Are Tarot Cards Evil?
Are you fascinated by tarot cards and wonder whether they can advise you on questions you have about your life?
But also: You’ve heard they might be evil? Or maybe your religion condemns them? Or you’ve seen them depicted as a dark art on witchy streaming series or old Hollywood movies?
Or maybe you’ve heard of crooks pretending to be legitimate tarot readers. (Scammers do exist: Beware of storefront fortune tellers and creepy social media psychics and “spellcasters”.)
It’s easy to think that tarot cards are evil when it’s really scammers who are the problem. They will use a variety of mystical tools — not only tarot cards — to mislead people. These criminals should never be mistaken for ethical, professional tarot readers.
Okay. End of rant : )
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at the history and background of tarot cards as a divination tool. Let’s get some clarity about what tarot card readings can and can’t do.
And let’s talk about whether or not tarot cards are inherently evil.
Why do people ask, “Are tarot cards evil?”
People are often suspicious of things they don’t understand, and tarot has always been one of these things. Each tarot card offers a mysterious image, often full of Catholic and Judaic symbolism, and a few of the cards are more than a little scary, among them the Devil, Death, and Tower cards.
Why are “scary” cards part of the tarot deck? It’s because tarot depicts the full range of experiences that are part of every human life — including death. But what many people don’t know is that every tarot card has a literal and a symbolic meaning.
For example, in most tarot readings, when the Death card appears it doesn’t predict a literal death, but instead a transformation into a new stage of your life. Leaving something behind so that you can grow into a new (and often, very happy) era.
You may have heard tarot referred to as a divination system, and most people think that means fortune-telling. Let’s look at that next.
What does “divination” really mean?
For hundreds of years, tarot cards have been a form of divination, literally meaning "to be inspired by a divine being." So, through whatever system is being used (tarot cards, coins, cowrie shells . . .) God, or the Divine, or The Universe is being asked for insight into a situation or problem.
Divination is the consultation of elevated, divine beings; not the consultation of dark, evil, or Satanic forces.
It can also be thought of as consulting the divine spirit within the person being read for.
The tarot is a tool for communication with higher self, spirit guides, or divine energies.
But what if you want to contact dark spirits or demonic forces? Yes, you certainly can, but very few tarot readers have a Satanic mindset. (Just to be safe, it’s always a good idea to ask a tarot reader about the kind of energies they are communicating with.)
Choose your tarot reader by their vibe: Bright aura and high-vibe readers, if you want to contact divine spirits or benevolent energies; or dark, dingy, and depressed readers, if you’re looking for a reader who attracts dark energies.)
Let’s dig in and learn more about the cards themselves.
Where did tarot cards originally come from, anyway?
In common with many divination systems, tarot cards once had a completely different purpose before being used as a tool to understand the past, present, and future and to provide spiritual guidance.
Originating as a card game in 15th-century Italy, tarot gradually evolved into a tool for readings in the 18th century.
Its evolution from game to divination tool reflects the human tendency to imbue common, everyday objects with increasing layers of meaning over time — and the eternal, mystical archetypes that existed in the cards themselves.
What do the pictures on tarot cards really mean?
The traditional tarot deck consists of 78 cards, and each card corresponds to a different stage of life or daily-life situation.
The deck is divided into two main categories: the Major Arcana (big secrets/insights) and the Minor Arcana (small secrets/insights).
The Major Arcana is 22 cards that represent the many stages on the life journey from birth to death (although most people don’t experience these stages in a linear way).
The Minor Arcana is 56 cards divided into four suits (cups, swords, wands, and pentacles) which correspond to various daily-life aspects of human experience. The minor arcana are similar to the cards you would find in a traditional playing card deck (ace through ten plus court cards).
How tarot cards work
The major cards represent the big themes of your life (the big picture), while the minor cards often answer specific questions or help you to understand why things happened the way they did in the past, how to handle events in the present, and what is likely to happen in the future.
A good professional tarot reader also uses these cards to advise how you can change things if you don’t like an outcome that presents itself in a reading.
Today, hundreds of different tarot decks exist, drawing from many different artistic, cultural, and belief traditions. There are now tarot decks that resonate with every individual and their life path. Everyone can find at least one deck that feels like home to you.
Because the tarot depicts the entire scope of human life, some cards may appear negative due to their representation of bad fortune, death, destruction, fear, or grief, but these cards also offer guidance on how to heal and transform many of these situations.
In the opinion of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, the tarot also taps into our collective unconscious, where common human experiences and emotions have been stored during the whole of human history. This suggests that tarot cards not only reflect our own human journey, but also attempt to convey shared human wisdom about surviving and thriving through our lifetimes.
Getting started with tarot
If you feel attracted to tarot cards and your religious or spiritual beliefs allow you to use your own judgment in the paths you choose to explore, first find a tarot deck that speaks to you.
Contrary to superstition, yes, you can and should buy a deck for yourself. You don’t have to wait for someone to give you a deck, and in my opinion, you shouldn’t. You are the only person who can select the right tarot deck for you.
Images on each deck can vary widely. As a professional tarot reader of over 20 years, there are some decks that feel dark or evil to me because of the images on those decks. I avoid them. (Once again, it’s not tarot as a system that is evil, and decks with dark energy are in the eye of the beholder. A deck that I would avoid may be someone else’s favorite.)
There is a specific “feel” or life force that each tarot deck has. Just as, when you visit an art museum, there are art works that feel healing to you and others that you wish you could unsee.
Each tarot deck comes with a small booklet that gives you the traditional meaning of each card. But instead of looking up card definitions, it’s much better for tarot beginners to take some time to emotionally bond with each card in the deck you have chosen.
Look at each card for at least a minute or two per card, and feel into how each card makes you feel and what message it may have for you at that moment. Many beginners choose to pull one card each day, gaze at it for a moment, and let a message from the card come into their mind.
What each card says to you may change from day to day, depending on your mood or on what’s going on in your life at that time.
More ways to work with tarot cards
Do you like to journal? You can pull a tarot card before you open your journal and write about how that card may relate to your life (either now or in the past).
Do you like to meditate, but need a more active practice? If you have trouble focusing your mind in the middle of a meditation session, pull a tarot card and ask your divine inner being how this card relates to your life.
Ask for the solution to a problem. Have you ever asked for God, a guardian angel, or an ancestor to send you the answer to a problem or to give you a sign? You can use tarot as an intermediary in this process. Focus on the problem, connect in prayer to the divine being of your choice, and ask them to guide you through the tarot card you pull. Then, shuffle your deck and pull a card.
For some of my favorite tarot decks, click here.
Receiving a reading from a professional tarot reader
People get tarot readings to gain insights into past, present, and future events; and to help uncover reasons that things haven’t worked out they way they wanted them to.
A skilled reader gives practical answers through the cards, provides next steps to help the client feel in control, and strengthens the client’s own ability to make the best decisions in life.
A tarot reading offers insights into potential paths a client can take and what the likely outcome may be for each path. It uncovers new options the client may not have thought of, as well as what is behind the situation. This enables people to make informed decisions and clarify their thoughts about what’s happening (often turning events in their favor).
Tarot does not have the ability to make 100% accurate predictions about the future. This is because of the free will of the client as well as the free will (and changeable nature) of other people in the client’s life. What they feel today may change tomorrow. As people make micro-adjustments along their path, destinies change and outcomes change from what they might have been at the moment of the reading.
Our choices shape our destinies from moment to moment. That’s why a tarot reader should never predict an absolute, immutable outcome to any situation.
And it’s always important to mention: While tarot can provide valuable insights, it's not a substitute for professional advice, medical treatment, or rational decision-making.
Want to learn more about scheduling a tarot reading with me? Find out more here.
Should you stay away from tarot?
There are so many ways of receiving divine or inner guidance. Tarot is just one path.
If you belong to a conservative religious path that forbids divination practices, stay true to what feels right to you.
Each of us is on a path of discovery and tarot will always be here for you if you ever want to learn more.
