Tarotphobia: How do we feel about it, what do we do about it

Manda

I have never run into anyone who had a phobia of tarot, and if I did I wouldn't do anything, most likely. That's their deal. I live in a large, urbane city and I mostly read at home, or in places where tarot wouldn't be an issue.

If people are interested, then I would educate them gently, but if I was faced with someone derisive or hateful about it I would just ignore them. Those types are just looking for a reaction anyway.
 

Chronata

I have never had problems with tarotphobia in a major way...before now.

Sure, there were always those church gigs...but honestly most of the people there were very open to my reading.

Now I live in a tiny wisconsin town, and I am running into walls trying to jump start my business again.

Everywhere here, there is an apathy or a fear. I can't read in the local coffee house, or the resorts or any of the spas because of it.

To be truthfull, it's sort of crushed my spirit.
 

direwolf336

don't let your spirits get crushed. Keep trying.......
 

ScaryFairy

My dad was a bit wary at first, but I think he's over that now.
The only other tarotphobic person is my friend, a Jehovah's Witness. There is no point trying to show her that they aren't evil or anything, because she is totally 100% devoted to her religion and downright refuses not to follow every word of it.
It's depressing, but there's nothing anyone can do about it.
 

Seafra

A phobia is a legitimate anxiety disorder so first we must be careful not to attribute fear or lack of understanding to a legitimate medical condition.

Perhaps your best approach, Red, might be hinted at in your own sig quote: "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." Martin Luther King

Answer ignorance and fear with love and understanding or turn away if you're tempted to resort to anger yourself. MLK seemed to have a good handle on Justice and Judgement.
 

214red

Seafra said:
A phobia is a legitimate anxiety disorder so first we must be careful not to attribute fear or lack of understanding to a legitimate medical condition.

Perhaps your best approach, Red, might be hinted at in your own sig quote: "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." Martin Luther King

Answer ignorance and fear with love and understanding or turn away if you're tempted to resort to anger yourself. MLK seemed to have a good handle on Justice and Judgment.
i do believe that the best combination is MLK and Malcolm X, you need both to push change:)

We do need to challenge what we believe is unjust........i don't believe in violence unless to defend yourself, i am not a violent person.

if i get angry i control it and then push into something productive, anger if not controlled, controls you. i dont get angry with Tarotphobics, i get frustrated, and feel glad i am not as ignorant as them.

Nik
PS i use the tarotphobia not in the strictly phobic term, hence my original note, we understand the concept
 

ZenMusic

Even the disciples of Jesus believed they could make decisions through reading a chance event:

Acts 1:26 And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
 

Grizabella

A phobia is an irrational fear. Therefore, you can't dispel it by talking rationally to the person who has the fear any more than you can dispel the fear of someone who is claustrophobic by telling them rationally that small spaces won't hurt them.

No matter what you quote from the Bible to a tarotphobic Christian, they're not going to lose their phobia. They're going to tell you that only priests or Christ himself or the Apostles were allowed to cast lots or to prophesy or whatever.
 

HearthCricket

Most of the time I really don't care what others think about tarot. I don't agree with everything in the world and every belief system, so if someone else is bothered by it, I think that is fine and their business. It is a free world, or ought to be, to have your own choices about what you do and don't believe in. Forcing something on another is disrespectful.

That being said, I have had only two people come up to me and literally give me a lecture on how evil tarot is or how wrong it is for a Catholic to be reading it. First I remind them I am a lapsed Catholic and tired of the church hiding pedophiles. That quiets them down. Then I ask them what they are so afraid of? Tarot is just cardstock with pictures on them, Mass Market mostly and sold through Amazon among other basic places. I then tell them they are being very superstitious. That usually makes them stop in their tracks and ponder...

Luckily the majority of people I know, even if they have never owned a tarot deck, are intrigued, interested and excited about having a reading done. And once they have one done, they usually come back for more.
 

Rev_Vesta

I must admit I am quick lucky in my years as a reader I ahve come accross very little resisitant by the community, considering we have a rather large Lightworkers community here in Hawkes Bay.......but in saying that we do also have quite a few extreme Christian Youth Groups.........

I have had a couple with the groups even though they believe in Spiritual Healing.........Faith Healing.......they do not understand and assume the Tarot is about working through tHE Devil..... over the last few weeks I have had 3 people start in on me, because of the shop I work in, plus my pentacle around my neck.....makes it quite obvious.... but one of the girls came in to look at some stamp watches and I happened to mention the Expo.. and she told me She did believe the Tarot was not something we as ordinary people should work with... anad did I want to go to Hell..... I told her I beleived God would not send me to hell but Summerland for the love and the integrity I work with during my tarot readings.....I think stumped up because she stopped then just ordered what she wanted in the stamp watches.....lol

Vesta