literature

Tarot Essay

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Some call it Satanic, some call it a tool, I call it my friend-- Tarot cards. Tarot reading is an ancient art, and in some religions, a tradition, that has been around for a very long time. So long that nobody knows for a fact where it came from. However, though most people know very little about Tarot, it's hated by many Catholics, Christians, and other similar religions.

My problem? I can't and don't understand why.

Most Christians/related religious people have never picked up a Tarot deck in their whole life. They never spoke to a phsycic, read a book on Tarot, had a reading, or anything-- all they know is the Bible says it's a sin, and it's believed that it can tell the future because of demons in the cards.

It's disappointing, especially when you think about one little thing; the Bible has been edited as much as Wikipedia has.

Tarot cards can't change the future; they only tell it. Plus, they tell a story from the Bible. I don't know the whole story about that, but truthfully, each card in the Major Achana tell a story from the Bible of a character (A young man, his name is a mystery to me) through each phase of his life; from the Fool, where he begins, to the World, where his goals are met and his happiness is about him. Each of the four suits, usually established as the Cups, Swords, Wands, and Pentacles (or Coins), represent the four elements God used to create the world we live in; Cups= Water, Swords= Air, Wands= Fire, and Pentacles= Earth.

I'm a self-proclaimed Atheist. The only religious thing I ever believed in is Tarot. I don't believe that God, Satan, Jesus, or a Goddess of any sort exists. I onlycall myself spiritual because of Tarot, but Tarot has nothing to do with magic, voodoo, or spirits; it's all about the subconscious, not demons or ghosts.

Of course, I own a deck that I've known most of my life; a Ukiyoe (Oo-key-joe) Tarot deck of Chinese origins. I've only used this deck for about a year, and I love it dearly; any time a friend of mine or I need help, I turn to my deck, shuffle it, and lay the cards out; each and every time, every card in each position has given me (or the Seeker; the one I'm doing the reading for) has warned me of upcoming danger or a big change in life and given advice on how to avert a crisis.

But, Tarot does have a dark side.

Tarot is a tool; it can be used for good purposes and for bad ones. A phsycic can easily flip a card over predicting trouble and say "Dude, you're fucked; nice knowing you!" or flip it over and say "this is what's coming; but, this is how you can avoid it." There's just a problem, something that most people who are against Tarot don't understand; Tarot has a limit.

I've done readings for my classmates in 8th grade, and when they want to know if Tarot works, when I ask what they want to know, I always get at least one of these responses; "When and how am I going to die?" "What will I be like as an adult?" "What will my future husband/wife be like?"

While I understand why they ask such questions, sadly, Tarot can't go that far; readings should only be given as long as little as two weeks or as long as half a year to come true. Moreso, Tarot never predicts death-- of course, the Devil, Death, and Hanged Man cards say otherwise, and actually, those three don't have the meanings that their names lead on. After I explain this, I offer alternative questions, and since the end of the year was coming upon us, where we all have our plans in the summer take bloom and then enter the whole other world of high school, they jump at one of  these questions; "what will my summer be like?" or "What will my first month of high school be like?"

For example, a girl in my class asked what high school will be like, so I shuffle my deck, mutter my chant, and place the cards, explaining what each card position means and flipping them over one by one. One of the cards coming up with the Two of Swords-- in one of the more famous decks, the Rider tarot Deck, portraying it as a blindfolded woman with her arms crossed, holding a sword in each hand, which symbolizes one thing; balance. I knew instantly what the card was talking  about; I knew this girl, she liked following trends, she was popular, and she defied authority, and as far as I knew, didn't know how to balance fun with responsibility. A few other cards layed out predicted that there would be trouble with family during the summer, and that some plans she had would not be followed through right away, but high school would be okay; however, The Two of Swords said that there's a need for balance.

Then, a personal favourite card of mine came up in a personal favourite positio  of mine; the Knight of Cups in the position that stated what the thoughts of others in the seeker's position are.

The Knight of Cups states, when in a woman's reading, that she's falling in love with somebody. Somebody talented in arts, sciences, and perhaps dance. As soon as I said that, her friends, which were sitting all around me, knew EXACTLY what the card was saying, and all of a sudden, I only heard this "OOOOOOH! That's her to the letter, Kora! Nice one!" and when I looked up, she was staring at the cards, then at me, and immediately said "I don't wanna continue this!"

What was it? She knew exactly what it meant; there was a boy, her brother's friend, that she found attractive, who was also a talented break dancer. I told her that he may be taking interest in her, but she wanted to know no more, but then I warned her about high school; "high school will be fine, but be careful about the choices you make, otherwise it'll lead to trouble."

That is one of my favourite readings, and shows just how accurate Tarot can be. But, that's not all, I've noticed that  there's one thing Tarot is used for more than anything; love. While I've only been asked one reading by one person for this topic, it was... a very accurate reading.

I had a friend (Who's name will remain a secret) who asked me if a boy she was very into loved her. I knew her well; she was lonely, and wanted only one thing; a boyfriend. Someone to love her. Of course, despite that I'm very anti-relationships, I felt I had to, so I shuffled the cards and layed them out. To put it in simple terms, it said that he didn't love her. At the time, one thing that was a phsycic's duty is to always give your readings a positive tone. I almost felt I couldn't, but I didn't want to lie to her, so I told her to keep trying.... but be prepared for the worst.

Three days later, I recieved an IM. She was crying, saying that he was angry at her (I don't know why) and never wanted to talk to her again. I comforted her as best as I could, but I was traumatized myself; the reading was that to a T!  And back then, I had only had my deck for a week, so you could only begin to imagine how spooked I was, but I felt that much more attached to my deck.; I didn't actually believe that reading to be true myself!

I'll give one last example, a much happier one; I did a reading on myself asking if I was going to pass 8th grade. My dad knew this better than anybody; I'm very lazy, it's my sin. I can't concentrate on anything, and I hate working on schoolwork. As a result, my grades are lousy. On the last month of school, I was panicking thinking I was going to fail, so I shuffled my deck, did my chant, and laid the cards out.

All of the cards that came up were Major Achana; meaning something big was about to happen. I knew instantly what that alone meant; I was going to graduate.

I don't remember all of the cards that came up, but I recall from the past, it said that I learned a valueable lesson; slack off, you face the consequences, and boy, did I face them. I kept going and it mentioned travel, via the Chariot card, key 7. I have plans this summer; after I go to Comicon, I'm going to New York to meet my sister, whom I've only met via Facebook, Micole. You can only imagine my happiness when that card came up, especially when at the time, I learned that my grades were actually very stable, meaning I was passing, and my parents said that if I passed, I could go. It also mentioned meeting new people and fruitful new projects; high school, obviously, and artistic projects during the summer.

I recently attended my graduation cerimony, and I graduated, and am now on my way to high school, armed with my ability to write fiction and draw many things, and with my confidence in my deck.

So in the end, Tarot has both good and bad uses; it can be used to avert disaster, and it can be used to scare a person right over the edge; it's only as evil as it's phsycic uses it. My point is that Tarot is misunderstood, and should be given a chance before somebody decides if they love or hate it. Hell, I know many Christians, friends of mine themselves, who admire Tarot, and even ask me for readings. Sometimes for serioyus things, sometimes for general curiosity.

My point is this; give something a chance before you establish your opinion on it.
There's no way the catagorey is right. I wrote this on my own free time. Can somebody please tell me where this belongs??

As most of you know, I'm a Tarot reader myself, more commonly known as a fortune teller. I read a lot on Tarot, and one thing that really saddens me is how Tarot is largely misunderstood, both in being hated and overestimated. I wrote this slightly out of the urge to rant, but I figured some people would benifit from being educated a little further on Tarot, as most people who say they're against it don't know anything about it other than the Bible says that it's evil. (Most people who're so against it are Christians/something similar, in my experience)

Feel free to ask any questions, I'll answer to the best of my ability. Critique on how to make this essay better would also be appreciated!
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BlizzardEmmaFoxCat's avatar
:iconohnoesplz: Dude, that is amazing.

My Dad has a Tarot card App on his iPad, and sometimes I've played with it. From what you says it's nowhere near using an actual deck. But I remember for fun I decided to do my own reading. So I asked about my future, and one thing that I remember standing out was a card talking about love. I think it said something about problems in that area to appear, I honestly don't remember. . . then there's my recent journal.

One thing for sure, Tarot reading is pretty great and accurate~ Those silly Christians don't know any better >:P