Monday, August 24, 2009

Why I Don't Practice Fortune-Telling

Ever heard someone say, "It just wasn't in the cards"? As if fate and destiny come already gift wrapped, and all we get to do is pull the shiny paper off our future?

This isn't my tarot philosophy. I believe in the power of choice and free will. I believe the tarot shows us our options, and by doing so, allows us to make informed decisions about what's happening right now. It's a simple formula -- the only way to change the future is to change the present. Consequence follows cause. And tarot does an excellent job of showing the forces in play at the time of a reading so that you can decide whether you want to go with the flow . . . or swim upstream.

Knowledge changes the flow of events. Understanding puts the rudder firmly in your hand.

Of course, some forces are larger than the individual. Hurricanes. Recessions. The breaking dawn. Tarot shows this aspect too. It's actually two decks within a deck: the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The former refers to big universal energies, archetypal powers, huge forces. The latter are the personal energies, the day-to-day ways that we make our choices manifest in the world. It is the interactive tension between these two that makes our lives so interesting. Sometimes we can turn the tide, and sometimes we can only ride it out. Tarot shows us these forces at work in our lives, so that we can act in wisdom and truth and love.

Or not. My job is to help you interpret what the cards mean to you, not tell you what to do about the situation. I work with you so that you can access your own inner guidance, so that you can keep what works for you and change what doesn't.

The cards don't reveal your future -- they reveal your present moment. And that is the more valuable gift.