Free Will vs. Destiny

A reading I did a couple of days ago got me thinking - just how strong is a person's free will to change what the cards say is destined to happen? Can a person really turn things around if the future looks bleak or they just want to go to a different place? Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I'd say yes of course. I see a reading as a nothing more than a snapshot of that specific moment... life moves on... many things can change a situation.

I think a reading may show what will happen if we continue on a particular path.. but if we change the path - we change the outcome. The cards don't live our lives, we do, therefore in my mind destiny is our own responsibility. Nothing in life is carved into stone as they say.. life is what you make it.

irisa

I agree that Tarot is a fluid oracle and is just a snap shot of future events should all things remain the same. And person has the free will (although it may not be EASY) to change course and direction going forward, and the Tarot can provide insights into the best way to make these changes too.

Ultimately it is up to the individual (through their present/future thoughts/actions/deeds) and to use the insights gained from the Tarot to better steer their respective lives and set them in a direction for happiness for self and all. That's when their free will comes into play... Tarot offers choice too and if a person is only looking at one possibility in one way, do they really have choice? No, so I believe Tarot to be a tool for enlightenment in one's personal affairs by offer valid choices and perspectives.

Just my 2 cents

River

My explanation to clients runs like this:

Tarot is like a fast-flowing river. If you just float there and do nothing, it's always going to take you downstream (what's shown in the cards). However, if you don't like what's downstream, you can always roll over and strike out and start swimming like crazy, and you WILL get to be upstream. It just takes a whole lot more effort.

nisaba said:

Tarot is like a fast-flowing river. If you just float there and do nothing, it's always going to take you downstream (what's shown in the cards). However, if you don't like what's downstream, you can always roll over and strike out and start swimming like crazy, and you WILL get to be upstream. It just takes a whole lot more effort.

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loving this!

irsa

At any given moment of any day, there are infinite possibilities that may occur. The moment we make a choice, one set of possibilities snuffs out and a whole new group emerges. The tarot shows one set of possibilities that may occur should you continue to follow the same path, make the same kind of choices. In seeing this, you are give the opportunity to change your choices and therefore change your path. Nothing is set in stone.

Really good points, and to add my thoughts on what divinemsm said: I am of the Yoda school of thought: "Always in motion is the future". If you get the 'underlying factors' right, and 'the past', meaning where this situation started, the 'future or outcome' card has a chance of being right. But don't judge your worth as a reader on that because stuff happens.

Back to the querent's thesis: do the cards reflect an ending that can be changed via free will or can they read fixeddestiny. A typically vague reply: some of each. While it is true that we always have choices, our personality or a situation makes some choices so unpalatable that some endings are pretty well inevitable.


Alta

Jaqueline said:

A reading I did a couple of days ago got me thinking - just how strong is a person's free will to change what the cards say is destined to happen? Can a person really turn things around if the future looks bleak or they just want to go to a different place? Anyone have any thoughts on this?

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Usually. Usually you can turn things around (change the future as given in the cards) if you want to. Unless there is an important life lesson you truly need to learn at exactly that moment from the experience, then it can't be avoided (fate). But it's been my experience that over 90% of the time the predicted future can be changed. A good way to do it is to ask the cards "What steps can I take to change "X" (the predicted future) to "Y" (the future you really want). Then just take the steps.

IMHO, it's not a matter of how strong-willed you are, it's more a question of the future being very flexible. It is very changeable by it's very nature. Almost any act you take is capable of changing the future. When it comes to the future, Tarot at best, only can tell you which future you are heading towards at the precise moment in time the reading was done. Generally things do tend to pan out as predicted only because people are predictable and creatures of habit. They tend to think and act in a predictable way that the cards can pick up on. But at any moment if they are aware of the pattern, they can choose to stop and take a new direction.

Barbara.

nisaba said:

My explanation to clients runs like this:

Tarot is like a fast-flowing river. If you just float there and do nothing, it's always going to take you downstream (what's shown in the cards). However, if you don't like what's downstream, you can always roll over and strike out and start swimming like crazy, and you WILL get to be upstream. It just takes a whole lot more effort.

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I really like that nisaba, really good answer!



Babs

divinemsm said:

At any given moment of any day, there are infinite possibilities that may occur. The moment we make a choice, one set of possibilities snuffs out and a whole new group emerges. The tarot shows one set of possibilities that may occur should you continue to follow the same path, make the same kind of choices. In seeing this, you are give the opportunity to change your choices and therefore change your path. Nothing is set in stone.

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also a great answer!

Babs