Using "Dark" Decks and Cards

Recently, a person in a Tarot Facebook group asked about "dark" decks and cards. They were lately feeling attracted to some decks that could be considered "darker." They brought up concerns about attracting dark or negative energies and entities when working with "darker" decks.

For me, reading cards has nothing to do with entities or dark energies. The way I look at reading the cards, they are helping me connect my subconscious with my conscious, dipping beneath the surface, as it were. So when I read cards I'm not contacting or connecting with any type of dark energies or dark entities. I'm connecting with me, my subconscious, my intuition. The cards are a bridge to help me understand what I need to know.

So it's my opinion, based on my personal perspective, that if you're looking at some "darker" decks, then maybe there's a message those decks can help you connect with easier than other decks. It has nothing to do with dark or negative energies or entities.

For me, different decks get the message we need to hear across in different ways, like a different tone or bedside manner. Sometimes we need to hear a message bluntly, no nonsense, no bullsh*t. Sometimes, we might be in a place where we need the message, but said in a gentler way, a more comforting and supportive way. You'll still get the message you need. The different decks are about the tone and bedside manner of how the message comes across.

And I've done some practice readings using multiple decks for the same spread. Not to try to get a different answer or an answer I want to hear, but to compare what the different decks are saying, how they each answer the same questions. It's awesome how so often, the same or similar message is given by multiple decks or tools for the same question or spread. :-) Just said in a slightly different way or perspective.

I'd also like to address the false equivalency between "dark" and "negative." Far too often, these two things are seen as equivalent. What's dark is negative and what's negative is dark. I don't agree with this. For me, "negative" implies bad or harmful, maybe even evil. "Dark" is dark, in shadow. It's deep, deeper, something that hasn't been brought into the light (awareness or conscious thought) recently. It's what's tucked away, hidden, buried, consciously or unconsciously. You may not want it to be brought into the light/up to the surface (awareness), but maybe it needs to be. That's not negative or bad or evil. For me, "dark" does NOT equal "negative."

Can the cards be used in negative or harmful ways? Absolutely. Any tool can be misused and abused. But that doesn't make them inherently negative, bad, evil, harmful, etc. It's all in how we use the tool, for what purposes, and our intentions. So if your intentions are to use the cards to help, yourself and/or others, don't be afraid to work with a "darker" deck. It may be just what you need at that time.

I'd like to add a final caution... There's a lot out there, especially recently, about doing things like Shadow work and that type of thing. Sometimes, things are in the dark for a very valid reason. Bringing things out of the dark and doing Shadow work is not without some risks. Please educate yourself before pursuing this work, especially for others. Please don't hesitate to work with an appropriate mental health professional if things come up that are especially troubling or difficult for you to deal with. Cards can be used in conjunction with conventional professional mental health care. It's not an either/or situation. Seek professional care and assistance if you need it.


Please also follow me on social media (Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest): @RenaraTarot