Legitimate uses of Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Dec 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

jmd	02 Dec 2003
The question as to the legitimate uses of Tarot was posted by Holmes in the Certification - Canadian Tarot Network thread, following a 'throw away' line I made in an earlier post within that same thread... Holmes poses, as usual, an important question. Tarot may legitimately be used: for divinatory purposes, and as such it has illimitable applications; for awakening oneself to the divine; for developing the imaginative faculty; for deepening one's understanding of others and the world around us; as symbolic keys upon our spiritual ascent on the Kabalistic Tree of Life; to focus on certain elements or aspects of a situation; as gateways... This, of course, is not exhaustive... and look forward to reading other views :)

Rusty Neon	02 Dec 2003
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19070&highlight=lateral+thinking

fairyhedgehog	02 Dec 2003
I can't help wondering what would constitute an illegitimate use of tarot. Maybe some of the uses in the thread Rusty Neon has posted the link to? Is using a tarot card as a drinks coaster an illegitimate use? And why? (or why not?) Sorry, just rambling away here ...

firemaiden	02 Dec 2003
Aha! Right, Fairyhedgehog, in Rusty Neon's thread, things like 78-card pick-up, Solitaire, and picking up dead lady bugs came up as creative uses... hahahaha. But were they legitimate? (Jean-Michel discusses at the concept of legitimate/illegitimate uses of tarot in his post in the certification thread linked above). I would like to hear more about gateways -- is it what I think it is --the gate-idea so lovely in fanstasy fiction, that a place (like the back of the coat closet in CS Lewis Narnia series...) can provide a gateway to another plane of existence? But outide of fantasy fiction... well, can you do this with cards? please say yes... but then say a little more... (or will I be "disappeared" afterwards for knowing too much?)

Major Tom	02 Dec 2003
An illegitimate use of tarot would be to tell a client they had a curse but you could use the cards to remove it for a large fee. :) I would think playing games would be a legitimate use of tarot. Gateways to another level of existance within the real world. :smoker:

firemaiden	02 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Major Tom Gateways to another level of existance within the real world. hahahahahah. Okay, point taken! Thank you Tom. :D

Alissa	02 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by firemaiden ... can provide a gateway to another plane of existence? But outide of fantasy fiction... well, can you do this with cards? please say yes... but then say a little more... Yes. Only sometimes. The good times. But I can't say a little more ... I can't say how, because I don't really know. But, yes... totally.

Simone	02 Dec 2003
The thing that immediately came to my mind about what could be an illegitimate use would be to use Tarot to influence/manipulate someone for one's own egotistic goals or to hurt someone deliberately... But as long as Tarot is used in full conscience of all consequences and with a pure heart and mind and the best of all intentions, there should be no problem about it being legitimate. Picking up dead ladybugs - LOL (eeeek) - I think those that do this cannot care much about their Tarot cards, can they??? Light and Love Simone

lark	02 Dec 2003
Boy, I sure seem to get into trouble with little critters around here first it was a snail, now a lady bug. The thread you're referring to got a little tongue-in-cheek at the end and I posted that all in fun. :) But I really was doing a reading with all of my cards spread out on the table and a dead lady bug fell from the celling. It landed on the Chariot card so I gave the poor thing a grand burial by coveying it to the garbage can in a stylish Chariot ride. I love all my decks and never abuse them. Just wanted to clear that up. Nameste.

skytwig	02 Dec 2003
But WHO decides what legitimate is and what illegitimate is? Who sets the standard? Me? You? Fred at the local garage? Upon WHAT do we base the standard of legit? Is there some Akashic Rules of Order somewhere that I can refer to? :D

Dark_angel	02 Dec 2003
That's actually really sweet, lark. Many people would have screamed "eeew! a bug!", but you did not feel revulsion, and gave the creature a respectful burial (as respectfully as you can bury a bug, lol). Also, it did land on the Chariot, so maybe it wanted a lift!

Diana	02 Dec 2003
Legitimate uses of Tarot. Another one I thought of, and this is based on my personal experience, is using Tarot to discover the world around me. Through Tarot I have learned more about: theology, astrology, history, geography, science, cosmology, physics, alchemy, etymology, art, politics, psychology, philosophy..... etc. etc.

firemaiden	02 Dec 2003
Illegitimate uses of the tarot are those uses which beget new tarot cards of dubious origin.

Red Emma	02 Dec 2003
Geez, guys. Okay, you've caught Red Emma on a cranky day, but in true Pagan spirit, I have to say, "An ye harm none, do as ye will." And besides that, who's going to notify the Tarot Police... Well my morning draw did say I should lighten up. I realize this was an effort to think through various "harming" uses of our passion...but having spent most of my life outside the accepted conventional thought patterns...and paid a high price for it ... I guess I just bristle a bit when the word "legitimate" is bandied about in a Pagan forum. Got to go make a cup of tea and lighten up a whole lot. Goddess bless,

Simone	02 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by lark Boy, I sure seem to get into trouble with little critters around here first it was a snail, now a lady bug. The thread you're referring to got a little tongue-in-cheek at the end and I posted that all in fun. :) But I really was doing a reading with all of my cards spread out on the table and a dead lady bug fell from the celling. It landed on the Chariot card so I gave the poor thing a grand burial by coveying it to the garbage can in a stylish Chariot ride. I love all my decks and never abuse them. Just wanted to clear that up. Nameste. Well - didn't know the story - But then it was a great farewell to the ladybug! This I do not call abuse... Just a little sidetrack - had the chariot a major meaning in that spread? The ladybug's last action could have been to point it out to you and stress the importance... ;) Namaste Simone

lark	02 Dec 2003
I feel like I'm taking this thread way off course, but maybe not. One legitimate use for the tarot is predicting future events. I had been feeling uneasy about my son for weeks. A foreboding feeling. So to calm my nervous mother's heart (another legitimate use for the tarot) I did a spread. The Chariot was reversed the lady bug fell on it and my impression was that he would be in a car accident. A few days later I got a call in the afternoon "Mom, I was in a car accident with Dave. But I'm OK, I'm not hurt." Instead of being scared or agitated I felt an emormous sense of peace sweep over me. The feeling of foreboding left me. My cards had prepared me in advance. Another legitimate use for tarot emotional preparation.

firemaiden	02 Dec 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Red Emma I realize this was an effort to think through various "harming" uses of our passion... Actually, I think the point of this thread was rather the other way around -- to see what might be termed "legitimate" use -- in hopes of bringing some clarity into the discussion on certification. The problem of defining legitimate/ illegitimate use -- is just another of the myriad reasons why certification is a idea whose time is riddled with holes...

jmd	02 Dec 2003
Thankyou firemaiden... and Red Emma, for though I have opened the thread with this term, I acknowledge it has problems. I didn't think Pagan Forums would avoid the word 'legitimate', and hope not to have offended you in this Tarotforum where Christians, Pagans, Atheists and numerous others participate equally... In the parent thread I earlier referred to, I wrote that 'I would find it very difficult to answer this question in any way which was either comprehensive without being vague, or specific without excluding much I would want to maintain... and this is precisely why certification has its problems'... I suppose that when I used the term in an earlier post, I did not want to limit its applications, rather implied, without wanting to specify, that Tarot has numerous legitimate uses - of course, Holmes keenly observed this point, which lead him to ask of me what I considered legitimate. If I had to answer in very succinct way, rather than the list I attempted, I would have to simply say something like: any use which respects the integrity of the 'being' of Tarot ...problem is, this leaves possibly more questions to be answered than were there before. By the way, I think we realised that lark's initial remark was tongue in cheek - yet how wonderful this has played itself into a meaningful (and safe!) symbolic rendition later on with that bug in the chariot :)

Jeanette	02 Dec 2003
Speaking of lady bugs, I just learned today (from the book I purchased for my nephew's Christmas present) that during the Middle Ages, these beetles rid grapevines of insect pests, and in appreciation were dedicated to "Our Lady," hence their common name. This is from the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects & Spiders. Also, in my Thesaurus, genuine is a word given for legitimate; so maybe it's just a case of semantics? I'd rather be thought of as a "genuine" person and tarot reader than as a "legitimate" person and tarot reader, if that makes any sense at all!

Cerulean	02 Dec 2003
Firemaiden said: Illegitimate uses of the tarot are those uses which beget new tarot cards of dubious origin. Mari will remove this if not nice: I guess that would make the doer a dastard and the begotton cards a true b_____...... Bustard? Mari H

Alex	02 Dec 2003
I think each one of us, as individuals, can use the tarot as we please. The problem comes when we start trying to comercialize it. Viewed s a product to be sold, it's easier to devise what an illegitimate use of the Tarot could/would be. For example, most of us would agree that the Tarot is inapropriate to diagnose illnesses. It can be used however to throw clarity into an issue such as an illness. Therefore, using the Tarot as a diagnostic tool can be qualified as "illegitimate. Alex.

The Legitimate uses of Tarot thread was originally posted on 02 Dec 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.