Morwenna
I haven't had time to read this whole thread yet, but what I've read strikes many chords with me. I was raised Catholic and came to incorporate many Pagan practices into my life in mid-adulthood; I sometimes call myself a Christo-Pagan but I haven't followed those links on Christo-Paganism yet so I don't know if I'd be misrepresenting myself! I usually attend a Unitarian-Universalist church these days (interestingly enough, my father was raised Universalist, and converted to Catholicism in advanced age).
The pertinent part of this is that my very Catholic maternal grandmother was a card reader--ordinary playing cards (she might have appreciated Tarot if she had had access to any, but she was poor, and she grew up in the 19th century), and her generation, at least of Catholics, saw nothing wrong with this. It's like so many folk practices; it seems that those who have the least conflict between folk practices (including divination) and religion are those from Catholic peasant areas of Europe. I'm sure there are other examples. My grandmother was from la Provence de Quebec and had the kids speaking French at home even though they were almost all born here.
And even without thinking of cultures with folk practices, there is that oft-quoted dictum (and my mother quoted it often): "God helps those who help themselves." Tarot seems to have been helpful to vast numbers of people; how can that be wrong? And our talents are God-given, and we were told often that it's a sin to waste your God-given talents. So I say to the finger-pointers, so there.
The pertinent part of this is that my very Catholic maternal grandmother was a card reader--ordinary playing cards (she might have appreciated Tarot if she had had access to any, but she was poor, and she grew up in the 19th century), and her generation, at least of Catholics, saw nothing wrong with this. It's like so many folk practices; it seems that those who have the least conflict between folk practices (including divination) and religion are those from Catholic peasant areas of Europe. I'm sure there are other examples. My grandmother was from la Provence de Quebec and had the kids speaking French at home even though they were almost all born here.
And even without thinking of cultures with folk practices, there is that oft-quoted dictum (and my mother quoted it often): "God helps those who help themselves." Tarot seems to have been helpful to vast numbers of people; how can that be wrong? And our talents are God-given, and we were told often that it's a sin to waste your God-given talents. So I say to the finger-pointers, so there.