Transcription
So, this card means that everything's going to be okay, and your hemorrhoids are going to clear up. Oh, fantastic! Isn't the tarot a wonderful thing?
We've had an email from a lady called Mrs. Buttock. Okay, well, we love getting messages here at Kippy's Quest. What she got to say? She says, "Dear Kippy, tarot cards are inherently evil, and those who use them are opening their minds to demonic possession. Fire, brimstone, and eternal damnation await all those who meddle in such black arts. Put your faith in the Almighty and burn each and every tarot card in your possession, lest the Lord smite thee with his big smiting thing. Yours sincerely, Mrs. Incontinentia Buttocks."
Oh, I don't like the sound of that. I don't want demons feeding on my mind. Calm down. Any demon that tries to feed on your mind is going to starve to death anyway. I'm not burning my tarot cards, they're expensive. That Sol Absa deck cost me 40 quid. This is clearly a load of old nonsense.
So, are tarot cards evil? When I've spoken to friends who don't know anything about this kind of thing, they've said to me, "Tarot, isn't that all about worshipping the devil?" It's surprising how many people think this. Even people who I'd consider to be staunch atheists have got this vague belief that tarot readers are somehow meddling in the dark arts. Where does this common idea come from?
If we're going to answer that question properly, then I think we need to start by looking into the Christian attitude. Now, I'm massively generalizing here. There are many different flavors of Christianity and all sorts of different opinions when it comes to this kind of thing. For example, did you know that Pope John Paul II kept a copy of the book *Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism* on his desk? So, I'm just going by what seems to be the prevailing attitude online for this video, and that seems to be rooted in the idea that we're putting ourselves in some kind of spiritual danger when we read the cards.
I had a look on some popular Christian websites to see if I can find out where this idea comes from. Here's a few examples: "Tarot cards are evil and sinful, and Christians should avoid them." Well, I think that gives us the basic message. "Using the tarot can lead to more serious spiritual issues, including the risk of demonic oppression, obsession, or even possession." That's the three demonic "esses" that should be avoided at all costs. "It can also lead to sorcery in the form of experimenting with mind-altering substances." Well, you've never done anything like that, have you? No, no. "The occult is genuinely evil and sinister, but the people attracted to it are just like you and me. That might come as a shock to anyone who is expecting us to have horns and cloaks and hooves. Often enthusiasts will gather at public events to discuss this sinful practice." Here is a photo of a Tarot conference. As you can see, there's some serious darkness and debauchery going on there. "Explore and learn about the different groups in your area and pray for them." So, stalk them, in other words. "Attend their public events and preach the gospel with confidence, knowledge, and compassion." Yeah, that's a great idea. People love it when you turn up uninvited and start judging everybody.
Now, I've got a couple of good friends who are Christians, but I see that as only one aspect of their personality. We disagree on a lot of things, but we've also got plenty in common. Basically, I don't define them by their faith. But when I've asked them about tarot cards, they've invariably quoted passages from the Bible to me, which is interesting because tarot wasn't even invented until the 15th century. Maybe they could see the future?
Anyway, for the purposes of this, we're just going to look at the Bible's stance on divination, in particular Deuteronomy 18, because that's the passage that they seem to keep trotting out like an old, knackered shoe. "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire." Well, I think we can all agree on that one, can't we? "Or that useth divination, or an observer of times." Observer of times sounds like bad news for anyone who uses a wristwatch. "Or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer." They do realize wizards aren't real, don't they? Sorry, Gandalf, you might have saved Middle-earth, but I'm afraid you're damned for all eternity. I've met one or two people who thought they were wizards, usually when I'm walking back from the pub. Who are they going to have a go at next? Goblins? "For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord, and because of these abominations, the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee."
So, going by that, if you're a mythical creature that doesn't exist, then it sounds like you're in a lot of trouble. Oh, I'll get to some of the other things mentioned in that passage later on, but it's those who useth divination that we're concerned with here. Now, that's such a nebulous term. It could mean anything from reading tea leaves to watching the weather report. Various forms of divination include gastromancy, where people tell the future by the way their stomach rumbles. I think we all do that from time to time. If you've recently enjoyed a curry and you hear your belly rumbling, it's pretty safe to predict that your future is going to involve putting the toilet paper in the freezer. Mayomancy, which is divining by mice and the way they squeak. Apparently, first-century Roman dictator Fabius Maximus retired after he heard a mouse tell him that he was done for. "You're doomed, Fabius!" "Oh, blind me, that's it, I'm retiring." Scatomancy, which is divining with pooh. Now, I'm in agreement when it comes to that one. If you go to see a fortune teller and they give you a bucket and tell you to drop your trousers, I'd say you're better off going home and reading your horoscope. And tyromancy, which is divining with cheese. Next time you eat a pizza, don't look at it too closely, or you might find yourself in league with the devil. Extra hot chilies and black olives, please.
However, apparently Deuteronomy was written in the 7th century, so we need to look at the kinds of divination that were used up to that time. This included the ritual of anthropomancy, which was divining through sacrifice. Now, I'm having to choose my words very carefully here because YouTube understandably takes a dim view of this kind of thing, but I'm sure we all know what I'm talking about. Apparently, predictions were based on things like death throes, the volume of screams, and all kinds of other gruesome things that I won't mention. Now, any right-thinking person would agree that that's a terrible thing to do. No one in their right mind would consider doing something like that just to figure out whether they should accept a job at the pie shop. I think this is where a lot of the confusion has come from. You can't possibly compare horrible acts like that to staring at a crystal ball or checking out the palm of your hand. There are times when I view the interpretations of the Bible to be a very elaborate game of Chinese Whispers that's been played out across the centuries and has resulted in some big misunderstandings. I think this is one of those cases. They've put two and two together and managed to come up with a shoe.
But you read the Bible? I do. I particularly like the Book of Ezekiel. That guy trips so hard that people are still talking about it 2 and a half thousand years later. Anyway, I read the King James version, partly because I'm a bit of a traditionalist, partly because it's a hugely important piece of English literature, and partly because it's absolutely hilarious in some places. We've got 1004 skins being offered as a wedding present. People making bread out of cow dung. Check out Revelation 14 where it says, "And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps." I don't think I'll ever find a more redundant sentence than that one. But if you've ever wondered what the harpers were harping with, it turns out it was harps. Well, this passage in the Song of Solomon where it says, "My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door; and my bowels were moved for him." I think we might be going back to the gastromancy form of divination there.
There are, however, a few problems with the King James version, and I'll be getting to those later. So, who exactly was this King James character?
A brief history of King James I. First, King James I was the first monarch to rule both England and Scotland, uniting the crowns after the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. James is best known for commissioning the King James Bible, an English translation published in 1611, which had a profound influence on English-speaking Christianity. His reign also saw the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, a failed attempt by Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, to blow up Parliament and assassinate him. He was a scholarly and intellectual monarch but faced challenges with religious and political tensions, especially between Catholics and Protestants.
Now, despite everything I've said about the Bible, I found that it contains some of the most astonishingly beautiful passages that have ever been put to paper, and it has touched my soul in ways that I can't even begin to describe. It also contains some of the most ridiculous twaddle that I've ever clapped eyes on, ranging from the absurd to the downright horrifying. You'd need to be criminally insane to take everything in here literally. So, as with all texts, I take what I need and I ignore the rest. Sadly, there's a good proportion of people who don't quite see it this way.
But anyway, if I can put my rational hat on for a moment, then surely we need to look at how much harm is actually being done by the modern practice of divination, and it's not a lot, really. I know some people will say that there are charlatans out there who prey on the gullible for their money, but we're talking about a tiny fraction of people when we look at the big picture. Besides, frauds exist in every walk of life. Just look at politics. And let's not forget that Christianity has certainly got its fair share of con artists. Even someone who's adamant that they're sticking with the biblical interpretations will find plenty of passages denouncing fraudsters with no mention of divination. In Proverbs, it says, "Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death." And in Leviticus, it says, "Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another." So, the Bible has already got that kind of thing wrapped up with nary a tarot card in sight.
I use the tarot as a means of self-discovery and as a tool in my ritual practice, so I can't really see how that could possibly invoke divine judgment from the Almighty. Oh, no, it's God. Oh, he's going to smite us with his big smitey thing. Eternal damnation awaits. So, eternal damnation turned out to be the Amazon delivery guy. Yes, but on the plus side, I've now got a Depeche Mode dressing gown.
Another thing about the Bible is that it mentions a few divination practices itself. In Genesis, we find a passage where Laban is talking to Jacob about divining with a silver cup, and he says, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay; I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you." Perhaps Laban had a note from his mother excusing him from divine judgment: "Dear God, please don't smite Laban for using divination. His eczema has flared up and he's not feeling himself." Anyway, according to one forum I was reading, it says, "If Jacob did practice divination, it wasn't divination in the pagan sense, but seeking God's will through a different method." Oh, come on. So, you're saying that this kind of divination is evil, but that one's fine? Get out of here. That's clearly nonsense. If you ever want to see some outrageous mental gymnastics, just go on the scripture forums. They're tying themselves up in knots over there.
Another method we come across in the Bible is something called cleromancy, or the casting of lots. This is mentioned quite a few times, but we see it in Leviticus when Aaron used it to decide which goat he was going to slaughter as a sin offering to the Lord. 'Cause there's nothing evil about that, is there? We've also got the Urim and Thummim, which were elements of the breastplate worn by the high priest of Israel. In Samuel, it talks about how these were used by King Saul to determine who was at fault for breaking the army's fast. Come on, own up, who opened the Jaffa Cakes? If you've seen my video on The Chariot, back at number 7 in the Trumps, you'll know that I talked about how the Urim and Thummim were the shoulder pads on The Chariot. They were known as the sacred lots, and they crop up all over the Bible as a way of determining God's will. Therefore, it would seem that "those who useth divination being an abomination to the Lord" is a bit of a selective phrase. "All right for me, but not for thee," seems to be the order of the day here. But I'm afraid that won't wash on Kippy's Quest. As Aleister Crowley once said, "The Law is for all." Ah, it's God. He's finally had enough. Oh, no, we're done for. It's fire and brimstone for us. So, fire and brimstone turned out to be you not bothering to get the boiler serviced.
Fire and brimstone might sound like that. Anyway, what the hell is fire and brimstone?
A brief history of fire and brimstone. The phrase "fire and brimstone" originates from biblical literature, where it's often used to describe divine punishment, especially in reference to hell or the wrath of God. The term "brimstone" is an archaic word for sulfur, which burns with a suffocating, intense flame. Together, fire and brimstone symbolize a form of severe, purifying punishment or destruction. The most prominent biblical references come from the Old Testament, particularly in the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven." The phrase became more widespread in Christian sermons during the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in the context of "fire and brimstone preaching." Ministers would often use graphic descriptions of eternal torment and judgment to caution the faithful about the consequences of sin. These sermons were meant to invoke terror, encourage repentance, and incentivize moral behavior.
Getting back to that passage in Deuteronomy, you know, the one where it's complaining about wizards and pixies and elves. It also mentions witches. Now, this brings me back to the King James version I was talking about earlier, in particular Exodus 22, where it says, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." I think we're probably all too aware of what happened as a result of this passage. It's estimated that anywhere between 40 and 200,000 people were burnt at the stake for the crime of witchcraft between the 14th and 17th centuries, 85% of whom were women. Now, while we can certainly attribute much of that to fear, prejudice, absurd superstition, and just downright corruption, we can also trace it to the translation of the ancient Hebrew word *m'khashef*, which I've probably pronounced wrong. In this case, it's been translated to mean "witch" or "spellcaster," and that's the translation used in Deuteronomy 18. The problem is that we've got no idea what that word actually meant when it was written in the time of Exodus. We're talking about thousands of years ago. But more recent scholars have translated the word to mean "poisoner" or "herbalist." The fact is, we don't know what they meant by that word, and neither did King James. So, we're not looking at a particularly reliable source here. Even if we don't take any of this into account, the practice of witch hunting still goes against every core tenet of Christianity, "Thou shalt not kill" being the most obvious one. If we can reliably say that burning witches has got absolutely no basis in the Bible, then surely that throws doubt on the other things mentioned in that ridiculous passage.
Another common belief mentioned by Mrs. Buttock is the idea that when we read tarot cards, we are opening our minds to demonic possession. Now, there is a whole part of ritual magic that deals with demons and the Goetia and the Lesser Key of Solomon that I'm not even going to attempt to discuss here. I mean, I own the book, but I'm nowhere near in a position to talk about it yet. On a side note, if you're interested in that kind of thing, then stick around, 'cause it's definitely part of Kippy's Quest in the future. I think what they're driving at here is the idea that we're somehow inviting malevolent spirits to take over our feeble minds because we've dared to inquire what color we should paint the downstairs toilet.
Now, I thought a case study might be a good way to approach this subject. Once again, I'm changing the names, lest I fall foul of the Almighty's divine legal and copyright department. So, I suppose you could say that you're getting a secondhand interpretation. Remind you of anything? So, I was reading an article on a popular Christian website, let's just call it Brian's Post. Anyway, the headline of this article was, "Ex-Psychic's Warning After Tarot, Paranormal Sparked Rabbit Hole of Destruction." First of all, what is the function of the word "paranormal" in that sentence? It doesn't even make sense. Maybe she invoked the demons that rob you of correct grammar. Anyway, let's call her Gladys. The tagline is, "Join Gladys's Incredible Journey to Christ." So, the long and short of it is that Gladys's family were really into the paranormal, and she got into tarot at a young age and started doing readings for people. She also got into numerology, astrology, and various other techniques that many of us do all the time with absolutely no ill effects. During this time, she also began experiencing depression and developed an eating disorder. Now, if you ask me whether she was being possessed by demons, I would say yes, she definitely was. What they don't talk about in this article is that that's happening to all of us all the time, to a greater or lesser degree. We've all got our demons playing around with us, and Gladys is no exception. I refer here to *The Chicken Kabbalah* by L. Maro Duette, which is a fantastic book, by the way, who quoted the wisdom of Rabbi Led Ben Clifford. He said, "Until you master these spiritual forces and consciously redirect their unimaginable power to more constructive projects, their wild energies will continue to gush like burning Drano through your soul along every avenue of least resistance, large or small." I mean, absolutely no doubt that Gladys was possessed by demons, but I'm equally in no doubt that it wasn't caused by reading tarot cards. Clearly, there were many other issues in her life that were causing this unhappiness. It's a bit like drinking poison tea, falling ill, and blaming it on the teapot.
The article wraps up by talking about how much Gladys's life improved when she renounced these demonic practices and joined a church. Now, I would say that anyone who's going through a bad time and suddenly joins a community of loving and supportive people who want to help is probably going to experience a bit of an uptick in their life. I can say exactly the same thing about ritual magic. My life completely turned around when I started practicing. I don't doubt that she feels a lot better now, but I'm guessing that she's probably knocked a few other things on the head that were having a much bigger influence on her life than getting the cards out and doing a spread.
I've been reading tarot cards for many years, and I can assure you that I've never been possessed by demons or had any desire to practice the black arts. Now, I don't want anyone to think that this video is just me bashing Christians, because that's not what I'm doing here. I've said many times on this channel that I've got no problem with Christians, just as I've got no problem with Satanists or any follower of any belief. The philosophy of Kippy's Quest has always been that as long as you're not hurting anyone, fill your boots. My issue here is with the mindless following of badly translated scripture that manifests itself in claims that people who do tarot readings are offering their souls to the dark lords of the nether realms. Reading the cards has got to be one of the most innocent things that you can do, and I can't overstate the benefits in terms of self-discovery and healing.
Jesus once said, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." So, let's not start picking on people for their spiritual choices that are doing no harm. He also said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." So, surely we should be respectful of everyone's beliefs, not turning up to conferences and declaring that everybody's going to hell. Now, I've never met Jesus, but I would imagine that if he turned up right now, he'd probably have bigger fish to fry than a community of people who were just trying to get in touch with themselves. If there are any Christians watching this who've been warned away from the tarot because you've been told that it's evil or sinful, then I think that's a real shame, because you might benefit from this kind of study, and who knows, it might even strengthen your faith.
So, in answer to the question, "Are tarot cards evil?" Of course they aren't. They're cards. Well, maybe the swords? I think there might always be a bit of a stigma attached to tarot reading, but if you take even a cursory glance at the reasons for this, it just doesn't stand up biblically or otherwise. In response to Mrs. Buttock, I would say that if you genuinely believe the tarot is somehow inherently evil, then you've got a lot more to worry about than my eternal soul. There are far greater things in this life to be afraid of than little cards with pictures on them. Bertrand Russell once said, "Fear is the main source of superstition and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."
Ah, it's gone. He'll stand no more. What are we going to do? Thank you for witnessing yet another catastrophic attempt to make sense of this stupid world we live in. May the coming days bring you rationality and wisdom. Until next time.