many common myths and just plain untruth surrounds these cards. Now myths are not necessarily falsehoods, per se, but they can be a way to explain and simplify the human experience and often use superstitions that are often clearly untrue. Let's take a quick look at a few of these myths and misinformation...
Myth: It is bad luck to buy your own deck, it should be bought as a gift for you by someone else.
Reality: I suppose you can just wait around for someone to give you a deck as a gift but what if your friends aren't into tarot...you might probably wait for ever for this to happen and if it does, it may be a deck you don’t like. You wouldn't want a dragon deck if you are frightened of dragons
Myth: The “Death” card means that someone around you is going to die.
Reality: Why it is true that we are all going to die, it is highly unlikely that this card on its own will prophesise someone’s death. The death card itself is not actually about physical death at all...It's about endings, like the ending of one phase of your life and a new phase or beginning, leaving room for new and possibly better opportunities to come your way.
Myth: Tarot is evil. Also described as the “Devil’s Picture Book”
Reality: This myth was often perpetuated by Christians, because of a Medieval Friar's sermon saying the devil named the Tarot cards. This sermon, however, referred to the fact that the Tarot was most often used for gambling at the time--a practice Christians disagreed with. Take a close look at a tarot deck, hold it in your hands...what do you see, what do you feel? Beautiful pictures on plain card stock...the kind used for the regular playing cards that you find in almost every household.
Myth: You must store your deck in black silk within an oak box.
Reality: Tarot decks were once very precious and rare. Early decks, from the 14th century, were hand painted., and thus the fragile cards needed protecting. Todays cards are made from sturdier card stock and are printed instead of painted. If you own a particular deck that is special to you, by all means wrap it to keep it safe and oh yeah, the black silk theory was a superstition to protect the cards from negative energy. Today you can find hundreds of tarot bags or all colors and patterns. Pick one that suits your deck's theme.
So put your fears to rest folks, your tarot cards are not possessed by the devil, they will not predict one's untimely demise and dress them up in whatever fashionable bag or box you see fit!
2 comments:
I have got a Tarot deck, but there are some beautiful ones around.
We get more reactions to the "Crowley" name on the Thoth decks we sell, than we do towards Tarot as a whole. I just tell people that his lifestyle has no bearing on the fact that he created an inspired deck. At the end of the day, they are just pictures on cards.
Great post!
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