tarot evil spirits

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:

1. Take a long, hot epsom salt bath or shower with some essential oils like lavender, rosemary and sage. And think of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING….bliss!!!!
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2. 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!
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3. Exercise/dance!!!!! This is a very powerful way to move energy in your body and rid yourself of accumulated stress.
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4. Listening to some gregorian chants or soft, rhythmic drums, lighting a few candles and burning some incense
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5. 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:

1. knocking once on the deck and then wafting your hand over it, as if to waft away a bad smell or something.
2. Just shuffling the cards breaks up any stagnant energy – this is the easiest way, in my opinion!
3. Place your deck in the moonlight overnight
4. Put your deck in a bag of quartz crystals
5. 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 🙂