Psychics provide an opportunity to explore a mysterious world that lies just beyond our five senses. Opening a door to the supernatural realm of spirits and other worldly phenomenon psychics hold the key to the future that is yet to be.

Some skeptics say psychics do not exist but many experts disagree. Considering the expansive collection of unexplained phenomenon, in the world, it is hard to dispute the possibility of psychic powers.

We do know that we only use about 10% of our brains resources. So, what is the other 90 % for? It would stand to reason that it has some function. Right? So, is it not possible that somewhere, in that untapped potential, resides a sixth sense?

A sense that allowed us to survive a much darker time when man was forced to compete with oversized predators and elusive prey. Only armed with the power of the human mind, steely wits, and an opposable thumb mankind was already a formidable adversary. However, the addition of keener senses or an additional sixth sense would have made humanity unstoppable.

The ability to sense, that which lies beyond our five senses, would have been an invaluable tool to early man. It may have allowed the survival of the human species, as we know it today. However, as time went on and living conditions became easier with the domestication of animals, honing of learned skills, and the ability to form agrarian societies these abilities may have atrophied.

Our psychic abilities may have atrophied to the point that they became anatomically and physiologically vestigial in nature. The genetic combination responsible for the psychic trait may now rarely appear except aberrantly, in a chosen few, whose genotype allows phenotypical expression of the dormant trait or traits responsible for psychic abilities.

Just because we do not understand something fully does not mean it does not exist. The possibility of psychic ability, in our mysterious universe, is still a plausible explanation for many unexplained phenomenon.

Even with all of the advancements over the last 100 years there is still much debate and speculation, in the scientific community, about a plethora of topics. From the big bang to evolution scientists agree to disagree.

It stands to reason according to the scientific method that until all the explanations, hypothesis, and theories regarding psychic abilities are disproved that it must be considered as a viable alternative explanation to recognized unexplained paranormal phenomenon such as deja vu, precognition, and clairvoyance.

Some scientists studying psychic phenomenon, in children, utilizing the Zener card test regularly encounter statistically significant data that suggests more than chance outcomes at work. In fact many children regularly defy the odds by scoring 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60 % accuracy on a test with a statistical mean of 20% by chance. If that were a drug trial being run and that was the incidence of death for participants the FDA would certainly consider that significant. Right?

In addition to genetic factors that may predispose children to exhibit psychic abilities human development may hold some clues as to the reason children seem to possess a higher degree of psychic ability than adults. Human development occurs in stages each with its own marked physiological characteristics. During childhood it should come as no surprise to find out that we have the highest number of synaptic pathways that we ever have during the course of our lives. Do these extra connections provide a medium to the psychic realm? Is our brain wired towards the paranormal at earlier stages of human development due to anatomical and physiological processes that are occurring during the first several years of our lives?

Furthermore, according to Comparative Embryology during the first 6 weeks of human development, in our mother’s womb, we go through an evolution of sorts. In fact up until the time we differentiate we remain almost morphologically indistinguishable from lower life forms, in the same phase of development. From a single cell to pharyngeal gill slits to lanugo (body hair in utero) to human morphology we comparatively exhibit similar traits to our animal ancestors.

Is it possible that this comparative morphology extends past the physical development of the human body and into our development outside the womb? Maybe, our cognitive development goes through an “evolution” of sorts were the anatomy and physiology of our minds comparatively resembles our ancient psychic ability possessing human ancestors.

So, the question becomes can we disprove all plausible explanations, hypothesis, and theories regarding psychic ability. Not can we prove psychic ability exists. In addition many skeptics spend their entire lives trying to prove that psychic abilities do not exist rather than trying to disprove their own explanations, hypothesis, and theories about its non-existence. This type of objective scientific inquiry is tainted with bias and must not be considered credible.

Only when all the possible plausible explanations, hypothesis, and theories have been tested subjectively using the scientific method and disproved can any true scientist or skeptic state with 95% confidence that psychics and human psychic abilities do not exist.

After decades of being regarded as part of dubious occult practices, Tarot is now becoming more mainstream and available for everyone to experience and learn. Decks and books are widely available from most bookstores, New Age shops and on the internet. Numerous websites offer information on Tarot and message boards, where like-minded people can meet and exchange ideas. It has never been easier to learn the Tarot.

If you are interested in learning the Tarot, you can rest assured that you do not need to be ‘psychic’ or possess a ‘special gift’ to be able to read the cards. All you need is the enthusiasm and perseverance to keep practicing. Your skills and knowledge will be reflected in the efforts you put into your studies.

Before you start, however, consider why you want to learn the Tarot. Most people at first are interested in the fortune-telling aspect of Tarot, as the ability to predict the future offers excitement and perhaps even a feeling of power over those, who ask you for a reading. You need to be aware though that the Tarot cannot make any predictions, as the future is not pre-determined. However, it is possible to establish future possibilities or a trend by analyzing a situation’s past and present.

Most of all, the Tarot offers a tremendous potential to better understand yourself. By examining problems or issues with the cards, a more informed decision can be made on how to proceed. Learning the Tarot to get to know yourself is a rewarding and enlightening experience.

The beginner soon realizes that learning the cards can be a daunting task. Memorizing the many different meanings of 78 cards doesn’t seem to be an easy undertaking. But there are ways of learning the Tarot more easily and efficiently. Most Tarot students nowadays learn to read the cards with the help of books or mentors; the latter will save time and money. Check out your local area for courses or look on the internet for contacts; The Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI) has a list of professional readers, who also offer tuition not only in their local areas but also online.

My top tips for learning the Tarot more efficiently:

• Choose a beginner’s deck, such as the Rider-Waite or Sharman-Caselli deck. Don’t be tempted by the Star Wars or Flower Fairy Tarot deck; you need cards that offer plenty of archetypal symbolism and meaning, so you can develop your intuition.

• Don’t try and memorize card meanings from books. Instead, try looking at each card and figure out the meaning for yourself. The cards need to speak to you. Relate each card to an experience or phase in your life; this will help you to remember its meanings more easily.

• If you need to buy a beginner’s book, choose one that provides plenty of exercises to help you learn the Tarot more intuitively. A good example is Mary K. Greer’s 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card.

• Find yourself a friend to learn Tarot with or a mentor. Sometimes it is hard to get motivated on your own. A mentor will also help you to focus by guiding you with individual exercises and reading material, so you can achieve your goal more quickly.

• Be realistic on how much time you can devote to your studies; Tarot cannot be learned from one day to the next, although it offers insight and guidance the moment you start. Your accuracy will improve in time.

• Have fun! This is very important. Don’t put yourself under pressure. If you cannot invest much time, use the cards for meditation purposes or just reflect on them informally. Pick a daily or a weekly card and see how its image reflects the events occurring during the day or week.

Overall, learning Tarot offers possibilities way beyond fortune-telling. According to Gerd Ziegler, it is the Mirror of the Soul. It reveals your true personality and offers opportunities for self-realization and discovery. May your Tarot journey be filled with pleasant and enlightening surprises!