Are Tarot Cards Evil?

 

During the pandemic, sales of tarot cards tripled. Searches for “how to read tarot cards” grew dramatically. Are tarot cards as harmless as many believe?

During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Zoom tarot readings became a trend. By the spring of 2021, Christian Dior’s haute couture collection took on an occult motif inspired by tarot cards.

During traumatic times, some people turn to tarot cards for spiritual comfort. But can true comfort be found in tarot cards?

Others turn to tarot cards to understand their minds or higher self. Some think of tarot as a connection to spiritual energy and the realities of the natural world.

With all the occult symbols, are tarot cards safe? The words tarot cards do not appear in the Bible. Does the Bible provide any guidance on tarot cards that can help Christians?

What are tarot cards?

Tarot card decks have 78 cards. There are four suits: wands, swords, cups and coins—similar to the clubs, spades, hearts and diamonds in regular playing cards. Tarot cards have an additional knight card to make 14 cards in a suit. These suits are called the minor arcana.

Tarot cards also have 22 trump cards called the major arcana. The major arcana includes cards like Death, the Devil, the Hanged Man and the Fool.

Arcana means secrets or mysteries. Tarot card readings are performed by dealing the cards in a pattern and interpreting each card’s meaning into a story. These readings are actually a form of fortune-telling or divination with cards, called cartomancy. Divination is seeking the future or hidden knowledge by supernatural means. (See our related article “Astrology: Can Christians Use Horoscopes?”)

How did card games become tarot card readings?

Tarot comes from the Old Italian word tarocchi, which is of unknown origin. Tarot cards evolved from a trick-taking game into spiritual divination with the help of a few famous individuals.

In the 15th century, tarot cards were invented as a card game similar to bridge. The highest card wins the hand. Cards were hand-painted and very expensive.

In 1770 Jean-Baptiste Alliette published a book on divination using his name spelled backward in the title. Etteilla, or a Way to Entertain Yourself With a Deck of Cards gave instructions on divination by assigning meanings to traditional playing cards.

In 1781 Antoine Court (self-declared Court de Gébelin) wrote his famous work The Primeval World, Analyzed and Compared to the Modern World. Volume 8 explored tarot cards. According to Court de Gébelin, all the wisdom of Thoth, the Egyptian god of learning and writing, was distilled into tarot cards.

In 1788 Alliette embraced Court de Gébelin’s Thoth notion and started the Society of Interpreters of the Book of Thoth. Alliette published a deck of cards specifically for divination a year later and then, in 1790, published the book Theoretical and Practical Course in the Book of Thoth. Alliette popularized tarot card readings for fortune-telling. He was the first person known in history to make a living by card divination.

In 1909 William Rider and Arthur Edward Waite invented the modern tarot deck with artwork from Pamela Colman Smith. The deck was published with an explanation of how to read the deck for divination.

By 2021 the tarot cards market was $1.2 billion and predicted to grow at 3 percent annually until 2030. Today tarot cards come in a variety of styles, often decorated with occult creatures and symbols.

What does the Bible say about tarot cards and divination?

The Bible reveals God’s perspective on divination. God commands His people not to practice divination (Deuteronomy 18:10-14). God also explains that He was driving out the inhabitants of the Promised Land because of abominations like divination.

Divination is grouped with child sacrifice, sorcery, interpreting omens, witchcraft and mediums as detestable to God.

In the New Testament, fortune-telling and divination are connected with evil spirits. The apostle Paul cast out a demon from a girl “possessed with a spirit of divination . . . who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling” (Acts 16:16). Though there is no indication she used cartomancy, this passage shows that divination was connected to the evil spirit world and is still to be avoided today.

Christians should not associate with divination.

What does the Bible say about Egyptian gods?

Tarot cards glamorize Egyptian gods like Thoth. God is not a fan of pagan gods.

God aimed the 10 plagues of Egypt at the Egyptian gods. For example, Egyptians worshipped the sun god Ra. God sent a darkness that was so intense it could be felt for three days (Exodus 10:21-23). Pharaoh believed he was a god, and his firstborn died in the 10th plague (Exodus 11:5). God worked many miracles to release His people from the bondage of Egypt.

(See our article “A Deeper Look at the 10 Plagues” for more information on God’s targeting of Egyptian gods.)

Where is the source of true spiritual knowledge?

In Exodus 20:2-3 God called Egypt a house of bondage and began the 10 Commandments, stating, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

Jesus Christ explained that the great commandment (summarizing the first four commandments) is to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

God does not want us to give attention to pagan gods. He even called Himself a jealous God (Exodus 20:5).

God wants a close, loving relationship with us. Having other gods and spiritual sources interferes with our relationship with the true God. God wants us to pray to Him for spiritual knowledge and to seek answers in the Bible. Our God has all spiritual knowledge and is eager to enlighten us with His spiritual truth.

What is so dangerous about tarot cards?

Most tarot card enthusiasts don’t think of themselves as Thoth worshippers. And what is wrong with divination?

God instructs us not to practice divination in Leviticus 19:26. The word in Hebrew gives us a hint at the source of tarot knowledge and energy. Here the Hebrew word for divination is nāḥaš, which means “to hiss.”

The Greek word for divination in Acts 16:16 is python, which in Greek mythology referred to a serpent or dragon that guarded the oracle at Delphi. Divination is from the satanic side of the spirit world.

The allure of spiritual enlightenment is not new. The serpent promised Eve the knowledge of good and evil, which would make one wise (Genesis 3:5-6). But with her choice to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit came separation from God and much sorrow. Turning to tarot cards can also separate us from the true spiritual knowledge of God.

Do tarot cards provide enlightenment into your inner thoughts?

Many people use tarot cards to get to know themselves rather than predict the future. Should tarot cards be used to explore your inner thoughts?

Isaiah 8:19 tells us to seek our God rather than those who whisper and mutter. Each tarot card has multiple meanings, which can produce interpretations similar to vague horoscopes.

Jesus Christ offers something much better. He instructs us to come to Him if we have heavy burdens, so we can find rest (Matthew 11:28). God knows our problems and is willing and able to truly help.

Don’t fall for non-Christian beliefs

Events like the pandemic have led troubled people to seek comfort in tarot cards. Tarot cards are just one segment of the movement away from God. According to a 2018 Pew Research Center poll, the majority of Americans have at least one non-Christian belief, including belief in reincarnation, astrology, psychics or the presence of spiritual energy in physical objects like mountains or trees. (For more information, see our article “The New Age Movement.”)

Such trends are taking people away from God’s clear instructions.

Seeking spiritual information from tarot cards is seeking spiritual information that is prohibited by the one true God. God in His loving wisdom tells us that divination is evil because He wants to protect us from Satan’s influence. Christians should avoid tarot cards and seek God for truth.

Is Back to Normal Good?

 

After the COVID-19 crisis, many look forward to life returning to normal. But what will the “new normal” look like, and is this a good thing? Yes! And, No!

Normal is an odd word, the way we tend to use it. It implies that normal is good, and abnormal is bad. So “returning to normal,” we assume, is naturally a good thing.

But normal can be a value-neutral word. By definition, it refers to what is usual, typical, common or expected. It is the average or typical state or condition, without regard to whether that condition is good or bad.

Will we ever go back to normal?

For the long months we lived in the shadow of COVID-19, wearing a mask and social distancing was normal practice in public. As we look to emerge from pandemic-enforced protocols, we look forward to returning to what was normal before March 2020.

But the pandemic has changed things—and some of those changes will continue even after we stop wearing masks. And other things not directly related to the pandemic have changed—some quite dramatically. During the pandemic, society has been evolving, so when we “return to normal,” it won’t be the same normal as before.

Will that be good or bad? The way we interact socially has been affected. Business and education have been affected, with technology playing a much more significant role. International relations and politics have changed dramatically.

Dramatic changes across broad spectrums of life over the past year ensure that returning to prepandemic standards of normal is not going to happen.

Tech to the rescue

The integration of technology into virtually every aspect of life increased exponentially due to the pandemic. We became dependent on technology for everything from shopping to education to employment. Virtual interactions were safe from the coronavirus, so life moved online.

Amazon, the giant of the Internet marketplace, saw its profits double in 2020 and had to hire 175,000 workers to handle the load as online orders soared. From groceries to garage door openers, almost everything is being bought online now, in an increasingly cashless society.

For millions of students, going to school meant firing up the computer—their classroom looking like the opening of an old Brady Bunch sitcom.

For millions of workers, from paralegals to personal trainers, going to work meant meeting with clients and coworkers on Zoom. Even doctor appointments were increasingly handled through the new medium of telemedicine.

Personal interactions became virtual. The Internet became our lifeline. Technology replaced touch.

Technology has been so thoroughly integrated into the fabric of life that it will not go away with the virus. It is here to stay, and it is changing the way we do things fundamentally.

Tech brings with it many conveniences that are beneficial and appreciated. Yet a Pew Research survey of 915 innovators, developers, business and policy leaders, researchers and activists found that 47 percent of respondents said life will be mostly worse for most people in 2025 than it was before the pandemic. Only 39 percent said life will be mostly better for most people in 2025 than it was prepandemic (“Experts Say the ‘New Normal’ in 2025 Will Be Far More Tech-Driven, Presenting More Big Challenges”).

Tech is taking over. In a “tele-everything” world, humans will interact with “god-like technology,” in the words of biologist E.O. Wilson.

Our desire for the convenience and safety tech offers drives consumers to seek out smart gadgets, apps and systems, in the process giving up privacy and security to big technology firms. Entrusted with massive amounts of information, the firms use it to exploit their market advantages using tools like artificial intelligence (AI) “in ways that seem likely to further erode the privacy and autonomy of their users,” say experts.

This broader dependence on the Internet heightens threats of criminal activity, hacks and other attacks.

The conveniences coming with such a new, tech-driven, tech-integrated “normal” have therefore brought significant new threats to privacy, security and personal autonomy.

We will be emerging from the pandemic to a new normal, both good and bad, in which, as the Pew study stated, “the best and worst of human nature are amplified.”The Pew study also concluded that “misinformation will be rampant: Digital propaganda is unstoppable, and the rapidly expanding weaponization of cloud-based technologies divides the public, deteriorates social cohesion and threatens rational deliberation and evidence-based policymaking.”

When it comes to the influence of technology, we won’t be returning to normal. We will be emerging from the pandemic to a new normal, both good and bad, in which, as the Pew study stated, “the best and worst of human nature are amplified.”

Violence has increased

“There’s some hope the U.S. can beat COVID-19 someday,” reported Time magazine recently; “there’s far less optimism that leaders can end the gun violence scourge” (“Mass Shootings: This Is What Normal Has Come to Be Like in America”).

Definitions of mass shootings vary, but by any standard, the first quarter of 2021 has seen an increase in the United States. Mass shootings, once rare, are regular fare in the media today.

During the pandemic, there were also violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement, and riots in major cities. Businesses were looted or burned. Government buildings were defaced and broken into.

Even apart from the riots, homicides soared in many cities, and 2020 had the highest death toll in more than 20 years, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Reflecting increased concerns for personal protection amidst fears that this kind of violence has become the new normal, 22.8 million firearms were sold in 2020—almost 9 million more than the previous year.

As we “return to normal” after the pandemic, violence and the fear of it have become an uncomfortable new normal. In His Olivet Prophecy, Jesus warned that the end times would be “as the days of Noah were” (Matthew 24:37)—when “the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11).

The drift toward increasing technology has been pushed forward by the crisis, and we accept its growing pervasiveness as the new standard for both good and ill. The natural proclivity within man toward contention and strife, normally contained at a fairly low level by commonly accepted morals and by law, has drifted to a new level of violence.

We find ourselves accepting these conditions and many others as part of the new normal.

The drift toward sin

The normal state of mankind is sin. That’s why we need a Savior. We read that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

Our hope comes from acknowledging our sinfulness to God and repenting—turning away from it. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Christ’s sacrifice can be applied for us, and we can receive God’s Spirit to strengthen and guide us in our commitment to overcome the sinful nature that is at work in us.

Sin is not good. But it is normal in our society. And a growing acceptance of sin is not good!In a society that is increasingly secular, the barriers to sin are cast off. The drift toward sin accelerates, the concept of what sin is gets redefined on human, secular standards, and sinful behaviors and attitudes become increasingly common—become “normal.” This also mirrors the days of Noah when “the wickedness of man was great” (Genesis 6:5). And it matches the evil end time attitudes the apostle Paul prophesied (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Sin is not good. But it is normal in our society. And a growing acceptance of sin is not good!

Lot’s “new normal”

The Bible gives a stark example of the effects of accepting a new normal.

The biblical patriarch Lot is described in Scripture as a righteous man (2 Peter 2:7). For years, he lived with his uncle Abraham, and God prospered them. It was normal for them to serve and obey God faithfully.

But a minor crisis arose between the herdsmen of Lot and Abraham, which caused Lot to move with his family to the city of Sodom (Genesis 13:8-12). Obeying God was decidedly not normal for the people of that city. They were violent and exceedingly immoral, and the outcry before God because of its sinfulness was very grave (Genesis 18:20).

But over time it became “normal” for Lot to live in this environment surrounded by sin. He didn’t condone the wickedness done in the city, but he accepted it as the status quo, and put down roots. Some of his daughters married men of the city.

When Lot, encouraged by angels, warned his sons-in-law to flee the city before God destroyed it for its wickedness, they thought he was kidding and stayed. Life there was normal, after all (Genesis 19:14).

Even Lot hesitated about leaving the city, and the angels had to drag him, his wife, and his two unmarried daughters out (Genesis 19:15-17). Even then, Lot’s wife cast her eyes back on the city, perhaps lamenting the loss of their “normal” life there, not fully appreciating the depth of depravity she had come to accept as commonplace.

The lesson for us

There is danger in accepting sin as normal, regardless of how commonplace, accepted or approved it may be in a growingly secular and godless society.

As the world looks at turning the corner on the COVID-19 crisis, be careful to take stock of what it means to return to normal. Much has changed, and not all of it for the good.

Learn more in our online article “How Has the Coronavirus Changed You?”

The Story of Cain and Abel: Still Relevant Today

 

Why study the first murder? The story of Cain and Abel sheds light on the trouble we have getting along, but God always has a few who reject the way of Cain.

The biblical account of the first humans is found in the first few chapters of Genesis. What we read there is merely a broad overview of mankind’s history. Since chapters 1-7 of this book summarize over 1,650 years of mankind’s history, there isn’t space for much detail.

But what is recorded for us in God’s Word regarding this period is extremely valuable.

The setting for Cain and Abel

Before we consider the significance of the story of Cain and Abel, let’s note the context. In Genesis 1-2 we read of God’s fashioning the earth for life and creating plants, sea creatures, birds, mammals and humans.

In Genesis 3 we learn that Satan, in the form of a serpent, deceived the first woman, Eve (see also Revelation 12:9). The serpent told Eve that she didn’t need to obey God and that she wouldn’t die, as God had said, if she ate of the forbidden tree. Instead, the serpent said, she would be like God and be able to decide for herself how to live.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil

Satan’s argument was appealing. Eve and her husband, Adam, the first man, disobeyed God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-6).

Eating of the forbidden tree represented Adam and Eve’s choosing to decide for themselves what was right or wrong, good or bad, appropriate or inappropriate, instead of looking to God for guidance. Their tragic decision has been followed by mankind ever since and has brought about severe consequences.

In addition to the fact that they were now under the death penalty for their sin of directly disobeying God’s command (Romans 6:23), Eve would experience pain and sorrow in motherhood, and Adam would have to work hard to get the ground to produce food (Genesis 3:16-19). Most significant, they were driven out of the garden and lost access to the tree of life, which represented the choice of obedience to God, which would ultimately lead to immortality (verses 22-24).

Genesis 4 documents the development of human civilization after Adam and Eve chose a lifestyle of deciding for themselves what was good and what was evil.For a more detailed discussion of the two trees, see “The Tree of Life” and also the Daily Bible Verse Blog posts on Genesis 2:9 and Genesis 3:22-23.

The story of Cain and Abel is found in the following chapter. Genesis 4 documents the development of human civilization after Adam and Eve chose a lifestyle of deciding for themselves what was good and what was evil.

The births of Cain and Abel

Cain was the first human to be born. It was a time of joy and wonder. After bearing Cain, Eve exclaimed, “I have acquired a man from the LORD” (Genesis 4:1).

Then Eve bore another son who was named Abel (verse 2). Some scholars say the Hebrew text indicates the boys were twins.

Cain murders Abel

As Adam and Eve’s boys grew up, Cain became a farmer, and Abel became a herdsman. In time they both gave God an offering. They each gave to God from their chosen occupations. Cain gave produce from the ground, and Abel gave a firstborn animal from his flock of sheep (Genesis 4:2-4).

Then we read that God respected Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s (verse 5). The Bible doesn’t explain exactly why, but in any case, Cain thought God’s response to him was unfair. Cain saw himself as a victim, not the recipient of a response he had earned. Instead of being humbled by God’s reaction and determining to change his ways, Cain got angry.

God advised him to control his emotions (verses 5-6), but Cain allowed his anger and jealousy to get the better of him.

Ironically, the freedom Cain thought he would have by rejecting God’s guidance made him a slave to his misguided emotions and led him to murder his brother. New Testament writers refer to this as being in “bondage” to sin (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:3; 2 Peter 2:19).

The first murder

Why did Cain commit such an awful and vile act—the malicious murder of his own brother? John explains that it was “because his [Cain’s] works were evil and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3:12; compare Hebrews 11:4).

God was not pleased with Cain because of Cain’s lifestyle. Jude referred to Cain’s thinking and way of life as simply “the way of Cain” (Jude 1:11).

This way of Cain, with its faulty thought patterns and deeds, continues today. It is the reason for today’s conflicts between people and nations. People feel mistreated and disrespected and react in anger. And, sadly, in far too many cases people truly have been mistreated by others.

An ongoing lesson from this story is that distrust of God and acceptance of Satan’s encouragement to reject God often leads to distrusting and disrespecting others.

My brother’s keeper

After Cain murdered his brother, God asked him where his brother was. Cain’s well-known response was, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9).

Of course, Cain lied. He surely knew where his dead brother was.

Scripture makes it abundantly clear that we are to love and respect all of our fellow humans. Jesus distilled the 10 Commandments into two great commandments: love God and love our neighbor (Mark 12:29-31). Based on this instruction, we understand that we are indeed our brother’s keeper.

So how are we as Christians to respond when we are mistreated or feel mistreated? In such circumstances, we need to remember that God told Cain that he was responsible for his actions. God told him to rule over—resist—the negative emotions he was feeling so he would not sin (Genesis 4:6-7).

People and nations need to heed this advice today. We need to examine ourselves to see if our ways are right before God. If we have sinned, we need to repent. If we have not sinned, we still need to respect others. When we love God by obeying His good and beneficial laws, we find peace and are better able to love our fellow man.

Sadly, few respond as God advises, and our world is filled with anger, divisions, jealousies, murders and wars. The highly polarized anger reflected in politics, extremist groups and between nations today exists because people have followed the way of Cain.

Fruit from the forbidden tree

After ignoring God’s instructions and killing his brother, Cain suffered consequences. The ground was cursed; his occupation as a farmer was made much more difficult. Furthermore, he was to live the remainder of his days as a fugitive and a vagabond (verses 11-12).

Cain then whined to God that his punishment was unfair and that he feared being killed by others. In response, God set a mark on Cain to keep others from killing him (verse 15). Even so, Cain apparently lived the rest of his life in fear of being murdered.

Good and evil

When humans reject God’s instruction, they symbolically choose to eat the fruit from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17). While this is a choice that leads to death instead of life (Proverbs 14:12), some good can also come from this choice because it represents both good and evil.

Some of the fruit that came from Cain’s descendants included the development of music and the ability to smelt and forge bronze and iron—things that can be used for good or for evil (Genesis 4:21-22). The bad fruit that Cain’s descendants produced and experienced included polygamy and the insecurity of living in a world filled with violence, wickedness and evil (verses 19, 23-24; Genesis 6:5).

Life apart from God and in opposition to His instructions brings severe penalties.

The way of Cain vs. the way of righteousness

Another issue often overlooked in the early chapters of Genesis is that mankind separated into two ways of life. Just as many chose the way of Cain, a few chose God’s way of life.

Abel’s way of life was righteous (1 John 3:12). After Abel’s death, Eve bore another son and named him Seth. Eve said, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed” (Genesis 4:25).

The scriptural indications are that at least some of Seth’s descendants strove to follow Abel’s example of living a righteous life. Both Enoch and Noah “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24; 6:9).

But the vast majority followed the way of Cain, and God decided the downward spiral had to be stopped. God spared Noah and his family, thus preserving the human race from the Flood. God saved a minority—the few who were striving to live the way of righteousness.

Jesus said that an elect few will also be instrumental in saving the end-time generation from total destruction (Matthew 24:22, 37).

The story of Cain and Abel still has relevance for us. God continues to respect the minority of people today who strive to live the way of righteousness.

The annual observance of Pentecost commemorates the beginning of the Church of God, which Jesus called the elect and a little flock (Acts 2:37-47; Luke 12:32). These themes remind us of this principle of God’s honoring the few who strive to live like Abel, Enoch and Noah.

The two different ways of life chosen by Cain and Abel still exist—the way of Cain and the way of righteousness. Which way will you choose?