Religion and Tarot

Lexie

Sphinxmoth said:
I cannot talk for hours about religion or spirituality,

Yes, of course Sphinxmoth, I meant "can" not "could".. Thank you so much for correcting me
 

philebus

Ahhh. I'm not the only one who tunes into the Fourth Programme in the morning! I heard the exorcist and was not impressed on soooo many levels.

Anyway. For myself, I'm an athiest of the philosophical kind - so there's no shortage of stuff that I reject.

My interest in tarot cards is first and formost as a game player. They really are great games. However, there are so many beliefs in the world that have given rise to worthwhile art and beliefs in the occult tarot have proved no exception. Which is why, even without the games, I find the cards of great interest and value.
 

crystalball

I consider myself a Gnostic Christian. Interesting enough, I have read articles suggesting that during the time Tarot first appeared in Europe, the church was busy trying to eliminate paganism and unorthodox Christian sects. Many sects survived, having a direct effect on the evolution of Tarot. Would someone like to expand on this?
 

frelkins

I'm with Mariana and Starling. At the same time, I would love to learn to play tarot or minchiate with philebus. (sigh) Sadly, philebus, the pond separates us, otherwise i would ask you to teach me to play! :)

But at the same time boxxleman, we do have a few devout and passionate Christians here, like Indigo Rose. She is very knowledgeable on this question.
 

Muser257

Yeah I wear a silver cross and was raised Christian. Not devout or anything, I know what Church I wasn't going to kinda thing.

I don't like the idea of organised religion. Someone once told me that God never made religion, man made religion.
No one in my family was offended or told me I would burn if I used the cards so I was quite lucky in that respect.
Like you Boxxelman I believe the cards allow me to connect closer to God, even though im not sure how I percieve what God is.
 

memries

I am Christian.. or should I say I try my best to be.. having said that I will tell you how I feel about Tarot cards.

If you see a pretty girl sitting in the sunshine enjoying the day and being cheerful it tells you a story. She is surrounded by flowers with the Sun shining upon her. It is a real life setting what card is it ?

A Tarot card is just the same thing, it is a piece of cardboard but because you look at it you see a story. We see stories all the time if we just look at people instead of cards. So to me it is the same thing.

The pictures on the cards are not horrendous they show a scene and yes, if you are intuitive you can tell a bit what is going on. The same thing happens in real life. If you see someone in the gutter drugged up then that tells you a story too. That person is not heading for a comfortable place in this life and even might lose his life doing excess drugs.

Because you look at a picture on a piece of paper or look at a person and think does that make you less than Christian ? That is nonsense.
Tarot cards are misunderstood, we all have seen characters like the Hierophant, just look at the government for one. The list goes on.

You cannot argue with people who want to be unreasonable and as they say ignorance is bliss so just be happy you are you and know better.

Like anything else Tarot can be misused by Charlatans to try to control people but so do religions as we all know. We are not talking about that here though.

I am delighted that Tarot has been available for me and I am very proud of the the fact I have put behind me all the condemnation of Tarot.
 

Sphinxmoth

Lexie said:
Yes, of course Sphinxmoth, I meant "can" not "could".. Thank you so much for correcting me

My comment never intended to correct anything said before me
in the thread, Lexie. It was purely to express my own perspective and
attitude and limitations, in comparison to that of others.

...er, but you're very welcome, all the same.
 

philebus

Frelkins, I've been putting together a book of those games. Although I shall be offering it for sale at lulu as a paperback, I'll be making the download available for free for a couple of months to Aeclectic members. There have been a few problems with my new domain, so it will be a couple of days yet but no more than that. When I can sort out some modules, anyone here shall be able to play over any distance using the free Vassal Game Engine!

Back on topic, I guess that I should say, that there are packs I am happy to play games with and packs that I'm just not. Most modern packs have been created with occult beliefs in mind and so it would feel a little disrespectful to play a game with a Thoth, RWS, for example. I may not share people's beliefs but I don't have an agenda to offend anyone.

However, there are some modern packs that don't strike me that way - perhaps they should - but I don't mind playing with the Medieval Cats or Scapini's Romeo and Juliette. It is not just the practical element (they have true pips - decorated but not fully illustrated) but they just don't feel very occult. Perhaps it is because they follow traditional patterns more than they try to reflect anything like Thoth or RWS.

I wonder what people's thoughts are on that? If this is stretching the topic a little, I'm happy for it to start another thread.
 

Teacups

wow, this is FASCINATING! I am a christian, and I thought I was the only one on here! I have had pangs of guilt for being curious and learning tarot, but that has not made me stop, because frankly, it has made me question what I believe and why and also question..."who told me that?" and "why would they tell me that?" and I believe that is a very healthy thing to do! I also have read the entire Bible. And the Jesus I saw in there hung out with all kinds of people, and it was the RELIGIOUS people who had a real problem with that. People haven't changed since then, of course. Which is also the very reason that tarot is so interesting, because the archetypes are timeless and race-less. I am drawn to the psychology, the insight into human nature, the beautiful and sometimes astounding artwork. How many versions of decks, and yet the universal truths each conveys about the human experience. Written words have limitations and language barriers, but the pictures convey meaning across time and culture. I don't feel threatened by using the cards at all, though I am not attracted to the decks that have an overly occult theme. Because that's not my particular religion or viewpoint. That would just come down to my particular taste, no more so than anyone else.
 

Lexie

Sphinxmoth said:
My comment never intended to correct anything said before me
in the thread, Lexie. It was purely to express my own perspective and
attitude and limitations, in comparison to that of others.

...er, but you're very welcome, all the same.

Oh, I'm so sorry Sphinxmoth, I always worry about my poor English.. It's difficult for me to express exactly what I mean .. any way nice to hear from you :)