Mystical Angels

Does it go against Catholicity to learn Tarot Cars or research witchcraft?

I was in a book store yesterday and I came across a shelve dedicated to Wicca and Witchcraft. I found a book on the history of witchcraft with spells and holidays and whatnot. I also found a deck of tarot cards. I find both witchcraft and tarot reading a facinating concept, and I was thinking about buying the book and the cards for the sake of research. But the thing is, I'm a life-long Catholic and was recently confirmed. Would my intentions be considered worshiping Wicca or sacreligious? Of course I don't really believe in fortunes, I just think it could be interesting to learn to read tarot cards and read about witchcraft. So, what do you think? Yeah, I knew the word I used wasn't correct but I couldn't remember how to spell Catholicism xD oh and by the way I wouldn't be practicing the religion, just researching. If practicing includes tarot reading then I will skip that part.

Public Comments

1. I'm sure that'll cost you a few Hail Marys, and some extra tithing of course. Guilt, it's a wonderful thing.
2. Religions don't usually like any competition for your beliefs.
3. Did you mean Catholicism? And in general yes it would be to practice such things though not likely to research them.
4. It's a sin against God. God tells us that anyone who practices witchcraft will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
5. There is nothing wrong with investigating other beliefs - it either strengthens your own convictions, or it causes you to question. I was raised Catholic and started to question. Now I'm not Catholic - or any religion for that matter. By the way, the word is Catholicism
6. Any Christian is free to study anything in order to enlighten his mind and bring his soul closer to God. Only through study, one can conquer ignorance. One must be careful, however, that one doesn't fall into the trap of heresy and/blasphemy.
7. No I'm sure you can take your tarot cards to church on sunday and throw down a reading for jesus. If it works , you should be able to foretell that he's still dead. Oh, but be careful, it's possible that little scraps of paper with drawings on them are ......evil.
8. Stay far away from these tarot cards and witchcraft of any kind. That includes mediums, psychics, seers, seances and anything to do with the occult. Research is one thing and reading about it. Getting a hold of these objects can only increase the possibility of temptation to use them, and that can spell disaster. This goes for all christians, not just catholics. I've researched some of these things so I am more knowledgeable about what they do and why God condemns them in the bible. Satan wants you to get involved with this, because all of these things are of him and not God. Don't ever fall into that trap, because it's what Satan wants more than anything. Already he has led others down this road, and unless they flee from it they'll be doomed.
9. Yes, absolutely. All forms of superstition are sins against the First Commandment.
10. Well, reading about other religions and beliefs is not considered a bad thing by any of today's Christian churches - certainly not by the Catholic church. There is nothing wrong in informing yourself about different beliefs. If, as you say, you are interested in research, then you are doing nothing wrong. However, if your interest is in researching with the intent to practice, then most religions would object to that. As for tarot, the Church's objections to tarot cards rest upon the context in which they are used. Most Christian churches consider fortune telling or divination to be wrong - either because they think that you would be seeking an authority other than God's or simply because they think that pursuing such knowledge is a little unhealthy (and many atheists and agnostics think that). However, contrary to popular myth, tarot cards were invented for playing card games (the original images are a Christian triumph procession, hence their early name of trionfi, meaning triumphs and from which we get our word trump!) - a family of games that is still played throughout much of continental Europe today. Where tarot cards are used for playing these games - which includes Italy, a staunchly Catholic country, the Church makes no objection.
11. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with research. Personally, I think everyone should research other religious beliefs. It promotes religious understanding of one another, and helps us to avoid sounding like idiots in religious debates. I don't see how there's ever a reason to suppress knowledge, at least not when it comes to something like religion. I also feel that if you avoid researching other religions because you fear that they'll shake your faith or lead you down an unwanted path, you never had true faith in your religion in the first place. I think the Catholic Church generally frowns on the use of Tarot cards even "for fun", but I would seriously question a religion if it disallowed the seeking of knowledge about other religions. Venus Bless Edit: By "for fun" I meant mock divination, not card games. Philebus is right about the card game usage of Tarot cards.