Is Tarot Evil ?

I’ve often read about other Tarot readers being told that Tarot is evil. I’ve even heard of someone losing “friends” when it was discovered that they had used Tarot Cards.

Throughout history, mankind (although some are not so kind) have had some form of divination. There have always been people attempting to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge. Prophecy is not new!

In the past various forms of divination have been used to answer questions or predict events. The signs are interpreted by the diviners for those seeking insight. This was often carried out by spiritual leaders or seers and considered as a great skill to be able to say or discover what will happen in the future.

The word divination is based on a Latin word meaning “from the gods”. Many forms of divination are based on the idea that some spiritual force is providing the answers that people seek. Others believe it is our own subconscious that provide the answers.

Divination is mentioned in the bible. Some verses talk about divination as a good thing, like Joseph who had been enabled by God to have prophetic dreams and to interpret the dreams of others, allowing him to advise and save Egypt from famine. While others will talk of the Bible’s condemnation of divination as evil.

I think it very much depends on who you listen to as to whether or not divination is thought to be evil. We can all find good or bad in anything. How someone views Tarot cards and the practice of reading them can also make a difference. Are Tarot cards there to predict the future or just work through problems? Can Tarot cards enable someone to contact spirits for guidance or are they just images to reflect the readers own feelings and trigger subconscious thoughts? The use of Tarot cards and the emotions they evoke in different people very much depends on individual interpretation.

Today divination methods vary by culture and religion and can incorporate ritualistic elements or just be used as an everyday practice. Tarot cards, runes, tea leaves, the stars, even dreams (or whatever else may be used) are just tools. It is people that assign their meaning.

Have you ever known what someone was going to say before they said it? Many of us have perception by intuition or instinctive foresight. Some people “just know” when something is not quite right, when a relative is ill, their child hurts them self or maybe just when the phone is about to ring. Some people are able to develop these skills more than others and some people use cards or other items as tools to improve their skill. Does that make us evil. No of course not!

Is Tarot evil? No. Tarot cards are just cards.