There's plenty of Tarot computer programs all over the Internet. Just type "Tarot Program" on Google and you'll be amazed: press the link to make a try. Some are nice, some raise a smile and some are just terrible. I tried once to make my own program with some expert help, but results were not very encouraging (see Tarot Items page). You'll find more of this in next pages, but here we'll talk about one of the BEST Tarot program, IMHO, that you can find on the Web. It's called The Orphalese Tarot, it is inexpensive shareware and it can be used almost without limitations: it is truly versatile and very different to any Tarot program you could have seen.
Orphalese Tarot is written for Microsoft .NET, a powerful free runtime intended to replace common Java. This technology, distributed as a 20Mb executable, must be installed on your system before you can use the Orphalese Tarot. It's easy to do: I've tested it under Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98 and Windows XP, and it works OK on all systems (Windows 95 is excluded from .Net, though). You can find a complete step-by-step procedure about how install .Net at Orphalese site.
The program allows you to work with the virtual version of a card deck, and behaves just like the real thing. You can shuffle, deal, inspect cards, sort'em out and spread them in any fashion you want. Unlike most Tarot programs with a classic approach, it does not provide with pre-recorded and generic interpretations: it is up to the user to do it. You can annotate card by card, manage your decks, create card spreads, take screenshots and many more. Orphalese Tarot is not designed for the casual reader or the beginner, but for the Tarot intermediate or advanced user who want to have a powerful tool to work with many different decks and a high degree of freedom. The complete program specs can be read here, including Internet connection.
The trait I like the most on Orphalese Tarot is the ability to add or import new user-designed Tarot decks. Some of the card decks I've designed are available at Orphalese's Decks & Links page. Procedure to make a custom deck is really easy: check the Deckmaking Tutorial Page for details. Custom decks can be used in a lot of ways, it's just a matter of imagination.
