Taking it all too seriously?

[FaeryGodmother]

I've been talking with an friend of mine recently and thinking a lot about how seriously she takes tarot. Now, I love tarot and divination and all associated things but I think it is possible to take things way too seriously. Guidance and insight is one thing but stepping over the line and saying, "oh no I don't want to see him any more because the cards say it won't work," seems so ridiculous to me.

One of the things I like so much here at AT is that we can talk about the Happy Squirrel card, and that theres a Cosmic Toaster who gives the best advice, and a really smart guy who always looking for his pants, - I never feel that, as a community, we take things too seriously here. So, thank you for that.

But what about other people? What can you say to people who take it all too seriously? Should you say anything at all or just leave them to it? Is there a point where it becomes dangerous to take it so seriously? Am I not taking it seriously enough perhaps?

 

[rissa]

I don't know if it's a matter of "serious" vs. "not-so-serious".
It sounds like maybe your friend just has different beliefs about what the deck is capable of.

I think I take it very seriously, but I do not use it as a decision-maker...rather, I see it as a mirror of the way the world is, at which I may look, and gain insight--A spiritual therapist of sorts. ANd in that capacity, I am very serious about it.


BUt some people just seem to have very different ideas of what Tarot is for...

 

[furiana]

I can't believe you just posted this topic! Apparently, I'm one of those people being too serious: I keep reading about playfullness in my deck's companion book, I got the "fool" card for advice today, my cards kept making jokes, and now this thread.

I have to admit that the jokes worked well. How could I not crack up, when I see the Queen of Swords rub her sword *just so* as she watches the Lovers through drooping eyes...!

Then again, it might be more appropriate for someone who overanalyzes cards than for someone who bases her life on them. I'll call it a matter of judgement!

 

[shelikes2read]

IMO, if a person is using outside sources (friends'/family's input, research results, Tarot, etc) as INPUT that helps them make a decision, they're using those things as resources, and that can be a positive thing.

But if they begin using those things to make their decision for them, they're giving up their power to those outside sources, and that's not good. Our decisions are our responsibility, and we need to resist the tempation to let outside sources do ALL our thinking for us. That's a form of escapism.

Like it or not, the buck stops with us. The end result is that we will be held responsible for our actions, whether we proactively decided to do something or whether we try to give away the responsibility by saying, "My friends told me to", "My horoscope said...", "the cards said...". So we might as well use the brain Our Maker gave us, and make decisions consciously after reviewing input from outside sources.

 

[Grizabella]

Considering that the cards aren't always right and that, even if they were, we don't always interpret them right, relying on them as the end all and be all is extremely foolhardy. But you probably can't convince someone who insists on relying on them that religiously, so I guess all you can do is hope for the best for them and set a good example yourself.

And yes, it can definitely be dangerous to take it so seriously.

Are you not taking it seriously enough? If you're taking it with a grain of salt, you're very wise.

Don't get me wrong. I love my cards, I use them every day, and I'm continually amazed by them, but I'm also honest enough with myself to admit that sometimes either I or they, or maybe both, are wrong.

 

[FaeryGodmother]

...I think I take it very seriously, but I do not use it as a decision-maker...rather, I see it as a mirror of the way the world is, at which I may look, and gain insight--A spiritual therapist of sorts. ANd in that capacity, I am very serious about it....

Hi rissa, could you please explain what you mean by "spiritual therapist"?

I can't believe you just posted this topic! Apparently, I'm one of those people being too serious: I keep reading about playfullness in my deck's companion book, I got the "fool" card for advice today, my cards kept making jokes, and now this thread...

lol, yep, you gotta love the synchronicty. Welcome to the forum.

....Like it or not, the buck stops with us. The end result is that we will be held responsible for our actions, whether we proactively decided to do something or whether we try to give away the responsibility by saying, "My friends told me to", "My horoscope said...", "the cards said...". ...

And this is something I agree with completely.

Considering that the cards aren't always right and that, even if they were, we don't always interpret them right, relying on them as the end all and be all is extremely foolhardy. But you probably can't convince someone who insists on relying on them that religiously, so I guess all you can do is hope for the best for them and set a good example yourself...

Thanks Solitare.

I guess part of why I started the thread was because i was worried that i am not setting a good example. Maybe she finds my irreverence for the cards.... offensive. She hasn't ever said so, but I admit to feeling self concious when she draws her cards out of their silk wrapped box and lays them reverently down and treats them with such care, then I pull out my deck in its rather battered original packaging box from my handbag where they have been battling for room amongst the... stuff... I have in there. Maybe i should or could be taking it more seriously than I actualy am.

I guess it just boils down to, for me, tarot cards are images on bits of cardboard. And I would like to understand why some other people take it so much more seriously than i do.

 

[rissa]

Hi rissa, could you please explain what you mean by "spiritual therapist"?

LIke when I consult them, I see the situation from a new perspective. THey force me to look at components of a situation I'd rather deny, or make me realise that I feel things I didn't know I felt. And they can offer guidance, too.

Basically, they just help me take a step back and look at my life objectively, and understand how my own biases are skewing a given situation in my mind.

Hope that makes some sense

 

[rebecca-smiles]

I guess part of why I started the thread was because i was worried that i am not setting a good example. Maybe she finds my irreverence for the cards.... offensive. She hasn't ever said so, but I admit to feeling self concious when she draws her cards out of their silk wrapped box and lays them reverently down and treats them with such care, then I pull out my deck in its rather battered original packaging box from my handbag where they have been battling for room amongst the... stuff... I have in there. Maybe i should or could be taking it more seriously than I actualy am.

I guess it just boils down to, for me, tarot cards are images on bits of cardboard. And I would like to understand why some other people take it so much more seriously than i do.

Well i take the cards seriously, just like i take my friends seriously; i don't bow before them and wrap them in silk, and even though i trust them i don't believe everything they say. (with the cards, even readings that i got wrong or couldn't read, retrospectively they were good cards, but i don't trust my judgment 100%).

My cards get the same treatment as yours! but i feel i would get less out of them by treating them with reverence. I have heard people say the oppoiste though; if they didn't treat them as objects of power, reverence or whatever, they would probably believe in them less and use them less.

I think maybe how we approach them has more to do with what motivates us to use them, perhaps?

 

[rissa]

Well i take the cards seriously, just like i take my friends seriously; i don't bow before them and wrap them in silk, and even though i trust them i don't believe everything they say. (with the cards, even readings that i got wrong or couldn't read, retrospectively they were good cards, but i don't trust my judgment 100%).

That's a really good comparison to make.

Also, it made me giggle

 

[SunChariot]

Well, I believe the cards always tell the truth, so yes it would be serious to me if they suggested I leave someone I love. I would take that very seriously. But I would not just up and leave. I would do more readings to see why they told me things would not work and what I could do to fix them.

I would believe that they were telling me I was running into a dead end, but I would also believe I have the power with the aid of my cards to fix and change things. And if it were someone I loved I would certainly try.

I would not take a prediction like that as a certainly, but as a warning sign, that I need to change paths if I want things to work. There is not just one future predicted by the cards, there can be many. And, to me, the cards are tools to help you change paths.

As for your question on if you might not be taking Tarot seriously enough, no one can answer that for you. It has to come from your own heart and soul. It is all related to your spirituality and view of the world, and no one can tell you what yours should me. These are all things we need to find and discover inside ourselves. With or without the aid of your higher powers, depending on your belief system.

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