How Do You Respond to Skeptics and Non-Believers?

pleroma

I just joined this forum and want to introduce myself before I ask my question. I recently began serious amateur study of the tarot in the last six months. I have dabbled in the tarot since i was 12 or so and had become increasingly intrigued and amazed by the wisdom of the cards. I am a college student and began seriously exploring the body of literature on the tarot this past summer while i was unemployed, wanting to exlopre its history and esoteric teachings to deepen my appreciation of and skill with the cards. I find the tarot to be an amazing tool for introspection and personal and spiritual growth. As I delve deeper into the mysteries of the tarot my enthusiasim for it grows, I want more and more to share this newly rediscovered passion of mine with others.

So my question is this, as a 20 year old gay philosophy student at an expensive liberal arts school outside of New York City full of hipsters and artists, i find spirituality, especially something such as tarot which is often percieved as 'new age', to be met with skepticism and unease. Some friends are open to the idea but are taken aback when they observe the solemn and open manner with which i approach the tarot. So i wonder, how can i share the tarot with people in a way that will open their minds to the tarot instead of seeing me as kooky? How do you deal with this problem? And how did you find your local tarot communitie or groups of other likeminded individuals who shared your belief in the cards?
 

namesoftrees

Hello Pleroma,

it's really nice to meet you. That is a great introduction and one I suspect that will have loads of people commenting and identifying with.

Well, my answer, is that people are overwhelmed by fear, instead of acknowledging fear and using it as an impulse to grow.

Why be afraid you might say? But people seem to be innately afraid of anything new or anything that is an unknown.

The Unknown however is only an unknown until it becomes known. When you choose to dive into learning about something, you're kind of re-creating yourself... you become someone who knows more than you did!

People often are scared that they might need to recreate themselves.. "What you mean I'm not complete?".....

hmm I'm in the mood for talking, but anyway. In a lot of places there's a lot of stigma about being different or other. People find a safety in being the same!

Learning about tarot is learning about yourself in relation to the rest of the world. So part of that is why do people get so wierd about it... and part of it is learning more and more about your friends family and others around you... and part is about yourself..

Sometimes i just keep that tarot thing quiet even though it's been a huge influence on me in the space of only a relatively short time. I'm learning to see how people think differently, and what needs to be said.

Ok I'm really into talking right now! and I must learn to type with less exclamations!

Welcome to Aeclectic Tarot, and look forward to seeing you around the boards.

namesoftrees;)
 

reagun ban

pleroma said:
....I find spirituality, especially something such as tarot which is often percieved as 'new age', to be met with skepticism and unease.
I find it's that way in most walks of life. I keep to myself about the Tarot and only read for friends and family, or friends of friends but only if I've spoken to my friend first.

pleroma said:
Some friends are open to the idea but are taken aback when they observe the solemn and open manner with which i approach the tarot. So i wonder, how can i share the tarot with people in a way that will open their minds to the tarot instead of seeing me as kooky?
Mention Jung used them psychologically? Tell them they represent Archetypes within human consciousness and that there's nothing mystical about the cards themselves. While some people may add ritual, that's a stylistic or path specific choice, not a neccessary one to the cards themselves.

pleroma said:
How do you deal with this problem? And how did you find your local tarot communitie or groups of other likeminded individuals who shared your belief in the cards?
There isn't one. I suppose the Fainne meetings, the Irish "Earth Based" religions group, comes close but that's once a month and an hour away on a bus.
 

Moonbow

Welcome to the forum pleroma

Whether others do or do not take you seriously I think depends on several things. Firstly it seems to depend on the community you are in (as you said) and whether people generally are accepting of anything that is not part of going with the grain. Where I live Tarot is not openly discussed and there are only a few shops selling the decks... and some them risk their livelihoods. It took me a long time to tell people that I work with, that I do Tarot and Reiki, but they are accepting now and although some make fun of it, I ignore those. If they aren't open to even the idea of Tarot then why waste my time trying to explain. I believe that those interested start to ask questions, and eventually will ask for a reading.

I would say, don't try to win people round, they will come to you, but it can take a long time and it can be a gradual process.

If you have a metaphysical shop near you, they may be able to tell you about Tarot groups in the area. When you do get a few friends interested you could even start your own.
 

Blue Fury

Hi Pleroma :)

you have just highlighted a perennial problem encountered by many tarot enthusiasts. In my experience, I find (non tarot) folk are either slightly wary, yet fascinated by the cards, or they feign cynicism. You will always get those die hards 'if you can't explain it scientifically then it's a load of old bosh' types, or those who expect you to turn up for a reading in full gypsy rig out complete with hoop ear-rings and headscarf :)

When I went to pick up my business cards from the printers, only to find there was a delay, I was told - jokingly, I admit - that I should have 'forseen' the problem. I have had requests for readings from people who have said, as they sat down at the table, 'don't really believe in it, just so you know', to which you feel you should reply 'why then bother with a reading?' I'm afraid it is part and parcel of being a tarotist. You will also be lumped in together with mind readers, psychics and general long range prophets of doom ;)

As for finding your community, those folk who understand your passion, and don't need explanations for the way the cards seem to talk to you - well, you have made a pretty good start finding this forum. I also looked for a tarot organization based in my home country (UK) and have found TABI http://www.tabi.org.uk/ which has been a constant source of inspiration and friendship to me since I joined. Perhaps there is a similar group in the US. I also believe there is a tarot school based in New York, which might be a good place to begin exploring.

Pleroma, there will always be people who are willing to accept you for who you are, regardless of your beliefs, hobbies, or craft, and there will always be those who denigrate or avoid that which they don't fully understand. My advice to you is be yourself and the authentic folk will stay regardless, and the inauthetic will pass on...

Hope this helps,

Fury x
 

tmgrl2

I really believe in the old adage...

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

I believe that all of us are at all times both teachers and students.

With the Tarot for me, it is the ones who ARE interested, who do come to me, who do ask questions.

The skeptics may never come around...and maybe they are not meant to be part of my path. That's fine with me.

I simply say...

"Next...."

It doesn't mean that I don't talk about Tarot, bring up the subject in groups, answer questions raised by some in a group, even when others have been skeptical....I continue to promote an understanding of the Tarot. I put the information out and then let it go where it will. It does bother me at times
when someone tosses off a negative comment. I try to tell myself each person is entitled to his/her own beliefs and ideas and, yes, even to ignorance.

It doesn't stop me from working with the Tarot or from reading for others.

That is part of who I am now. It always will be.

terri
 

Tongodiva

HI Pleroma

Welcome to AT! Heh, I feel like part of a family now, people here are so welcoming it's awesome.

I have been shy about mentioning my tarot (religion and spirituality in general really) to strangers and people. I'm almost hyper sensitive about it! To the point where I'm feeling them out before I let them in on my little secret. Surprisingly enough there have been no people that I have talked to that have rejected me or the idea of the tarot at all. This is such an odd statistic I know but I really believe it's my aura sensing and calling out to other people before I let my guard down and open up to them about this part of me. I have been blessed with a gift for discernation, so I have a bit of an edge, that still doesn't comfort me from the fact one of these days i'll get a scowl.

My advice to you would be to be confident about it when approaching people with the subject. If they see a quiver in you they will react. Projection is often overlooked and people sense (even if they don't believe it or even realize it) the energy projected.

I was surprised when I really started to make the effort to let people know that I used the tarot and did readings at how positive the responses were. More often than not people have been curious and have a lot of questions to ask, so then I offer a quickie general reading so they can get a taste of it.

I introduce it as a different culture almost (haha, must be the anthropologist in me) because even though we are all from different backgrounds, places, ideas, etc... we are all bound by this one common interest. So I consider it a facet of a culture that's very diverse and different and the same at the same time (the collective...*giggle*).

Again P. Welcome to AT :) I'm sure you'll love it here.

-Sol.

I forgot to mention one more thing...hehe, I -always- forget to mention one more thing! ;)

I have dealt with skeptics and negativism (sp) since I can remember. The religion followed by my family isn't really widely accepted and so whenever anyone that wasn't a member realized it I got bombarded with questions about beliefs and scripture and all taht stuff. I learned not to Bible Bash, and the best way to change skepticism to curiousity is to practice what you preache. ;)
 

Anathematically

I think I'll throw in my 2 cents, if only because I began my research and study of tarot through an effort to disprove it and debunk it as a silly thing. While I didn't precisely fail at that attempt, I began to see the entire entity of tarot - and cards in general - as a very cool thing.

You're never going to convince an atheist that tarot cards actually tell something viable and legitimate - as a borderline atheist myself, I know that all too well. If you start arguing/discussing it with them, you'll just feed their fire.

If you want to get a foot in the door, as it were, explain it in psychological terms. Take a Jungian approach to it. Tell them that it's not that the cards fall as they do because of some external force (and I'm not going to say whether they do or they don't - that's not the point of this post), but rather it's the interpretation that you as the reader makes, and then the consideration/meditation of that reading, and what it means to you.

Explain it to them in terms of introspection and self discovery, not of some external force or spirituality.

Introduce them to it in ways they'll understand and accept, and then let them make their own opinions on the thing.

It's all you can do.
 

Crystelle

Like many here I just state what I believe and then when the other person makes a similar but contrary statement I respond "Okay". I have found that those that are interested in knowing get around to asking and even if the tone and the phrasing of the questions can be negative, they wouldn't be asking if they didn't want to know. I am a naturally assertive and (sometimes overly so) confident person. I respect others beliefs and in that stance demand equal treatment. Even atheists believe in something -- the absence of that which others believe and you have to respect that, it is how they feel. When someone challenges me with a question "How can you really believe that?" I respond, "Well that opens up every philosophical teaching and every religion to debate -- how much time do you have?" Luckily I was a very inquisitive as a child and I have at least a general if not in-depth knowledge of many religions of the world... so if they want to debate I can accomodate them....as I'm sure you can as well. Once they realize that they are discussing the topic with someone who is relatively well-informed, they tend to back off... if not kill them with kindness and just say "You know you have a very good point! You may not be correct, but still, a very good point!"
LOL
:love:
Crystelle
 

sharpchick

As a couple of others have mentioned, I don't take tarot to other people - I let them come to me. If someone calls me on the phone, and I don't answer because I'm reading a spread, I may mention that if they ask why I wasn't around when they called. If someone sees me at my desk at work at lunchtime with cards spread, and asks what I'm doing, I'll explain then.

Usually the only time I bring it up is if the conversation focuses on divination. I think talking about reading cards is to some people a lot like talking about religion. If you engage them, and they don't "get it" and don't want to "get it," you're in for a lot of frustration. If, on the other hand, someone approaches you and asks, it's a whole lot harder for them - having been in the driver's seat, so to speak - to naysay what you are doing.