Mallah
Oh, same for me! Once it's "in there"....but I know as a fact that it's not necessary...and it actually has helped me to "ignore" it a lot of the time...it's just one map in a whole bag of tricks.
And the "does it matter" begs the question, is TAROT superior to other forms of cartomancy?
"Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler." --A. Einstein......The more complicated you make things, the more difficult it is to understand. K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple, Stupid.
The Qabalistic Tree of Life, as a structural model for all levels of the cosmos, is universally applicable, not merely to Tarot. It is the foundation of my personal use of Tarot, but there is no need to force the Tarot-Qabalah connection if one is not so inclined. Indeed, there may be some legitimate issues with Qabalistic Tarot, such as, for example, whether to use the Levi scheme or that of HOGD or Thelema. Therefore, it may be best to avoid Qabalah in connection with the concept of a core Tarot.
"Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler." --A. Einstein