Tarot Software Review: CyberTarot
I will admit right away that I have a certain bias against tarot programs for the computer. I like shuffling the cards and laying them out on a table in front of me, where I can look at each one, pick them up, nd examine thm in close detail. There is a feeling one gets when one uses real tarot cards that you can't get when using a software program. I used to think that you couldn't possibly get the same results using one of these programs that you do when using the cards themselves, but I have since heard people swear by them. To each his own, I guess.
When my friend Chris recently built my personal computer, he stocked it with a bunch of stuff and stuck in the shareware version of Cyber Tarot, a common Tarot software program. Now, I have yet to actually use this program, but since one of the most common questions I get is where to get this kind of thing, I thought it would be a good idea to review it with a fresh and open mind so people can get an idea of how good this particular one is.
Cyber Tarotis done by Sunstar Interactive, Inc. and the shareware version is available from a few ftp sites. When you start up the program, it gives you a few options to choose from. You can choose your spread -- Celtic Cross, Chakra, or Horoscope, a good representation of some often used and widely varied spreads. If you are unfamiliar with these spreads, don't worry; it gives you the option to see the spread and some of the details about it. You can choose whether or not to incorporate reversed cards in your spread, which is nice as some people do not use this option.
There are several options available at this point for the user. You can go ahead and shuffle the deck, or you can create a custom reading. Why would you want to do that? I hear you ask. This way you can have the spread in front of you that perhaps you had drawn elsewhere and wnt interpreted through the program. Another option available is to view a particular card of the Major Arcana. The card you choose is put on the screen in rich and vivid color, a nice idea. (By the way, the program uses the Rider-Waite deck.) Along with the picture, it gives you an extensive meaning of the card, albeit only when it is right-side-up.
I chose next to go ahead and shuffle the cards. Since I am not "grading" the program on how well it does a reading for me, I didn't have a particular question in mind; I just wanted to see how the cards were laid out and how it interpreted them. One thing I liked was how the program allowed me to pick the cards I wanted by having them lay face down on the screen and allowing me to use my mouse to drag and drop them (oh, have you guess yet that this program is for Windows?). The program lays the cards out for you in the spread you choose, and at this point you have the option of revealing them all at once or one at a time. I chose all at once, since I like to read the cards in relation to the others around it. I chose the option of then having it interpret the cards for me. It gave me a nice screen with the interpretation neatly laid out for me to read. The only gripe I have here is my usual gripe about tarot programs -- there is no spontaneous, "gut-feeling" interpretations to the cards, only what the computer has in its memory about the card. This is where I would hope that the user would expand upon what the computer gives it.
The program gives you the option of saving your spread so that you can view it later (a great idea -- how many of us have done a reading and then wished to look at it again when the results were in?).
All in all, I would say that this program could really help those who are perhaps interested in learning about that Tarot, as it ould give them a sort of tutorial on spreads and the meanings of the cards. The feature that allows a user to customize their own reading would probably be helpful as well. For people out there asking me about Tarot software, I would be very confident in telling them about Cyber Tarot.
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