Modern Assumptions and Attitudes About Tarot Usage
AUTHOR’S NOTE: It’s been a while since I’ve posted even a mild rant on the subject of modern tarot practice. As usual, online conversations with other tarot enthusiasts light my fuse.
Although some mystical purists might insist that I’ve gone philistine, over the last ten years I’ve adopted a more utilitarian philosophy regarding use of the tarot in both functionally reliable and ethically defensible ways. Beginning at the dawn of the “New Age,” I spent the first forty of my fifty years with the cards in “psycho-spiritual mode,” using them mainly for exploration of my personal subconscious and a more profound awareness of universal truth; but now I’m done with that and have immersed myself in the decidedly mundane pursuit of problem-solving and decision-making with the tarot (and also with horary astrology), mostly for other people. I believe there are more effective ways to psychically “turn yourself inside out” than by trying to make symbolic images fit your personality (or vice versa). For example, some who seek tarot readings as a panacea for their mental/emotional disarray should really be undergoing psychotherapy or lifestyle counseling, and it takes some integrity and self-discipline for the cartomancer to forego a paycheck and send them on their way.
There is a popular perception that fortune-telling as the pre-eminent use for the cards has outpaced their more psychological applications. The rise of social media as an outlet for both professional and amateur readers has certainly fueled that assumption. Although lip service is still being paid to more transcendent (I’m almost tempted to say “pseudo-spiritual”) approaches to the cards, there are still plenty of “frustrated romance” readings being done: “Will I find my ‘twin flame’?” . . . “When will I find true love?” . . . “What does ‘X’ think or feel about me?” . . . and (my favorite of all time) “Does ‘X’ want to sleep with me?” The list of curiosity-driven inanities goes on and on, suggesting an effacement of the nobler objectives of the tarot reader’s art. Serious spiritual and esoteric aspirants are being left in the dust by pedestrian opportunists from the “Law of Attraction” universe looking to turn a fast buck.
Which brings me to the subject of divination as distinct from fortune-telling. Many people put a fine point on that distinction, emphasizing that the etymological root of the word “divination” is “divine,” making it infinitely more uplifting than simple fortune-telling in that it assumes a more honorable purpose than crass wish-fulfillment. However, it also perpetuates another unfortunate trend: the attitude that if your heart is pure, anything you attempt to do with the cards is going to be rewarded with the indulgence of a Higher Power in the form of unimpeachable wisdom. There is a belief that sincere intention automatically translates into impeccable inspiration (more commonly called “intuition”) regardless of the experience and skill of the practitioner. In this naive world-view, anyone can be an expert and no reading is ever entirely incorrect if the faithful stay true to their convictions regardless of evidence to the contrary. As a confirmed curmudgeon, I might say that this mindset epitomizes the “cult” in “occult” and dismisses anything more systematic in favor of “It’s all good” reductionism.
One consequence of this supposition is that long-standing (and well-founded) rules of practice go out the window; everything “works” and “anything goes” in the realm of mystical soothsaying. (As I see it, this is fine as long as you position yourself as a psychic or clairvoyant who uses the cards as cues or props and not as a legitimate interpreter of tarot cards.) I encounter this opinion all the time in online conversations, usually in the form of advice for neophytes, and I can’t think of anything more damaging. It’s a clear case of the blind leading the blind down the enticing garden path of “woo-woo fabulism.” Personally, I’d rather have a beginner practice on me by puzzling out meanings from a reliable book than by pulling something out of their nether regions that “just feels right.” Divination with no knowledge-and-experience-based foundation can be like stepping into metaphysical quicksand, and I know few tarot readers with the knack for walking on water (although their penchant for unsupported affirmation might make the worst of them feel right at home when eyeball-deep in other kinds of “brown stuff”).
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on February 18, 2022.
