What You Can and Cannot Do With Tarot

Let me explain...

You Can’t Do That! — Tarot Myths

Written July 21, 2008

Updated 04 APR 2025

When I first learned that Tarot was even a thing, it was the Reagan era. I was a freshman at Centenary College in Louisiana. I was a History/Political Science double major. I had a group of friends who were so very different from my high school friends. I mean, some of them were GAY, BLACK, and even FOREIGN! My mind wasn’t being blown. It was taking friendly mortar fire. It was a Star Trek episode all my own. One of the things that intrigued me was how much I had to learn! Then? I was introduced to Tarot.

My friend Kate aka Intrikate did a reading for me. She used the Thoth deck. The fact that she had insight into parts of my life fascinated me. How on earth could anyone know these things about me if I hadn’t told them or they hadn’t been there? Kate bought me my first deck. Now here I am in April 2025 sitting at my desk in my own office shed surrounded by books, decks, and enough witchy artifacts to create a lot of altars.

But as I began my exploration (by the way, that first reading was in the Winter Session at Centenary) in 1980. We were up in the Bell Tower. It was magical. Kate always told me later that she felt like she’d unleashed a monster upon the world. :D I loved that woman. She passed a few years back. I still miss her. I have a picture of me and her that brings me joy. I talk to her a lot.

One of the things I ran into as a beginning Tarot student was myths. And lots of them. Black silk? White silk? No silk? What the hell? How was I supposed to know. This was back in the day of NO INTERNET. Oh stop! You know how it was with we Boomers…we had only libraries, bookstores, and those secretive woo-woo people to sniff out. By the way? Call me Boomer all you like. I own it. I am not your average Boomer. Stick around and find out. SAFO? lolol NO!

Now let’s dive into some of those myths, shall we?

MYTH #1: The Age of Tarot

Tarot has been rumored to be as old as the pyramids and connected to Egypt, but there is no solid fact. This rumor seems to have begun with the first mention of Tarot as a mystical tool by Antoine Court de Gebelin. De Gebelin was a French occultist who linked Tarot to ancient Egypt in his book published in 1781. Many other major influences in Tarot also followed de Gebelin. These included names like Eliphas Levi, Arthur Edward Waite, and even Aleister Crowley. There is no factual basis to this thought. There is evidence of cards being used for divination as early as 1540 in The _Oracles of Francesco Marcolino da Forli_). And Casanova noted in his infamous diary that his Russian mistress often did divination with a deck of playing cards.

What we do know is that the first deck can be traced to Italy in the 15th century. Between 1410 and 1430 in Milan, Ferrera or Bologna. This first deck was when an artist added trump cards, “carte de trionfi” or “triumph cards” featuring faces of the Visconti and Sforza families as a wedding gift. And missing three cards!

Also, while I am still happily accepting subscribers, I also acknowledge that it is hard for me to subscribe to all the amazing Substacks out there. I am putting up a Tip Jar where you can tip me anything you like (if you like!)

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MYTH #2: The Gypsies invented Tarot

Historical evidence and Gypsy tradition indicates that their point of origin was somewhere in India which precludes them from inventing Tarot. The nomadic nature of the Romany helped spread the Tarot. An interesting Romany timeline can be found here.

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MYTH #3: Church banned Tarot cards

This is somewhat the truth. The Catholic Church banned Tarot cards, along with playing cards (known as the “Devil’s Picturebook”), dice, and board games in the 16th century primarily because they could all be used for gambling and not because of some magical secrets. The Christian Bible has passages against divination of any type. A much-used passage is Deuteronomy 18:10-12.

10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.

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MYTH #4: You must be psychic to be a Tarot reader.

Patently false. I happen to be a psychic reader, but I know amazing, accurate Tarot professionals who state that they are not psychic. While I believe everyone has some psychic abilities, I also believe that each of us knows ourself the best. I also guess most of us close ourselves off to “that’s weird, how did I know that” thoughts early in life due to the loving adults protecting us. It’s a crazy world out there. Being different can be hard.

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MYTH #5: You are doomed by what the Tarot cards say.

A falsehood and a very, very dangerous on,e in my opinion. If you go to a Tarot consultant who tells you something the cards say is set in stone, I want you to do two things. One, laugh in their face. Two get up; walk away; never go back. The cards are a way of looking at patterns/tendencies in our lives. Think of them as a map for the journey of life. If you were in your car and the road map said “Bridge out ahead,d” would you keep driving?

I didn’t think so.

It is the same for the cards. If something dire is in the future, you have all the tools to make changes now to redirect that energy. If a Tower event is in front of you, you may not be able to avoid what’s coming, but you can start climbing down so you don’t have quite as far to fall.

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MYTH #6: Only you can touch your cards.

This is not true, but some consultants prefer to be the only ones to handle their cards. This is due to the energies a person has. I usually let others handle my cards. This can just be because I am in a “nope” mood that day. I also cleanse and clear my cards on a regular basis.

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MYTH #7: You must wrap your cards in black silk and keep them hidden away.

This myth probably comes from a practical teaching from the Dark Ages when you could be burned at the stake for being a heretic and a witch. There is no factual basis for this. I have over 75 ( ahahahahaha I now have a collection closer to 800!) decks and none of them are wrapped in black silk. Some of them are hidden away but that is because I can’t figure out which box they are currently packed in! (Sadly, this is still a truth in 2025.)

MYTH #8 You must receive the cards as a gift.

This one makes me laugh. I’d be a sad Tarot collector if this were true. I have bought the majority of my decks (although I am always open to receiving gifts, hint hint wink wink) and have not had any problems other than when I bought a deck I didn’t like. I also do reviews which means I do get decks/books from publishers.

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MYTH #9: You should not read your own cards.

This has some basis in truth. It isn’t because it is bad luck. Truthfully, reading for yourself is damned hard. It is hard to remove yourself from what you want the cards to say. I often have others read for me because of this.

However, I can and do read for myself! I would recommend using the cards for self-introspection rather than divination. I have spreads specifically designed for that use. I also use decks that I am not familiar with.

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MYTH #10: The Tarot is always right.

Wouldn’t this be fabulous if it were true! Sadly, it is not correct. As I said before, the Tarot predicts possibilities and points out tendencies. Free will comes into play, as does informed choice. The minute you lay the cards out, you are changing your future because you are looking ahead. Go back to that driving analogy. When you look at a map, you are changing your path because you are making informed decisions about which way to go.

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MYTH #11: You must have set rituals to read properly.

I have a few set rituals, but that is for my benefit, not the cards. I have a set way I shuffle and cut as well as a set way I read. The only need for this is my need to do things a certain way. EDITED: 04/04/2025 As I have grown, I have changed a bit. The way I read has changed, but that’s just growth.

MYTH #12: There is only one way to interpret the cards.
And it would be so nice if this were true! However, Tarot cards help you access your intuition or, perhaps, the collective unconscious. Each card’s meaning comes into play with the card next to it, which can alter the interpretation. I can read the same card for six different people. Depending on what cards are around that card, the meaning will change.

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MYTH #13: The Death card means someone is going to die!

Absolutely not. It *can* mean physical death, but in my twenty plus years of reading, Death usually means painful change in the querent’s life. This is actually one of the few cards I consider unavoidable because when change is necessary, you have to do it or suffer the consequences.

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What other myths about Tarot do you know? Care to join me in a bit of myth-busting?