This is a summary of the conference I delivered for Católicos por Convicción regarding the practice of Reiki and its opposition to Christian beliefs. If you understand Spanish, you can watch the whole conference in the following video:
Tarot
Uncertain origins
(15th century)
France
Italy
Egypt (?)
Purpose of Tarot
- Guidance for decision-making
- Self-reflection
- Self-knowledge
Bases of this belief
- Archetypal symbolism
- Numerology
- Astrology (influence of the stars)
- Connection with the subconscious and the divine
- Guide from “spiritual entities”
Carl Jung
- Collective unconscious
- Shared patterns among humanity
- Recurring motifs in legends, myths, and tales
- Opportunity to explore one’s own patterns
- Synchronicity
Pentagram
- Microcosm and macrocosm: a symbol of the human being and their relationship with the universe. The five elements: earth, water, air, fire, and spirit.
- Protection and power: a protective amulet.
- Balance and harmony: equilibrium and harmony.
- Representation of deities: Venus or the Greek goddess Hecate, to invoke and honor these deities.
Spanish playing cards
- Used in Spanish-speaking countries
- Gypsy cultures (syncretism between Romani culture, paganism, and Christianity)
Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot
- Origined on England in 1910
- Based on Tarot of Marseille
- Arthur Edward Waite (occultist, Mason)
- Christian esotericism
“Christian” Tarot
- Visconti-Sforza Tarot
- Tarot of the Saints
- Angel Tarot
Satanism and Tarot
The Church of Satan holds Tarot Readings on its official website.
Risks of Tarot
- Syncretism
- Exposure to satanic symbols
- Successes attributed to the devil
- Dependency = distancing from God
Justifying these beliefs with the Bible
1 Corinthians 2:10-11 (NIV): “These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”
The eternal deception
Genesis 3:5 “You will be like gods.”
What does the Bible say?
Leviticus 20:6 (NIV): “I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them. I will cut them off from their people.“
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (NIV): “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, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 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.“
Micah 5:12 (NIV): “I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells.“
Galatians 5:19-20 (NIV): “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft.“
Warning from John in the Book of Revelation
Revelation 21:8 (NIV): “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Why reading the cards is not an innocent practice?
- It goes against the First Commandment.
- It goes against the relationship with God.
- It seeks to empty the mind.
- Openness to evil influences.
- Deviation from faith and trust in God.
Veritatis Splendor by Pope John Paul II
In “Veritatis Splendor,” Pope John Paul II highlights the relationship between freedom and truth, affirming that true freedom is found in living according to the moral truths revealed by God. He emphasizes the role of conscience in discerning right from wrong and calls for a proper formation of conscience guided by the truth.
The encyclical also discusses various moral issues and challenges of the modern world, including moral relativism, the rejection of absolute moral norms, and the dangers of subjective interpretations of morality. Pope John Paul II reaffirms the unchanging moral teachings of the Catholic Church and rejects moral theories that compromise or distort the objective nature of moral truth.
Cathechism on Divination
2090 When God reveals himself and calls man, he cannot fully respond to the divine love by his own powers. He must hope that God will give him the capacity to love him in return and to act in accordance with the commandments of charity. Hope is confidently awaiting divine blessings and the beatific vision of God; it is also the fear of offending God’s love and of provoking his punishment.
2091 The first commandment also refers to sins against hope, namely, despair and presumption.
2115 God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.
2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: […]
2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers to put them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others —even if this were for the sake of restoring their health— are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion.
What to do if we have fallen into Tarot?
- Examination of conscience
- Reconciliation
- Penance
- Total renunciation
- Daily prayer (Rosary)
- Constant Eucharist
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32)
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