Tarot and the Beauty Contest

I live in Toronto, Canada's largest and most culturally diverse city. One would guess, since the population is so varied, that this would be a very tolerant city. I would say it is. However, in turns out that it isn't as tolerant as I thought.

Ms. Stephanie Conover, winner of the Miss Canada Plus Pageant, had been asked to be one of the judges for the Miss Toronto Tourism Pageant (not affiliated with Toronto's tourism branch). When she submitted her bio, she mentioned her hobbies: knitting, dancing, reiki and Tarot reading. Well, hold the phone! Miss Toronto Tourism doesn't want anything to do with anyone involved in the dark side or the occult, according to Karen Murray, the pageant director.

Ms. Murray's letter said in part: "Our board of directors has eliminated her as a judge as tarot card reading and reiki are the occult and is not acceptable by God, Jews, Muslims or Christians." It is interesting that she claims to know the mind of her god. And it is also interesting to note that while many Muslims may not approve of Tarot reading, they also do not approve of beauty contests, nor do many Orthodox Jews. Oh, and what about other religions that may be represented by women taking part in the pageant or working for the pageant organization. Are Buddhist, Hindus, and others not allowed?

For more from Ms. Murray's letter, see Beauty queen rejected as pageant judge from the Toronto Star.

There is a rather large thread over at Aeclectic Tarot about this.

The American Tarot Association has issued a statement about this situation, you can see it reproduced here.

If you'd like to let the Miss Toronto Tourism Pageant know how you feel about this blatant discrimination, you can find their contact information here. This post Aeclectic contains contact information for some of the pageant sponsors who many be interested in hearing your opinion about a pageant that openly discriminates.