Why Catholics Say Tarot is Evil
I’m from the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country. I went to a private Catholic school, and in my teens taught Catechism to children in public school. I was Class Valedictorian, so such volunteerism was expected of me. I spent my early life studying Catholicism, and excelling at it.
You can trust me when I say there is one reason and one true reason alone why Catholics consider tarot evil.
Back when Spain owned half the world, it sent friars to its territories to convert the natives.
These friars were corrupt. They told people that heaven has seats they can reserve. That if they regularly donate money to the Church, their place in heaven is guaranteed.
They also taught people that only they can really speak to God. That while they are encouraged to pray at home, the reception is simply better when the call is done through a priest.
During this time, tarot was already being used in Europe — in Catholic Italy and France — as a way of directly reaching out to divine powers.
The Church would have none of it. Money that could be given to them is now being handed to fortunetellers. And their reputation as the only direct line to heaven is now in danger.
So the Church declared tarot evil.
For status. Which includes money and bragging rights.
To justify the myth, people reverse-engineered it. They fooled themselves into coming up with valid reasons for it. “Because Satan invented it.” “Because it summons evil spirits.” “Because it claims to know more than God.”
If you are a true Catholic, then you have to believe that your god is the only true god anyway, right? That no one — Satan or evil spirits — can even try to compete with him.
So why be afraid of tarot in the first place? Surely 78 pieces of cardboard paper are no match for your heavenly father.
Today, tarot is used by people of countless faiths. As a Greco-Roman pagan, I use it to commune with the Fates and my divine parents, Venus and Pluto. My aunt, who was a Catholic witch, used it to speak to the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. A friend of mine, who is an atheist, uses it to speak to his higher self.
Tarot is simply an instrument. It is neither good nor evil in itself. Don’t let a misinformed Catholic tell you different.
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