Tarot Cards : Middle age divination, or a middle age self help utility?

[kenofken]

I incline to say that anyone who says “magickal” is a poseur, but then, where I come from (at the base of a sacred mountain inhabited by two entire pantheons), there’s an entire clan who can make it rain and pretty much everyone has stories about encounters with shapeshifting, sometimes-invisible witches, so maybe I’m just, you know, jaded.

Any pursuit of a “medicine” (as it’s called where I live) without strict adherence to the laws imposed by the gods, is not only dangerous, it’s bound to become evil. Shall I blow your mind, and put it in Navajo terms? All right.

The instanding-ones of a person will be inexorably bound to the anti-sunwise holy-wind if those people are not raised according to a good law; the process will only be hastened by the pursuit of medicine, as its holy power will call ghosts. “Instanding ones” is the Navajo concept of free will, bizarrely similar to certain pre-Socratic Greek concepts of personal tutelaries. “Anti-sunwise” refers to walking around a hooghan in the direction opposite that in which the sun goes—rather than starting with east and ending with north, starting at north and ending at east. Which is the direction a skinwalker walks around it, when laying a corpse-poison curse on it. “Holy wind” is the Navajo concept of…something between life, soul, and existence; they’re something like emanationist pantheists. “Ghosts” are never good, in Navajo thought; they’re considered to be the witches of the world of the dead.

Frankly all “neopagan” practices are, to one who’s seen the real deal, so much watered-down Hermeticism combined with pop psychology and, not to put too fine a point on it, Christian ethics: or how many people have you killed merely for being in the same clan as someone who’s wronged you? That, of course, being the only way (in most real pagan religions) to satisfy the unquiet spirits of wrathful ancestors, who are driven into their vengeful form whenever their descendants are harmed.

Y’all raise some fine peyote out there, I can see!

 

[Irish_Polock]

People who know what they’re doing with Tarot understand it’s not a matter of invoking external powers as much as it is cultivating a natural ability to translate the images of the unconscious mind which has a wider field of perception to the flow of spacetime around us. Diviners aren’t tapping into anything that YOU don’t use everyday, even if you don’t realize it. The difference is that they do it with intent and you and most people don’t, or avoid it and brush off the occasional premonition as a fluke.

We agree then, Tarot readers do believe they use a “external power”, just not as much as their perceived “natural ability”. As for everyone having the “occasional premonition” … well I can write that off as mere speculation.

No, brother. This would be a lifetime of knowledge and experience of Catholicism AND magickal practice and of many of the forms of syncretism between the two. I’m not saying your concern crosses this line, but I know what magickal reasoning and practice looks like and much of the spiritual warfare crowd on here is hip deep in it whether they’re willing to admit it or not.

You are comparing Catholics use of Sacramentals and the use of a pagans “tools” (for lack of a better word), and trying to reconcile the two? I am not sure I understand this retort.

You never really said what context she’s using them in or her degree of involvement with the cards and to what extent they’re serving as a substitute or distraction from her religion.

She no longing uses them, although when she did use them - during her search for some kind of truth - she was heavily involved in reading anyone who would give her the time. The problem is that doesn’t want to get rid of them for whatever reason. She seems to feel that since she used them for basic self knowledge, there is no harm in holding onto them. I feel that they can be used for a far more dangerous purpose, and she could unknowingly separate herself from God. The best way to avoid this “occasion to sin” would be to toss the Tarot cards into the trash. I feel it would be advantageous to do so anyway.

Nevertheless, I will speculate that if you were able to take a God’s-eye inventory of your lives, that deck would rank WAY down on list of real or potential sources of sin. What’ I’m saying is if you were able to do a statistical study of people’s “records” of mortal sin and patterns of mortal sin that undo people according to the Catholic tradition, you’d find Tarot listed fairly low, if at all in the "causes of mortality."

Like I have said in my previous post, using Tarot cards and separating yourself from God completely, might be a “slippery slope” but the temptation is there more so then if a person was to play solitaire with a bicycle deck.

**You’d find much more pedestrian and unsexy stuff of the variety Jesus preached about everyday. The way we condition ourselves to pull down the sun visor and pretend not to see the wretch begging at the intersection on the way to work. The fact that we have money to spend on the latest i-gadget this year but not quite enough for the charities we once supported. The ways we sometimes destroy other people in a calculated way to get that new promotion and justify it by saying it makes us good “family men.” The ways we let our own insecurities lead us to abuse our loved ones. The adulterous affairs we carry on even as we scrupulously follow most doctrine and puts lots of money into the collection basket every Sunday. **

As a Catholic, we are asked to avoid any situation that might sever our souls from Gods grace. Whether it is pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth, or in the case of Tarot, idol worship. Any of these could jeopardize us for eternally.

 

[Jessup]

They are false, idols. Not in the sense of worshiping the wrong God. But in the sense of seeking all your wisdom and understanding from something out side of the word of God, they contain false spiritual information. Much in the same sense as when a 16 year old kid buys a Slayer or G.G. Allin Cd. much because he/she can relate to the lyrics and music and find a direction. I’d just through them out, use them at the range, or for kinlin.
Cheers! :thumbsup:

 

[At_Trent]

Tarot cards are a problem. Catholics should avoid them for their divination aspect. There are many types of decks and all should be avoided.

I see the word “spiritual” used here and it should be pointed out that each person has a soul. When we are baptized we are born again. The spirit within is the spirit God gave us. Although other faith traditions exist, Jesus showed us the true way.

I see little value in using them for other purposes. I hope the following article is helpful:

catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0109.html

Peace,
Ed

I agree… 'nuff said

 

[edwest2]

Any things that connect to the spirit are good. Use every tool to live in the world, know yourself, know God and deepen your relationships.

Anything is not good. There are evil spirits and there are false teachings.

Peace,
Ed