is it ok for me to play tarot if i’m an atheist?

[Jessica]

so i know tarot sometimes involves spiritual things, which i believe there are. but also i’m an atheist, and i’m not quite sure if it would hv any effects on it.

Discussion

[Q_Swords]

Atheism doesn’t demand loyalty like many other beliefs do. Also, you can use tarot cards with absolutely zero belief in anything supernatural. There is an approach that basically considers tarot reading from a psychological perspective. This is how I use them.

Either way is fine. If you do believe that the cards’ outcomes are driven by spiritual forces, I would suggest you aren’t actually an atheist. But even if you don’t believe that, you can still enjoy using tarot cards.

[MilkSkulls]

You should check our the subreddit seculartarot! It’s all about this sorta thing

[MageCats]

I’m an atheist and practice secular tarot 🙂 There’s a subreddit for this r/seculartarot Jessicore Dore and Adrian Fisher are also great readers in the more psychological branch of Tarot.

[DiscountDazzling]

Why would it ? What do you think would happen? I am also one and I have done great tarot readings and have had
Spiritual experiences with aliens and gods and angels ,

[Farrell-Mars]

I like to think anyone can use tarot.

[billjv]

I’m an atheist too, and here’s what I decided around that question. I don’t ascribe any “magical powers” to the cards themselves. Randomness is really the thing that I enjoyed about them, and the sometimes uncanny ability of randomness to make connections with our lives (part synchronicity, part observer bias). But nevertheless, the cards do connect with us on a purely psychological level – and that allows us to derive meaning from them that is relevant to what we are going through at that moment.

Sometimes I would choose a card to meditate on for the day (rather than just picking a random card) and it could ground me in certain circumstances, such as meditating on the Emperor just before a job interview, building confidence/strength and such. In other words, the cards are what you make them. But I love the art, too – and used to collect lots of decks.

I don’t do much with them any more, but I still have a couple of decks. I think after a certain point of experience and learning with them you realize that you don’t even need the cards in order to do a self-reading – you can intuit without them.

[kierha]

Yes actually, you don’t even need to believe in anything spiritual to use them. There is a lot of scientific evidence to support the fact that tarot works through the subconscious mind. (Check out Jung’s work on tarot!) Whether or not you want to attribute a greater meaning to that is completely up to you.

[ApollosCrown]

I mean first of all tarot has no magical properties that would physically direct you. It’s literally a deck of cards with pictures on it. You control how much power it has and what it means to you.

Atheism and tarot are not exclusive to each other in the slightest. Tarot has nothing to do with religion.

You might want to watch some videos and do some research before using tarot rather than jump blindly into it…

[MisterSophisticated]

I’m an atheist and I read tarot. It’s a method of self-examination, like Rorshach inkblots. Probability is a driving force in this universe, as is your ability to recognize patterns and intuit meaning. It’s all real if you experience it.

[lilahunnisett]

I think they offer insight whether you believe or not in spirituality, because your own reaction to the cards will give you insight on your own feelings, even if you don’t believe in divinatory powers. A bit like flipping a coin then being disappointed at the outcome then you know your own feelings better. Or it will get you to think about a matter in another way and maybe give you insight through these new thoughts. Or sometimes it will spell out exactly how you are feeling and underline why you feel this. So there’s definitely a lot of value in it. a bit like having a conversation with yourself or someone else to understand something.

[elemtilas]

Yes. [Tarot is fun game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyGFJPb8vhk) for anyone regardless of their religious / spiritual leanings!

[Limelight-Shadow]

It is ink on cardboard. What you do or dont do with your tarot cards is up to you, and no one else is supposed to tell you what you feel comfortable doing in such matters and what not. Find out for yourself. Only thing I would suggest that you act tolerant and respectful if you chance upon non-atheists of whatever flavor in the inet tarot community.