To App Or Not To App

“To App or Not To App, that is the question”
Shakespeare revised!

Many thanks to Ron Leong (Tarot eCards) for sharing Shakespeare revised and this recurring question! Apps play a huge role in our digital world and have expanded our capabilities to a phenomenal degree. Unfortunately, the Tarot world has not exactly embraced Tarot apps. IMHO, that is a shame since Tarot apps can expand the use and popularity of Tarot. The same people who question why there is a need for more than one Tarot deck, question why there is a need for more than one Tarot app (if they have checked out Tarot apps at all).

Personally, I am an advocate of Tarot apps. I was, shall we say, not quite ready to upgrade my cell, when I came to the conclusion that I needed to do so to investigate the world of Tarot apps. (And other app worlds – my airline boarding passes are now held on my iPhone!) I found a whole new world out there … one that could travel with me!

I discovered different Tarot apps will offer different things. You will see card meanings, various card spreads, the ability to create your own card spread, journaling your readings, the ability to e-mail readings, and at times a link to purchase a given deck. How much or how little you choose to use of each apps capabilities is up to you.

And technology advances are continually being applied to upgrade our Tarot experience. Tarot eCards has created an innovative and unique multi-deck Tarot app where a single app works with all their decks. Their app even allows the user to change and enlarge the type size for better readability, and to magnify the images for selective studying.

Karyn Easton of Paranormality.com (along with David Wong) has developed a series of apps for her deck,the Tarot Lovers’ Tarot. This includes “Discover”, which works with Tarot card meanings; “Combine”, which works with Tarot card combinations; “Challenge”, which tests Tarot knowledge; and “Reveal”, which shows your destiny through the Tarot.

I am pleased to see that many of my favorite decks, including the Tarot of the Holy Light, the Shadowscapes Tarot, the Paulina Tarot, the Gaian Tarot, the Hezicos Tarot, the Whispering Tarot, and the Tarot of Ceremonial Magick are available in  a digital version as an app.

You have my views from the point of an end user. I would like to offer you another perspective on Tarot apps, from the point of view of an app developer – Mr. Ron Leong, of  TaroteCards.com. Ron believes that Tarot apps are an enabling technology that can enhance the Tarot user experience  and expand the popularity of Tarot. The apps make Tarot convenient to carry around and acquire, easily accessible anytime and anywhere, easy to use and less costly. Apps can bring to the Tarot community out-of-print decks, limited edition titles, and new decks without the expense, hassle and distribution hurdles of printed decks. The Tarot world needs to recognize that apps are a great complement to the printed version, not a replacement. The decision to use apps need not be viewed as an either/or decision but both formats can coexist the way digital music, movies and books exist with the “physical” versions.

You can even try out the Tarot eCards App Free which can be downloaded at www.appstore.com/TaroteCards – it includes a free copy of RWS2.0 Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot. Only available for the iPhone and iPad but an Android version will be released soon.

My reviews on the Tarot app world can be found here – https://theworldoftarot.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/review-tarot-ecards-app/, http://paranormality.com/. For reviews on specific deck apps, go to my site, bonniecehovet.com.

A listing of Tarot card app providers can be found here – Tarot On The Go.

This list, of course, does not include all of the Tarot apps available. To see if a deck that you might be interested in has an app that you can work with, just Google the name of the deck, followed by the word “app”. Magic via the Internet!

The holidays are coming up … this is the first in a series of blogs focusing on what is available in the Tarot world for holiday gifting. I hope that you at least check out the world of Tarot apps … it is a fascinating and empowering world!

Additional Blogs:

Tarot Books: http://bonniecehovet.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/time-to-think-holiday-shopping/

Tarot Decks: http://bonniecehovet.wordpress.com/2014/11/12/time-to-think-about-holiday-shopping-part-2/

 © 2000 – 2014 Bonnie Cehovet
Reproduction prohibited without the written permission of the author.

 

 

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