Symbolic Systems Represent Feminine Intelligence
There is centuries of cultural history, religious influence, and societal fear around the unknown. Many religions (especially Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) discourage or outright condemn practices like astrology, divination (tarot), or energy healing (crystals).
In Christianity, for example, the Bible warns against “sorcery,” “divination,” and seeking guidance outside of God (e.g., Deuteronomy 18:10-12). These verses have historically been interpreted to include astrology, tarot, mediumship, crystals, etc. So for many believers, these practices are often seen as opening a door to demonic or deceptive spiritual forces.
Colonialism and witch hunts occurred during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Practices tied to Earth, nature, and feminine power (like herbalism, astrology, or divination) were branded as witchcraft and brutally suppressed, especially in Europe and colonial America. Women were disproportionately targeted. And anything not sanctioned by the Church was often viewed as heretical or demonic. These cultural associations struck, and even today “witchy” practices are often met with suspicion or mockery.
Many people fear what they don’t understand, especially when it challenges their worldview. Tools like tarot and astrology suggest that there are mysteries in the universe beyond logic, and you can access power or insight without an intermediary (priest, doctor, etc.) That autonomy can be seen as threatening, dangerous, or rebellious.
Movies, books, and TV shows have long associated tarot, astrology, and crystals with occultism, witchcraft, and evil magic. Think of horror movies where a tarot reader predicts death, or a crystal ball is used to summon spirits. Even if you don’t believe in demons or spirits, those associations color how society perceives these practices.
Skeptics (especially in Western science-driven cultures) see these tools as unscientific or superstitions, which can lead to ridicule or dismissal. But that ridicule sometimes turns into fear or moral judgement, especially when spirituality overlaps with personal power or identity. But in reality, crystals are natural tools many use for intention-setting or energy alignment. Tarot is a symbolic language for insight and self-reflection. Astrology is an ancient system that tracks cycles and archetypes. None of these are inherently “evil,” but centuries of dogma, fear, and misunderstanding have made them controversial in some circles. They’re tools, and like any tool, their effect depends on how they’re used and what intention is behind them.
Crystals are minerals formed over millions of years, literally Earth’s natural record-keepers. People use them for energy work, mindfulness, or symbolism (like rose quartz for love or black tourmaline for protection.) Whether or not you believe they hold “energy,” using crystals can help people focus intentions or feel grounded. It’s not evil, just a practice that helps some people connect to themselves or the planet.
Tarot isn’t fortune-telling in the Hollywood sense. It’s more like a mirror; it reflects your subconscious back to you through archetypes and symbolism. Many use it for journaling, meditation, or decision-making. It’s not bad, it can be a tool for self- reflection and personal growth.
Astrology is an ancient symbolic system used across cultures (Babylonian, Vedic, Mayan, etc.) It’s about tracking patterns, seasons, and cycles; not “predicting your fate.” People can use it to understand personality, timing, or energetic themes. Again, not evil, but more like cosmic weather forecasting.
None of these practices force anything on you. They don’t take away your free will or make you worship anything. And they’re not exclusive to any one belief system; they’re often spiritual but not religious. If someone uses them to harm, manipulate, or escape reality, that behavior can be harmful, but the tools themselves aren’t inherently bad. Many organized religions, especially monotheistic ones, have long positioned themselves as the exclusive bridge between humans and the divine.
Tools like astrology or tarot actually empower individuals to access meaning directly; encouraging self-reflection without needing a priest, book, or church; and suggest that the divine is everywhere, not just in one doctrine. And that’s threatening to religious systems built on obedience, hierarchy, and intermediary authority. By calling these tools “evil," religions historically demonized intuitive power, erased indigenous wisdom systems, and maintained control over cosmology and salvation.
Modern media (especially Western, post-Enlightenment) has often portrayed these tools as being “witchy” or “crazy cat lady” nonsense. They portray it as scammy or manipulative fortune-telling, or only acknowledge it for the aesthetic (meaning it’s pretty, but not to be taken serious.) This trivializes them so people don’t take them seriously, don’t explore their psychological or symbolic value, and dismiss the ancient intelligence embedded in them. If something reconnects you to your intuition, pattern recognition, or nature. It’s easier to label it as “woo” then empower it.
Tools like tarot, lunar astrology, crystals, herbalism, and divination often originated in or were preserved by Indigenous cultures, women’s mystery traditions, and nonlinear, cyclical, earth-based systems. These were systematically suppressed through colonization, witch hunts, and “civilizing” missions and missionary work.
Symbolic tools often operate through feminine intelligence; intuition, resonance, and cyclicality. And that’s a threat to linear, masculine- dominant systems of control. Despite the stigma, symbolic systems offer real psychological, spiritual, and cognitive value. They can be really great tools for self-reflection and pattern awareness. For example, tarot is basically a mirror of your unconscious; astrology is a map of your archetypal patterns; and crystals are objects of resonance that tune intention and energy. They can help people pause, reflect, and recalibrate with personal or cosmic rhythms.
Symbolic thinking trains the brain differently; and symbolic tools teach metaphor, archetype, and multidimensional meaning. This will strengthen intuition, emotional intelligence, and the ability to spot coherence across complexity; all skills that are currently undervalued in a hyper-logical world but essential for spiritual integration and visionary thinking.
These tools also reintroduce sacred relationships between humans and nature (moon cycles, seasons, stones), between inner experience and out events (synchronicity, divination), and between intention and reality (manifestation, etc.) They don’t “predict” in a fixed sense, they reveal where you are in the current of things. You don’t need a guru, a church, or a platform; you just need time, trust, and a willingness to engage symbolically. And that’s obviously dangerous to systems that monetize salvation or monopolize meaning.
If something ancient, healing, and accessible is labeled “evil,” “irrational,” or “dangerous,” ask yourself: who benefits from you believing that? These tools survived for millennia because they work; not as supernatural gimmicks, but as coherence activators, helping people to remember their place in the field, trust their own inner knowing, and realign with deeper cycles.
