Dogmatic Entropy in Tarot

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The idea of “dogmatic entropy” as I recently encountered it proposes that entrenched attitudes and beliefs (dogma) can put a metaphorical “Denver boot” (immobilizing entropy) on the imagination and hobble creative thinking. Progress grinds to a halt as we grapple with these irrational limitations and often succumb to them.

Perhaps the most egregious example — the “Big Kahuna of Shams” — comes from organized religion: “You must not doubt my spiritual authority. I am God’s mouthpiece on Earth.” (No thank you, I’ll pass. After all, the “Book” was written by men who were either suffering euphoric delusions masquerading as epiphanies or were only making blind guesses about the words of wisdom an inscrutable, all-powerful deity would impart if he/she/it stooped to talk to them. (The Old Testament reads like a mystical allegory wrapped around Jewish family history, but with the New Testament I think the Christians were just “making stuff up” in the service of patriarchal fiat.) I’ll take the rational mysticism of Spinoza and the Deists any day . . . hmm, good name for a prog-rock band, eh?)

Popular tarot culture is rife with similar misapprehensions, puzzling caveats that sensible people realize are merely part of the “myths of tarot:”

“Your first deck must be gifted, you must not buy it for yourself.” (What, the tarot gods will be offended by a mercantile transaction involving pieces of cardboard?)

“You must not read for yourself.” (Hey, how else are we gonna learn?)

“You must never read on Sunday.” (God’ll getcha for that!)

“You must not read for people who are not present and haven’t consented.” (There is some merit to this, but its ethical implications depend on what you intend to do with the information. If I adhered strictly to this rule I would never be able to perform readings about politicians and other societal figures who, by placing themselves in the public eye, are fair game.)

“You must always cleanse your deck of b-a-a-a-d energies through ritual exorcism.” (Yep, those tiny little psychic receptors do get corrupted with negativity and require a good scrubbing.)

And my favorite of all time: “You must not perform divination with the tarot, it was originally intended only for psychological self-improvement.” (Uh huh, go back to the late 1700s and explain that to Jean-Baptiste Alliette [“Etteilla”], who wrote the first book specifically about divination with the cards. Tell Jung to wait outside.)

Most of this stuff falls into “gimme a break” territory. It’s amazing how gullible otherwise intelligent people can be when it comes to matters of intuitive conjecture. You might suppose that it’s just my mean-spirited cynicism talking, but in fact I have two contrasting views of divination that I’ve mentioned in previous posts. Take your pick, although both apply.

Hamlets advice to Horatio: “There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” (In other words, just because we can’t see, hear, taste, touch or smell it doesn’t mean it isn’t real.)

Rival entrepreneur David Gannon’s snide remark about P.T. Barnum’s customers: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” (If you’ve found your way to this blog, I’m not including you in that demographic and I won’t betray your trust.)

I confront this dogmatism all the time in the Thoth community: “You must never apply reversals to the Thoth deck, it’s only intended to be used with Elemental Dignities.” (OK, show me were it says that! All I get is silence in response to this sincere request; nobody likes to have their pet theories questioned when they don’t have a glib comeback. I’m still waiting but I’m not holding my breath, and will continue to believe that “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” when it comes to the validity of undocumented techniques.)

I love to tinker with esoteric concepts and I will use any tool in the occultist’s toolbox to further my analysis. I’m at the point now where I can offer something useful or at least interesting almost every day on this blog without coming up with too many duds (which, of course, you’ll never see). I don’t read much fiction these days or watch much TV, but I absorb a lot of metaphysical literature, and its thought-provoking insights provide raw material for my writing that I throw into the philosophical “Mix-Master” with no idea what will come out the other end. But if you stay with me I can guarantee it will usually be unconventional.

Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on November 22, 2024.