Rite or Religion

I've been trying to connect with others lately. Joining this forum to talk to others who know about Tarot, looking for others in my area who identify as pagan or pantheist. I have been looking at what I believe in.

One of the things I believe in is the Tarot. In the ten years that I have been reading I have put more and more faith in the cards, and the connection they bring to others and the divine. As I've considered my beliefs I have started to wonder about others. What is Tarot really? Is it just a tool? Is it a religion in itself? I'm wondering how other feel.

Is there enough to Tarot to be a religion? or just a rite of divination for several religions?

I would appreciate your opinions.

Ooo, interesting question. I have been recently thinking about this as well.

I don't think it can be a religion on its own. I guess it would depend on what is considered a religion before you can ask if tarot is one since most things in life are all perception and everyone has a different one. What makes a religion? Do you need something higher than you or just you?

What is your opinion alchemist1248? I'm interested to know what others think too.

I like this reflection!

For me, tarot has been a tool to opening my psychic abilities. Like a signal booster for a satellite or telephone. Not a belief system on its own.

alchemist1248 said:

Is there enough to Tarot to be a religion?

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No. Tarot is a tool, You can certainly use that tool as a part of ANOTHER religion, if you choose. Can you use one religion as a tool inside another religion?

I know rabid atheists that use Tarot. If they were here to see someone suggest it was a religion, they would be super-angry and super-disrespectful.

Great question! I personally define religion as a set of beliefs and values that inform your decisions and your way of life. I don't give Tarot quite this much credit! Tarot is an important spiritual tool, and a valuable part of my spiritual journey, but it is not the whole enchilada!

If you're really curious about the potential intersection of Tarot and religion, you may want to wander over to the Thoth subforum and learn about Thelema. It's a religion that primarily integrates Tarot symbolism.

nisaba said:

No. Tarot is a tool, You can certainly use that tool as a part of ANOTHER religion, if you choose. Can you use one religion as a tool inside another religion?

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I'm inclined to agree with Nisaba. Tarot itself is a deck of cards, and while it may be instrumentalized on a personal level to help people connect with their conception of the divine, it does not have any of the social characteristics of a religious order. Tarot has no widely recognized theological worldview (that is to say, even among Tarot readers who use Tarot to connect to their version of divinity, there's no consensus as to what that divinity is or how that connection works). People can use Tarot in a Christian framework, in a pagan framework, and so on, but there is no set of beliefs that we can call a "Tarot framework". And if there's no set of beliefs to define Tarotists, then no, I don't think it can be called a religion.

Moreover, one of the most important traits of a religion is the social function that it fulfills--a means of bringing a community together. Religious orders have holidays, along with rites of passage for birth, marriage, and death. They prescribe ethical limitations that help guide people in their social lives. And Tarot has none of that.

I know rabid atheists that use Tarot. If they were here to see someone suggest it was a religion, they would be super-angry and super-disrespectful.

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As one of those rabid atheists, I don't know that I would necessarily be angry if Tarot was labelled a religion. (If I got angry every time someone used Tarot differently than me, I would have little time for any other emotion.) But I don't think the label is accurate, and this is especially true because there are readers who can and do use Tarot without any kind of religious or spiritual trappings whatsoever.

nisaba said:

No. Tarot is a tool

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That ^^

First you must define "Rite" and "Religion". Had that been done the question would have been nullified.

Religion suggests the worship of something greater than yourself a higher power, a diety, a god/gods/goddesses. Tarot is no more a religion than a telephone is, it is a means of communication, of connecting, of receiving messages. Tarot is not a diety, though it certainly can be used to connect with a higher power.

A Rite suggests a ritual, and though rituals can, and do in many cases, surround the use of tarot, tarot in and of itself is not an actual ritual, rather a tool used as part of a ritual.

The ritual aspect would be what you do to prepare for a reading through the retiring of the tarot cards.

I too like to say tarot is my religion, because I have faith in my ability to connect through the use of the cards, and I do have a ritual that I use in preparation. But though I do give immense respect to the cards, I do not worship them.

It seems that some people regard Tarot as just a practical and useful tool for divination, creative exploration, therapy, etc. I have no problem with that. Others see Tarot as infused with spiritual teachings and spiritual significance of some kind. Myself, I regard it as a way that God/dess can communicate to me. Not necessarily the only way, though. Tarot cards literally appeared at my feet in front of me when I was young, and I took that to signify its importance for my path.

nisaba said:

No. Tarot is a tool, You can certainly use that tool as a part of ANOTHER religion, if you choose. Can you use one religion as a tool inside another religion?

I know rabid atheists that use Tarot. If they were here to see someone suggest it was a religion, they would be super-angry and super-disrespectful.

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Would not so

Signed: atheist. (well, OK maybe bordering on agnostic, but still.) I am terminally respectful

But I think that yes, actually you can use a religion as a tool within another religion. But I don't actually see tarot as a religion in itself.

A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. Many religions have narratives, symbols, and sacred histories that aim to explain the meaning of life, the origin of life, or the Universe.

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I don't think tarot goes quite that far. And I don't think WORSHIP is an essential part of religion - consider the Quakers, who mostly do not worship anything; they seek the light within - which is not the same thing as worshipping. Likewise many religions do not involve rites or rituals (Quakers again, but there are others - I just happen to know a lot about them, as I live with one.)

More to the point, it would certainly have to be a deeply personal religion, as very few of us here totally agree on anything, when it comes down to the finish line

I wonder if tarot could be compared to a Bible or other religious books and items. We can use them to increase our connection or understanding but some people don't use them in religions. You can use tarot in paganism and to help any spirituality but it's a tool to help you connect.

Gregory reading the Quakers UK website they describe the followers of the faith as 'worshippers' and there is a page about what happens in a meeting where they talk about meditative peace to worship God, so they are still worshipping.

I don't think we worship Tarot as an entity, but could be used as a worship tool. People use it for meditation and in spells as well as divination. There is people on AT of every religion and without religious beliefs and all find it a way to help them in their lives.