Today I made a deal to trade away the last of my Tarot decks that I don’t get along with–The Osho Zen Tarot. I really wanted to like this deck. I bought it after reading a great deal about it on Aeclectic Tarot Forum. Many of the members there seemed to really love this deck, saying it was excellent for personal, spiritual readings. And, when I first got it, I did find the readings to be quite good. But… the more I worked with it the less I liked it. The messages just didn’t seem right; they didn’t fit with my world view.
I did know a little bit about Buddhism, thanks to a university class on Japanese religion. What I knew seemed to me to make sense, and to fit what I believed. But, as I worked with the cards and learned more about Buddhism, I came to understand that Buddhist beliefs did not mesh with my beliefs at all. To me life is not suffering, it is joy. I also don’t believe one should deny themselves pleasures in this life so that they may be reborn in paradise.
The last straw when it came to this deck was learning about Osho himself, or Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. It seems that his cult in Oregon had a few problems. And, well, the entry at Religious Tolerance didn’t inspire much confidence either. I will admit that Osho’s teachings do have some merit, but they aren’t for me. And, although it may be petty, I can’t help but hold him responsible for at least some of the actions of his followers. Because of this, I found that I just couldn’t work well with the cards. I may be missing out on an excellent tool, but I’ve got to listen to my heart.
The deck I am getting in return for this trade is the Daughters of the Moon Tarot, a feminist Pagan deck, created by a Canadian woman living in Australia. I am so looking forward to getting this deck, even if I am a little leery of its’ feminist slant. It was on my wishlist for the longest time.