This is a very good question and is often asked. I think it would be remiss of me to to offer some sort of explanation. I cannot give a definitive answer and say this is definitely the case as no one can possibly know, but what I can offer is an explanation based on my experience of what the cards can and cannot tell us. We all live in a 3-dimensional world, we have width, length and height, now imagine that when we pass over our spirit moves into a 4-dimensional world. This would enable the spirit to have full sight of what is happening to us in our world like a chess player pondering over a chess board. This concept may sound a little hard to grasp but to help me explain I will examine a theoretical 2-dimensional world. Edwin Abbott, (1838 – 1926) was an English theologian and in 1884 published a novella Flatland, which is A Romance of Many Dimensions and describes an imaginary 2-dimensional world. In this fictional world everyone has width and length but no concept of height. The people, houses and whole society live in two dimensions and view the world as flat lines only. For example, the houses (like the image opposite) would seem totally enclosed and appear as flat lines with no way in or out except through the door.

A person such as ourselves living in 3-dimensions could look down at such a world and see everything that is going on. We could hear any conversation and see any action even within closed rooms. We could get as close as we wanted and because we are out of their dimension no one would have any concept or knowledge of us being there. We could even move items around and perhaps influence the actions of the flatlanders themselves. Now imagine if an object such as an arrow passed through Flatland from a 3rd dimension, like an arrow passing through a piece of paper (image below) it would appear out of nowhere. From the viewpoint of a flatlander who would only see a 2-dimensional cross-section or slice, a dot would suddenly appear, progressively get larger until the end of the arrow head is reached then suddenly get smaller. It would stay the same for the length of the arrow and then totally vanish as the end is reached. This might all seem a little far-fetched but it does offer an explanation which is consistent with what some people have experienced. In our 3-dimensional world objects have appeared from nowhere, moved and vanished or sounds have been heard with no apparent cause. If such a scenario is true then anyone existing in the 4th dimension would be able to determine if:

1. Your manager is planning to sack you or give you a promotion
2. Your partner is cheating on you
3. You have health issues (whether you know it or not)
4. The real state of your finances
5. If some rich uncle is planning to leave you money is his will
6. Who is really your friend and who is being deceitful

However as with all things there would be limitations, they would be unable to tell if:

1. You are going to win the lottery next week
2. You are going to meet the man/woman of your dreams
3. You are going to suffer an accident

If spirits of the dead do dwell in 4 dimensions then our mere 3-dimensional world would be just a single plane (one of an infinite number) and they would be party to all that is going on. If they spoke the sound would come from within, items could appear and disappear or move around on their own. Most important of all, they could exercise control over the actions of our bodies such as the laying out of cards.

Of course this whole topic raises far more questions than it attempts to answer and blurs the lines into wider areas of theology, but it does offer an interesting concept. Some will take this a stage further and simply ask- If spirits have the ability to influence our world, why not write down or say a message? why do we need mediums of interpretation such as the Tarot?. Well perhaps this influence is not quite so simplistic or direct but who knows?