List of tarot myths

Gotta revive this one: They have some connection to heavy metal. Ooh.

willowfox said:

Isn't it true that reading too often for yourself will make you go crazy? A doctor once told me that many of his psychiatric patients used to use tarot cards.

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That could be an unknown factor thing. Like...the taller you are the smarter. But as you age (from baby to toddler to preschooler to grade schooler to adolescent to teen to adult) you get taller, right? and you learn more too.
Things that are linked together don't have to affect each other. Also, how much is "many"? 50%, 10%, 90% of psychiatric patients?
Personally I've had some awful awful days and if I had no one to talk to, a tarot deck would give be advice, cheer me up and give me confidence.
I know it's a stereotype but those with mental illness often suffer alone (many do, either from lack of themselves understanding or those around them not supporting them) so maybe they used the Tarot to make sense of life, to gain some idea/control what was happening. Depression is the major one so it seems likely.
Maybe if they were suffering mentally they might use it obsessively, too much or just might have trouble getting the answers straight, who knows.
Tarot on mental illness. Very interesting!

Lleminawc said:

All the "scary" cards are actually tremendously positive and you should jump for joy if they turn up in your reading, as they're really about "transformation", empowerment, freeing yourself from limited ways of thinking and similar warm fuzzy stuff.

EDIT: excepting of course the Happy Squirrel Card (*shudders*)

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I don't think this is a myth. Just an annoyance with how some people read cards. lol (Unless this is more internet sarcasm. It's hard to tell. It's definitely exaggeration though.) I don't think the 'scary' cards are meant to correspond to actual scary events. They usually represent fear. And yes, most of the time they do represent positive or at least mundane things.

Anyway, moving along, I think the significance of reversals is a myth. If tarot is an unbound book, it clearly makes no sense. If we inadvertently opened a book upside down, we wouldn't read whatever it says on the page and figure the opposite must be true (or whatever's in the book is lacking in our lives) because the book was upside down when we opened it. Or if a stop sign was hanging upside down we wouldn't think, oh, that must mean keep going then. It's an odd tradition, reversals.

There are also myths about moonlight to correspond with the ones about sunlight.

That keeping a crystal near your deck has some positive effect on it.

That you must buy it (or make it) silk wraps or special bags, or carry it with you wherever you go to forge a bond, or otherwise shower it with care and affection.

That tarot can't answer yes or no questions.

That it's possible to 'clear one's mind of all other thoughts besides your question' and this must be done before a reading.

And I think the bookstores are under the impression that you must make an informed decision about which one to buy without ever opening it and seeing any of the cards! lol

Have to agree with whoever said definitive origins of tarot are unknown. That Robert Place is the final authority on tarot history is yet another myth. lol Very talented artist though.

The most persistent ones, I think, are that tarot doesn't work and (conversely) that the cards are always right. Clearly it does work. It's not always right though. Nothing's literally perfect.

Funny thread, though probably most of us indulge in a few of these myths on a regular basis. Some of them are just rituals which are fun.

This thread is obviously quite long, and I can't be arsed to look through every page to see what was already listed and what wasn't.

Sorry for any repeats:

• Tarot is the devil!
• Tarot is only used by Pagans.
• You have to bless/clarify your deck or it won't work right.
• You HAVE to use reversals.
• Christians can't use tarot because it's of the devil.

That's all I got for now. Ha.

Sorry if someone mentioned it already, but I was thinking today the thing about a card that falls out of the deck being especially significant is another myth. I think that's just gravity at work. lol

Mellifluous said:

That it's possible to 'clear one's mind of all other thoughts besides your question' and this must be done before a reading.

And I think the bookstores are under the impression that you must make an informed decision about which one to buy without ever opening it and seeing any of the cards! lol

Funny thread, though probably most of us indulge in a few of these myths on a regular basis. Some of them are just rituals which are fun.

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks it's impossible to clear your mind. And I also get annoyed at those bookstores!

Some of the things mentioned (candles, music, etc) I sometimes indulge in, knowing it will focus my mind, not because someone said I must.

Here's another two myths:
- Only people looking like gypsies are good readers.
- You must wear silver jewellery/purple clothing to protect yourself from the evil side of the cards/spirits that tarot calls up.

How about 'You can discover things about yourself and your future through a pack of cards'?

It's interesting how we're all laughing at these myths, and yet we are the ones who believe that a pack of cards can give us insight into ourselves and our world. If a person who didn't believe in tarot were to read this thread, what would they think of us? Pot...kettle...black anyone?

It's curious how we can ridicule one belief, and yet we believe in something many others consider unbelievable.

Free Flight said:

Don't forget,

Dont read for yourself or you will die

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=)) Where are we now? Hell? =))

teomat said:

How about 'You can discover things about yourself and your future through a pack of cards'?

It's interesting how we're all laughing at these myths, and yet we are the ones who believe that a pack of cards can give us insight into ourselves and our world. If a person who didn't believe in tarot were to read this thread, what would they think of us? Pot...kettle...black anyone?

It's curious how we can ridicule one belief, and yet we believe in something many others consider unbelievable.

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*nodding head in agreement* So true.

Mellifluous said:

I was thinking today the thing about a card that falls out of the deck being especially significant is another myth. I think that's just gravity at work. lol

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But gravity is significant, no?

(actually, in my case I think it's clumsiness at work )

Merenwen said:

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks it's impossible to clear your mind.

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On the other hand, it's pretty important to ground and centre yourself, which is easily done with slow shuffling, deep breathing and thinking lightly about the question (or any other method. We all have one). But as for emptying the mind - I can't remember who wrote that thoughts are like naughty children, the more you chase them away, the more they return to wreak havoc!