In a burst of utter stupidity and boredom last night, I invented what I call the MP3 Tarot, which takes aspects of both and mashes them together, crumples them up, and runs them through a gigantic blender, and deposits a result which may make no sense. Sounds like fun, eh?

So here is how it works. Before I begin, I should point out that I got the idea from a book I read a long time ago... Soulsmith by Tom Deitz. A character in the book is in jail and casts tarots by listening to the radio. The songs symbolize various physical/emotional/psychological states. If the DJ talked during the song, the meaning of the song was reversed (analagous to having an upside-down card in tarot readings).

So what I have here is an updated version of the same principle. Does it work? Maybe. Like any logical person, I don't place any large amount of trust in Tarot decks. However, I find them highly entertaining, so take it in that spirit.

First, make a playlist of your MP3's. This can be stuff you especially like (that's what I use), an entire folder, or whatever other criteria you wish to use. Make sure there are a sufficient number (say, greater than 50). Set your MP3 player to shuffle or random mode and play the songs. Each song in turn, will correspond to one of the spots of the Celtic Cross (you may use other schemes, but I prefer the Celtic Cross). For meaning-reversals, you may use one of the following: Windows crashing (haha), skipping of the MP3, or receiving an email or instant message.

Note that you must use good, meaningful songs. Having most modern pop songs will be of NO use, since the songs are shallow and meaningless. It is better to have songs with deeper meanings, or ones that have SOME meaning at least. For example, the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" can easily represent dissatisfaction, both sexual and internal. The Eagles' "Hotel California" can represent fanaticism, mindless following, drugs, or any of the other 10,000 common interpretations for that song. Tool's "Forty-Six & 2" could be evolution or the need for change.

I can't guarantee that this will work - but it's fun to see if your playlists (which really DO reflect your personality, in music) can successfully describe your situation. You don't need to be an expert Tarot user by any means to use this. I find most people have a passing interest in the occult - with MP3 tarots, you don't have to have a deck of cards, you don't have to know what the cards themselves mean - all you have to know is what the positions signify, generally.

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