Why are people afraid of the Tarot?

Baroli said:

Now, you would be correct in saying that those who are afraid of Tarot, "might be" of the Judeo-Christian persuasion. But I think its better to say that people in general are afraid of what they are not knowledgable of. It is up to us, to tell folks that Tarot is not a scary thing and maybe educate them.

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i agree with you. I know people who use the Tarot and they come from all sorts of religious backgrounds. And it is up to us to educate the masses and show them that Tarot is not scary at all.

I think that people are afraid of tarot for the same reasons they are afraid of anything they do not understand: ignorance.

Tarot has been portrayed in the media as Satanic, Pagan (which for some people equates to Satanic), evil, etc. There are "Tarot Card Killers" on popular television shows, Death metal bands using "scary" looking tarot cards and witches, and on and on. Rarely do you see a "normal" looking housewife sitting at the kitchen table on a sunny day reading the relatively happy looking RWS deck! They show a darkened and smoke filled room (or a back alley) and a scary "witch" or other persona that could be perceived as "evil," using the "scariest" looking cards they can find - usually the Devil or Death. Why not the Sun or Temperance?

BeTo1984 said:

Sorry if what I posted implied that Tarot is in the Bible; I know it isn't, but I believe that it is stated that fortune-telling/the occult is considered a sin. Hence I got reprimanded by that girl several years prior. And my mom. Tarot for some might be regarded as fortune telling in that line of thinking.

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I know, BeTo, and you must forgive me for being sooo squarmy about that, but it really frosts my cookies to to see more misinformation (not given by you, but anyone really). It's one of quirky things that makes me the whacko I am, But if I came on strong I am sorry.

I know about being reprimanded by people because I read the cards as well. Happened in my own church. I ended up getting reprimanded by my former pastor and I laughed at him and scolded him for being afraid of cardstock and ink. He understands me a little bit better, but I made a choice not to join them anymore in worship. These are people that sorely need to be edumacated and won't because they want to follow some other line of reasoning. That's okay. I don't have to.

Chiska said:

I think that people are afraid of tarot for the same reasons they are afraid of anything they do not understand: ignorance.

Tarot has been portrayed in the media as Satanic, Pagan (which for some people equates to Satanic), evil, etc. There are "Tarot Card Killers" on popular television shows, Death metal bands using "scary" looking tarot cards and witches, and on and on. Rarely do you see a "normal" looking housewife sitting at the kitchen table on a sunny day reading the relatively happy looking RWS deck! They show a darkened and smoke filled room (or a back alley) and a scary "witch" or other persona that could be perceived as "evil," using the "scariest" looking cards they can find - usually the Devil or Death. Why not the Sun or Temperance?

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There are plenty of tarot decks whose art styles are beautiful and more cheery looking

cultural ignorance.

The fear of Tarot cards is simply based on cultural ignorance. Fear of Tarot is based on ignorance of games played by different cultures. I think if more people understood the actual history of the cards and also of how they are used to play certain card games we would have less of this fear. If more people were exposed to the different games played in the world I don't think we would have this kind of fear. I'm not only speaking of Tarot games but also playing cards with different suit symbols, Loteria cards which have similar images as the Tarot de Marseilles, Dice which were initially used in divination etc.

Trionfophobia or the fear of Tarot cards is not restricted to Christian fundies. I find many users of non-Tarot oracles use such cards because they claim Tarot is too scary for them.

The Devil's Picturebook is a Wicked Pack of Cards


ha, ha, haaaa...

I guess because....

People usually fear what they don't understand, but then there are others who SEEK to find answers to what they don't understand.

I believe I once met a lovely lady of Irish background who explained to me that when she was child in Galway, she went to a strict Catholic school where well-meaning nuns told her that all cards were evil, that her moon cycle was a "curse" from Eve, and that listening to the Beatles would place her soul in danger, as it would incite her to sexual thoughts and "unclean deeds."

I think a lot of fear of tarot cards may come from similar strictures.

I think it has a bottom line and the bottom line is that they believe in a cruel and punishing God, not an unconditionally loving one. (Although they do pay lip service to the fact that their God is unconditionally loving since I guess they don't know what that really means.) They're afraid of this cruel and punishing God for fear that if they do the "wrong" thing, they're going to go to hell as their punishment. Tarot, as divination, is one of the "wrong" things----supposedly.

But lots and lots of Christians believe that if they have a problem, they can open their Bible to any spot, put their finger randomly on the page, and there they'll find the answer to their problem. They don't realize that this is known as bibliomancy, which is a form of divination, too. So is casting lots----like runes, I suppose. And they hear God "speaking" His will to them, which we'd call psychic.

But back to the bottom line----that's why they fear Tarot. They fear dying and going to hell for having displeased that cruel and punishing God.

Baroli said:

But if I came on strong I am sorry.

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Oh, no, not at all! I understand that it's hard to convey tones and connotations online. Just an interesting conversation.