Is It Wise To Trust Tarot Cards?

Tarot cards are a complex and powerful tool that can provide insight into our lives and ways to improve them. They use symbology, positioning, and conceptual links to help us process our thoughts at a deeper level. However, it is important to note that reading Tarot for oneself is not advisable, as Mary Greer put a stake in this old practice.

A good guide to the tarot deck can help individuals become familiar with the overall shape, symbols, and commonly held meanings of each card. They also provide practical advice on spreads, learning techniques, and reading etiquette. The tarot offers advice for moving forward, but the advice is actually coming from within the reader, who interprets the cards.

Originally invented as a parlor game, Tarot cards have since taken on a mystical aspect, suggesting that their power lies not just in the cards themselves but also in tapping into universal narratives and themes. While irrational, the process of reflecting on the cards can lead to greater self-awareness and personal growth.

Christians should avoid tarot cards and astrology, as the Bible teaches against divination. Tarot cards are meant to help connect with intuition and offer clarity, but they are not necessarily for everyone. They reflect one’s thoughts and cannot predict the future. Many believe that tarot cards can help when making big decisions, but it is essential to approach the process with common sense and inspection.

What do Christians believe about tarot cards?

Many Christians object to tarot cards due to their association with divination and fortune-telling. However, some are using them for self-directed spiritual contemplation. Gil Stafford, a retired Episcopal priest, incorporates tarot cards alongside the Enneagram and Myers-Briggs. Brittany Muller, author of The Contemplative Tarot: A Christian Guide to the Cards, uses tarot cards with the Book of Common Prayer for visio divina. Carl McColman offers an online course on Meditations on the Tarot, a classic Christian mysticism text with an afterword by Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar.

Are tarot cards against Christianity?

The Bible warns against sorceries, divination, soothsaying, fortunetelling, mediums, and spiritists. Tarot cards can be used for divination and fortunetelling, but they can also be used for meditation or exploring archetypes. The modern Tarot began as tarocchi, sets of playing cards and learning devices, and fortunetelling was not involved. Early Biblical mentions against such practices include not eating pork, trimming beards, getting tattoos, cutting hair, eating oysters, going to church within 40 days of giving birth, working on the Sabbath, eating fat, touching a goat, or selling land permanently. Some scholars believe these rules were put in place to prevent women from having an active role in spiritual leadership.

In modern American churches, an attitude against astrology is common. Genesis 1:14 indicates that God’s people are meant to use heavenly bodies as signs, guides, and portents. The practice of astrology involves using stars as signs, as the three wise men used this practice to follow the Star in the East.

Do tarot cards go against the Bible?

The Bible warns against sorceries, divination, soothsaying, fortunetelling, mediums, and spiritists. Tarot cards can be used for divination and fortunetelling, but they can also be used for meditation or exploring archetypes. The modern Tarot began as tarocchi, sets of playing cards and learning devices, and fortunetelling was not involved. Early Biblical mentions against such practices include not eating pork, trimming beards, getting tattoos, cutting hair, eating oysters, going to church within 40 days of giving birth, working on the Sabbath, eating fat, touching a goat, or selling land permanently. Some scholars believe these rules were put in place to prevent women from having an active role in spiritual leadership.

In modern American churches, an attitude against astrology is common. Genesis 1:14 indicates that God’s people are meant to use heavenly bodies as signs, guides, and portents. The practice of astrology involves using stars as signs, as the three wise men used this practice to follow the Star in the East.

Do tarot cards predict the future?

Tarot can help make big decisions, but it cannot predict the future. Michelle Tea suggests beginners start with a three-card reading from the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck. Growing up, her family often relied on tarot for tough decisions, such as discussing a brother’s breakup or deciding whether to drop out of school. The deck’s iconic Rider-Waite-Smith cards can be used to guide readers through these situations.

Are tarot cards safe?

Tarot cards, like other metaphysical tools, are as safe or dangerous as the messages they deliver. They provide clues into the subconscious and are not harmful themselves. The Tarot is often linked to witchcraft, as many practicing witches use it. However, not all witches use the Tarot. The Tarot is a divination tool used by witches to derive more symbolism and understanding for specific questions. Witchcraft and Tarot can co-exist separately, and reading Tarot does not necessarily mean practicing witchcraft. Both practices involve active engagement with intuition.

Is there any truth to tarot cards?

Early French occultists claimed that tarot cards had esoteric links to ancient Egypt, the Kabbalah, Indic Tantra, or the I Ching. However, scholarly research reveals that tarot cards were invented in Italy in the early 15th century for playing games, and there is no evidence of significant use of them for divination until the late 18th century. The belief in the divinatory meaning of the cards is closely associated with a belief in their occult properties, which was propagated by prominent Protestant Christian clerics and Freemasons.

From its uptake as an instrument of divination in 18th-century France, the tarot went on to be used in hermeneutic, magical, mystical, semiotic, and psychological practices. It was used by Romani people when telling fortunes and as a Jungian psychological apparatus for tapping into “absolute knowledge in the unconscious”, a tool for archetypal analysis, and even a tool for facilitating the Jungian process of individuation.

What religion do tarot cards come from?

This literature review examines the relationship between Tarot cards and New Age religion, emphasizing their function in the contemporary study of the New Age movement.

Do tarot cards tell you what to do?

The tarot is a magical tool that is not about fortune-telling but about storytelling. Its practice is entirely secular, with no psychic elements or specific guidance. Instead, the tarot’s narrative power invites questions and self-reflection, empowering individuals to make decisions about their future. The interplay between different cards can offer new perspectives, challenge old thinking, or even force individuals to acknowledge hidden aspects. While the cards are helpful in making decisions and thinking about the path ahead, they don’t always provide the answers popular culture has led us to expect.

The tarot is made up of two sections called the Arcanas, which are the Major Arcana (22 cards) and the Minor Arcana (56 cards). The cards work together to offer new perspectives, challenge old ways of thinking, and help individuals make informed decisions about their future.

What is the luckiest card in the tarot?

10. WHEEL OF FORTUNE—Destiny, fortune, success, elevation, luck, felicity. Reversed: Increase, abundance, superfluity. ( 3 )

The Wheel Of Fortune card, like other cards of the Major Arcana, varies widely in depiction between tarot decks. The card has been modeled ever since the tarot’s inception in the 15th century after the medieval concept of Rota Fortunae, the wheel of the goddess Fortuna. Images generally show a six- or eight-spoked wheel, often attended or crested by an individual (sometimes human; sometimes a Sphinx -like half-human) attired in an Egyptian-style headdress. In some decks, such as the AG Müller, the wheel is also attended by an individual wearing a blindfold; and often there are people sitting or riding on the wheel whilst others are shown falling from it.

The wheel is not always shown inscribed with any lettering. Where this is the case, the letters T-A-R-O (clockwise) or T-O-R-A (counter clockwise) can often be found aligned against four of the spokes, which can also be interpreted as R-O-T-A, the Latin word meaning “wheel”. In some decks, such as the Waite, the wheel is also inscribed with additional alchemical symbols representing the four elements : Earth, Air, Fire and Water (which are also said to be represented throughout the tarot by the four “suits” of Pentacles or Discs, Swords, Wands, and Cups respectively. ( 3 ) These emblems can also be seen on the Magician’s table in the Magician card (Card I)).

Do tarot cards really work?

Tarot readings can be an empowering and insightful tool for self-discovery and future direction. A professional tarot reader can help you understand your goals and desires, providing insight into your situation and guiding you towards the best actions for your love life, career, or other questions. They can also reveal the motivations of others and predict potential outcomes of decisions. A good tarot reading can provide clarity and help heal anxiety.

However, it is crucial to prepare thoroughly for your first reading to fully benefit from the experience. A good tarot reading can provide valuable insights into your future and help you make informed decisions.

Why don’t tarot cards work?

The interpretation of a tarot card depends on the questions asked, card combinations used, and spreads used. Standard card meanings may not be suitable for a specific context. It’s important to ask “How can I interpret this card in this specific reading?” instead of “What does this card mean?” This approach is not taught in courses like my Tarot Foundations program, which covers all 78 tarot cards.