I have a big problem....

Okay.... This has been bothering me ever since I started reading cards. My friends and family (mainly Christian) are not okay or comfortable with the subject of tarot cards. They think it is really bad to do things like read cards, tell fortunes, etc.... Now I am starting to feel like I am doing something wrong.... I know this is hard because I am bringing religion into it.... But, can somebody out there give me some advice or comfort? Thanks....

What do YOU believe?

Nothings purely evil. nothings purely good. I can use a hammer to build a house or destroy one. tarot is a tool. what are you going to do with it.

Hmmm, mysticism and religion have been in a love/ hate relationship for ages. I am no big fan of conservative Christianity, especially because it seems to close many spiritual doors without a better reason then some vague quotes from the bible.

First of all though, from a Christian point of view men was kicked out of paradise to find our own way. Word of God or metphore for life, I feel even the bible advices yo to find your own spiritual path and when Tarot feels good to you, it should be included. The Tarot itself is not anti Christian even though conservatives are anti Tarot.

My mother, raised Catholic wasn't comfortable with Tarot, so I gave her a reading and explained a few things about Tarot along the way. I did however tried to keep some of the more mystical parts out of it and emphasized on the psychological concepts. She now has better understanding and is totaly okay with it...

However I am thirty years old and my relationship with my parents has of coursed changed a bit, standing on my own two legs takes out the "them having anything to say over me" part.

There are quite a few Christians on the Forums, including me. I am not sure that it is just Christianity and tarot; it seems to be a certain kind of deeply superstitious person who fears tarot. And everything else they don't understand.

As for persuading your family, that sort of depends on how old you are and what your relationship with them is. It sounds to me, since you named both friends and family, that you have quite a significant force bearing down on you. I suggest you keep to your own beliefs but perhaps quietly until you have assembled enough information and discussion points to launch into it with them. And even then, it would have to be from the point of view of persuasion.

Fairy Mage

What is happening to you is that you are experiencing "peer pressure". This can be a very debilitating happening.
I am not sure of your age so would answer with some reservations. If you are under the legal age of total responsibility it makes a difference. Your parents try to guide you on the path they think correct for you.
In both cases motivation would play a large part in any decisions you must make.
If you are of age then you are assuming the entitlement to develop as you please. The whole of your life is a search for many things and everyone's path is different. You will be able to "design your life" as they say just the way you desire. It does take courage though and if you are living in your parents home then you want to respect their wishes.
No one can stop you thinking the thoughts you want to think and there is no need to rub anyone's nose into what you think either.
Discretion is the better part of valour is a well known saying. It is not deceitful to mind your own business if you are of age.
I might mention that I am Christian as well (or try my best to be) and my interest in Tarot was brought about by being fascinated with Archetypal Symbols. They are part of our history and of course the cards abound in just that.
I hope you find your way to a truly fulfilling spirituality...there are many paths to follow...but let it be YOUR path !
P.S. You might want to read "Women Who Run With Wolves" It is a very edifying book and popular. I don't think anyone would object to that. It is not about Tarot but the comparisons drawn in the book about real life are invaluable. You should be able to find it for very little in a garage sale by now.

Well I’m Christian (Roman-Catholic) and so is my family and are many of my friends, I never had any problem with them concerning me reading tarot. Perhaps we are a particular tolerant portion of Christians society I don’t know but my mom and grand-ma (my mothers mother – born in 1902 an even less tolerant period then now) always had there cards read so there is perhaps a historical growth into this familial situation .

My mother’s uncle (grand-ma’s brother) who was a learned capuchin monk had no problem with them so if even monks are ok with it……

There is a paragraph in the bible that is always used in this contecst against tarot-reading but it does not say God is against it says only that God is against shams/ the pretending to know thing they do not know to steal money from the people

Oh Fairy Mage I am sorry to hear about this. But i know where you are coming from. My family, when I was living at home many moons ago, was uncomfortable with the tarot and other things I was doing. (I always found that weird sense my mother bought me my frist deck)

Like the others have said, they are just nervous about things they don't really understand all that well. The best thing I would suggest is talking about it with them calmly. Not to get defensive. Listen to their concerns and try to help them understand your love for tarot.

But if they don't want to change their way of thinking, just don't bring up with subject with them again. I have done this with my family. They know I have not stopped reading the Tarot and when they bring it up I gently but firmly change the subject.

I hope you and your family can find some peace of mind.

One of the things I love sooooo much about Aeclectic, is that all of us live here in harmony and peace, and we come from ALL sorts of different religious backgrounds. I'm not Christian, by choice. But my relatives attempted to bring me up that way, and I read the bible even now. I think the prohibition against "Soothsayers and Fortunetellers" is what might give some people trouble with the concept of Tarot. But when you look at a lot of other things that are also in the bible, and realise that many of these things are really not very nice at all, soothsaying is relatively mild in comparison to rape, incest, murder by divine retribution, etc.


One geek's opinion.

Nobody ever said that the cards had to be used for fortune telling.... I don't use them for reading futures. I think that fortune telling might be the main reason tarot is considered a no-no..... But there are other ways to learn and enjoy the cards. Maybe that would be easier for them (and you) to swallow?