Does the Bible says no to Tarot?

[SjN]

Okay. I am getting my first Tarot Deck in 8 days (I am like.. can't wait)

But most people i know are against Tarot.

My christian friend who says Bible says 'no' to that.
My friend who is Agnostic says that Tarot is no good, because he knows what it is and it's just no good.
Other psychic 50 year old man, he's experienced with doing all kind of readings for 20 years told me to stay away from that.
and finnaly my brother who's a believer and he knows the bible pretty well, did everything to stop me from getting that deck, but iam still standing on my own.

I am speaking to those who are believers, those who are christians or believe in bible.

I finnaly took the time to look for those passages in holy bible that state against tarot(/FORTUNE TELLING).


Micah 3:6
"The sun will set for the prophets,
and the day will go dark for them."

Micah 3:7
"The seers will be ashamed
and the diviners disgraced.
They will all cover their faces
because there is no answer from God."

"13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance"

Isaiah 19:3

"The Egyptians will lose heart,
and I will bring their plans to nothing;
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists"

47:9
"Both of these will overtake you
in a moment, on a single day:
loss of children and widowhood.
They will come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries
and all your potent spells."



Okey, I am sure there's more.

Opinions?

 

[Sienna]

The Bible has loads of references against soothsaying, calls the Tarot "the Devil's Picturebook". etc. In the end it just boils down to one thing:- Belief

If you believe in everything the Bible says 100% then I guess the Tarot wouldn't be for you. However, if you question the Bible and its many contradictions and inaccuracies, then you could say the Tarot falls into one of those categories, its entirely up to you what you believe.

I had problems with the Tarot for long time, but I eventually drew my own conclusions, and now I am probably well on my way to becoming a Pagan! (My fathers a Vicar!!). I think the anti-Tarot stuff was just the ancient Church's way of trying to control the masses, its always been political, and what better way to debunk potential opposition, then claiming you will be damned if you read the Tarot etc?

Just my 2 cents worth...
Sx

 

[Moonleap]

Think about this for a minute: Is God petty and egotistical? Why would he care that you read Tarot? What is he afraid of?

 

[Alta]

I am positive that nowhere in the Bible does it say that Tarot is the Devil's Picturebook.

 

[Red Emma]

Bible and Tarot

Dear Sienna:

I admire your courage to explore values which differ from those by which you were raised. I hope you continue to find your own way and live your life as you see fit.

I hope I won't offend you, but as a former Baptist, I find the Pagan rule quite refreshing. No only is it much more liberating than the ones I was taught when I was young, it addresses much more than all the 10 commandments, and is only eight words long: An ye harm none, do as ye will.

Blessings,

Red Emma

 

[HudsonGray]

It doesn't. And actually it definately couldn't. The bible was written from prior to AD 1, up to about 400 AD. The tarot was developed around a thousand years later so no mention of it COULD have been in the bible.

The old testament is chock full of divination done by ordinary people. They didn't get warned away from doing dream interpretation and augery.

The bible was written in old Arabic, translated to Hebrew, re-written into latin, then later the new testament was re-written quite extensively around the time of the 1600's by religious leaders trying to put their own spin on things (compare the King James version of the bible with older ones and you'll see--the forced rewriting was one of the reasons Martin Luther separated from the main church, remember). So the thing has been modified significantly, way after the fact, and more than one time too.

I was raised Catholic and see no problem with using divination. It was a thoroughly approved form back in the Old Testament, why would God object to it now?

Plus you've got the fact that several decks were commissioned by Popes in the Middle Ages, they weren't afraid of the decks back then. And the tarot was one of the things that was never included in the proscribed (forbidden to have) list that would get you killed as a witch during the Inquisition times. Former Pope John Paul had a photograph taken of him in his office, and right there on the desk was one of the new books on tarot (it was even discussed on this list I think last year), so he had no problems with the tarot either, and that's pretty recent, you'll have to admit. He never came out against tarot decks.

I don't know where your friends are coming from on this (other than to keep you from doing some in depth learning on your own), but it's not based in historical fact. Sorry.

 

[Rosanne]

If you want a positive soothsaying/divination reply from biblical sources- look to Joseph and his Story as the vizer in Egypt. Genesis Chapters 37 through 47. Yahweh was on Josephs side all through his divining. ~Rosanne

 

[Sienna]

I am positive that nowhere in the Bible does it say that Tarot is the Devil's Picturebook.

Marion I will amend my post, what I was refering to was that Priests regularly spoke out against the Tarot called it "The Devil's Picture Book". There are many references against trusting soothsayers, mediums and witches particularly this passage is indicative:-

Micah 5 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain



Micah 5
1Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

2But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

3Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

4And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

5And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.

6And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

7And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.

8And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

9Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

10And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:

11And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:

12And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:

13Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.

14And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities.

15And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

There is also another passage which comes to mind:-

Jer 27:9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to
your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters,
nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall
not serve the king of Babylon: {10} For they prophesy a lie
unto you ..

 

[vernissage]

I also admire the research you have done -- something I've been mildly interested in doing "one day" and never have.

I myself am not very religious, although I do consider myself to be spiritual.


My mother, on the other hand, was an avid believer in the Bible, an obsession that led to her mental downfall. She was always furious towards my interest in Tarot. The following are her reasons about why Tarot is blasphemous and why God forbids it:

I would like to emphasize that I do not personally believe any of the following: they were my mother's beliefs.

(1) Apparently God and Lucifer are the only ones who are allowed to look into the future; ergo (2) this is a divine power and we are not worthy of it, and (3) when we use anything that allows us to foresee the future, we are mocking God.

(4) Anyone who is naturally gifted to see into the future, has been blessed by Satan since God will not meddle in the affairs of men until the Last Days are over. (5) Anyone who accepts a gift from the Devil is sentencing themselves to complete rejection from Heaven and paradise.

(6) Using tools to see into the future encourages the interference of demons into our minds, lives and homes.

(Everyone: I do not wish to start a religious debate. I have little interest in relgion, and, again these are merely the beliefs of someone I knew.)

While it is not specifically mentioned in the bible, Tarot is a form of seeing or predicting the future in some way, something that has been spoken against in the bible, as the passages quoted in above posts prove.


Now, my thoughts:

I believe that whatever a person believes -- is true for that person. If you are an avid believer in the Bible, if these fears are true for you, or if you think this uncertainty will haunt you -- do not practice Tarot. If, however, you think these uncertainties or fears are only temporary, if you are willing to be open-minded, if you are not intimidated -- go for it.

- V.

 

[MeeWah]

It has been some time since I read the Bible, but recall reading instances of divine revelation through dreams in both the Old Testament & New Testament.

David interpreted dreams & that is of the divinatory or 'fortune-telling'.