Mystical Angels

This question is for people who REALLY know about Tarot cards...?

I've been reading about Tarot cards and trying to gain some insight lately... Okay, so Tarot cards that have a Major Arcana and a Minor Arcana are used for occult purposes, right? Am I right about this? Please provide me with a clear answer.

Public Comments

1. Dont waste your time with tarot cards. Read the Bible and go to a pentecostal church in your area for fellowship.
2. Tarot cards are a divination tool that gives glimpses of insight, nothing more nothing less. The symbols activate the right, creative side of the brain from that and through your subconscious you are able to glean meaning from a reading. NOTE: occult simply means hidden, that's it.
3. All "occult" means is 'hidden'. That's it. Tarot cards help us to gain insight that was previously hidden from us for various reasons. So going by the definition of "occult", then the tarot are an occult tool - or a tool for accessing the hidden. However, the majority of the symbolism built into the tarot cards, such as the Rider-Waite deck, are Judeo-Christian in origin, coming out of the Kabbalah (mystic Judiasm) and Esoteric Christianity. So that may help put it into perspective for you, and your definitions of "occult". Tarot cards are full of symbolism, and symbolism is the language that your subconscious mind speaks in. That's why dreams are so surreal, because your subconscious is speaking and it uses symbols to communicate. Your subsconscious mind also has access to all the information that is stored in your brain, and can more easily retrieve information that you've long ago stored (and consciously forgotten), and is also very good at piecing patterns together and using patterns to predict probably outcomes of things. Our waking, conscious mind is actually quite limited in comparison. The subsconscious mind most often relays messages to us, or tries to anyway, during sleep - because the conscious mind is turned off and it can get through to us better than when we are awake and our minds are very busy and noisy. The tarot is a tool that allows our subsconscious mind to reach us more accurately while we awake to process the messages consciously (rather than trying to remember them, or piece them together from dreams when we are awake). The tarot has a great deal of symbolism, which the subconscious mind understands and utilizes very easily. By consciously educating ourselves on the various meanings behind these symbols, we are creating a communication process through which the subconscious can speak to us while we are awake. When reading tarot you concentrate on a particular question while you shuffle and deal. This helps communicate to your subconscious mind what you want information on. The cards then come up, and your subconscious then brings your attention to the symbolism within those cards that most directly speaks to your question. Your conscious mind then notes those symbols, recalls those meanings, and pieces together the info your subconscious was trying to tell you. It really is a way for your larger Knowing Self to get info to you more ego-centric, selective attention self. Do people within the occult community use tarot cards? Yes, because they are actively seeking deeper inner knowledge and they realize the usefulness of such tools as the tarot for doing so. But there are plenty of people who consider themselves to be nothing more than good Christians, or good Jews, or good Whatevers who also use the tarot cards for the same reasons. There's nothing spooky about the tarot at all. It is simply a tool to access more of your mind's potential to help you gain insight into the world around you.
4. The Rider Waite deck is done in a way to heighten the symbolic meanings. Originally the deck was a secret message hidden from the Church about the Fools journey. The cards have archetypal meaning in a Jungian sense. So if certain card patterns have a meaning to you then good. I use it as a another tool of self expression. But it doesn't predict lottery numbers and I certainly wouldn't make any life style changes based on it. To me it's just a bit of fun. The modern deck of cards is the direct descendant of the Minor Arcana Tarot.
5. Tarot was originally used for card games in the 1400s. Playing cards were also evolved from these games (take out the major arcana and combine the page and knight into a jack and you got the modern playing deck). Occult purposes came later and was first mentioned in 1781.
6. This is a definition of occult for you. Personally I would say it fits. However, I believe that there are a lot of things in our everyday life that are of the occult. If you are asking if the cards are evil on the other hand I would have to say no. They are cards how you use them is up to you.. for good or for something else. Best wishes. Blessings, Light & Love Defin: OCCULT Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural influences, agencies, or phenomena. Beyond the realm of human comprehension; inscrutable. Available only to the initiate; secret: occult lore. See Synonyms at mysterious. Hidden from view; concealed
7. Tarot cards are usually used for divination or for gaining insight into one's personality. If that is occult to you maybe it is, but I don't find it to be so.