Tarot of the 'Hindsight'

In another thread about reading for oneself Teheuti said this....

Am not sure, personally, about the angels, but even if a reading is "true" - are we capable of understanding the exact truth that's being expressed? The cards that seem totally confusing before an event can seem crystal clear and specific after it - and I don't know how I missed the significance originally. Perhaps I was lying to myself. I tend to find that readings unfold over time - if I'm willing to follow them up.

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This for me, bought up many issues that I ponder about Tarot reading. When I read for others I make the decision about the truth of what is been expressed.
I say what the cards mean. For myself (reading) I seem to have many choices of what the Truth of the reading is. Often the cards are confusing, perhaps because of all the choice I allow myself, when reading for myself. The one thing that does seem constant (and I journal consistently) is that everything is 'crystal clear and specific' in hindsight.
I am curious what others think about this- as when we read, as I said we make a decision in the now, what the cards mean- without the wisdom of hindsight.
~Rosanne

I have found that when reading for others its important to detatch from what I think the other person is hearing and just get on with reading what I see. I've lost count of the amount of people who thought I said (or meant) something I didn't say (or mean) when reading for them. The truth is that people hear what they want to hear, especially with things like readings which are so open to interpretation.

Yes, hindsight is 20/20. And yes, there are times when I've realsied that something i interpreted in a reading was right, sort of, but actually could have been expressed better/ differently/ whatever. Because after the fact its easy to see what the cards were saying. Before the fact, all we can do is our best. Therein lies the glorious Art of Tarot Reading. And is something we keep refining till our dying day (or the day we stop reading).

I think the hindsight part of it is very important.

As many of us do when we first start out with tarot, we rely on what the cards mean according to the book. So our meanings are by definition limited. But by going back and looking at what the cards actually did mean in hindsight, we expand the potential meanings for any given card any time that card appears again. Say there are 5 book meanings for a card. Over the next 10 readings you do, that particular card shows up 5 more times. In retrospect you find that each time the card appeared, it meant something different than you already knew from the book and from what you'd already experienced. So at the end of 10 readings you have a total of 10 meanings for that card whereas originally you only had 5....

You probably won't find a new meaning for every card in every spread you lay, but with time, and hindsight!, you'll develop what your cards mean to you. If you and I started out on the same day with the same deck and did the same number of readings with it, at the end of a year, many to all of the cards would say some of the same things to both of us. But many to all of the cards will also say different things to each of us. The card that represents doing household chores to you might represent kicking back and taking it easy to me. And a different card might represent doing household chores to me.

I think the second part of your question involves knowing which of the potential meanings to choose, especially when reading for yourself. I think the answer there is two-fold. Part of it is seeing the answer that's really there instead of the answer you want to see. The other part is listening to your intuition about which is the right answer.

Think of your intuition as a muscle. To build it up and be able to flex it at will takes lots of work and practice.

Rodney

In hindsight, we see themes--in real life, is there?

In real life, we make decisions as best we know how using our experience--which in itself is based on memory and hindsight as best we can recall.

The conversation with self or others during the 'before decision' phase is a process of reasoning out the confusion. This way or that, what would be best, what would be the worst case, can I find something in-between...etc.

If I am using a journal or tarot card draw or both in combination with this decision process...likely after the fact, I believe that we want to pick up themes and story threads. I kind of think we do a self-editing that makes an ending that fits our narrative...

You asked what we thought of making decisions with tarot card choices, without the benefit of hindsight. But we do make decisions based on past choices and call it 'experience' and we exercise judgment and our actions accordingly.

I believe afterward, in my narrowed spectrum of reflection, I can see that I may view a narrative of events that edits out or smooths out all the myriad possibilities. I see things through the tarot filter and I say, "it worked out."

For instance, yesterday my sister and I found a store we thought would be open on a Sunday (the website noted it was open Tues-Sunday). We saw the door had a handwritten sign that said open only Sunday by appointment. We hopped on the freeway to check out a Buddhist temple that would be a little out of our way...but the freeway route was closed and we found ourselves on a warm day with limited time crawling bumper to bumper...so we figured we should turn around or head back home. I pulled a card, Judgment, from the Mystic Dreamer...we found a route back toward home that was quick and breezy.

We had lunch near my folk's house, we talked about our mother, ended up calling her to see if she was free...and she was! I called to find the store I had suggested open and easily nearby...Mom, sis and I talked about pleasant things while the breezes cooled us...We browsed, my sister was able to get a reading about her work situation...and she also remembered a dream she had about someone advising me to check out tourmaline...and in the store, I found some beautiful tourmaline bits.

Of course later, when I thought of the card I pulled of Judgment, which in the Mystic Dreamer, it talked about saying goodbye to your past before you can move on. The tourmaline I picked up seems to be good for inspiration to turn into action...Other things occurred that evening--when I look back on yesterday, I tend to say, 'wow that was about Judgment and things did work out for us. Not in the way we thought--but it worked out according to 'Judgment' and it was a better day than planned.

But in retrospect we visited some 'past' reliable places and received new insights. In terms of the Mystic Dreamer Tarot card of Judgment, one of the questions asked was did the things emerging from the waters, were they threatening to the angel at all?

In real life, I probably am choosing not to remember all the possible choices that might say whatever we choose to do that day , it was more about 'misjudgment' than 'good judgment'. In real life, should I have chosen not to
pull a tarot card, would I have been any worse off or better? Actually, the fact I did pull a tarot card made me remember the day more clearly. I think what I wrote did pertain to my mental filter based on the card I picked.

I see I also took a long and rambling road...ah well, it was an opportunity to
enjoy again the idea of a tarot card that aligned and summarized the memory of a good day...

Cerulean

FaeryGodmother said:

Yes, hindsight is 20/20. And yes, there are times when I've realised that something I interpreted in a reading was right, sort of, but actually could have been expressed better/ differently/ whatever. Because after the fact its easy to see what the cards were saying. Before the fact, all we can do is our best. Therein lies the glorious Art of Tarot Reading. And is something we keep refining till our dying day (or the day we stop reading).

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That is interesting FaeryGodmother. I often think that I could have expressed the reading better- but never 'differently'. I have at the time of the reading, decided what the cards meant. If I don't do this, I do not think I have made this one off reading correct- I have second guessed myself. This is one of the reasons I do not do readings on the forum. I would pick them to bits (my reading for others)I would vacillate between meanings in hindsight and most likely not want feedback. I have to have confidence in the meaning- or why read at all? One of my children often teases about Tarot like this "Here is what happened, now there was 78 ways that could have come about- but Mum has a card and she knows which one of the those 78 ways it was."
There is an odd truth in that tease.

rwcarter said:

As many of us do when we first start out with tarot, we rely on what the cards mean according to the book. So our meanings are by definition limited. But by going back and looking at what the cards actually did mean in hindsight, we expand the potential meanings for any given card any time that card appears again. Say there are 5 book meanings for a card. Over the next 10 readings you do, that particular card shows up 5 more times. In retrospect you find that each time the card appeared, it meant something different than you already knew from the book and from what you'd already experienced. So at the end of 10 readings you have a total of 10 meanings for that card whereas originally you only had 5....

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This is how I learned the cards way back before electricity by experience.
But it was not from much feedback as I did not get much feedback as to accuracy. The experience was common sense and a feeling of rightness. I learned to accept the feeling of rightness (this is best as I can explain it).
Definitely readings looking back at them are clear! Lol I wish I could tap into hindsight as if it was foresight. Foresight seems tentative, whereas hindsight is right on the money.

Cerulean said:

In real life, I probably am choosing not to remember all the possible choices that might say whatever we choose to do that day , it was more about 'misjudgment' than 'good judgment'. In real life, should I have chosen not to
pull a tarot card, would I have been any worse off or better? Actually, the fact I did pull a tarot card made me remember the day more clearly. I think what I wrote did pertain to my mental filter based on the card I picked.

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As usual Cerulean, you painted a picture with words. Yes I think reading a card is about focusing on something to draw ones question clearer. I am not sure after all this time if I have a usual filter or a Tarot filter.
Maybe it is sometimes about bravery.
Last year I drew one card for a friend getting married. The Tower. Well they had been arguing for months about which 'House of God' they would marry in.
They were volatile and I predicted that they should be really careful around around the date as there could be a real explosion that would change everything. They were not careful, there was an argument, but they got married. This year on their anniversary they separated. I had an inkling(just an inkling) what hindsight would be in their case, and it was, but I would never have read that for them regardless.
I guess I am 'this is a possible scenario' type of reader, and maybe I can shrug off hindsight- except when it comes to reading for myself. I guess I believe I should know my self better and read the cards more accurately with experience of myself lol.
~Rosanne

Rosanne said:

That is interesting FaeryGodmother. I often think that I could have expressed the reading better- but never 'differently'.

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By differently, I simply mean choice of words to express a meaning. For example, I know of two different meanings for the phrase "jacked off" but unless I have a pretty good idea of who i'm reading for I have no way of knowing how the querent will interpret my choice of words and as i tend to express myself in cliches and sayings a lot this can be a problem for me. Lets just say i have experience with people coming back to me saying "but you said....." when I actually meant something else altogether. Funnily enough I have found that I'm just as often "right" to those people even if it wasn't quite what I thought I said. (ick, what a confusing sentence!).


Actually, Rosanne's post makes me think of an anaology. Tarot reading for the future is a bit like seeing things in the mirror. Its all there, but somehow different. Back to front. Its funny how different we see ourselves in a mirror compared to a photo, or compared to how others see us. Same picture but different As soon as the event comes and goes you can see it the right way round and details make sense where before it was back to front. Maybe human brains just work that way. Maybe we simply aren't wired to 'remember' the future.

All cards in a spread are accurate when you have all of the information. Every card in the deck has relevance. You can go back to see how the cards applied to a given situation in order to recognize the language of the cards in the future. But this is just further study of the symbolism and card relationships.

The reading part is to figure out specific conditions in advance when you don't know anything yet. The story is in the energy during the reading. The cards are only to provide support. The energy stimulating a feeling that tells a story is long gone when using hindsight. It helps if you can remember what you felt and compare it to what you decided it meant at the time. Many times these feelings come and go so subtly you don't have a chance to forget them because you have not consciously been aware of them.