The Trouble With Tarot Reading

Anything can be used for divination; coins, tea leaves, cards, the flight of birds, the spilled entrails of captured enemies. The objects used are a focus for the psychic talent of the seer. Or rather a distractor, so that the everyday consciousness is pre-occupied, and something else can give its opinion.

So why the fuss over tarot cards? Are they the Devil's picture book, an ancient mystical symbol system, or an evolving historical artefact?

This writer inclines towards the latter view. You see, modern would-be occultists have a real barrier to understanding their subject. It's a monster that rears its enchanting head in times of prosperity, and consequent personal freedom. Its latest incarnation is bright, gaudy, simplistic and woolly-minded by turns.

It's called the New Age.

It should be called The Same Old Fraud In A Shiny Suit. Occultism has long been the pastime of the leisured classes. A genuine mystic has a connection to the divine; acquired in a previous incarnation, or learned in a mystery school, or monastery, in this one.

The rest of us have to pick through paperback books, or knock on the doors of the living saints of our familiar religion.

Popular mysticism is a business; a big one, and profitable. Reprinting and re-hashing a mish-mash of old grimoires, Eastern religions, neo-paganism and occult biographies is cheap and easy to do. You can avoid any practical experience of the subject matter as well. There is no 'down side'!

Except of course the karmic consequences of knowingly wasting peoples' time and energy with half-truths, bluffs and blinds.

The pitch for tarot cards is that they were created in ancient Eqypt by hierophants to codify their occult knowledge. How inconvenient then that one can trace their development from a plaything of titled ladies in Renaissance times, to the cards used to gip fools in Las Vegas today.

You see, tarot cards originally showed the major virtues and powers in a Renaissance person's life; not for occult reasons, but for the same reason children collect cards today: their amusement. You have the Sun, Moon, Star, Temperance, The Pope, The Emperor, Empress, Hanged Man, Death etc. All very lurid and exotic to modern eyes, but hard facts of life when the cards were made.

Only the wealthy were literate, printing was expensive, coloured pictures (of anything) were something to marvel at and treasure. We take these for granted today; our ancestors did not.

Also, our forebears had to amuse themselves most of the time. Even our great-grandparents played the piano or the fiddle, knew ten formal dances, could sing twenty songs from memory, were keen raconteurs and loved a good joke well told. They had to; there was little other amusement. A young lady who couldn't play the piano, or at least sing, was at a social disadvantage.

Popular occultism and tarot cards should be seen in this light; a pass-the-time, taken a bit too seriously by failed priests, alienated young men and lovelorn young women.

Lively discussion about this subject can be had at the Alt.Tarot Usenet newsgroup, most easily accessed here: http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.tarot.

Its FAQ makes for a good read: http://www.tigertom.com/download/tarot-faq-01-01-1998.txt.

The upshot is that there are libraries-full of drivelling, disingenuous, sententious, re-hashed balderdash written about this subject. A case can be made that 90% of *all* occult books are a distraction away from that which they are supposed to point to: the Divine in us, and how we can co-operate with it.

To that end, they are indeed the Devil's work.

The best definition of tarot cards I can paraphrase, from memory, is one by Amado Crowley, a noted English occultist: "They are a computer that can know you". This I take to mean you can use them to help solve knotty personal problems, rather than divine the future.

The paradox of tarot reading is: Does predicting someone's future to them in a spooky setting influence their future actions, regardless of whether the seer is psychic or not?

If you do give readings to others, should you influence someone in this way? If you are a querent, do you want someone else's predictions lurking in the back of your mind, influencing your future actions?

T. O' Donnell ( http://www.tigertom.com ) is an ecommerce consultant and curmudgeon living in London, UK. His latest project is an ebook on conservatories, available at http://www.ttconservatories.co.uk

Other T. O' Donnell freeware may be downloaded at http://www.ttfreeware.co.uk

---

Kundalini and Enlightenment

We all hear of the concept of the "Enlightened Master",... Read More

Creating a Support System That Will Change Your Life

Chaos: "complete confusion" and "the formless void before the creation... Read More

What is the Evil Eye?

The Evil Eye has been around since the beginning of... Read More

Small Things

When my dad was nearing the end of his life... Read More

Elvis Left the Building and Moved in with Me!

Years ago no matter where I lived, whether a house... Read More

You Can Influence Your Fortunes In Life

Natural laws exist that serve to maintain order in the... Read More

True Health

Some may ask, is there any truth to have a... Read More

A Celebration of Life

As human beings it is inherent to want to self-actualize... Read More

Unfinished Business (Part 2)

We know that David did much to stabilize the Kingdom... Read More

Is There More To This Life?

I often ask myself this question. Not in the times... Read More

How Much Do You Love Me?

Love...it's a deep emotion. Sometimes we say it in jest... Read More

The Recipe for Love - Christmas Special

"This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as... Read More

Jesus Christ: One Can Reach God Only Through Him - Is this Statement Correct?

Catch the express or the super fast bullet train. If... Read More

Be Aware of the Supreme Deceiver (Part 1)

One cannot read the account of Benhadad and Hazael in... Read More

Learning the Secret of Contentment (Part 1)

I am not saying this because I am in need,... Read More

Christian Love

Actually, loving does not take any great effort on our... Read More

Path to Healing

It is within us to... Read More

God Loves You With the Love of God

Do you ever feel that what you read in some... Read More

The Search for Gods Intention

I believe in the source we refer to as 'God'.... Read More

Did You Know Everything In Your Dream Is About YOU?

Carl Jung, 20th century psycho analyst and dream researcher, said:... Read More

The Incredible Power of Prayer

During moments of helplessness, there is always one thing that... Read More

Answering a Soul Call

Is life challenging you to take a bigger leap? Are... Read More

A Merry Heart is Like a Medicine

When the body of Christ isn't protected we become vulnerable... Read More

Go Forward!

There is no incident in the life of Moses which... Read More

Enjoy The Journey, As There Isnt A Destination

Do you spend your time working towards that "one day... Read More

Art of Living ? Finding It?s a Wonderful Life

In Corrogue I am finding it's a wonderful life.Let me... Read More

5 Shortcuts to a Life of Charity

Charity isn't the easiest virtue to master. And with St.... Read More

So None of Us Arrived With an Owners Manual! A Fresh Perspective on the Drive to Lead (part 1)

So, none of us arrived with an Owner's Manual, neatly... Read More

Do People See Visions Anymore?

Unless God has changed the way he does things it... Read More

Why There Are Four Gospels

The first gospel written by Matthew,who is Levi, is the... Read More

Look! Its Another New Age!

There's nothing new about "the new age" except the attitude... Read More

Undercover Investigation

It is important and necessary that we regularly spend time... Read More

Living Powerfully in the Present Moment

The time we spend on earth is very short when... Read More