Is tarot an addiction ?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 24 Nov 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

ros	24 Nov 2003
How do you feel about tarot? Is it an addiction like people who smoke or drink etc. or is it a hobby? I study tarot for a hobby but wonder if you get addicted because it's like a high getting new info all the time. What the heck is it?

Nevada	24 Nov 2003
It's a love affair--that I can talk to my husband about (tee hee). Well, until he gets sick of hearing about it. Sometimes it's an addiction, but not in the way I think you mean. I get addicted to learning, to studying everything about it. I don't do that many readings. I don't ask the cards about every question that comes up in my life. But I love learning, and with Tarot there is always so much more to learn that I'm never sated and I never finish learning. It's a spring that never goes dry, and a thirst I never fully quench. Nevada

Mimers	24 Nov 2003
Nevada, I couldn't have put it better myself. My behavior when I first began was borderline addictive. I really couldn't get enough! Every day I was exploring my deck. I was getting up at 5:30am (still do) just to have unitterupted time to meditate on them. It is a love affair. Mimi

Chronata	24 Nov 2003
Oh Yes! I agree with Mimers and Nevada... Tarot is definately a Love Affair! Some folks can become addicted to any relationship, but for myself,I feel that it's a pretty healthy one! Like a real Love Affair, the passion can come and go, and the Romance can fade over time...but it is always steady, and there are always new ways in which the Romance can be re-kindled! (for me...the spark is in being able to talk with others about thier passion and enthusiasm...and occasionally it's the arrival of a new deck in my life!)

Rusty Neon	24 Nov 2003
Is tarot an addiction? I'd say: No more than any other hobby, e.g., learning a foreign language, learning a musical instrument, listening to and collecting CDs, etc.

hexadecimal	24 Nov 2003
Hi. My name is Hexadecimal, and I'm an Tarotaholic. I've gone cold turkey without purchasing any new tarot decks for a month!!:D

Star Spirit	25 Nov 2003
Anything can become an addiction if you get too immersed in it.

Logiatrix	25 Nov 2003
Actually, though we joke about it I don't really believe tarot fits in the category of addiction. It might be a matter of semantics, but the most I think tarot can be when abused is a compulsion. That being said, the very nature of tarot is such that it dissolves its allure by becoming frivolous in its response. Long ago, when I was doing simple, one-card readings, I asked the cards the same question three more times, after I did not like my first (and what should have been my only) reading. Three times in a row, I drew the Devil card. Yes, I had shuffled. A lot. This incident made enough of an impression on me that I have never "challenged" my cards like that again. I don't think tarot and other such tools are formulated to tolerate such behaviors as compulsive use; they've each got a built in defense mechanism. The I-Ching has a hexagram--#4, I think--that alludes specifically to that obsessive questioning of the Oracle; it is called in many texts "Youthful Folly." I believe the Oracle is well aware of how human we are, and has ways of protecting us from our own Folly. :)

Star Spirit	25 Nov 2003
Quote: Long ago, when I was doing simple, one-card readings, I asked the cards the same question three more times, after I did not like my first (and what should have been my only) reading. Three times in a row, I drew the Devil card. *Laughs* Seems like your deck was telling you not to be so compulsive, or addictive :D

jmd	25 Nov 2003
...Tarot an addiction? see what Umbrae offers!})

jmd	25 Nov 2003
I like what Nevada34 wrote - which others have agreed with. I suppose that deck buying may be considered a psychological addiction, or that one may acquire them compulsively... Likewise, spreads/readings. But Tarot itself I cannot see how it may be either compulsion nor addiction. The usage of them leads to ever deeper understanding and reflection. The usage of Tarot leads to ever broadened acceptance of the vast variety of situations individuals may find themselves in... It seems that Tarot eases both spiritual ascent, and psychologically healthy dispositions. Surely, then, not how one would characterise either addiction or compulsion ;)

meydi	25 Nov 2003
I say no. It's a love affair.

dolphinprincess	25 Nov 2003
I don't think Tarot, or the study of tarot is an addiction... many people spend hours at a given hobby. This is mine. What may be considered an addiction - feeling that you can't make any decision without consulting the cards - or buying too many tarot decks... !

Inana	25 Nov 2003
Everything can become and addiction. Tarot too. Not because it contains anything specially addictive. but there are compulsive people who tend to get addicted to alot of things. They invest lot of passion, time, and energy in something they like until it becomes an addiction or almost an obsesion.

Majecot	25 Nov 2003
I think an addiction would be considered and BAD thing... Tarot is not that. I think maybe in the learning stages it borders on obsession, and that is because it does require a lot of study, there is so much to learn. Certain aspects can be considered and addiction,, I am sure the buying of multiple decks are in that category.. but then that could come under the heading of a "shopaholic" ( which I am pretty sure that I am one) }) It's a love affair... and really how is it that a Tarot deck collection differs than any other... say maybe Hummels?? :cool:

Logiatrix	25 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by jmd ...Surely, then, not how one would characterise either addiction or compulsion ;) jmd, My intention in differentiating the terms was to illustrate the cycle of addiction in clinical terms; though, admittedly, such terminology has more subjective definitons in a social realm. My point is that tarot may become the focus of COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR, i. e., an uncontrollable, impulsive and obsessive urge to buy, hoard, or use. However, I don't believe that tarot, by its nature, can evolve into an ADDICTION, i. e., a continued pattern of that compulsion. A better explanation for this than I considered is what you said about how we find ourselves in the cards; perhaps that "deeper understanding and reflection" ultimately reflects back to us our own behavior, so that it does not evolve into a pattern. ;)

jmd	25 Nov 2003
I certainly accept your point, Tauni, both in terms of the clarity you bring as to the differentiation between compulsion and addiction, and in terms that an individual may develop dispositions to either of these unhealthy states. I suppose that this also shows the difference between whether we focus in a generalised way as to whether tarot is reflected in addictive/compulsive behaviour, or whether some individuals may develop psychologically unhealthy states towards - in this case - Tarot. Unfortunately, certain individuals may develop such traits. Tarot, I would however suggest, is for healthy individuals neither an addiction nor a compulsion... but a wonderful means by which one may further develop in healthy ways, engaging, at times passionately, in the exciting fields of understanding and wisdom it may bring :)

Jewel-ry	29 Nov 2003
I'm not sure if its tarot thats the addiction or logging into aeclectic :rolleyes: I spend a lot of time on here as do many others and tarot is what we all have in common!! J.

Ruby7	29 Nov 2003
For me I would say that buying decks is a bit of an addiction, but the way that I am about tarot in my life is more of as others have said a "love affair". I am not obsessed about tarot in my life. I do about one personal reading a week and pick one card a week to focus and meditate on. To me tarot is about discovery and as it is a gateway to other levels of consciousness, hidden thoughts etc is not an addiction. On the other hand could I live without tarot? Well I could, but I don't want to (Hmmm I sound like my tobacco smoking roommate LOL) But hey at least tarot does not damage your health, I would say it helps so maybe it is a healthy addiction? Ruby7

Rusty Neon	29 Nov 2003
No .... It's not an addiction. I'd write a longer post, but I have to go to the store to buy a couple dozen more decks.

rubricat	29 Nov 2003
hmmm... How do all of you compare/contrast addiction with obsession? I tend to get bit obsessive about love and find the same with tarot! Don't consider myself addicted to either one, since I can live comfortably without them, but would prefer not to. Reading for me is a type of totally self-centered meditation which helps me view situations plus aspects of my self and behaviors from other perspectives that I couldn't do as well without tarot. Maybe I'm closer to narcissism ;) !

aqua	29 Nov 2003
I would need to define what addiction would mean to me do I lie to get them?? no do i steal for them no do i need to shuffle/read 24/7 no would i max out the credit cards to have decks/books ... nice thought but no, I know i wouldnt obsession with them ? hmmm I can walk by them sitting on the table without picking them up... altho I might say im drawn to them at times, a nagging need to pick them up and shuffle but i do agree I cant seem to read enough, or learn enough to satisfy myself now if i didnt know any better on how card stock was made i would almost swear the stock was magnitized :) drawing me in closer and closer...

Mystic Zyl	30 Nov 2003
It is a love affair and a way to learn about life. We are all the Fool.

lawguy51	30 Nov 2003
Am I addicted to Tarot...no. Am I passionate about Tarot...yes. Am I compulsive about Tarot...no because I have actually picked up a new deck on occasion and not bought it. Am I addicted to Aeclectic...probably ;) . Lawguy51

The Is tarot an addiction ? thread was originally posted on 24 Nov 2003 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.