tarot good V evil

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 18 Mar 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

thanatos	18 Mar 2004
in referance to one of my replayes to a post about tarot and religion I mentioned that men of the cloth or church belive that tarot cards come from the devel and there fore are evil it is my belife that tarot cards are just a tool .... and that some of us have a gift for reading them regardless of who or where the tool and gift comes from if we try and use tarot for the betterment of our fellow man then we are useing them for good therefore tarot cards are good . but if we try and use tarot cards to bring hardship to our fellow man then we useeing them for evil .... therefore tarot cards are evil I could go on and list every item that man has created saying that it is good couse it dose that and that it is evil couse it can allso do this but that would take to long and I dont think that there would be enough room in this forum for it what is your opinion or tarot cards ..... are they good .. or are they evil

Alissa	18 Mar 2004
Well on the days they tell me what I don't want to hear, they are definitely Evil Little Critters. But since they have always brought me Truth, when I've searched for it with an honest heart, I'd say they're Good. But, honestly, I don't pass real moral judgments on my Tarot cards. And those who do are welcome to their opinions, as long as they keep their grubby hands offa my decks.

Majecot	18 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Alissa But, honestly, I don't pass real moral judgments on my Tarot cards. And those who do are welcome to their opinions, as long as they keep their grubby hands offa my decks. Yah! What she said! I work with a guy who is completely afraid of my tarot cards. He has looked at them but does not want a reading. He thinks they are the devils tools. I joke with him and tell him that is "Hillbilly" (a running joke at my work). I told him my mom was born in the foot hills of the Smokey Mountians and she wasn't afraid of them. But since they make him nervous I don't press the issue. But he is always willing to admire my new decks...just not have a reading done.

Khatruman	18 Mar 2004
Though it is dangerous to generalize about any group of people, it is also important to note that "men of the cloth" are in a position of leadership, or power. There is a great temptation to those in such a position to wield that power for power's sake. Telling people that something is from the Devil is an easy way to get people to follow. Many people enjoy being led, and putting trust in a figure such as the priest of a church is a way to simplify the work of being a God-following human. He is trained and studied, and "ordained", therefore simply do what he says and you are a good person. The Protestant movement was a movement against a Catholic church, full of power, which basically told the people what being a Christian was, and what the Bible said. The protestants worked on translating the Bible to English and allowing more people to read it, encouraging them to understand it for themselves. Of course there was more going on, both theologically and politically, so I apologize for oversimplifying, but my point is that religion isn't necessarily about being spiritual, but being part of a flock of followers. When one is to follow something religiously, it is frowned upon to question the order.

DeLani	18 Mar 2004
Like almost everything else in the universe, Tarot can't be categorized as "good" or "evil." It isn't good; it isn't bad; it simply is. Like anything else, it can be used for a variety of purposes. Many people use it to help others. Some use it to escape reality or responsibility. And some use it to manipulate others for money or spite. While human actions can be given a value judgement based on intent and circumstance, we must realize that the rest of the universe operates according to Natural Law, which isn't good or bad, but just is. I believe that splitting everything up into the simplistic duality of "good" vs. "evil" is an immature form of thinking; it doesn't allow for all the complexities of life and nature. And it fertilizes the soil to grow bigotry and intolerance.

sagitarian	18 Mar 2004
Judgement is not a part of gifts. I say this to someone almost every day it seems. What it means is, we are not here to judge, that means we are not meant to judge tarot, ourselves, or others. People who have gifts are meant to share their gifts bringing enlightenment to those that seek us out for readings. When you begin to judge something, and the most common "thing" that we judge is ourselves, self doubting our gifts, and when we begin to judge, we close ourselves off. I can't read very well being closed off. We self create blocks for ourselves when we judge. We do have a right to our opinions, and if our opinions judge someone, then so be it. We all have people we don't like, people who we do like, famous people in the world that we think is awful, and famous people who we think are wonderful. All of this is considered as judgement. All of it (I believe) will cause slight blocks in the natural gift of being a reader, but we also can't completely avoid judging others, although, if we could, I believe earth would be a much happier place.

HudsonGray	18 Mar 2004
When D&D gaming first came out a lot of people thought that was evil too (including my folks till the three of us who played it explained what exactly it was). And I remember a news story about someone so 'into' Monopoly (the game) that he committed suicide over it. The unstable people can help give a sort of legitimacy to odd things, tarot included, but that doesn't make anything actually evil. If you go back far enough, that manifesto 'bible of lists' the church put out in the 1400's about what the Inquisition needed to look for as a tool of the devil covered things as commonplace as sheepskin & feathers...which seems ridiculous now, but it got people killed if those were found in their houses for whatever other legit reason they'd have been there. Pointing fingers & classifying something is really easy but it proves nothing. I had an 'evil' car once, it kept falling apart & didn't want to start, but I don't look at all cars as good or evil---any more than I'd look at pictures on cardboard as being good or evil. They're just things, nothing else.

ros	18 Mar 2004
For the people who think Tarot is evil, they have no understanding of it. Also they may also believe Elvis is still alive!

Phoenyx*	18 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by ros For the people who think Tarot is evil, they have no understanding of it. Also they may also believe Elvis is still alive! WHAT?! He isn't alive! LIES! ;) Just kidding. :D

DeLani	18 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Triquetra WHAT?! He isn't alive! LIES! ;) Just kidding. :D He's not dead; he's just hangin' with Jerry Garcia! :)

Dark Inquisitor	18 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Majecot I work with a guy who is completely afraid of my tarot cards. He has looked at them but does not want a reading. He thinks they are the devils tools. But since they make him nervous I don't press the issue. But he is always willing to admire my new decks...just not have a reading done. He thinks they are the devil's tools and yet he keeps looking at them? There are instructions in the Bible for what to do when your eyes become an occasion of sin or temptation to you....

Simone	19 Mar 2004
Chorus (78 voices): He, he, he, we are the }) , we are evil, we ensnare into believing that you are special, that you have power, that you are superior... Chorus from the other side of my drawer (78 voices, too): We are good, we help, through us you can see things clearer, we are your best friends and consultants, ask us and anything can be resolved... Chorus, from somewhere in the middle of my drawer: [/color] And if cards were just cards? And their quality depended on the use you make of it?

The tarot good V evil thread was originally posted on 18 Mar 2004 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.