Tarot vs. Religion

[Aura Wolf]

Agathe - Thank you. I don't like hanging up on anyone, but after evaluating the situation in my mind I figured what they were doing was more rude than what I was about to do. Especially after I had just apologized and told them I'd try the other bookstore and was about to get off the phone when they butted in.

Inanna_tarot - Great line!

Badturtle - Definitely. No one wants to have this kind of experience but it's inevitable, so we might as well take it as a learning experience and try not to let it get to us.

 

[thanatos]

the first and last experiance that I had in regardes to religion V taort was after I had a relationship breakup

I was serching for answeres and felt that the "church" was not provideing me with the nessesery answeres that I was after so I turned to what they refer to as the occolt

the taror reading that I was given helped me to under stand the situation better and enabled me to cope with it better

 

[Aura Wolf]

the first and last experiance that I had in regardes to religion V taort was after I had a relationship breakup

I was serching for answeres and felt that the "church" was not provideing me with the nessesery answeres that I was after so I turned to what they refer to as the occolt

the taror reading that I was given helped me to under stand the situation better and enabled me to cope with it better

This is what I don't understand about religion. Everyone chooses their own path, the one that works best for them. How can any religion condemn those who can help a person better than they can? They can't expect their beliefs to be right for everyone, and it just seems to me that since most religions are for inspiring people and bringing out the best in them and helping them, we should all be able to accept the fact that some people are happier elsewhere. Isn't that what's most important? It's as though people have simply lost their way...

 

[Glass Owl]

Yes, we get that sort of thing all the time here in the Bible Belt. And I think it's getting worse, more virulent, with Bush II in office. (Seriously - holy war type stuff).
I've been beat up at school, told I couldn't silently meditate on the cards in the library (though vocally praying to the Hebrew/Christian god was OK), and even had parents sign a petition to get me kicked out of a middle school because I was a Witch! (which I am - and how did they find out? Someone broke into my locker and found my Tarot cards! Did they get in trouble for stealing? No...)
I did an interview with the local news station about Wicca on Halloween (of course), and part of the interview dealt with the Tarot (I of course pointed out that you don't have to be a Witch to use the Tarot, and pointed out all the Christian symbolism, etc...). While the segment that was aired was pretty good, it had to start off with comments from "the other side of the aisle" - they actually had a Catholic priest on talking about how Wicca is Satanism! Now would they have done that if they were interviewing a Jew about Hannukah?
These types of Christians are so pushy - they have no regard for freedom of religion, or even common respect for other people's beliefs. They want the world to do as they do, and are not above using violence to enforce their beliefs.

Speaking of the Bible Belt, a few month ago there was a problem with Tarot readers holding Pyschic Fairs at a Florida Books-A-Million due to complains from a local Fundamentalist Christian group. The Fairs are cancelled now

For over five years our local Books-a-Million store (store #781 at 9570 US Highway 19 North in Port Richey, FL 34668) has supported a small local group. Every month, on the second Saturday of the month, they have hosted a Psychic Fair at the Joe Muggs’ Café in the Books-a-Million bookstore. The Psychic Fair offers Tarot readings for interested people.

This is not only a community service to the Port Richey area, but a place for those persons with an interest in New Age or Metaphysical topics to come together, talk, commune and buy new books. Five years ago one psychic reader began the Psychic Fair with a reading here and there throughout the day; now six readers cannot keep up with the demand. The readers are constantly busy from Noon to five o’clock, bringing many regulars back month after month. This fair has really built a sense of community in this area.

On Friday evening, October 13, 2006, the host of the Psychic Fair received a phone call from Alexis Brown, the store manager of this particular Books-a-Million, telling the host that she could no longer host the Psychic Fair which was scheduled to take place just hours later (the following morning, Saturday, October 14, 2006).

Allegedly, Books-a-Million corporate had received over 150 letters of complaint from a local Christian Fundamentalist group who had just become aware of the Psychic Fair; and, after five years, Alexis had been instructed by corporate to not allow it to continue.

If this was truly the case, she could have had the common courtesy to let the event coordinator know a few days in advance, not less than 18 hours in advance, so that an alternate location could be obtained and the Psychic Fair participants could be notified. Instead, the manager called late Friday evening, telling the coordinator she could not show up the next morning! Not only was this spiteful, rude and inconsiderate, it was downright disrespectful to the fair’s coordinators and many of Books-a-Millions’ customers. Many dollars had been spent advertising this event and half a dozen readers were booked to show up for readings. Dozens, if not hundreds of patrons of the psychic fair (also potential book-buyers and café patrons) were planning on attending this event.

To read the whole thing, here is the link:
http://www.petitiononline.com/counter2/petition.html

 

[rebecca-smiles]

I think that this is terrible behaviour given the strong focus these days on religious tolerance. It is as though Paganism and its close fellows are some how exempt from all of this!

I'm not just saying this with respect to Christianity which has a long history of conflict with paganism/wicca/etc, but the general ignorance towards it from secular authorities. The reason that we have secular intitutions is to enable freedom. Yet they flout the tolerance they feel obliged to give Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism but when it comes to this particular minority...none of these would be acceptably called satanism or entirly fictitous statements made about them with such conviction.

I am agnostic and not affiliated with paganism, but grew up as one. It still gob-smacks me when i tell people this and they say i am a satanic devil worshiper. or that means i'm a witch. or i do spells (i never was into magic). I politely tell them no, and explain "it's more nature worship, or more acurately veneration. You don't have to be a witch to be pagan. I don't believe in the devil. The morality may not be preached in a gospel but is inherent in the philosophy" etc. but sometimes i am still met with "No, you DO do magic and of course you are a witch, my *whoever* has told me all about it. he/she is an expert".

It is high time that the profile of wicca and pagansim were raised to Wicca and Paganism. The minority factor shouldn't exclude their beliefs from serious interfaith and religious tolerance dialogue;.

 

[ilweran]

It is high time that the profile of wicca and pagansim were raised to Wicca and Paganism. The minority factor shouldn't exclude their beliefs from serious interfaith and religious tolerance dialogue;.

I strongly agree. I was very angry that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, a few years ago apparently descibed druids as 'pot-smoking layabouts'. Great way to build up an interfaith dialogue.