Every year I get countless emails from people who feel drawn to Tarot, yet are simultaneously afraid of it.
“I am so fascinated by Tarot but I don’t want to open a can of worms.”
“My husband says that Tarot cards are evil, but I don’t know – do I need to be careful?”
“Is there any danger of bad spirits entering my home if I use Tarot cards?”
So why is this? Why all this fear surrounding Tarot?
When you dabble in the psychic arts with things like mediumship, channeling, Tarot, psychic development and meditation, you are indeed entering another world.
Many fear that by lifting the veil between the physical and the spiritual, you may be opening the door to not just helpful spirits and energies but negative ones as well.
But is there really a risk of inviting negative energy into your life when you dabble with Tarot cards? Or is this just something that religious relatives harp on about?
Well, there IS a real danger in using Tarot cards, but it’s not what you think. No demonic force is going to descend on you if you crack open a deck of Tarot cards, but that doesn’t mean Tarot doesn’t have it’s dark side….more on this in bit.
Often, the purpose of Tarot is misconstrued and it gets lumped in with things like Ouiji boards, seances and stuff like that.
But Tarot isn’t a tool for speaking with the dead or summoning spirits – it’s a tool for self exploration. While a Ouiji board is used to communicate with spirits, Tarot is used to communicate with your higher self or deeper wisdom. And really, how could that be dangerous?
Here’s an analogy that you won’t forget: Using a Ouiji board is kind of like going to an orgy where you don’t know anyone and not using condoms. Using Tarot cards is like staying home and masturbating. It’s pretty safe.
The Purpose of Tarot
Tarot is a wonderful tool for self exploration – it can be used to find solutions to problems, get fresh ideas and creative insights and to understand what’s really going on in a situation.
Tarot cards are full of symbols, images, scenes, colors, landscapes and numbers and these act as a trigger for intuition and imagination, coaxing you to hear the whispers of your soul!
Personally, I use Tarot when I’m in a bind and feel like I need to look at my situation with a fresh perspective. I use Tarot when I need inspiration for something I’m writing or a project I’m working on. I use Tarot to help others get new insights and ideas about their life. And I use Tarot when I want to connect with my higher self/soul.
Think of Tarot cards like a really great life coach or friend. They don’t tell you what to do – they help you ask the right questions so you can find your own epiphanies and solutions!
I am just going to come out and say something controversial:
Tarot is a really crappy tool for predicting the future.
I know, I know. This is why you may have been drawn to Tarot in the first place. And you can get a real sense of the future with a Tarot reading – hell, I’ve been doing weekly Tarot forecast readings on my youtube channel for years now!
So yeah, Tarot can give you a good sense of the energies around the bend, but as far as specific, major predictions – like who your going to marry ten years from now or how many kids you’ll have over your lifetime – Tarot is about as useful as a stiletto shoe for making long distance calls.
So let’s recap: Tarot is NOT a tool for summoning or communicating with spirits. It is a tool for connecting and communicating with your higher self, boosting your creativity and inspiring your life.
Taking Cautionary Measures
Despite what I just said, it’s still important to cleanse and protect yourself energetically before you really dive into doing a Tarot reading. But it’s not so much to ward off those pesky evil spirits, but to ensure your own negative energy and expectations don’t taint your reading.
Lots of Tarot readers put a lot of importance into clearing their deck before a reading, but I think it’s more important to cleanse yourself beforehand.
If you come to a Tarot reading feeling tired, down or anxious, it can effect the cards you choose and the way you interpret them. Imagine you’re getting ready for a super hot date – would you show up all smelly, bedraggled and cranky? I hope not. Think of your next Tarot reading as a date with someone special. Show up as your best self!
Here are some of my favorite ways to cleanse myself energetically:
- Take a long, hot epsom salt bath or shower with some essential oils like lavender, rosemary and sage. And think of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING….bliss!!!!
~ - Spend 5-10 minutes sitting and observing my breath. Imagine exhaling any stress or expectations and inhaling pure, white light that cleanses every cell in my body!
~
My favorite energy clearing tools - Exercise/dance!!!!! This is a very powerful way to move energy in your body and rid yourself of accumulated stress.
~ - Listening to some gregorian chants or soft, rhythmic drums, lighting a few candles and burning some incense
~ - Lighting a big stick of dried sage and wafting the smoke all over my body
You can do one or all of the above suggestions or make up your own cleansing practices.
Cleansing Your Deck
Of course, cleansing your deck is an option too. Some readers believe that the cards can absorb surrounding energy and that if it’s not cleansed before each reading, your readings will be “dirty” …or something like that! I don’t know. I used to think that too, but I feel like my deck cleansing rituals are really just a way to get into the reading groove and set myself up for a good reading.
You can cleanse your cards by:
- knocking once on the deck and then wafting your hand over it, as if to waft away a bad smell or something.
- Just shuffling the cards breaks up any stagnant energy – this is the easiest way, in my opinion!
- Place your deck in the moonlight overnight
- Put your deck in a bag of quartz crystals
- Waft sage smoke over your cards – it’s very smoky and smelly, but oh so satisfying!
Intention, Intention, Intention!
Intention is the most important aspect of doing any metaphysical and spiritual work. Your intention will dictate the kind of vibe or energy that you put out there and this will effect the kind of experience you have.
Set a clear intention before doing a reading. Why are you doing this reading? What would you like to gain from it? Keep your intentions pure and non-creepy.
An example of an impure/creepy intention is this: “I intend to use my tarot cards to read my ex-boyfriends mind and find out if he was banging that waitress.” A more positive intention might be “I intend to get some new ideas for how I can move on from my past relationship.”
The REAL Danger of Tarot Cards…
Tarot can pose a risk to you if you misunderstand your Tarot cards and if you take your readings way too seriously. Let me explain that a bit.
If you’re a beginner and you don’t quite fully understand that every card has multiple meanings, you might get the Death card and think it literally means Death. Or you might get The Tower and assume it spells disaster. This can be frightening and it can taint your Tarot experience.
This can be even more frightening if you take your reading very seriously! Tarot readings can be illuminating and they can tell you all kinds of fascinating things, but they are not the last word. A Tarot reading is meant to be contemplated, not obsessively believed.
One of the things that made me really uncomfortable when I was doing professional Tarot reading was the number of people who seemed to believe every word I was saying as if it were THE TRUTH. Question your Tarot readings – or better yet, use the cards to ask the right questions.
Think of your Tarot cards as a good friend. I have some great friends who give me all kinds of advice (whether I ask for it or not) and I don’t always take it. Especially if it’s really shitty. Often I see that their advice is coming from their own biases, fears and opinions and for this reason I take it with a grain of salt. Take any Tarot reading you get with a grain of salt and remember there are many ways to see a Tarot card.
What has YOUR experience been?
Have you struggled with preconceived negative beliefs and fears about Tarot? How did you get over them? You are invited to share your experiences and ideas in the comments below 🙂
Thank you so much for this article and video. I’ve always been open and spiritually connected so to speak. Tarot has been something I’ve been wanting to explore. I appreciate your insight.
Excellent article and video! Thank You Kate!! I have done Tarot readings for about 30 years, and I am currently making a (traditional) Tarot deck, Lions Gateway Tarot, which will focus on Self-Empowerment and becoming Heart-Centered. I have never seen Tarot as a channel to spirits. Like you, I see it as a practical and powerful way for a persons Higher Self to communicate and offer guidance. Most readings I’ve found that the querent is already (unconsciously) aware of the energies surrounding them, so the Tarot simply offers verification of what they already know. It offers guidance from within, so they can move forward, make the right decisions, and bring about the best possible outcome in the future.
Well said, Jessica! I couldn’t agree more! Best of luck with your Tarot deck creation, it sounds wonderful – love your themes 🙂
I’ve become interested In tarot cards and what they can offer, but i read somewhere they can summon demons and spirits and that’s not something I want to mess with at the fear of accidentally summoning something…
Is it possible or am I worrying for nothing?
Welcome Maddy!
Did you read this article or watch the video? It will answer your question in detail. But the short answer is NO, you will NOT unleash demons by reading Tarot cards.
Cheers,
Kate
Great video! I did have a fear of bringing in negative energy/spirits because I watched a couple of videos that said you could do this. Up until that point, I felt very warm and fuzzy about my cards. I do think I am accessing my own inner wisdom when I draw a card because who knows you better than yourself. I guess I just have a question about angel oracle decks. I recently bought the Daily Guidance from your Angels oracle deck from Doreen Virtue. I believe the idea is you are connecting with your guardian angels to receive advice. Would working with a deck like this still be accessing your inner wisdom or am I actually addressing my guardian angels and receiving their wisdom? Thank you for making me feel better about my cards 🙂
Autumn
Hi Autumn,
I’m glad this video resonated with you 🙂 If you are using Angel cards and you set the intention to connect with your angels/guides then I think you are – or at least you are opening the door to having that experience. The same is true of Tarot cards. If you set the intention to use your angel cards to access your own inner wisdom, then I think that’s what you’ll get. You may also set the intention before an angel card reading to get guidance from both your guides and your higher self, which is what I usually do (covers all bases!).
Cheers,
Kate
Thanks for answering my question!
Hi, I want to use the Tarot but I’m afraid that I might conjure something up like a demon. It is true that, that won’t happen by using tarot cards. Also on the Google play store they have apps where you can download tarot cards. Is that okay to do and is that just as good as buying actually real Tarot cards?
Hi April,
No, you won’t conjure a demon by using Tarot – this is basically what I discuss in this article/video.
I haven’t used any Tarot apps so i can’t really say if they are the same as a physical deck. Some people love them. I love using physical cards and I think most of us spend way too much time looking at screens anyway! So that’s my two cents – but give it a try and see what you think.
Cheers,
Kate
Hi Kate,
I have always thought of my Tarot decks as having their own personality. Their vibrations are very different and the cards have different ways of “expressing” their meanings. I have 5 decks and occasionally will pull the same card out of each deck and compare the variations in meanings. (eg. the Prince/Knight of Swords) I am finding that this assists me with in interpreting the meanings more deeply. I have only been learning for the past 2 years. Prior to that, never been exposed to Tarot or Oracle cards before. It was my first deck John Holland’s “The Spirit Messages” deck that chose me. I love my cards and at no time considered them evil or bad..
Hi Sue,
Isn’t that amazing how different decks really do feel like different characters? I think that’s why I have so many decks!
That’s wonderful that you’ve never had any reservations about Tarot 🙂
Thank you for being so down to earth.
Good advice too – I’m sure that we take ourselves [and any reading] too seriously, there’ll be minimal benefit.
Especially if, for some reason we endeavour to “pre ordain” an outcome.
Thanks Phil, I’m happy you enjoyed this 🙂
I’ve just enjoyed watching your video, and feel that every new tarot reader should listen to it. You explained a difficult subject easily and simply that everyone can understand it. I’m sure you have put a lot of fears to rest for readers and made them aware that the way they explain the reading to the client is also very important. I have had tarot cards since I was 16yrs when my mother bought me my first pack; now at 73yrs young I have quite a collection of them and still thoroughly enjoying using them, giving readings and teaching friends; and will add with no problems.
Thank you so much Wendy, I’m glad you enjoyed this and feel it’s a good resource for new tarot learners. That is quite a compliment coming from a long time Tarot reader – that’s fantastic that you’ve been enjoying your Tarot cards since you were 16 🙂 I wish I’d been introduced to Tarot that young!
I’ve had people terrified of talking about them. But I currently live in the Bible belt. I have to be careful out in public. It’s not illegal here, but some counties enforce their own local beliefs on it. The general idea is that tarot is used for witchcraft. Yet I’ve had clients who were frightened of it, relax by the end of their reading. And older woman carried a 60-year fear because a reader predicted a death in their family that happened the next day.
I feel for you Sheila! That must be challenging to live in an anti-Tarot environment….I wouldn’t last a day, lol!
That’s unfortunate for that woman – I too have had a negative experience with a negative tarot reader (although her predictions didn’t come true, thankfully). Hopefully that woman was able to let go of her long held fear after talking with you.
Hello, Kate. First of all, I just LOVE your hairstyle! You look great!
I’ve been reading since 2003, and I agree that the true danger lies in having someone take the readings too seriously and change their whole life because of what a reading says. I always begin my readings by telling my clients that nothing they hear in their reading is set in stone and that we all have free will to change our lives. Psychologically, I suppose, anything people hear can “endanger” them in some way if they read into things too deeply. I’ve known two lovely young girls who turned into anorexics because someone commented that they were chubby! So we do have to be careful what words we use and how we phrase things in our readings.
Keep up the great work! XOXO
Thank you!!! So glad you liked my hair 🙂
Thanks for your comment – you bring up a great point about the power of our beliefs.
I do in fact use tarot as one way to contact spirit(s). Of course they can be contacted via prayer, meditation, shamanic journey and other ways. Tarot I believe can operate in the way you describe, but I experience it as a multi faceted thing that can and does connect us with other entities, energies and spiritual states!
This is an excellent point – Tarot is a tool and it can be used in all different ways, for different things, depending on your intention.
Yes I have struggled. I bought a deck in the early 70’s and never did open it. By the time in the 2000 when I started becoming aware. I had forgot to get it in the 15 mins I was given to get my stuff out when I divorced.
Now I wholeheartedly recommend the Tarot over pendulums! Having gotten myself an unwanted entity from it that I still have not been able to rid myself of!
Question, can this entity manipulate my card readings like it does the pendulum?
Hi Marie,
I have no idea! I am the wrong person to ask about entities as I’m not too knowledgeable on that topic. While I suppose an entity could manipulate what cards come up, I wouldn’t think they could manipulate how you interpret those cards. I think we get the cards we need to see at the right time, regardless if there’s an entity effecting things. So I wouldn’t worry about that.