My experience with Tarot cards.

I'm pretty sure I didn't post that ?
 
In the early 90s I was living in Southern California and experimenting with dark channels. One of these led me to Crowley's Thoth Tarot. I purchased a pack of cards from a local occult bookshop and brought them home. I opened the pack and turned them upside down with my left hand. But rather than just sliding out of the box and into the palm of my other hand, the cards - which were heavy and slick - instead fell through my hands and onto the floor. To my surprise, what I saw was an unexpected pattern. The cards had all fallen face down to the floor in a concentric pattern, but with one exception. There was one card in the middle that had fallen face up. And it was the extra card that came with the pack on which is a red Unicursal Hexagram on a black background modified with a Rosy Cross in the center that is one of the symbols used in Thelema. I also recognized it as Crowley's own personal seal. The overall effect was that the cards had fallen in such a way as to give the appearance of a bloodshot eye.

Now I am not suggesting that the odds of the cards all falling that way are as great as they might seem. They were already stacked together facing down with that extra card on the top being the last to slide through my hand. Plus they couldn't have fallen more than three feet or so. Yet, had even one other card been flipped over or the cards scattered a bit less concentrically, the pattern of the arrangement would have seemed a bit more random and I would have probably dismissed it outright and continued my foray into Tarot with the Thoth deck. But instead, it came across to me as a warning that there was risk up ahead.

So I put the cards back in the box and have never used them for anything connected to Tarot itself. I still have them and have once or twice taken them out of the box, but only to look at the paintings of Lady Frieda Harris. Since then, whenever I have done anything with Tarot, I have also always used the Ryder-Waite deck. But I am curious as to what anyone here would have done under these circumstances. Would you have continued with the Thoth deck dismissing it all as "just a coincidence"? Or would you have seen similar meaning in that pattern of cards that would have caused you to give any further use of this deck serious second thoughts?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Fantasio Inferno
In the early 90s I was living in Southern California and experimenting with dark channels. One of these led me to Crowley's Thoth Tarot. I purchased a pack of cards from a local occult bookshop and brought them home. I opened the pack and turned them upside down with my left hand. But rather than just sliding out of the box and into the palm of my other hand, the cards - which were heavy and slick - instead fell through my hands and onto the floor. To my surprise, what I saw was an unexpected pattern. The cards had all fallen face down to the floor in a concentric pattern, but with one exception. There was one card in the middle that had fallen face up. And it was the extra card that came with the pack on which is a red Unicursal Hexagram on a black background modified with a Rosy Cross in the center that is one of the symbols used in Thelema. I also recognized it as Crowley's own personal seal. The overall effect was that the cards had fallen in such a way as to give the appearance of a bloodshot eye.

Now I am not suggesting that the odds of the cards all falling that way are as great as they might seem. They were already stacked together facing down with that extra card on the top being the last to slide through my hand. Plus they couldn't have fallen more than three feet or so. Yet, had even one other card been flipped over or the cards scattered a bit less concentrically, the pattern of the arrangement would have seemed a bit more random and I would have probably dismissed it outright and continued my foray into Tarot with the Thoth deck. But instead, it came across to me as a warning that there was risk up ahead.

So I put the cards back in the box and have never used them for anything connected to Tarot itself. I still have them and have once or twice taken them out of the box, but only to look at the paintings of Lady Frieda Harris. Since then, whenever I have done anything with Tarot, I have also always used the Ryder-Waite deck. But I am curious as to what anyone here would have done under these circumstances. Would you have continued with the Thoth deck dismissing it all as "just a coincidence"? Or would you have seen similar meaning in that pattern of cards that would have caused you to give any further use of this deck serious second thoughts?
In my opinion the sign the cards gave you were not a coincidence, never. I would personally be very intrigued by the pattern of the bloodshot eye in my cards pattern if I had experienced it, the cards as many said in the comments, are not dangerous or summon negative spirits by their own, that depends on the reader’s emotional state. The bloodshot eye could be a warning of something in your life, and not something negative about the Thoth tarot deck itself. I personally would have gone further to ask the cards more about this bloodshot eye they showed me. I think it would be very interesting to see what they would have to tell me about this.
 
In my opinion the sign the cards gave you were not a coincidence, never. I would personally be very intrigued by the pattern of the bloodshot eye in my cards pattern if I had experienced it, the cards as many said in the comments, are not dangerous or summon negative spirits by their own, that depends on the reader’s emotional state. The bloodshot eye could be a warning of something in your life, and not something negative about the Thoth tarot deck itself. I personally would have gone further to ask the cards more about this bloodshot eye they showed me. I think it would be very interesting to see what they would have to tell me about this.
A bloodshot eye is not a healthy eye. Crowley re-arranged some of the cards. Using them could lead to seeing the world through his interpretation of the archetypes. I agree it would have been interesting. But that is why I did not do as you would have done.
 
I’ve enjoyed reading his thread. I don’t know much about the cards meanings but it’s fun to learn some.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fantasio Inferno
No matter what though the cards are tools and have no life or majik of their own. It is only a tool like a telescope or a microscope that allows me to better focus and "see" what is there.
My best friend is a nun who uses the Tarot for Divine-ization. They are mirrors to our souls, and, using them as tools, assists us to see what our inner self knows, and allows the Divine/Universe to give us a good nudge or two in the right direction.
 
I'm not sure what to make of a Nun serving within an order utilising Tarot cards, as I thought currently all forms of divination were prohibited since the Roman empire.
Mind you, plenty of Christians happily smudge with sage so maybe the lines are getting a little blurred.

Maybe the cards in question were speaking as an oracle already and was quite literally showing you what they were for - for seeing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ultima Thule
First and Last, Intent is everything.

Now, I have never heard any of this about Tarot Cards. The Tarot is suppose to work through interpretation of the Drawings. Symbology. I have never, ever, heard that you can draw demons with them. Tarot is divination. Demon drawing is incantation. Or INTENT.

If you pick up a stick and you have a notion to empower that stick with Negative Intent - YOU are drawing what you are Calling - not the stick. In any other setting the stick is just a stick. To me it sounds like YOU drew what you were Calling by considering the Tarot as a Tool and purposely investing them with negative energy (INTENT). Then instead of saying WOW - this is REAL, I won't do that ever again... you said - It was the Cards. Just saying.

What I am saying here is, while I don't think the Tarot are a valuable skill to learn if you are not practicing divination and I don't think they are a toy because that is not what they are made for... but I don't think they draw demons. I think individuals are self-responsible for that... in a case like this. Which is why many would caution against having them. The truth is that anyone who gets into this stuff is probably vulnerable or more open to other stuff. Tarot is like the Gateway Drug so to speak.

Unlike the Quija - which is designed for the exact intent of Calling on Spirits. And even with the Quija -- there is self-responsibility.
I agree so much with everything you said.
My aunt started teaching me tarot when I was very young (about 8 years old) and the first things she taught me were that it wasn't a toy to talk to the dead, that is was a method for interpreting the signs and messages from the Universe and spirit guides and that before doing any reading, for myself or someone else, to ground and clear myself and my area before.
I have been doing readings for myself since I was 13, and readings for other people since I was about 15 and in all that time I have never had any kind of attachment or other wise from any kind of entity, negative or not. The only time anything of that nature has happened has been when I am intentionally calling out to the spiritual realm to connect. And because of certain bad experiences I don't do that as often any longer.
And I agree a lot with what you said about when someone gets into divination and such they make themselves more vulnerable and open to these sorts of things. It is on that person to make sure they are properly protecting themselves.
 
For the record, I have never, ever had a negative experience with Tarot cards. I usually light candles and invite positive energy before doing a reading, and have had some amazing information made available to me! Once, when I had gotten into a bad spell in my life; illness, living in a place that I hated, etc. I did a reading, and based upon what it told me, big changes were coming. And they did; I moved out of state, and after a long loneliness, I met my husband. Another time, when we put our house on the market, I did a reading to find out how soon we would sell. The reading I chose gave me a date, and we closed on the sale of the house, on that exact day.

And I agree with Darcy, that intent can really make a big difference, but as I have said, I never had any negative outcomes from using Tarot cards.
Same here I have never had any kind of negative experience with tarot. Even when I have done readings for other people who have had negative attachments and are just in negative places in their lives.
I'm not sure that the Tarot cards themselves are the sole reason for the negative entity. I agree with what Darcy said as well, especially about intention.
 
My use and view of the tarot cards is much like Darcy's. I've read them for about 40 years off and on and found nothing in them that is dark or negative. If that is what you are experiencing you need to look within yourself and purge these feelings or they will taint your every endeavor.

My use is sort of nontraditional. Instead of trying to read them based on another person interpretations I look at the cards and just let them tell me their story. I seem to "see" different things in the same card at different times and allow this to help me find my way to an answer to my questions.

I am not seeking some outside guidance am rather using the cards to help me better allow my own clairvoyance to function. For me, clairvoyance is always visionary. I don't get explanations I just "see" things some times before they happen and "feel" the emotions that will go with that experience. Because of this, I free my mind and some times the cards tell me a detailed story.

My only precautionary warning about this is in that I will never again read for a friend. There are things that you should only have to experience once. Losing a friend or Family member is one of those things. I never read for profit. I only will offer you some guidance and not a map to your future. The past is set in stone but the future is fluid.

I actually use several different types of tarot cards. The Traditional Rider-Waite though are my most common choice. I also read the Radiant Rider-Waite deck, A Templers Deck, a Native American Deck and a couple of others. I will just pull out a card and gaze at it often as a form of meditation and try to see all that it has to be seen in the details.

No matter what though the cards are tools and have no life or majik of their own. It is only a tool like a telescope or a microscope that allows me to better focus and "see" what is there.

PS: As Darcy has said, my way is strictly my path and not for everyone.
I was taught a similar way, that not every card means the same thing in every reading. My aunt taught me to rely on what my intuition told me that the cards were trying to tell me.
I love what you said about the past being set in stone and that the future is fluid. In the past when I have done readings for other people I have had such a hard time explaining that although the cards are saying that this could be the outcome right now it could always change. And often does.
I as well use a few different decks. For me it depends on the kind of reading I plan on doing and even what mood I am in. I also have separate decks for when I do readings for myself and when I do them for other people. I just feel like with Tarot decks, especially when used for personal readings,I put so much of my own energy into them that I want to keep my own energies separate from the energies of the person I am reading.
My aunt also told me something similar to what you said when she was first teaching me, that the magik is not within the cards, it is within me and the Universe.