Tarot substitutes and coming out of the (tarot) closet

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 15 Oct 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

fairyhedgehog	15 Oct 2002
On Saturday I went out shopping with my sister at the flea-market in Brighton. We had a wonderful time (we seem to get on better now that we are older). There was all kinds of junk, and I bought some drinks coasters, a book, a small toy for my counselling kit and some cards. Playing cards - ones with pictures of London on. Now, playing cards with pictures are in some respects a long way from Tarot cards, where each picture actually means something. But they are similar enough in other ways for me to find myself buying playing cards as substitute for Tarot cards. And they are more easily available and they are cheaper. What I can't help wondering is how much I am influenced by the social acceptability of playing cards as opposed to tarot cards - collecting them is weird but not evil. Whereas in my family I'm sure tarot cards would be seen as occult and bad and awful, if anyone ever gave them a single thought which as far as I know they don't. And what I'm also wondering is what will happen when my sister (who has found some playing cards for my collection) will say when the inevitable happens and it leaks out that some of my collection are tarot cards. Maybe using playing card collection is my way of making tarot card collection seem more acceptable. I suppose I'm just wondering if any of you can relate to any of this :)

Major Tom	15 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by fairyhedgehog What I can't help wondering is how much I am influenced by the social acceptability of playing cards as opposed to tarot cards - collecting them is weird but not evil. I suppose I'm just wondering if any of you can relate to any of this :) I can relate. :) It's not only in America that people think tarot is evil. Happens in dear ol' Blighty too. }) Just recently a waitress in a public house first aked me if I was 'into' tarot cards? When I replied that I know how to read them she said, "I'm not into them at all" and would no longer make eye contact. Oddly enough I had been wondering if it would be a good location to read...but now I know. }) At a coffee shop where I had been encouraged by a waitress - I over heard another waitress state she was "frighten by that". Now this is in a very rural area - the wilds of east Suffolk - but folk around here have some odd attitudes. Thank god I've never mentioned tarot spells while I've been out and about. :) People who are frightened often lash out. Natural instinct - the 'fight or flight reflex'. I don't want to be attacked. How far should I go in exercising my 'rights'? In all other ways I love it here - it is a magical place. This is also where the Witchfinder General operated. })

Sinta	15 Oct 2002
I can relate to it in some ways I guess.. In the public eye, here in Switzerland the tarot hasn't been looked down upon. Not at all. On the contrary in my little town we have around 3 popular spiritual stores with large tarot cards collection. I guess that's possibly because this is Switzerland ;) There are so many religions living within the valleys and mountains, some unseen and some unknown. I guess so long as you respect the others beliefs and not do spreads for them if they dont want you to, everything's fine ^_^ The part I can relate with though is my family. Unlike strangers, they expect something from me. To keep to my beliefs, which I do, and yet accept wise words from others... i have gone so far as to call my beliefe the sea. They were a bit uneasy about that.... right now i'm looking for a lock for my tarot box, so they dont find it. I doubt I can tell them yet. They wouldn't understand.

Kiama	16 Oct 2002
Hi FH, Well, p[eople usually don't consider collecting decks as 'evil' as actually reading them, so i'd say that if your family did find out you collect them, they'd be easier to speak to about it when you wanna (if you ever wanna) fully come outta the closet. and the key to coming out is: remeber that they are your family, and will hopefully love you for who you are, no matter what. with my family, they couldn't help but find out. i was bringing bags of decks home with me from my saturday shopping trips! once they knew [b]I[/b] was not evil, it followed logicxally to them that something I did for a hobby could not be evil either. And when they know how useful Tarot can be for helping others or developing kids' storytelling abilities and creativity, they see it in a better light... Do your family know of your counselling? Well, maybe you could introdue Tarot as another counselling tool? Would that help them regard it in a better light? Kiama

catlin	16 Oct 2002
I don't think tarot is no problem in a loving not over-religious family. Why should they stop loving you or consider you as evil when they have loved you before? Ok, I don't have to bother about my family's opinion as I have none. Maybe it would be helpful to tell them what you are into before they will find out by accident.

fairyhedgehog	16 Oct 2002
Major Tom, I'm glad you can relate :) You seem a bit more open about your tarot practices than I am, though. Even if you do live where the Witchfinder General operated :) Sinta, You are so lucky having all those spiritual stores locally. All we have is a section in the local Borders bookshop. But I definitely find that families are the main problem. (Well, mine is anyway :) ) Kiama, your idea to introduce tarot as part of counselling is inspired. I don't actually use tarot in my counselling, or I haven't yet, but I'm sure I could find a way to link the two that would be honest (maybe as personal development ...) catlin, unfortunately my family has a history of disapproving of a whole host of things and I'm sure tarot is one of them. I don't think they'd actually consider me evil, but I'm not sure I want to face their long-suffering attitude towards what they would surely see as my misguidedness. Unless I find a way to come out by using Kiama's suggestion ...

Major Tom	17 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by fairyhedgehog You seem a bit more open about your tarot practices than I am, though. Even if you do live where the Witchfinder General operated :) I'm ok as long as I don't take the cards out in public. :) I think Kiama's got an excellent idea. There have been other counselors that used tarot cards in their practice. I've always thought that using tarot cards as counseling tools did get people to look at their lives from different perspectives.

Sinta	17 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Major Tom I've always thought that using tarot cards as counseling tools did get people to look at their lives from different perspectives. That's exactly my own belief. There is not much of religious or spiritual attatchment to the cards, but more psychological. We see in the cards, things that we can relate to into our life, because the imagery calls up such information from our mind and our being. ^_^ Even things we forget can be called upon.

The Tarot substitutes and coming out of the (tarot) closet thread was originally posted on 15 Oct 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.