Book Review: The Contemplative Tarot A Christian Guide to the Cards by Brittany Muller

I was handed a copy of The Contemplative Tarot A Christian Guide to the Cards by Brittany Muller by my sister,Jamie Holloway. My first thought was that I didn’t want anything to do with tarot. I was raised being told it was wrong. But after hearing her thoughts and giving it some thought of my own, I realized I wanted to read this book, not because I felt it would add anything to my life but it might help me not be afraid of a deck of cards.

I was surprised to learn that tarot began as a card game to entertain Italian nobles. Rooted in Christianity and enamored on Pagan antiquity and always trying to bring them together — this is what brought about tarot. The first deck was created in the 15th century (about 1401 to 1500) to play a game similar to bridge. The trumps contained figures that we see today: Death, The Fool, The Empress, Temperance, Justice, etc. The game eventually died out in Italy but remained popular in France and Switzerland and became standardized as Tarot de Marseille. It didn’t get it’s occult connection until the 19th century (about 1801 to 1900) in France when the occult became popular and people wanted to believe it came from Egypt and was meant to be a tool for divination of the future.

At the same time England had their own occult ideas. The Freemasons founded The Golden Dawn that included tarot as a ritual for fortune telling. One of the members, Aleister Crowley, left on bad terms. He left England and went to Sicily and established Abbey of Thelema in 1920. This was a spiritual philosophy he created by mixing Golden Dawn teachings, yoga and Eastern and Western mysticism — these teachings later inspired Wicca. The Thoth Tarot cards he created are still used today.

Tarot can be used for:

• Divination
• Self-Development
  • facilitate inner knowledge, growth and transformation
  • uncover one’s thoughts and feelings they might be avoiding

With constant stimulation we live with in our lives now, we don’t have time for out thoughts and self-reflection. How do we create stillness to hear the voice of God?

“To use tarot in a contemplative way is to marry prayer to art. It is to use the images of tarot to facilitate intimate moments and so the most important factor is choosing a deck is a connection with the art itself.” The Contemplative Tarot, Chapter 3

Tarot can help with:

• We need to slow down and make space
• We need to self-reflect
• We need to see God in His creation

Most of the book is spent describing each of the cards in the deck. Although I don’t feel as though I want to add tarot to my worship time, I can see how it could be a tool that some people might find value in. I did find the descriptions of the cards to be surprisingly personal and the questions at the end of each description made me think of things very deeply. I was intrigued at how much I thought while I read this book. I am glad I read this book. It strengthened my resolve that objects cannot have any more power over me than I give them. A deck of cards are just that unless I believe more than that.

The way that Muller described how she uses the tarot cards to enrich her time with the bible and God sounds like she gets a lot out of her experience. The difference between her and I is that she is Catholic and I am a non-traditional Christian. I don’t rely on symbols, but I understand that most humans do and I see why these cards might be perfect for people that enjoy symbolism. I did enjoy the thought provoking questions and the quotes and tidbits about the saints that she used in this book and I do recommend this book for people that want to delve in to religious history.

You can get your own copy of The Contemplative Tarot A Christian Guide to the Cards by Brittany Muller on Amazon.

Read My Review on GoodReads:

Contemplative Tarot by Brittany Muller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had no idea what I was getting into when I began reading this book. My friend gave me this book to read and I read it to learn the history of tarot. But this book went so much more deep than I expected. Although I don’t intend to add tarot to my life, I have a new understanding of this ritual and a better walk with God. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to know their Creator better.

View all my reviews

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My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.

For anyone reading this that isn’t a Christian, unapologetically, I am a Christian, but I believe there is room for lots of beliefs and religions in the world. It is not my intent to offend people with different beliefs than I have and I would be open to open-minded conversations with no goals of changing anyone’s mind, but sharing information.

If you are interested in becoming a Christian…Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:

Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.

I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.

I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.