When I first sat down to write this, I was completely physically exhausted, but spiritually & emotionally, happier & more fulfilled than I'd felt in a very long time. As I stated in a Facebook post, for me, the time period which I affectionately refer to as "tarot season" has been busier, fuller this year than ever before. I've made a conscious effort to say yes to every event or engagement that I possibly could, because I absolutely love them. I genuinely love tarot, I love meeting new people, & I love connecting with people through tarot. It's such a unique, vulnerable, empowering, authentic experience & expression of humanity, I haven't yet found anything else that compares.
As I was attempting to find the words to describe my gratitude for everyone who invited me to be part of their celebrations during my most favorite season, I got distracted by a post concerning a situation that is fairly local to me & a person who was decrying that something as "immoral" as tarot was being "forced upon the community."
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For context, over the summer, one of my local public libraries had planned to host an event for teens & tweens (because they were the ones asking for such), showing how tarot can be used as a journaling tool. The event was set to registration only, meaning that permission would be required, & only people who actually wanted to attend would be there, it would not be something that anyone could just wander into.
That event never happened. The library cancelled it, because of numerous safety threats to their staff by a group of people who believe that tarot is demonic, evil, against God, etc.* As a result of this type of behavior, people are afraid; afraid to host tarot events here, afraid to attend them, afraid to be seen in public with decks or books about it... it's equal parts infuriating & upsetting, because the detractors, bullies that they are, feel absolutely no compunction whatsoever; for all their talk of tarot being "forced on the community," they are the ones forcing their beliefs, & they're glad to do so, even when it makes others feel unsafe, because they feel morally & religiously superior.
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This attitude locally combined with the current political climate nationally has been exhausting, & massively anxiety inducing. The fact is, Christian Nationalists want to remake America into their vision of what it should be, a theocracy rooted in their version of Christianity.
It is a version of Christianity that does not make allowances for me, or people like me, on multiple levels... Someone who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, someone whose religion is not Christianity, someone who does work as a professional tarot reader, & more.
Even just typing those simple facts, my heart rate picks up a bit, & fear tells me not to make a future despot's job any easier, but honestly, it's information that's already out there, because I've been on the internet since the 90s, so pieces of my life have been documented at several points along the way. Now, I just kind of take a deep breath & resign myself to inevitability.
Every event that I've done, I've called my family beforehand to tell them that I love them, because I never know which will be the event where people like those mentioned above will try to make good on their threats.
With a contentious election now only days away, with one of those candidates being heavily promoted by Christian Nationalists, I cannot stop myself from a million "what ifs."
"What if tarot becomes illegal?" "What if tarot becomes punishable by law?" It's happened & continues to happen other places, & I have actually seen & heard people- LOCAL people- talking about how it should be punishable, with prison or worse. "What if owning my books or my decks becomes illegal?" Again, I've seen & heard people in real life say that they believe they should be. "If anyone does try to outlaw these things, or punish me for them, will anyone stand up for me?"
These are NOT questions or fears that ANYONE should be carrying in 2024, ESPECIALLY not in a country that was formed on the basis of freedom. (The saddest thing is that I know many asking that last question about things more significant than tarot. Not to diminish the reason we're here, on this little corner of the web, but still.)
I am not even a "big name," & I am afraid of the possibilities. That is what drove me this year, the fear that it might be my last chance to live in authentic joy & share something that means so much to me publicly. Over the years of reading for others, I've sat down with people from all walks of life, all religious backgrounds (including pastors), skeptics, & so on. I've had a lot of fun both in one-on-one sessions & at parties, but I've also comforted people who have lost spouses, I've been there for people as they've processed serious illnesses, I've helped people navigate big life & career changes. Express, enthusiastic consent is a requirement to read with me, I will not let anyone be bullied into a reading if they're nervous or uncomfortable. No one will ever convince me that using tarot as I have, as I do, is "immoral." No one will ever convince me that tarot is a bigger affront to Jesus than threatening or committing violence in His name. To close, I suppose I should say something about how elections have consequences, because they do. I hope the silencing of my passion, if not my being, is not one of those consequences.
I wonder how many of my friends, authors, teachers, & fellow tarot enthusiasts feel the same.
I wonder how many of my fellow Americans feel the same.
None of us should have to.
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