Path: Supernews70!Supernews73!supernews.com!Supernews69!not-for-mail
From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nagasiva)
Newsgroups: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.tarot,alt.divination,alt.satanism,talk.religion.misc,alt.magick
Subject: Conservative Consciousness and the Tarot
Date: 28 Feb 1998 19:42:35 -0800
Organization: Access Internet Communications, Inc.
Lines: 114
Message-ID: <6dalfb$osf$1@shell.accesscom.com>
Reply-To: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: 16548@205.226.156.10
X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 (NOV)
Xref: Supernews70 alt.magick.tyagi:14887 alt.tarot:26986 alt.divination:14019 alt.satanism:87660 talk.religion.misc:348913 alt.magick:128663


49980105 aa2 Hail Satan!

[most omitted, correspondents summarized as per elist policies]

re Satan inventing the tarot as a way to snare unsuspecting souls:
catching the unsuspecting by their intrigue and surprising 
obsession with that which is forbidden is one of the most 
important ways our shadow gets us to pay attention to Hir.


re the idea that divination works because Satan makes it work:
if divinatory devices weren't facilitated by the shadow then 
their effects would run right off our minds like water off the 
back of a duck.


re being converted from Christianity with increased exposure to tarot:
people who are not in touch with their shadow are much more prone 
to rely, dependently, upon their society, family, friends, to
provide support and resolve their problems.  it is a trap which
has very liberating qualities, but from the inside it can seem
like a very coercive mechanism.  of course I think that the
process of disillusionment is a boon, so we may differ as to the
ultimate value of tarot and divinatory devices generally, and
that's fine.


re apocalyptic and conservative Christian perspectives:
I tend to liken their viewpoints to the nightmarish meditative 
foci of Eastern Buddhists and other tantrics.  I came to 
understand them as supremely important symbols of potential 
inner transformation.  I felt myself converted to the ways of 
the Jehovah's Witnesses on this account, though our means of
witnessing to the world differs somewhat (I don't go door to
door, I go from public forum to public forum and try stick
somewhat to the topics.  :>).


re the increasing trend to counter things arcane and occult:
with good reason, I think.  tarot has the ability to
create very substantial personal growth and can unlock areas
of consciousness which can be very frightening for the most
conservative.  it is a tool which I call (along with other
divinatory devices) 'the Invisible Mirror' -- a way of
peering into ourselves without, once we are used to the
technology, the tool getting in our way (e.g. by reversing
the image).

through the 70's in the US and the 80's in Europe there
was a very intense 'witch-hunt' surrounding condemnatory
Satanism (that fabricated on the basis of nightmares and
blood libel), and I was pleased to see that the police and
legislative bodies eventually unravelled it before it once
again became an Inquisitory massacre.  I gather it is yet
burbling but settling out a little with state studies
and the dissemination of reliable information (some of
which can be bound at http://www.abyss.com/tokus where
I've tried to assemble a wide spectrum of data
surrounding the subject of Satanism).


I think that the tarot IS a negative tool (not in the sense
they mean it) and that those who are ready for such an
encounter (with deep, sometimes life-transformative symbols
and instructions) are shifted away from our former selves,
NEGATING stability for change, security for liberation, and
certainty for compassion.  it is indeed a catalyst which
should be handled carefully by the wary.


re changing the perspectives of the conservative:
why should they?  their view is sufficient for them.  I
would like to support them in maintaining their views if they
need them so badly.  of course the problems arise if and when
they feel a need to convince OTHERS of their correctness, and
then suddenly the only bridge I've found with them is the
instructions of their Lord and Savior (about loving one's
neighbor, specks and logs, hating the sin and not the sinner,
humility, the importance of true repentance rather than a
mere semblance of maturity, etc.).  this usually calms the
interaction somewhat.


...freedom of (and from!) belief is
an ideal that I strongly support and I think that its kernel
is illustrated beautifully in the way that an INDIVIDUAL is
often shown proceeding along the tarotic pathway (whether one
sees this as the Fool, the reader seeing the cards, or what-
ever).   like in Buddhism, there is often a presumed option
provided to the person who undertakes to learn about the tool
of continuing toward expanded consciousness or to return to a
more secure place of safety.  forcing anyone is problematic,
even if they appear to be very young or fearful, and success
appears to result from individual effort.


...how far can we go toward at least respecting
the diversity of membership which the internet makes possible
for public and provate forums??  the hazard beyond this is
maintaining a focus on the ostensible subject matter which
has brought us together....

let the conservative of mind and heart come to the tarot and
to tarot-l.  let the liberal of the same do likewise.  how
can we help from benefit from a comparison of values and
views?  we'll surely learn something about how tarot functions
in different ways for different people, if nothing else. ;>

blessed beast!
nagasiva
-- 
tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (emailed replies may be posted); 408/2-666-SLUG
http://www.abyss.com/tokus       FUCK       http://www.hollyfeld.org/~tyagi