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Are Tarot Cards Evil? What the Bible, History and Readers Actually Say
Tarot cards are printed cards, first a card game and later used for fortune telling; whether using them is wrong is a question of faith, not a fact about the cards. The passage that critics of tarot often cite, Deuteronomy 18, condemns divination and fortune telling, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church rejects "all forms of divination"; some tarot readers say the cards are only a tool for reflection. Below are the texts, the two positions and steps for deciding within your own faith.
Where tarot cards come from
Tarot began in the 15th century as a trick-taking card game, and the cards came to be used for fortune telling only in the 18th century (Yale University Library, 2023). The game was first played in Italy, and toward the end of the 18th century French occultists began to give the deck a supernatural mystique (The Art Newspaper, 2026, reporting on an exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum).
So the cards were a game for centuries before anyone used them for fortune telling. If you want the longer story, and a description of how a reading is laid out, read what tarot is and how a reading works.
What the Bible says about tarot
Tarot appeared in the 15th century, long after the Bible was written, so no verse names it. Christian writers who oppose tarot often cite Deuteronomy 18:10–12. In the World English Bible, verses 10 and 11 tell Israel not to have among them anyone who practices divination, fortune telling, enchantment, sorcery, charms, consulting spirits or the dead, or who makes a child pass through fire. (This is a paraphrase of the list.) Verse 12 reads, in that translation: "For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh" (Deuteronomy 18:12, WEB).
The text condemns divination in strong terms, and it does not name tarot. Reading "divination" as including card reading is an interpretation made by the writers who cite the passage. Some also cite other passages.
For a Catholic reader there is an official text that is easier to pin down. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2116, says: "All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead …" The same paragraph lists consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, the interpretation of omens and lots and clairvoyance, and its footnote points back to Deuteronomy 18:10. The paragraph belongs to the Catechism's teaching on the First Commandment, under the heading "Divination and magic", and the paragraph just before it, 2115, says that "a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence". Paragraph 2116 does not mention tarot. Whether a given use of the cards falls under "divination" as the Church means it is a question for a Catholic reader and the Church, not for this article.
This article read one official church text, the Catholic Catechism. If you belong to another church, its own published teaching is the place to look, and your pastor or minister can point you to it; a tarot site or a forum thread cannot.
Is tarot witchcraft or occult?
Two different things get called occult here, and it helps to separate them.
The first is a documented tradition. From the late 18th century onward, occult writers in France attached mystical meaning to the deck, and the Rider-Waite-Smith deck of 1909 was designed for esoteric readings (The Art Newspaper, 2026). That tradition is real, and the 1909 deck was made for it.
The second is what a person actually does with the cards today. Some tarot readers say the cards are a tool for reflection and nothing supernatural by default; that is their view as practitioners. Whether using the cards that way counts as "witchcraft" depends on what you mean by the word and what your tradition teaches about it. The images on the cards carry an esoteric history; whether using them for reflection is acceptable is something each reader judges within their own faith.
Are tarot cards demonic?
Here is what can and cannot be known. Whether tarot cards are demonic, or whether anything can "attach" to a deck, is a claim about the spiritual world. History can say where the cards came from, but it cannot test that claim, and no source read for this article documents it either way. It is a matter of faith. The nearest official text is the Catechism's paragraph 2116, which lists "recourse to Satan or demons" among the forms of divination to be rejected; it does not mention tarot.
So this article does not rule on whether the cards are demonic. If your tradition teaches that they open a door, nothing here argues with that; follow that teaching and talk to your pastor or priest, not to a tarot site. If your tradition does not teach it, nothing here asks you to believe it.
Can Christians use tarot?
There is no single answer, because no one church speaks for all Christians. One question is what you would be doing: asking a card to tell you the future is fortune telling, while using a card as a prompt for reflection is what the second position below describes; whether that difference matters is for your own tradition to say. Here are the two positions.
The position against. Christian writers who oppose tarot often cite Deuteronomy 18:10–12. The passage condemns divination and fortune telling, and tarot cards have been used for fortune telling since the 18th century; these writers read the passage as covering card reading. One of them puts tarot alongside astrology and fortune telling as practices that are not spiritually neutral, and another concludes that a Christian should stay away from it.
The position in favor of reflective use. Some tarot readers say the cards themselves are neutral and that a reading is a way of thinking a situation through; some of them point out that many readers are people of religious faith. This is the view of practitioners and individual believers, not the position of a church.
For Catholic readers, the official text to weigh alongside either view is paragraph 2116 of the Catechism, quoted above; it does not name tarot.
Where that leaves you is a decision, not a verdict. A few steps that respect both sides:
- Read Deuteronomy 18:10–12 yourself, in the translation your church uses, rather than taking anyone's summary of it, including this one.
- Look up what your own church teaches on divination, and talk it over with your pastor, priest or minister. A published text or that conversation will tell you more than any blog can.
- Be honest about which of the two you would be doing, forecasting or reflection, and whether the difference matters in your tradition.
- If you feel guilt, take that seriously rather than arguing it away. It may be telling you something about your own convictions, which is the one thing nobody else can rule on.
The scary cards: Death, the Devil and the Tower
Three cards have names that sound like threats: Death, the Devil and the Tower. Taromi's card pages read them differently. These are readings of the cards' images; they do not answer the faith question above.
Death. Taromi's card page puts it this way: "In tarot it reads as transition and renewal, not as a literal event." See what the Death card means.
The Devil. The figures on the card are bound, but, as the page notes, "the chains are loose enough to lift off." The card is read as the habits and attachments a person keeps up themselves. The reading is not a judgment; the question it raises is whether a pattern that once had a purpose still does. See what the Devil card means.
The Tower. In Taromi's reading, the Tower describes a sudden upheaval in which something built on a belief that was never quite true gives way, and what is rebuilt afterward tends to rest on more honest ground. See what the Tower card means.
None of the three is read as a curse. Even the Tower, which describes a real shock, is read for what it reveals and what gets rebuilt. If other cards worry you, the meanings for all 78 cards are laid out the same way, upright and reversed.
If you decide to try a reading
This is your call, and the sections above are meant to help you make it, not to push you. If your church's teaching or your own conscience says no, nothing in this article argues with that. If you choose to try tarot, use it for reflection: a card as a prompt to think about your own situation, not as a forecast. On Taromi you draw the cards yourself and each one is read against the question you asked, in plain language; a reading is private until you choose to share it, and a shared link never shows your question unless you switch on "Include my question". To try it, ask your own question and see what a card gives you to think about.
FAQ
Are tarot cards a sin?
That depends on the tradition you belong to, and this article does not rule on it. Christian writers who oppose tarot apply Deuteronomy 18:10–12 to card reading; the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 2116) rejects all forms of divination and does not mention tarot. Some tarot readers, including people of faith, say the cards are a tool for reflection. If you would use the cards only for reflection, not to ask about the future, whether that difference matters is for your church to say. Read the passage, check your own church's teaching, talk to your pastor or priest, and decide.
Is tarot witchcraft?
From the late 18th century, French occultists gave the deck a supernatural mystique, and the 1909 Rider-Waite-Smith deck was designed for esoteric readings. Whether using the cards today counts as witchcraft depends on what you mean by the word and what your tradition says about it; some people use the cards only as a prompt for reflection.
What does the Bible say about tarot cards?
It does not name tarot, which appeared only in the 15th century. The passage often cited is Deuteronomy 18:10–12. In the World English Bible it lists practices including divination, fortune telling, sorcery and consulting spirits, and says that "whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh." Applying it to tarot is an interpretation held by the writers who cite it, and you can weigh it for yourself by reading the passage in your own translation.
Sources
Tarot is for reflection and entertainment, not medical, legal, financial or psychological advice.