Tarot And Religion

MistressNatasha

Ever since I joined this forum last week, this has been in my mind: What religion are you? Most people associate Tarot (and those who use it) with more magickal and witchcraft religions. I, personally, am Roman Catholic. I see things not only in my own faith, but in that of Pagan/Neopagan/Wiccan/Witchcraft (which I'll refer to from here on out as simply "magick"). The average person views Tarot as a source of magick and will normally believe that you have hundreds of candles, spell books, etc. It's just how people associate things. I began to think and came to the conclusion that the faiths are very similar.

Catholics worship God, Saints, Angels, etc. Those who do magick worship gods and goddesses mostly. Right? Each god and goddess is the god or goddess of 'something'. When you think about it, Catholics have Saints who are very similar by being over 'something'. Very similar, aye?

Next, I want to touch on Prayers vs. Spells. Catholics pray in worship... and in the hope of something good in return. Isn't that what a spell is too? You're asking for help/something to happen. If I say a prayer that I will come upon money soon and do a spell for money... aren't they practically the same?

Also, different religions have different names for higher beings. This is somewhat hard to explain, if you haven't noticed. My wording is a bit strange, I know. :p I'm trying my best. :) You hear "guardian angel", "spiritual guide", "higher-self", etc. I believe they are all the same, no matter what you call it. Now, for me, I believe that my "guardian angel" is the one that watches over me and knows everything that will happen to me. I believe that my guardian angel speaks to me through the Tarot. :) Everyone has their own belief on the Tarot.

Also, Catholics and those who use magick, have something else in common: candles. A lot of spells require candles. Some Catholics tend to light candles during prayer, mass, and especially Easter (if I'm correct). Also, another thing is sacrifices. I've heard that some spells require you to do something (hopefully no longer sacrifice an animal :p). Catholics sacrifice something for Lent as well as not eating before communion.

I brought this up because I was interested on your opinions. I was interested on what religion all of you are and how it agrees or disagrees with the Tarot. What do you see differently than your religion does? I might be straying away from Catholicism somewhat, but not completely. I just have a different way of doing things now and I believe it's perfectly fine. I will probably continue to stay Catholic, hopefully one day be married in the Catholic Church, and raise my children (I want at least 12 o_o) as Catholics. Of course they will be raised learning Tarot. :p It has quickly become an obsession; life-long.

Also, I wish to apologize if I have said something that anyone has taken wrong. I also apologize if I have said something wrong. Anyway, I would love to see everyone else's views on this and such. :) Have a wonderful day/evening, everyone!

~Mistress Natasha

P.S.: Don't forget to set your clocks ahead tonight! :D
 

Sinduction

I've been trying to tell my very catholic friend exactly what you've just pointed out. It's been years now though, and she still will not touch my cards.

Don't forget the triple moon and the holy trinity.

I don't call myself any particular religion because I like to take what I need and leave what I don't. I do wear a pentagram quite a lot and have one hanging in my car for protection. I suppose I am wiccan but I prefer to call myself a naturalist. I believe in nature and I believe what I see. But I also do believe in a spirit world and a higher power. I'm just not sure how I feel about it all together.

Most everyone I run into does think that my cards are magic and I am continually asked if I am a witch. To which I always reply, "What do you consider a witch to be?" Or I sing song something about a sandwich.

But I can definitely say I am not a christian as that goes against the very core of my belief system.
 

MistressNatasha

Haha!

Sinduction said:
Most everyone I run into does think that my cards are magic and I am continually asked if I am a witch. To which I always reply, "What do you consider a witch to be?" Or I sing song something about a sandwich.

Haha! Sing a song about a sandwich? They'd just think you were insane. :p But that's perfectly fine, aye? :D

I really believe that there is no one religion that someone can be 100% satisfied with. The only exception would be if you made up your own. *Shrugs* I'm just waiting for the era where everyone will start coming up with their own religion. I'll probably live to see it too. Oh how interesting it'll be when all my grandchildren have their own religion. I feel cults coming on. :p

~Mistress Natasha
 

Grizabella

I'm pretty much with Sinduction.

I call my Higher Power God most of the time because I was raised a Pentacostal Christian and I'm just used to thinking of God as Him and as God. However, I believe God really hasn't got a gender---He's all things to all people.

I'm a recovering alcoholic, so I often also refer to Him as HP or my Higher Power. I believe there is one intelligent, all-powerful Force who cares for us and interacts with us individually.

I'm Native American by heritage and have a lot of spiritual beliefs and practices from that heritage which, as I understand it, could be likened to Wicca. But the Native Americans believe in the Great Spirit which is God, HP or Higher Power to me, too.

Buddhism is very meaningful to me and I take some of my practices from Buddhism, like meditation and mindfulness and such.

One thing I am definitely not is religious. I don't believe in anything from organized religion. I'm spiritually based, not religious. I don't believe any other human being can dictate to another what they must do in order for God to hear them and interact with them. My spirituality is very, very personal to me. I don't practice anything ritually on a regular basis, but I do take part in the rituals of Native American gatherings when I go to them.

My HP, Higher Power, God, Great Spirit is always with me and I don't have to do anything but communicate with Him anytime, anyplace. I don't need anyone intermediary. I don't have to go to any specific place or gather with any other group of people to be in contact with Him.
 

lunalafey

religionless

I don't claim any religion, I call myself a free form spiritualist.
When I took the 'belief-o-matic' quiz; it determined that I was neo-pagan.
I see God & Spirit in nature and science. I believe in a higher power that is within all of the Universe.
The fact that, viewed from earth, the sun and moon are the same diameter, and that the rotation of the moon on it's axis is sychonized with it's obit around the earth that we only ever see one side of the moon, hence the dark side of the moon, AMAZES me. Nature is perfection.
I came across a religion that is the closest to what I believe, so if I had to claim a religion, I'd say I'm a pantheist, which has no conflict with tarot. Much of the natural world is reflected in the cards anyway, so it works out nicely.
 

MistressNatasha

Hmm...

Solitaire: Good luck on your recovery. :) It's great that you're spiritually based. You seem very happy with that. :)

Lunalafey: You made a really nice point about how much of the natural world is reflected in the Tarot cards. *Nods*

Sorry about such short responses. It's almost 1AM and I'm beat. :p

~Mistress Natasha
 

Grizabella

Thank you for the well wishes on my recovery. :) On May 5th, it will be 23 years that my HP has kept me sober. :)
 

Faolainn Storm

MistressNatasha said:
I really believe that there is no one religion that someone can be 100% satisfied with. The only exception would be if you made up your own. *Shrugs*

That's pretty much what I have done. I call myself an eclectic and eccentric celtic pagan. I am very eclectic (and eccentric) as if I like it, and it works for me, I steal it. I use some aspects of wicca, some aspects of druidism, a sprinkling of faery-craft, touches of celtic reconstructionism, bits of Asatru, occasional references to greek/roman gods, some ideas from taoism, etc. I have been known to 'worship' in Christian churches, lighting candles and kneeling at the altar, if I need some holy peace in the middle of a busy city. (I always leave a donation, and politely include the Christian god and Christ into my prayers, after all it would be bad form not to!) My form of paganism is very much a spiritual/religious impulse, so I don't practise magic or spellcraft, but I do work tarot into my worship.

I accept others religious views (or non-views), except for those who insist on trying to convert me. If you just want to sit and have a decent conversation about religious beliefs fine with me, but if you want to argue with me, badger me into accepting your beliefs, stay away from me! I believe in both a single ultimate god and many gods who are aspects of that single ulimate god, who is too big for the human mind to deal with. Therefore, Christ, the Christian god, the Jewish god, Allah, etc are as much valid gods as the hindu, greek, roman, celtic, norse etc gods. They are just different aspects or faces of the one big, ultimate, final god, whom I refer to as The One.

I must admit that I find it unusual that people can work with tarot and not find it a spiritual exercise, but *shrug* that's people for you. I find great connections with my god/s through tarot, but that's me.

lunalafey said:
I call myself a free form spiritualist
I like this. would you mind if I stole it? I would become "an eclectic and eccentic free-form celtic pagan!" :D Sound nice and vague! Just like me! :D

Faolainn Storm
 

Alamaris

lunalafae, I love your "free-form spiritualist" term. Sums it up very nicely!

For me, its complicated. I was brought up religion-less but not spirit-less, and was seeing ghosts and energy by the time I was 6. My mom was really supportive of it; my dad, more apathetic. When I was about 8 or 9, a friend converted me to Christianity, and I spent several years in terror of a jealous god who wanted to torture me for eternity because I was (at the time) struggling with being gay.

Except for a short time in between where I was experimentally angry with god and refused to believe in him, I was an obsessive bible-thumper. Then I was around 15, I discovered Sylvia Browne and decided there was no hell, and that being gay was just fine. I deviated to bisexuality and felt good about the whole thing.

I waffled between random spirituality (aka The Cult Of Sylvia Browne) for another year and dabbled in pagan practices for a little while before getting caught up in the New Age whirlwind that was sweeping the local area, turning my worship briefly to both a goddess and a god, but mostly a goddess (Anza). After taking an 8-month course in pseudo-"shamanic" practices, I was disillusioned and fed up with the New Age trope. It took me months to deprogram myself from the idea that if I thought or said anything negative, it would come back to haunt me for years, causing me pain and disease -- and just as long to force myself to drop my obsession with Louise Hay's affirmations and my terror of contracting an illness because of my "inferior thoughts". I even started to believe that my sexuality -- which had finally evened out to pansexual -- was dirty and a result of past life promiscuity.

These days, at 17, I'm pretty easy-going about my spirituality. It used to be that every step I took toward science would terrify me and remove me from spirituality, but these days it only reinforces my belief in intelligent design. I mostly pray to a male God, and work with Jesus as a mentor -- as well as Kwan Yin, Artemis, and Archangel Michael. Its my personal belief that the universe runs on archetypes, and it doesn't really matter what you call them. I'm learning more all the time, and I'm still not sure exactly what I believe, but I truly hope I've left all the cult-minded stuff behind me. I make a sincere effort to respect other's beliefs until the point that they insult me for mine, or try to convert me. ;) But somehow, that Christian girl who converted me so many years ago is still a close friend... the same one who tried to burn my first tarot deck and tried to exorcise me when I told her I was gay. Go figure!

I'm fascinated at the immensely varying backgrounds of those who use tarot. Keep those stories coming!
 

MistressNatasha

Oh!

Solitaire: Wow! That's amazing! Longer than I've been alive. Haha! I'll be seventeen on May 3rd. o_O Wow... I remember being like 9 and thinking that I'd never turn 18. Now I think how close it is. o_O

Faolainn Storm: You have quite a name for your religion. :p In thirty years it'll triple in size. :p One of my kids will come home and tell me about it. That would just be great. :p

Alamaris: I understand what you mean by torture for all eternity. I currently am going through that which might be why I'm more open than I used to be. For the record, I'm bi. Only 3 very close friends know it; one of which is also bi. And you've had quite an adventurous life with spirituality, it seems! That friend tried to exorcise you when you told her you were gay? Haha! I'm sorry but that's funny. You don't exorcise someone just because of that. *Rolls Eyes* Did she think you were possessed? :p

~Mistress Natasha