Answers to your Questions about Tarot: Tarot and Christianity

This week our question comes from Lucaz, who asks simply this.

“Is it right be a Christian and use tarot cards?”

Thanks for this important question.

The simple answer is that it depends who you talk to. There are so many Christian sects and denominations.

Although I do not now identify as Christian, I have a strong background in Christianity, and am familiar with the beliefs of a number of sects.

My father was a United Methodist minister. I sang in the choir and taught Sunday school. Rarely in my church or home was there talk of sin. In the Christian belief system of my childhood, God was love, and God wanted us to treat each other well. It was really that simple.

In High School I attended a Born-Again Christian academy. This was my first exposure to Evangelical Christianity. After the intellectual and socially conscious (boring) Methodist church, I enjoyed the passion and joy of Evangelical Christianity in the 1970s in the Northeastern United States.

Certainly, many Evangelicals find tarot inappropriate based on their understanding of the Bible.  Tarot is only five hundred years old and didn’t exist when the Bible was written and compiled. There are a few passages in Leviticus and Deuteronomy that caution against mediumship, divination and witchcraft. Since tarot might be considered a tool that can be used for these purposes, tarot is guilty by association.

It is important to remember that some Christian sects forbid card-playing and dancing, although there are no clear Biblical directives against these activities.

Some Christian sects are avid diviners, using bibliomancy, or “Bible Dipping” as a way of receiving communication from Higher Power. Many New Thought churches use psychic fairs and tarot classes as effective church fundraisers.

There are many Christian tarot readers, and many tarot decks based on Christian philosophy.

The original tarot has many references to the Roman Catholic culture from which it sprang, including a “Pope” and “Popess,” as well as a “Devil,” and a card that reflects the concept of the Judgement Day.

To me it seems that the people who are religiously opposed to tarot suffer from both a misunderstanding of tarot and a misunderstanding of spiritual faith. They also may be victim to a fair amount of superstition.

The answer to your question, Lucaz, depends entirely on how you feel about it, or how your church feels about it. I have some clients and students who are Born-Again Christians and find a great deal of spiritual support from tarot. They probably don’t tell their fellow church members about their involvement with tarot.

Some of the best readers I know are Christian, although there are probably many other Christians who would not validate or accept the Christianity of a tarot reader.

We each need to choose the paths that are right for us. If you are Christian and are drawn to tarot, don’t think that the two spiritual systems are necessarily incompatible.  At the same time, recognize that there will always be people who make judgments based on superstition, fear and misunderstanding.

Thanks for a great question! Enjoy the video!

Email me with your questions about tarot!

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