Reconciling Tarot with my faith

[blackbird78]

Bottom line is I love Tarot, I work in my spare time as a professional astrologer/palmist/tarot consultant. I give very good readings to people who enjoy my work, leave my readings feeling positive and uplifted and confident about the future. I feel that I achieve real good in the world this way. I have not been well recently. I have had severe depression and been in hospital for 7 weeks. I felt so bad I asked my mother to send the minister. I really prayed to God to help me and a minister friend of mine has told me that practising Tarot is irreconcilable with the Christian faith - trying to predict the future is forbidden by the bible. I don't think that I predict the future as such, I think I merely give insight into trends and influences which will be working in the querent's favour or to their detriment. I would never tell anyone anything to hurt them. My own minister has said that I would need to stop Tarot to accept Jesus fully into my life. But the truth is, I love Tarot and I don't want to give it up, but I also want a faith in my life and to live a good Christian life and honour God. I want to have my cake and eat it. I want to do Tarot and be a good Christian at the same time but apparently I can't do this. FYI, I'm a Methodist.

Has anyone else here ever had this religious dilemma?

blackbird x

 

[RufusJ]

Oh yeah,

Several folks here are Christian and love to read Tarot, and Indigo Rose has some great posts on this. I struggle with this myself.

Here's a thread that has some good info on this. Note especially what mac22 has to say:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=35418&page=3&pp=10

Joseph in the Old Testament even used a scrying cup to see the future, and it was that cup that was put in the sack that his brothers had when they were to return to their father, not knowing who Joseph was.

However.. if your heart condemns you, then you may have to give Tarot up.

Good luck!

rufusj

 

[lark]

Yes, I did too, and then I came across this verse in the bible...Romans 12:6
"We each have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith."

It hit me like a thunderbolt because I realised what I do is a gift from God...it is one of the spiritual gifts talked about in
I Corinthians 12:8, but it is so overlooked and shunned by the church.....probably because they don't understand it.
And instead of feeling ashamed of what I do, or that it somehow kept me from God, I began to understand that it is my special link to God...my way of being of service and doing his will while I'm here on earth.
That it would be a shame to disregard the gift and talent I was given.
And I never looked back after that...true I have never been involved in a main stream church again...I have never found one that understands or honors the gift of prophecy.....
But my relationship with the Divine One is strong and intimate and personal...because it was not dictated to me by men, but discovered and uncovered by the gentle hand of God himself.

I understand you have to do what you feel is right for you....and I hope you get well very soon...it helped me to research where the bible came from, how it was put together, who put what we know as the bible together...and what the motives are behind churches and their many rules.
I came to the conclusion that the God of the bible in no way resembles the God I know....and so I am happy and very content now with my personal faith...and I am not connected with any religious group, and happily so.
But I went through the same struggle and uncertainty that you are now...and in times of trouble or illness there is always someone there saying "Oh, your bad luck is because you read tarot...quit and all will be better."
How silly...people who sit in a pew every Sunday have troubles too.
But when we are down we are looking to grab at anything for comfort and our mind starts thinking ..."what if they're right"....and all the confussion comes marching in.
Education is power and if you really look at where all religion stems from it is eye opening and you will never be confused or undecided again...and able then to stand on your own principles the ones you have discovered, just you and God together.
And able to make an educated decission about what faith you chose to follow..not a decission based on fear or other peoples opinion....
Many blessing to you blackbird.

 

[celticnoodle]

blackbird, i know where you are coming from. however, i feel your gift is something given to you by God, and that this gift is meant to be shared in a positive way to others, as you have been doing/are doing. You have said yourself that you help people and have had clients who felt positive and uplifted after receiving a reading from you. that is a great way to share your gifts. it's a shame when you have a gift that you don't or cannot share. so, please don't feel like you have to choose between tarot and religion. i do not think you do have to.

this verse in the bible...Romans 12:6
"We each have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith."

Lark, I am so glad you posted that phrase from the bible. I had remembered it being somewhere in the bible, (and probably other phrases just like that), but I could not recall where I had seen/read it before! Now, I will write it down.

So, see blackbird, even men back in the days when the above book was written, believed it was not a sin, but a gift also. So, you can be a spiritual person and continue to practice tarot and other forms of divination.

Obviously, you are meant to have this gift, and to share it with others. Not to do so would be a shame, if you are choosing not to do so, solely because you feel it is a bad thing to do.

 

[Splungeman]

I sense a rant coming on.

Forgive me if this response seems a little rough...I just feel a deep loathing within me anytime some minister comes along and takes advantage of someone in a weak position. I'm a nurse, so I see it a lot. The LAST thing you need when in a huge depression and in the hospital is someone coming along and adding GUILT to the equation. If they were truly there to help you, they should have simply prayed with you and supported you, not come along at told you the things they see wrong in your life. You said this person was your friend. If they are your friend, they should respect your differences and embrace your similarities.

The reason that priests/pastors/reverends/etc. don't want you using Tarot cards is the same reason they want you to come to church every Sunday. Money. If you can get spiritual answers on your own, in the privacy of your own home, then you have no reason to go to church and give donations, set up a tithe, or donate your free time in lieu of money (unpaid labor is just as good as money). Without people faithfully filling the church's coffers, the church dies. The thing that churches fear most is people going it alone as far as God, faith, etc are concerned. There are exceptions of course, but for the most part, this is the way it is. If you have a problem, the church wants you to go straight to them and nobody else. This is why they make universal, no compromise statements such as, "If you don't do as we say, you will go to hell."

My response to that is to tell them they can go ahead on without me.

 

[6 Haunted Days]

It's going to have to be your decision what you think is right. If you look to the bible for direction in this matter, you're going to find scriptures that ban it and it's the devils work, and then scriptures where you could take it as saying it's ok. It will just make you more confused.

 

[Alta]

I am also a Christian and also love tarot, and I Ching. To me these are compatible because everything that is within me is reflection of Divine love. I was given a gift of divination, and other gifts, and it would be an act of disrespect to my creator to not use them.

The world is made more beautiful in our own eyes by understanding and compassion, and to me the tarot leads us down those paths. Jesus represented and taught such virtues, as have many other outstanding men and women.

Your depression could be either of mental or physical origin or a combination. Trust your health professional to tell you that. Christianity has a fair infestation of bigots, but then bigots get into everywhere.

Marion

 

[Master_Margarita]

blackbird, I am so sorry to read of your deep pain. It grieves me to think that a man of the cloth is adding to it, seemingly with the best of intentions.

In my opinion only, the minister who is advising you that you must give up Tarot is misunderstanding what Tarot is or can be. It didn't sound to me like what you are doing is "trying to predict the future."

Again speaking for myself, I think people on a more traditional spiritual path are prone to attach too much significance to things like tarot cards, which after all are just pieces of paper, and not enough significance to understanding the process of using the cards, which is simply prayer/meditation/contact with the Divine in a less traditional fashion.

Your minister might find the Tarot of the Saints interesting if he can set aside his judgmentality for a moment. ETA: Some images here: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tarot-of-the-saints/index.shtml

May your suffering and the suffering of all beings be transformed into wisdom and compassion,

Margarita

 

[Sophie]

I feel for your struggle, Blackbird - what a lovely moniker you have chosen, by the way! Blackbirds are birds traditionally linked to divination, who cross between our world and the otherworld . I also agree with Splungeman about the minister taking advantage of your weakened state to try and push his own agenda, though I wouldn't assume it's simply about money - more probably he thinks he knows what is best for you, as is often the case for men in his position .

The Bible actually has fortune-telling: it describes casting lots! Far more of a fortune-telling tool than tarot cards, I would have thought. The aim of the verses against foretelling the future is actually very sane and logical: it's to warn you against becoming obsessed with knowing the future to the expense of living fully in the present. As long as you don't become obsessed with the future, don't turn away from G-d's guidance, then you are committing no sin against your religion with Tarot cards. G-d speaks in many ways - why wouldn't he use your tarot cards to speak to you, or to others through you? Tarot is your special gift - a G-d given gift, if you have helped others and yourself with it.


Many Christians on this list will answer you, and will advise you. You are not alone to have faced this dilemma. Perhaps you can try and make your minister understand that you don't use tarot cards specifically to predict the future, but to illuminate the dark corners of life. After all, one can read futures with tea and coffee - does he want you to give up those too?


Have you prayed about this, and asked G-d directly to give you the answer? As a Methodist, you need no intermediary between you and G-d. Just ask Him. Then pull out the High Priestess card, wait, and listen.

 

[Gayla]

Has anyone else here ever had this religious dilemma?

blackbird x

Blackbird, I am a Christian. I LOVE Jesus and I LOVE Tarot.

It can get really complicated if you let it, but in my opinion, there is no dilemma because I know in my heart who God is and I know what Tarot is.

I serve and worship God, I use Tarot for clarity and to explore options and possiblities.

Accepting Jesus fully into my our lives doesn't mean given up things we love.

I once had someone tell me I had acknowledge that I love the Lord more than my children...well, now...that's a dilemma!!!

To me, as long as I know I am using my gifts with the Tarot to help others, I know I am being a good Christian because I am helping others. I don't try to predict the future, I don't envoke spells, I don't try to guess winning lottery numbers...(but it's tempting. )

You know, the Tarot came to me when I was at a very low point in my life and lifted my spirit in many ways...I percieved it as a gift from God.

(((blackbird))))