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Yes! I have one! I am going to voice my opinion on stuff like astrology, tarot readings, crystal healing, you know, THAT stuff.
I won’t touch it with a 10 foot pole. No way, no how, don’t ask me to.
To me, it smacks of the occult, and that’s a directions I am NOT going. Even getting close to the stuff gives me the willies.
Once, about 17 or 18 years ago, I was at this juried arts fair. There was a woman selling decks of hand painted tarot cards. Apparently, they were lovely, based on what I’d heard from people leaving her display area, so I thought I’d take a look. I’d never seen a deck of tarot cards before, and was curious. I never really got close to them because when I walked up to her booth and looked at her, I had to turn around and leave. I don’t know why, it was like someone grabbed the top of my head and turned me around. I’ve had that feeling before, and have learned to heed it. No, I don’t know where it came from, or why. But there it is.
Even during my agnostic years, when I was looking into all sorts of many and varied beliefs, especially pagan oriented one, something would stop me from going to a particular spot, or looking at a particular thing. It wasn’t always what you might think, either. Nothing would stop me from behaving badly, just from participating in a very select variant of activity.
Go figure. Eventually I came to associate tarot, ouija, astrology, and the like with an unpleasant feeling, kind of like something that makes you nauseous only it wasn’t nausea. It was more of a deep unsettling feeling, very unpleasant and…well…unsettling.
Ok, so, do I think all that stuff is wrong? Absolutely. I will do what I can to teach my children the same thing. I do not, however, feel compelled to stand on a streetcorner outside the local palmreader’s house and scream through a megaphone. Nor do I feel like pointing a finger in anyone’s face and getting all vituperative about it. I think most adults are adult enough to make whatever decision about they choose. I don’t think kids should have access to it, tho. I guess I believe that when you play with those things, you are sticking your foot into a deep, dark pool, that you don’t know where it’s going or how deep it is.
I know there are plenty of fine and decent people who use tarot or astrology to help with decisions and all…it’s just….I don’t know….it’s something I don’t see as being ultimately (eternally, even) in the best interest of the person using it. There. I said it. You may brand me a religious godbag now.
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Yeah, I remember that story about your impulse with that woman. It’s possible you were picking up on something.
To me, tarot and suchlike is just another tool to access those…instincts, if you will. You can use ‘em in any number of ways. But, yeah, it’s true, I don’t have the background wherein it was a given that the “occult” (which is just “hidden”) was of the Dark Side.
I’ve never used a ouija board, I’ve no real desire to. That does seem more like a parlor game, to me.
as others have said, I find tarot at least more useful for illuminating what’s going on with me right now than any sort of predictive tool. also, even if you do believe in it as at all predictive, I was always taught that it’s never meant to be “such and such is fixed and fated.” It’s about..highlighting or making sense of patterns and energies, is all. You still direct the shape of your own path.
Comment by belledame222 September 13, 2007 @ 2:23 pmbut yeah, it isn’t playing, for me, for all that I say I dabble or am agnostic about it. shrug. I take a more Jungian approach: I think deep dark pools are to be respected, maybe even left alone if appropriate, but not regarded with dread and revulsion. And sometimes you do have to take the dive. Tarot, like psychology and any number of things, is a kind of (limited, but still useful) map, when used correctly.
Comment by belledame222 September 13, 2007 @ 2:26 pm…and yeah, while I can’t know exactly what you were feeling, to me feeling “unsettled” isn’t always a bad thing. To me that’s a different proposition from “Danger, Will Robinson: Avoid, full stop.”
it’s all totally subjective, though.
Comment by belledame222 September 13, 2007 @ 2:28 pmOh the response I had was definitely a “danger!” kind of reaction.There was a strong urge to turn and run. I recognize that it’s there in a large part due to my upbringing, but it also doesn’t make much sense to me, so between the 2, I figure it’s sensible to avoid it altogether.
Comment by rootietoot September 13, 2007 @ 7:43 pmYeah hey, the urban socialites who where “reading” cards to snoop into other peoples lives, I mean, find answeres for family and friends at the next table over during luch at an upscale eatery became annoyed when I laughed at their seriousness and my sis pretented to channel her own questions to their cards. WHOOWEE
Comment by labmunkay September 13, 2007 @ 10:17 pmI know that feeling of just having a deep sense of forboding, like something telling you “I need to leave, now” but you can’t put your finger on any concrete reason for the feling. But I’ve learned to heed it too.
As for astrology, tarot, etc., I mostly just think it’s silly. As with many things, I think if it helps a person get through their day and feel better about their life, then good for them. Personally I just can’t take it very seriously, though.
Comment by Amber September 14, 2007 @ 3:46 am