Major Project
Tarot Cards in American Culture
Assignment Prompts: Major Project Cultural Analysis & Cultural Analysis Web-Based Article Prompt SWW
Written By: Danica Childs
Where Do Tarot Cards Come From?
Walking down the street on a beautiful summer day in Naples, Italy in the fifteenth century you might pass a group of children playing a card game known as tarocchi or tarocchini. Before tarot cards made their way to the United States, cards in general had an extensive history beginning with playing cards in the Islamic world to the south and east of Europe where they eventually made their way over through trade of other goods. Playing cards were popular amongst Muslim cultures in Egypt and Turkey in the twelfth century where they made their way to Italy in the fourteenth century and then eventually into eastern and southern France, Switzerland, and Germany. The four suits of the playing cards we are familiar with today in America, the spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds, are a French variation of what was originally polo sticks, swords, cups and coins. The French variation of these cards came about during the Renaissance era, which focused on the political, economic, and most importantly artistic rebirth. In the fifteenth century northern Italy developed a new game from playing cards known as tarocchi, which consisted of a new set of distinct cards. Italians made the game consist of twenty-two cards which was then later added to the fifty-six cards. Throughout the following centuries in Italy tarot decks were made by various different artists like Bonifacio Bembo and Giordano Berti, the cards in these decks were artistically, historically, and religiously representative which was the main purpose of tarot cards in Italy.
Through trade and immigration to the United States tarot cards made their way over the north Atlantic Ocean. Tarot cards became increasingly popular amongst Americans because of the amount of death occurring from the nineteenth to twentieth century due to large wars like the Civil War and World War I. In America tarot cards are seen as a fortune-telling tool or to give insight to whoever is receiving the reading on their past, present, or future, tarot cards have also been categorized with objects like the Ouija board. From then on tarot has become a popular object in America but also widely scrutinized due to media representation and religious opinions.
By studying tarot cards in twenty-first century America, one may conclude tarot cards are a symbol of the occult or even a symbol of evil, however this is not an accurate depiction of tarot cards and their use. By misrepresenting tarot cards, we take credit away from Italians who invented tarocchi as a game and created the object of tarot cards themselves.
The purpose of this essay is to analyze how tarot cards have been perceived as evil or occult objects in America. The impact tarot cards have had in American media, Christianity, and how social economics has led to their relevance in America. In order to analyze tarot cards in America I will first use Protestant Christian leader Billy Graham’s and Lisa Lorraine Baker’s points of views on how tarot cards go against the word of God. I will then analyze how in media like the Lawman, Tombstone, and Tarot represent tarot cards as evil leaving viewers opinionated against tarot cards. Finally, I will analyze how social economics of America like the Civil War and other major wars led to the increase of tarot cards in American culture and how this had also led to tarot cards’ association with the occult and supernatural. I will begin by analyzing each of these pieces of evidence more in depth, starting with the conflict between tarot cards and Christianity.
Tarot Cards as seen in Christianity
Tarot cards are often associated with the supernatural leading opposing religions to have a negative view on them calling them evil. Christianity often conflicts with the usage of tarot cards because of their association with the occult and wiccans; Christians see the cards as a portal to communicate with demonic energies.
Protestant Christian leader, Billy Graham, would answer people’s questions for people of the faith or with interest. In response to a parent asking about tarot cards, Graham States, “For one thing, playing this game could make your son think that things like astrology, tarot cards, palm readings, Ouija boards and similar activities are simply harmless pastimes. But they’re not because they bring a person into contact with occult spiritual forces that are absolutely opposed to God”(The Cards: The Evolution and Power of Tarot by Patrick Maille). Graham relates tarot cards directly to the occult as well as evil forces that go against God’s word, assuming tarot cards have the power to sway one’s belief and almost like it would turn them to the dark or evil side.
Although tarot cards are never explicitly mentioned in the Bible many people like Lisa Lorraine Baker believe tarot cards to be a trap set by the devil to lure people away from the word of God. She quotes Leviticus 19:31 that states, “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God ”. When reading this we can understand when it is preached not to use tarot cards it is because tarot cards are often associated with mediums and taroists. In Christianity it is understood God leads his believers and has a set future for them, to follow something or someone else would be considered a sin. Oftentimes in Christianity we see those preaching the religion warning against tarot cards because they believe giving attention or power to this object takes away from the faith one has in God.
Tarot Cards in Media
American TV shows and movies since the 1960s have deliberately connected tarot cards to the occult and deeply associated them with evil. Media often displays tarot cards alongside Ouija boards, witches/wiccans, and the supernatural. The cards are often used to prompt feelings of anxiety or dread in the viewer, giving them a negative connotation. The earliest usage of a tarot deck in media was in an episode of Lawman premiered in 1961 titled “Tarot”. 
Joe Wyatt, a friend of Lily Merill who’s a main character of the series, reads a deck of tarot cards for Lily’s friends. Two of the four predictions end up becoming true, one being that someone will become rich and the other being that someone will die. The prediction of death is represented by “the Hanged man” card; Joe is the character that ends up dying due to his attempt to stop a robbery. Representations like this led the viewer to associate death with tarot cards making them fearful or weary of the cards, encouraging them to keep their distance from the cards.
The movie Tombstone, a western from 1993
provides another important example of the evil reputation of tarot cards
when the main character’s wife, Allie Earp, has a deck of cards and overturns three. The three cards revealed quickly were “Death,” “the Devil,” and “the Tower” representing death, evil, and chaos/confusion. The film does a good job at proving this destiny by immediately having chaos erupt; lightning strikes, a gunman walks in, a character is badly injured, and another is killed in a saloon. In this case the cards represent chaos and evil rather than the occult but a scene like this will leave a reader questioning if danger and chaos are the end result of the usage of tarot cards.
Similarly in an upcoming film due to come out this May, titled Tarot, a group of friends use a cursed tarot card deck to predict their futures and mysteriously start dying off in ways related to their predicted futures.
In the media tarot cards are almost always represented as evil, cursed, or occult objects inciting fear, dread and anxiety and encouraging people to stay away from them because of this. Movies and TV shows are an important aspect of our way of life and American culture because both reflect and shape our beliefs, values and traditions. The media industry often reflects the cultures in which they are a part of by representing societal issues and historical events.
Tarot Cards Plays a Role in Social Economics
Social economics plays a crucial role in the rise of tarot cards in American culture, contributing to their inclusion in modern media. Tarot cards have been present in American culture since before the twentieth century during the Spiritualist Movement and even more so after the American Civil War. Their widespread usage increased around the end of the Civil War and around other wars like the Great War and the First World War because people wanted to receive their fortune in order to give themselves and others hope. During and after the Civil War the beginning of the Spiritualist movement began, “With the onslaught of the Civil War, and the growing lists of men who would never return home, more and more people turned to spiritualist mediums, hoping for some proof that their loved one’s immortal soul was at peace.” The Spiritualist Movement also brought on the increase of tarot cards’ presence in American Culture. Early representations of tarot cards did not lead people to believe they were evil or harmful to their faith, it gave hope and peace to those suffering from loss and chaos.
In the twentieth century when tarot cards became popular once again the young entrepreneur Stuart Kaplan visited the Nuremberg Toy Fair and bought five thousand tarot decks from A. G. Muller & Cie of Neuhausen, Switzerland to sell when he returned to America (The Cards: The Evolution and Power of Tarot by Patrick Maille). After his return he sold a hundred decks to Brentano’s bookstore in New York City which was located in the same area where Dark Shadows, a TV show, was being produced. The cards were soon purchased and used as part of the show which led to an increase in Americans buying them.
At the core of the misrepresentation of tarot cards in American culture are movies and TV shows, Christianity and the status of the social economy in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Tarot cards have been misunderstood in American culture for hundreds of years, leading them to be closely associated with the occult and with evil. Something that was originally intended to be a game became evil; movies and TV shows have represented them alongside chaos and dread, Christianity has deemed them to be the work of the devil, and the social economic status of America during the nineteenth century left Americans yearning for some hope and guidance. All this combined has poisoned many Americans against the idea of tarot cards or led some to start using them to give fortunes to others, but none of these have shed light onto tarot cards history or original intention which is a game. It’s important to give credit where credit is due and also to learn about the background or history of objects before we create opinions that lead to misunderstandings of other cultures and their history. Educating ourselves on the history and background of objects that may scare us can give us a better understanding of other cultures and religions leading us to have more respect for their practices.