People get tarot readings for a
variety
of reasons but perhaps the
most often
cited is the hope of
getting a glimpse
into the future,
a sneak preview of fate.
The idea
of fortune revealed is enticing,
but I’m not sure that’s what’s
happening
during most tarot
readings, at least as
most people
seem to envision it.
Rather than fortune telling per se, the tarot seems to reveal patterns in our lives that aren’t always apparent. Generally speaking, you can see your own future if you pay attention to your patterns - to your behaviours, your associates and your relationships with them. It’s usually all there if you look.
What the tarot does is bring these patterns to the surface for you to see with less obstruction – not unlike a dream with regular symbols. More often than not, the reader is more a translator than a prophetic seer. Their job is to let you know what the ideas are behind the pictures on the cards you chose. The story is always yours as it was you who brought the story to the surface. The reader supplies a dictionary.
How the tarot provides this service I’m not at all sure. Some believe that spirits or angels or some other type of unworldly entity is involved, pushing you to choose the cards they want to talk about. Others prefer seeing the tarot as a guide map of your unconscious. They believe your hands choose the cards you need through some telepathic or unconscious knowledge. Others believe it hardly matters what cards you choose. They feel that the human mind makes patterns out of everything and will make a meaningful story out of any story-pieces provided.
All or none of these ideas may be correct – and certainly these three are not the only explanations. When it comes right down to it, there are probably as many ideas about how the tarot works as there are tarot readers. What really matters is whether or not it's useful for you. Does it make a situation that was unclear clear? Does this clarity help you in your life?
From my perspective, a tarot reading is a success if at the end, the querent feels they have obtained information that allows them to more successfully navigate the part of their life highlighted by the cards.
A reading typically focuses on one main issue. Normally this issue is the question the querent came to the reading asking about. Sometimes, however, the cards end up describing a completely separate element of the querent’s life, i.e. they came in asking about their relationship and the cards described the changes they’re facing at work. Even with an unexpected topic, however, if you feel that what was revealed was of value to you, then it was a success.
The cards rarely talk about your life in its entirety. And they don’t tell you what you should or should not do, though they do offer recommendations. Typically, the cards describe a set of circumstances in your life, the energies surrounding these circumstances and some of the players. This objective view allows you a chance to re-evaluate your issue and see where it might go if you continue along that particular path. This understanding might lead you to either change direction or keep going full speed forward. What you do with the information is always up to you.
Some readers like to keep you hanging, as if the next time you go to them, they’ll really fill you in on the secrets yet to be revealed. Even more unreasonable is the suggestion that bad luck foreshadowed by the cards can be circumvented by a charm, talisman or de-hexing available from said reader.
If it’s remembered that the cards simply give you an idea of the patterns presently in your life rather than describing your future, you will not be defrauded are frightened by these more unsavoury sorts. Nothing in the readings are ever written in stone and you can always read for yourself if you ever want to.
Tarot reading is an excellent self-exploratory tool. You can use it yourself or have someone else help you with it. I’ve found that there are rarely big surprises revealed in most reading. Generally people recognize their situation right away, or at least with a little exploration. The circumstances presented are what you are living and therefore not a revelation. What surprises people most is that the situation is often so recognizable and that the advice sounds so appropriate.
It can be profound to see yourself objectively through a series of pictures. It’s a chance to see yourself as you might see others - from the outside looking in. What’s interesting and sometimes a little spooky is having someone else tell you your story by looking at some images on paper cards. But that’s really the fun of a reading. And maybe it’s good to hear a piece of your life from someone else’s mouth, someone who has no agenda but to tell you what the cards mean. Ultimately, you are responsible for determining both the direction and moral of their story.
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