of them make notes about the mandala to help in the interpretation. Then let several other metaphysicians make the interpretations. The first test would be to see if an objective third party could find all the interpretations that go with one mandala. If there is one or two that vary widely from the others, throw it back to the metaphysicians. It could be that they will decide that the minority view is the correct one. Then the revised interpretations will be given to the mandala makers to see if they can pick out the interpretations that apply to them. Let each participant read every interpretation, and let them fight it out, because some interpretations might fit several different people. Let them try to find the best fit. But do people know themselves well enough to make this match? Maybe the participants should all be patients of therapists, and let the therapists try to match interpretations with clients. Or maybe let spouses make the matches.

etaphysics may be an ancient subject, but it is a very young science. We shall have to feel our way. I can only help with the first few steps.

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