Reading without God/ess

I'm stuck at the moment and I'm looking for some ideas.

My basic problem is that I'm a secular humanist. (That's the same as an atheist, but focussing on what I do believe, not what I don't believe.) This means that I really don't believe that the cards can put us in touch with Spirit, or the divine.

I believe that what I am doing when I read the cards is to use the innate human ability to make sense of things by making up stories. In the past, I've been happy reading for myself on that basis but I can't bring myself to read for other people in case they believe that I am seeing what is 'really' there, instead of looking at things from a different perspective. And now I've lost interest in reading the cards for myself.

So, I would like two things. One is to find out who else out there is also an atheist/humanist/materialist. And the second is to ask for ideas for how to use Tarot when you don't believe in Spirit.

(PS I know we've had similar polls before, but I wanted to take the current temperature of the forum on this )

(Edited typo 4/6/06)

I usually put down the cards and then I sit down with one of my spirit guides. Now spirit guides arent like a gaurdian angel, so they arent necessarily a religious thing. Because Im not an athiest...but I dont really believe in a religion either.

Greetings fairyhedgehog -

Your post raises quite a few questions for me about the nature of "unbelief" in God and the meaning of spirit.

You are such a kind, sometimes very witty, and generous spirit yourself - It seems to me that, even without believing, you demonstrate the qualities of a spiritual person.

I know that is not what you asked but that is what I see.

Best wishes of the season -

Moongold

fairyhedgehog,

I answered other, because I use one or all or none of these methods when reading. Sometimes I just don't know where the answers are coming from. I work with my imagination a lot (writing fiction), and I understand your concern to some degree. There are times when I think, well, maybe I'm just making this up!

It's possible you can come at this from a more scientific perspective. (I'm not a very scientific person myself, so forgive my ignorance if I mis-state something here. Any students of science on the forum, feel free to correct me!)

There are forces that hold matter and the Universe together, which Physicists and Astronomers have identified or at least theorized about. Those subatomic particles called gluons and luxons, energy that we can't see at all, but which keeps our bodies together, and the Earth together, and keeps them doing what they do. If you read in these subjects, about the more recent research and theories, you might find that you develop a kind of wonder, and a new regard for what the chaos of deliberately shuffling cards might produce.

For me, this all just reinforces my belief in God/dess/Spirit, but for you it may at least provide enough faith in the unknown forces and energies of the universe to help you want to read again.

Best wishes!
Nevada

I don't often use tarot to *predict* the future, but once I do a spread about something past or present, cards fall into meaningful positions and make sense to me.

fairyhedgehog: I am a "believer". However, I think the quantum physics theory that Nevada is talking about is what makes Tarot work. So perhaps you should look into quantum physics?

Why don't you buy the book "The Field" by Lynne McTaggert? It explains a lot of this stuff in layman's terms. (She's the head of the magazine called "What Doctors Don't Tell You" - but is also a fine journalist.)

I voted for "The cards fall randomly but I can make sense of them and apply them to the situation."

I consider myself an agnostic, and I generally approach tarot reading from a humanist perspective. But, I'm not sure why such an approach precludes a more spiritual outlook. In other words, I believe that the cards fall randomly, but I also believe in the possibility of spirituality, and even that by making sense of a random fall of cards, I'm engaging in a spiritual act, without necessarily making a claim that something supernatural is happening. The way I'm saying this, it doesn't make sense at all! I guess what I'm trying to say is that something doesn't have to be "supernatural" to be spiritual.

-- Lee

Originally posted by Lee I guess what I'm trying to say is that something doesn't have to be "supernatural" to be spiritual.

Click to expand...

This is exactly what I was trying to say!

Moongold

I do have faith in God, but I do not believe that I read through Him, because you do not need to have faith in anything to be able to read. I do not believe I read through chaos, or anything chaotic, like Umbrae talked about.

I believe that I read through akashic memories, some place in some alternate universe, or plane, where everything is known, the past, the present and the future, everything that exists, that has existed, is yet to be, is there, all knowledge whether it is about science or art. I think we all have the power to access this place, but some people are better than others: scientists, artists, sensitive people, psychics... I don't think of myself as a psychic, because I'm not an intuitive person; I'm an artist and a bit scientific, and I think it is how I have access to this place. I admit that it helped me greatly to have a gifted mother, otherwise, I would have not paid that much attention to all this.

Edit:

I posted in the wrong thread, so I edited this one and wrote this post above

I voted for other.
To be honest, I haven't a clue why it "works". It doesn't matter why. It just does. I'm kind of a atheist buddhist if that makes sense.
Woof