NAFPS Forum

Hello all,

I'm a Tarot card reader who is interested in developing my own authentic spiritual path that does not appropriate from others' cultures. I'm here to further hone my discernment about what is real and what is fake, what is good/right for me and what isn't, and how I can be a better role model for others entering New Age communities through their interest in Tarot.

Thanks for having me!
Jennifer

I'd suggest becoming rooted in the ways of your own ancestors and being accountable to real human beings in real, land-based community, and avoiding the New Agers like the plague. If you have diverse ancestry, choose the culture that feels most in tune with who you are in your life, the place that feels most like home, and the people who are most welcoming to you. Everyone's ancestors had ways of praying and singing to the spirits.

Look for something real, not newage. The Newage is a crass cesspool that desecrates these ways. No one authentic is involved with the newage circuit.

Without exception, the people we've seen over the decades who try to create something by piecing together pieces from different cultures never find clarity. Actually, if any spirits notice them, these people wind up more confused than ever, overwhelmed by conflicting inputs they lack the context to interpret. The newage "teachers" out there, repackaging fragments of these ways, don't know what they're doing, and have literally killed people. What you hear about less often are the ones who just had their lives ruined by being financially drained or being messed with psychologically and spiritually.

Thinking about being a a spiritual role model for others when you're at this stage is putting the cart before the horse. Your horse hasn't even been born yet, nor the design for your cart found, yet alone built. Someone who doesn't know what their own "path" is, is not in a place to "model" for others.  :)

If you do a search on Tarot using the Search button at top, you'll find several dozen threads on exploiters who've done bizarre and abusive variations of would be "Native Tarot cards."

This article was written perhaps 15 years ago by someone who came to us asking for advice. She came away with a very good understanding of the issues surrounding these faux-Native Tarot attempts.
http://www.lelandra.com/comptarot/tarotindian.htm