Other Atheist Tarot Readers?

Dogs&Coffee

I'm a pretty staunch skeptic and athiest with slightly spiritual leanings, but I've been having a positive experience with tarot over the past few weeks and mostly accurate readings, even on anonymous internet readings. I don't know whether to chalk it up to being able to just give good advice, or what... I tend to just do 3 Card readings in rapid fire fashion, but so far I've gotten all but 3 readings on the money, and the botched 3 were mostly because I was paying more attention to the TV than I was to the cards... it's kind of weird, honestly.

Are there any other athiest / agnostic readers, and what have your experiences been?
 

AnemoneRosie

I'm atheist/agnostic. I'm also a professional reader. I don't think that they're mutually exclusive, at all! I also know that you're not the only one. Or that we're not the only ones.

One way to explain it is that the cards open up a dialogue, or a conversation. Most images will do that, really - a fair few folks will say that a painting or a piece of art really speaks to them, for example. And sometimes people will say that music really resonates with them. Neither art nor music are a belief system, and yet they can still touch us on that level (which is why spiritual practices will incorporate music and art to get through to people.

There's more that I want to say but I'm falling asleep. I'll try to remember to come back to this.
 

euripides

Atheist here. I've got a very solid grounding in Biblical & Western traditions which gives me the semiotic tools for reading.

I tend to see Tarot as a window into our own subconscious. It's reasonable that it can give you some insight into how others might feel or act - that's basic human nature, most of the time. There's always going to be a bit of Barnum effect, but I think if you find it useful and it makes sense to you, that's fine. I wouldn't make life decisions based on something I saw in the cards that didn't make actual sense to me. It's a way of opening up the mind to possibilities, I think.

Someone described a reading as a snapshot... we can see the view from where we are. That might change if we choose to take a different path. Maybe someone will decide to fell a tree across that clear way we think we see!

I like to claim to be practical, scientific minded and not superstitious, but having been raised by a superstitious mother... I kind of can't help myself. I've got no issue with reading (or charging/paying for reading) - it takes skill, knowledge, time and sensitivity. The one thing I can't stand is people claiming to be in touch with the departed or having some special magical second sight - that's deceptive and exploitative.
 

Achlys

Considering that the cards also have a lot to do with Jungian psychology, I don't think a religious or spiritual background is necessary to use the cards.
Personally, I started reading when I was an atheist. Since then, I've started getting more spiritual though :laugh:
 

gregory

Agnostic bordering atheist - and no problem here. I see no reason AT ALL that any kind of god/supernal spirit/whatever needs to be involved. Not in tarot and not in spirituality.

Some one I know said once that I was the most spiritual person she knew. This from someone who is a devout Roman Catholic rather startled me. I mention it only because if a seriously religious person can see that spirituality is not about religious belief, who are we to say it is ? ;)
 

Wheel of Fantastic

I am a total atheist and have been my entire adult life; i'm a rationalist who believes in science.

That has not stopped me using the Tarot and I have found knowledge of Hebrew mysticism - the Tree of Life - very useful in understanding the Tarot. However, I can't accept astrology and the influence of the planets.

In my professional life as a therapist it is important for me to accept the religious and spiritual beliefs of others; this has helped in using the Tarot although I view the Tarot mainly in psychological terms.
 

Barleywine

I'm devoutly non-religious (how's that for an oxymoron :)), but have spiritual leanings from my experiences with practical magic that aren't anthropomorphic. I also believe that tarot is a "window into the subconscious" of whomever shuffles-and-cuts the cards, but not otherwise (so no "remote reading" for me; I consider that pure psychism, not cartomancy). I happen to believe that organized religion is one of the biggest mind-control scams ever foisted on the human race. I have no real problem with the values, it's the packaging and the privileged mindset it often promotes that I find objectionable.
 

Hopefuldreamer

I am agnostic but I've been doing tarot readings for years. I have gotten very good advice from my own readings and other readings. I used to always feel that maybe I was a fake since at times I do lean towards spirituality. I just have a hard time believing what I learned in church. I think maybe I am just confused or something.
 

nisaba

Are there any other athiest / agnostic readers, and what have your experiences been?

Hell, yeah! I know several, including a number of trained scientists of one kind or another. I'm not an atheist, but my beliefs are one thing and Tarot is another. Just as holding my beliefs doesn't affect the way I use my car when I drive (although it might make me more ethical and considerate on the road), it doesn't affect the way I use my Tarot deck. My car is a tool that moves me through the roads, my Tarot deck is a tool that moves me through life. They are both tools, and like any other tool, can be use by anyone of any faith - or no faith.

I have beliefs, but I read atheistically. I use all my tools as tools. :)