As part of a “Fall Fest” day long program at my Catholic college taking place in late October, there will be “Tarot Card Readings and Palmistry.” I have voiced my concerns and explained why things such as tarot cards and palm readings are sins according to the Catholic Church. The response I was given was that it was “harmless fun” and that the people doing the tarot card readings and palm readings will be “acting and it is just for show.”
I still don’t like the idea of a Catholic College encouraging its students to take part in the occult. Should I continue to object to this and pursue it further, or am I overreacting and simply should let it be?
Tarot was, and still is, a card game that’s
not condemned by the Catechism. (I’m referring to the card game, not the occultism of it.) When you talk with the provost, you should provide the historical reference that it’s a card game:
gameoftarot.com/
You can also do a CAF search for “tarot” and “games.” Good luck.
Edited to add:
*The Penguin Book of Card Games
By David Parlett
Penguin 2008 ISBN-10: 0141037873 ISBN-13: 978-0141037875
Previously published in 2000 as the Penguin Encyclopedia of Card Games, this is an essential book and the only mainstream title that I know of to include the rules for tarot games. Without doubt, David Parlett is the best of all writers on card games, providing the rules with clarity, detail, authority, and an enthusiasm for his subject. Every family should have a book of card games - make this one yours. You will never need another. As regards the inclusion of tarot, there are a number of games, including some simple Italian ones, the ever popular French game, and best of all my favourite, Ottocento.*
and
*
A History of Games played with the Tarot Pack Volumes One & Two
By Michael Dummett and John McLeod
Edwin Mellen Press 2004
Volume One ISBN 0 7734 6447 6
Volume Two ISBN 0 7734 6449 2
Supplement from Maproom Publications 2009 ISBN 978 0 9562370 0 2
Edwin Mellen Press is an academic publisher that specializes in supplying academic libraries and their web site states that they expect to sell only about 500 copies of a book in its lifetime. Consequently, these are not widely available and are very costly. These volumes serve to update and expand the work on the card games and their development given in The Game of Tarot. Although the work is limited to just this part of tarot’s history, there is no more substantial source of tarot games in the English Language - or quite possibly, any language.
The first supplement to this work has now been published and is only available from the associated website
www.tarotgame.org where it can also be downloaded without charge in pdf format. It includes a few corrections, usually expanding on the original text with new information, along with some significant new games – including some of those played in the United States.
