“Tarot Cards are Witchcraft!” is something I have heard people say more than once. As a card-carrying Witch myself I usually shrug and say ‘Whatevs‘ to this sort of thing. Although I am really only very recently out of the broom closet however, I know there is so much misunderstanding & misinformation in the world so it’s wise to let it lie. However, I have to ask, do people honestly believe that something like Tarot is really Witchcraft?
Unless you are living in the Middle Ages I doubt many people would believe Tarot is Witchcraft; by which I presume they mean dark, evil, untoward as per all the usual and somewhat archaic associations of the craft; or indeed that Witches are bad and need burning.
‘Witchy’
For many years I have had an interest in things that people might consider ‘Witchy’. Including: Using Flowers and Herbs for various benefits, creating Potions, using Affirmations & Incantations, setting Intentions and being exceptionally mindful of Lunar Cycles.
Now, you might think that none of these thing specifically makes you a Witch – and you’d be right.
One online Dictionary definition states that a Witch is:
“a woman thought to have magic powers, especially evil ones, popularly depicted as wearing a black cloak and pointed hat and flying on a broomstick.”
Which sadly, is how many people still see them. In fact as Yoko Ono once noted: “People respect wizards. But a witch, my god, we have to burn them.“
What do we burn apart from Witches?
But ask anyone in the Wicca & Witchcraft Group I am in on Facebook and you’ll get a very different answer.
According to the Gaia website, a modern definition of a Witch could be one of 3 things:
- someone who actively practices magical rituals or spells (Witchcraft)
- a person with a spiritual connection such as a psychic medium or a Tarot reader
- someone who worships the Pagan gods
Herbal Healers
In all likelihood, this is no different from the Witches who would have practiced back in the days when they were burnt at the stake for doing so. Witches were largely herbal healers and, in a time dominated by the patriarchy, a woman of course could not be seen as a physician! So their herbal remedies were painted as evil and/or harmful; rather than being helpful, as they most often were.
However, it’s not a great stretch to imagine why a woman who was being hunted down to be burned at the stake might want to try to protect herself with poisons, potions and hexes though is it?
The Church
Of course Religion had a part to play. It was not permitted to be anything other than Christian in England for many centuries. Despite many Christian holidays and rituals simply being upcycled Pagan ones, the Witches were not permissible as far as the male-dominated church was concerned. Excommunication though apparently wasn’t enough of a punishment for having alternative beliefs. These women had to be murdered instead by the ‘kind’, ‘loving’, ‘forgiving’ & ‘accepting’ Christian church.
Despite centuries of misplaced hate, misunderstanding and mistrust, Witchcraft is more popular than ever nowadays; and,in an attempt to define the practice for our generation, the Gaia website gives a very elegant definition:
“Witchcraft is simply about using the power of the Universe and the mind to attract wants and desires. It’s about being in tune with Earth’s natural resources and using them to mystically quench a spiritual thirst.”
Energy is Everything
However you see it, for me, fundamentally Witchcraft is simply an energetic practice.
Like those who practice Affirmations or attempt Manifestation; people who have Reiki, practice Qigong or seek to balance their Chakras; those who use Feng Shui or Crystals to alter and enhance their environment.
Witchcraft is really just another way of dealing with energy: attracting the energy you want and blocking or removing that which you don’t want.
Many spells, practices and incantations of the craft are about dispelling negative energies and attracting in what you desire. This being the case then most religions or alternative practices could well fall also fall into the category of Witchcraft. Most people have heard of the book ‘The Secret‘ about the Law of Attraction. Whilst there is evidence to support this idea both in scientific and spiritual circles, fundamentally, Manifestation is an energetic practice; ‘using the power of the Universe and the mind’.
Spiritualism
Granted Witchcraft may not seem as glamorous, exotic or mystical as some of the practices us Westerners learn about; especially from the ancient spiritual practices of the Far East. In essence though, it’s the same idea, just expressed in a different way: it all boils down to energy.
Everything is Energy and energy can be moved, transmuted or re-routed. Whether it is around us or within us and of course, as every good Witch knows: As Within, So Without.
If you struggle to get your head around Religion, Spirituality and Alternative Medicine though, and it feels a stretch to walk by faith and not by sight, you need not worry. Science can now confirm everything that more mystical practices have believed for millennia.
Quantum Physics
Quantum Physics tells us that we are all made of energy. And not just humans – every single thing in the Universe is made of the same building blocks. Those building blocks are not in fact solid; they are made of almost pure Energy.
Quantum physicists discovered that the atoms which create everything, are made up of vortices of energy that are constantly spinning and vibrating. Each one radiating its own unique energy signature. More puzzling for those of us not versed in Quantum Physics, it’s been shown that Atoms are made out of invisible energy, not tangible matter. Quantum Physics has shown us that we are in fact Beings of Energy and Vibration, radiating our own unique energy signature out into the cosmos.
Good Vibrations
Understanding this, it then makes sense when people talk about your vibration and the need to raise it, in order to attract that which you really want. Athough Scientists would often term these people as hippies, scratch a little below the surface and you’ll see the 2 schools of thought are not all that far removed. In fact, in recent years, our emotions have been mapped out according to their vibrational level; (as in David Hawkin’s Map of Consciousness);and each of the main 7 Chakras were assigned a frequency. The lowest being at the Root, and the highest being at the crown.
It’s accepted that the lower vibe you have, the closer you are to more basic, negative and less feel-good emotions. The higher your vibe is the happier, more loving and closer to enlightenment you are.
Attraction
The phrase ‘Your Vibe attracts your Tribe‘ is perhaps more true than we might imagine. If you believe this then you will also trust that the right things show up for you in your life. Because they are energetically aligned to where you currently are. If you only attract things to you that resonate at a similar level it makes sense that until you resolve the thing in your life that is causing guilt, shame, anger or fear, you will always attract equally low vibe experiences and people in.
The other important thing to note about Energy is that energy does not ‘die’ or end; it simply changes or transforms. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed in an isolated system. As space expands, it releases stored up gravitational potential energy, which converts into the intrinsic energy that fills the newly created volume.
Energy cannot be destroyed
You may remember being taught about the physics of a car crash in school? Including how the energy of the moving vehicle is transferred to whatever it comes into collision with. This is the perhaps the easiest way to understand this principle to the non-scientifically minded. Full disclosure I just never found physics sexy and switched off during pretty much every class at school. Had they been taking about solfeggio frequencies or the vibrational properties of crystals however, my ears might just have pricked up!).
Tarot and Witchcraft
In itself, Tarot is not a practice of Witchcraft. Although many Witches do use Tarot cards so there is some overlap in the Venn diagram.
Tarot is also essentially an energetic practice. For those gifted with any of the ‘Clair’ abilities which include: voyance/ sentience/ audience/ cognisance/ alience & gustance. Those who are able to see or intuit other people or situations may or may not need the cards. However, given the grave outcomes for Witches historically, it makes sense that one might want to ‘blame’ the cards for being able to ‘know’ things; rather than claiming ownership of that particular gift! To blame Tarot for skills that might otherwise be assigned to Witchcraft.
Knowing
I have had a number of clairsentient and clairvoyant experiences in my own life. Because of this, I understand first hand both how unusual it is (and therefore almost hard to believe your own mind); and equally how incredible it is to have a glimpse into ‘knowing’ things that there is no way you could possibly know. Even in this day and age though I am extremely selective who I share this information with. Not everyone greets it warmly or with an open mind & heart.
With regards to Tarot though, as I mentioned previously with regards to your vibration, you usually end up pulling cards that match your energetic vibration exactly. Which is why they do tend to speak about your current situation.
As for whether people see it as evil, it seems more likely in this day and age that people will consider Tarot to simply be a scam. rather than Witchcraft. One where people make money out of exploiting people’s grief or weakness
Is there any Truth in that though?
Is Tarot a Scam?
Whilst of course there are some unscrupulous people in the world, I have come to believe that Tarot, like many skills we do not fully understand, is a wonderful tool when used correctly.
I was not always a Believer though. The first time I saw a Reader was out of sheer curiosity. After a quite amazing account from a workmate of mine who had visited him, my interest was piqued enough to go and try it out.
He was not a young man and was still sporting a mobile phone that might have looked at home a decade or 2 ago. His house appeared devoid of computers and technology. I had only managed to make an appointment with him as I had got a landline number from my friend.
I explain this because most people think that there is some matrix-esque reason behind the knowledge; that the person you are seeing will have done extensive internet research on you…
False Identity
For good measure, I had called from a withheld number and given a false name.
So you can see, I was just as suspicious and speculative as the next person…
When I arrived I found a gentle man, full of humour and story. He started off by suggesting that I could record our session. Which turned out to be a great help, as there’s a lot of information and it goes by in a flash. So I duly set my voice recorder on my phone and let things play out with an open heart. During my time there, he described clearly things that were going on in my work life; what my Husband was like as a person; personal situations I had been going through…
Was it ‘Tarot Witchcraft’?
I was taken aback.
My husband who was extremely cynical, listened to the recording afterwards and had to agree these were not the generic generalisations he’d expected. He also agreed that had that reading been given to another human it would not have made sense.
Duly converted, I have been to him quite a few times since then. Sometimes in times of Trouble and sometimes in times of Hope. When I happily mention to people that I am going to see ‘my Psychic’, they often give me strange looks. However, I counter that by telling them that whilst I don’t really understand it, what I do know is that it gives me Comfort.
Comfort
It gives me Comfort because he speaks about Guardian Angels and those dearly departed who are watching over me. They are helping me and guiding me, even when I am doing my very best to thwart their efforts! He speaks in Positives and says the Worst is Past. He gives me Friendly Reminders to keep an eye out for Signs from the Universe; and he tells me that I will be Absolutely Fine.
He fosters my belief in that which I cannot see. He gives me faith in outcomes that I have no real control over.
- Does he tell me the future? Not as such.
- Does he identify the current issue I am facing and provide an answer to it? Every time.
- Does he make me feel like I can overcome whatever issue I have? Absolutely.
Sometimes there is nothing more Powerful than a perfect stranger telling you that you can do Whatever it is you want to do in Life! If this is Witchcraft then bring it on – More Tarot please!
Mirroring
The truth is that Tarot is only a mirror for what is going on in your life and it will be delivered to you either by an unscrupulous soul who is seeking to hoodwink you for money (and I have certainly encountered a couple of those in my time!). That being said, I did believe that one Reader, who seemed to take an instant dislike to me, subsequently hexed me (not long before my marriage broke down actually!) and I then spent months clearing that energy from my home. During which time I had a plague of carpet-eating moths in addition to my Marriage crisis! I used a shit tonne (technical term) of Salt, Black Candles and Sage to sort that situation out!
But mostly readings are done by well-meaning souls with a gift for some sort of sight, beyond that which we usually rely upon. If you have never experienced any sort of ‘seeing’ then I grant you, this might be tricky to understand.
As within, so without.
My experience of Tarot has largely been a good one. Helpful and enlightening. I have decks of my own now and often seek answers in the cards when I need direction. Although you are told not to pull cards for yourself, I tend to see that as superstition. I always find the answers I need and generally, the cards simply reflect me. If I am confused, the answers I get are equally confused. If I know the truth but am not allowing the answers to come forward, they reveal that to me.
Because it’s all simply energy. The card match my vibration. So if witchcraft is energy, then so is Tarot.
Is is anything to be afraid of though? Not at all! Unless of course you are afraid of yourself…
About the Author: Holly Skey is a Relationship Repair Expert and founder of Happily Ever After. She runs an 8 week Relationship Training programme designed to save, heal and radically improve your Marriage. She uses Psychology, Neuroscience and of course, energetic practices in her work.
Get in touch: hello@hea-rt.com