Tarot, is it evil?

[Marie Faznette]

Okay so I must say a few things before any discussion.
Both me and my mother read tarot cards, with me being a pagan and my mother being a Christian.
This isn't supposed to hate on anyone. An add on would also be NOT harassing people for their opinions.
Sorry if this is in the wrong category, I really did try.

There's also a poll in case you dont want to participate in discussion.

So with that being said, to everyone, do you believe tarot cards are satanic/evil and why?
For me personally, the answer is no because no because tarot can only give insights and do not bring about harm. Then again, I see no issue with having an insight. I also say no because thats how my mom and some of the church would talk to God and Jesus, making me really doubt they would go near anything evil like that.

 

[HoleyHermit]

Suppose I ask the tarot cards if I should sleep with my neighbor's wife. Suppose I ask the cards if I should kill my neighbor. What might the cards tell me? Is there really no possibility of harm? What if the insights are coming from someone other than God? What if the insights are coming from random chance?

 

[jacknife]

Their cards, at the end of the day that's all they are, if you find them enjoyable and feel they add to your spiritual path I would say keep them.

 

[Strathos]

I think the tower card is based on the Tower of Babel

 

[Freodin]

I think the tower card is based on the Tower of Babel

No. Tarot is fine.

But beware of Jenga!

 

[Nithavela]

Suppose I ask the tarot cards if I should sleep with my neighbor's wife. Suppose I ask the cards if I should kill my neighbor. What might the cards tell me? Is there really no possibility of harm? What if the insights are coming from someone other than God? What if the insights are coming from random chance?

Suppose you do that, I'd say that the fault doesn't lie with the cards, but with you for asking those questions in the first place.

 

[Nithavela]

No. Tarot is fine.

But beware of Jenga!

How about a rousing round of Jumanji?

 

[Desk trauma]

So with that being said, to everyone, do you believe tarot cards are satanic/evil and why?

They are inanimate objects incapable of good or evil.

 

[Dave-W]

Their cards, at the end of the day that's all they are, if you find them enjoyable and feel they add to your spiritual path I would say keep them.

Except that when people put faith in them, a demonic element enters the picture - specifically the demon of divination. Anything that purports to be "fortune telling" gets into that realm.

 

[Freodin]

Except that when people put faith in them, a demonic element enters the picture - specifically the demon of divination. Anything that purports to be "fortune telling" gets into that realm.

What kind of difference would this "demonic element" make?

 

[ananda]

Okay so I must say a few things before any discussion.
Both me and my mother read tarot cards, with me being a pagan and my mother being a Christian.
This isn't supposed to hate on anyone. An add on would also be NOT harassing people for their opinions.
Sorry if this is in the wrong category, I really did try.

There's also a poll in case you dont want to participate in discussion.

So with that being said, to everyone, do you believe tarot cards are satanic/evil and why?
For me personally, the answer is no because no because tarot can only give insights and do not bring about harm. Then again, I see no issue with having an insight. I also say no because thats how my mom and some of the church would talk to God and Jesus, making me really doubt they would go near anything evil like that.

I have no problem using them ... with the understanding that I the devas I am attempting to communicate with are neither infinite, omniscient, nor omnipotent, and that they have their own preferences and motivations.

 

[Dave-W]

What kind of difference would this "demonic element" make?

It could take many different forms. But you would have a demon attached to you. It could influence your actions, thoughts and perhaps even your wellness in negative ways.

As an atheist you may disagree that such entities (disembodied spirits) exist; but I have had a few run-ins with them, so I KNOW they exist.

 

[Freodin]

It could take many different forms. But you would have a demon attached to you. It could influence your actions, thoughts and perhaps even your wellness in negative ways.

As an atheist you may disagree that such entities (disembodied spirits) exist; but I have had a few run-ins with them, so I KNOW they exist.

Perhaps I didn't make my question clear enough. You said that "Except that when people put faith in them, a demonic element enters the picture - specifically the demon of divination."
This was the difference I was asking about... the faith part.

Does the demon of divination hover over everyone laying tarot, reading their mind and decides "Yes, this person believes in this stuff... I will not influence his wellness", or "Sheesh, that person is only playing cards, I will leave them alone."?

I am just curious. From the reports of "run-ins" that I got, it seems to me that all of these demon-stuff-tales are simply scary tales about things a believer does not like.

 

[possibletarian]

Suppose I ask the tarot cards if I should sleep with my neighbor's wife. Suppose I ask the cards if I should kill my neighbor. What might the cards tell me? Is there really no possibility of harm? What if the insights are coming from someone other than God? What if the insights are coming from random chance?

If you are already asking 'should I kill my neighbour' then the cards will make little difference. There is i suppose a potential for harm if one takes the cards as some divine or spiritual authority over them. I think you point about random chance is a good one if the person is already considering mischief in some way.

I just did a quick search on 'people who killed because god told them to do it' and I got many hits, I don't believe personally that a god told them anything, but the potential is there and i believe would probably have to be there before asking the question.

 

[JustHereToTalk]

There's nothing wrong with cards, any more than there is anything wrong with bones, cups, crystals, stars in the sky, or whatever else. But *divination* is something that would be hard to justify in the Christian faith, and the reasons should be obvious to anyone who reads the Bible.

For me, a non-believer, the ethical question is on par with that of prayer and prophecy. In many capacities I find such things to be nonsensical. This in itself does not make these things inherently immoral for those who believe in them - it does make such things potentially immoral for me.

Reaching out to a potential god is not wrong. Listening to a prophecy in honest, skeptical consideration is not wrong. Watching a Tarot reader to give them a chance to prove themselves right, for me, is not inherently wrong. But...

• If I were to use any of these things to deceive others - that could be wrong.
• If the cards, or "God" in prayer, or a prophecy compelled me to do something that is immoral, then the cards, the god, or the prophecy is immoral...believer or not.
• If I were to spend hours day in and day out trying to find a god who, in his alleged divine capacity, made no effort to draw nigh to me, that would be unethical. I owe that time to my family, who are here, present, and deserving of my time.
• If I were to spend all day in prayer or with the cards and neglect my family outright, that would be perverse - believer or not.

 

[Dave-W]

Does the demon of divination hover over everyone laying tarot, reading their mind and decides "Yes, this person believes in this stuff... I will not influence his wellness", or "Sheesh, that person is only playing cards, I will leave them alone."?

I do not read minds of people, much less the minds of demons. That question is unanswerable.

I am just curious. From the reports of "run-ins" that I got, it seems to me that all of these demon-stuff-tales are simply scary tales about things a believer does not like.

Curious in what way? You make a statement but ask no question here.

 

[DogmaHunter]

Okay so I must say a few things before any discussion.
Both me and my mother read tarot cards, with me being a pagan and my mother being a Christian.
This isn't supposed to hate on anyone. An add on would also be NOT harassing people for their opinions.
Sorry if this is in the wrong category, I really did try.

There's also a poll in case you dont want to participate in discussion.

So with that being said, to everyone, do you believe tarot cards are satanic/evil and why?
For me personally, the answer is no because no because tarot can only give insights and do not bring about harm. Then again, I see no issue with having an insight. I also say no because thats how my mom and some of the church would talk to God and Jesus, making me really doubt they would go near anything evil like that.

I voted for Tarot being "evil".
Not because of some religious reason, but simply because of reason.

Tarot is obvious nonsense and it's being sold as the opposite by its practitioners.
It is effectively a business of deception and it preys on the gullible and the uneducated.

 

[Cearbhall]

Tarot is obvious nonsense and it's being sold as the opposite by its practitioners.
It is effectively a business of deception and it preys on the gullible and the uneducated.

I agree that it's nonsense, but I personally don't have a problem with it in terms of business ethics. It's up to the consumer whether they want to believe it. Businesses just communicate how the items are used and what some people believe about them. It's no different than selling things like holy water or good luck tokens. These aren't generally things that people want because of businesses. There's a demand, so businesses meet it.

 

[DogmaHunter]

It's no different than selling things like holy water or good luck tokens.

I disagree. Those things are actual products, merchandise if you will, or even just souvenirs.
Whereas "tarrot readings" are not products. They are services. They are people telling you things.

It's the deception aspect that is the unethical bit. People are easily deceived and such practices exploit that. Deliberatly.

There's a demand, so businesses meet it.

Only problem is that they aren't getting what pay for. They are lied to instead.

 

[jayem]

Tarot is like Ouija boards, I Ching, palmistry, tea leaves, astrology, psychic readings, and many other kinds of divination. They're all make-believe. For entertainment value only.