Reading the future with Tarot? Or not?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 24 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Diana	24 Aug 2002
edited

MeeWah	24 Aug 2002
Whilst I do not look "to predict", based on the personal experiences with Tarot I cannot dismiss that to some extent, a predictive quality is accessible or present. Tarot describes conditions, situations, trends; the energies or influences in force at any one time, within a given moment. In seeking to understand those elemental forces, a larger picture may be displayed whereby the possibilities inherent within a circumstance may be explored. Or by adusting one's vision &/or with the intuition, that larger picture emerges with clarity. No one thing is subject to permanency due to the peculiarities of the human condition of which a major feature is the temporal nature of the life. The natural flow of energetic forces leads to changes so nothing remains fixed--changes occur in cycles, in due season. What may appear as stagnant or delayed may be due to timing or other variables such as the self, the understanding, the period needed to learn a lesson. As free will is also a major feature of the life, how one seeks to apply the self & the endeavors may modify a posssible outcome or a possible future. At times, it may be merely the attitude with which one meets self that determines the opportunities available. Those opportunities in turn, either reinforce or deny what can be.

jamesriouxctm	24 Aug 2002
Hello all, To claim simply that "Tarot can foretell the future" implies to me that this process of foretelling is always accurate, which is not the case. Such a claim strays into the realm of fortune-telling. Or, to put it coyly, foretelling becomes fortune-telling once we start claiming that there is one (une) possible future. However, to claim that "Tarot cannot foretell the future" would fly in the face of the data. I know from personal experience that the Tarot can and does offer accurate predictions, so long as the situation does not change too rapidly. These predictions can be made weeks or months in advance, in certain cases. So I'd like to suggest (and cast my vote for) a third option, namely, "The Tarot can foretell _the most likely future_ given a certain set of conditions". Its accuracy in this regard is probably the same as that of an experienced meterologist, who is basically doing the same thing with a different set of tools.

Diana	24 Aug 2002
edited

marmalade	24 Aug 2002
hmmm... hubby and i were just talking about this the other day. although i don't think that 'if the cards say 'blah', then 'blah' is going to happen to you', i do think they point out a possible future providing circumstances for the querant don't change. if the reading is negative, then the querant has the opportunity to do something about it before the worst happens. hubby, being a scientific sort of guy, sees the cards as a source of randomness, and is a bit unsure what else to think of them. that said, he's eager to be converted into the 'fortume telling' camp, as he'sbeen unemployed for a while, and just had a job interview for a really great job. i did a 1 card reading for him the night before and he drew the world!! only time will tell...

Liliana	24 Aug 2002
well my answer is none of the above lol, but i chose cannot, not sure why I believe tarot can give you a snapshot of what MAY happen if things continue EXACTLY as they are now, if you work to prevent what a reaing says you can change it, if you work for it it can manifest faster, but its not truly predicting THE future, just a likely effect from the current cause, and heck even gettibng the reading and knowing what is coming can change what IS coming so future predictions are outdated quickly :THP

Laurel	24 Aug 2002
I had to vote no, tarot cannot tell the future. Psychics, using tarot as a tool, can perceive most likely future events based on the situation at hand, and offer ways to help that enfold or suggest ways to alter the course. The tarot itself doesn't have the "power" to do so. They are beautiful, beloved, pieces of cardboard armed with the symbols of our psyches. Everyone is a little psychic, and working with the tarot can help us become more precise and intense in our psychic-ness. But the power still comes within. The tarot is the hammer and nails; we provide the carpentry. Laurel

Rhiannon	24 Aug 2002
I voted yes beacause I believe that through our interpretation we can predict possibilities and probabilities, if not a definite future... so that's close enough to "yes" for me. R :)

Ravenswing	24 Aug 2002
i voted that tarot cannot tell the future simply because i do not see the multiverse as having a unique future. there is no **the** future. there is a multitude of futures, and the tarot will show one of these (okay, maybe more than one at times) futures. granted, i believe that the probability of any future shown through the tarot is a high one; it will take less work to move events into alignment with the particular vision. enough metaphysics for the moment raven

Umbrae	24 Aug 2002
I had to vote yes (with reservation). The cards themselves just sit and gather dust. However, when we interact with the cards, and use them as the keys that they are to begin unlocking the doors in our mind…often, probabilities are eliminated and we see what remains. Time is a lovely human construct to prevent things from happening all at once.

Red Emma	24 Aug 2002
The Tarot predicts my future all the time, and I'm very grateful. I don't know why, or how but it's saved me from a lot of grief. Actually, I expect the why and how is buried somewhere in the still-to-be discovered realms of quantum mechanics. From what I do know of that realm of physics, I can see an outline of things occult. But physicists are still in the very beginnings stages of discovery of the world below the atom. We'll just have to wait. And have a hell of a lot of fun exploring while we wait. Goddess bless, REd Emma

raeanne	24 Aug 2002
I voted Yes because I think Tarot does show trends and patterns in our lives. These trends and patterns will manafest into reality if no action is taken to make changes.

Lee	24 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae Time is a lovely human construct to prevent things from happening all at once. This is a beautifully written sentence. And quite true! -- Lee

emily2otters	24 Aug 2002
i agree with everything James Rioux said, especially the bit about "une" and the other bit about the meteorologist. well said!

WolfSpirit	24 Aug 2002
I voted "yes" because I do use the cards like that, but I would not phrase it like that myself. I would rather say it shows possibilities or gives advice what will happen when doing this or that. So not "the" future but "possible outcome".

Natalya	24 Aug 2002
Even though, it always does predict my future I only use it to help me have more insight in my problem or question and calm me down when I get too frustrated about not knowing what will happen with an important situation in my life.

Jenny-Li	24 Aug 2002
I voted yes, but like many others I would perhaps not put it that way. There are just so many ways for us to change what's going on around us, and that is part of it too. If Tarot really predicted the future then there would be no room for acting in a certain way to better the odds, or even change a future that you don't want... The Tarot gives us input to guide us and the good thing about it is that it shows us how to create and manifest the energies and potentials around us... So Yes, but with a small reservation... Jenny ;)

Maan	24 Aug 2002
I'm with Jenny-lee and others...i believe that tarot gives an indication to where your going in the future is nothing changes...

Jeanette	24 Aug 2002
I think I will agree with the majority; my vote is yes, Tarot can predict the future, with limitations. Everyone has free will, so the future is constantly changing! In no way can Tarot perform like good old Miss Cleo claimed. Also, I believe there are people who can see the future, and don't need to use Tarot, or anything else. I'm glad I don't have that ability (that I'm aware of). I think it would be too much of a burden.

divinerguy	24 Aug 2002
Yeah, it can. But if I tell you how, I'll have to kill you. Top Secret stuff.

Kazz	24 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Rhiannon I voted yes beacause I believe that through our interpretation we can predict possibilities and probabilities, if not a definite future... so that's close enough to "yes" for me. R :) that is why i voted YES also Cheers Kazz :TQC

Strega	24 Aug 2002
There are so many factors that influence the future. It isn't set in stone. It depends on the choices we make each and every day. :) I believe the tarot can show us what may probably happen... IF everything remains on the same course. So, I voted YES. :)

DarkElectric	25 Aug 2002
I had to think about this one... At first, I was considering voting 'no' because in so many readings I get an overview of past and current situations, and the future isn't even hinted at. But then I think back to readings I did for myself, and others, where the cards made no sense in a past or present context. For this I had no explanation, until I realised, upon reviewing my tarot journal, that these seemingly senseless readings were actually fortelling future events.(I log the date of each reading, as well as the deck I used.) Silly me, I wasn't even thinking along those lines at the time, and could have saved myself a lot of trouble had I been a little more cognizant and grokked the message I was getting. And, as Diana pointed out, time is not linear. This has also been proven to me in the realm of parallel universe theory, which I have personally experienced. (It scares the heck out of me, but at least I know what it is now!) So, in view of all this, I voted yes.

Diana	25 Aug 2002
edited

fairyhedgehog	25 Aug 2002
I voted 'no'. I believe that tarot cards are chosen at random, and that it is my 'story-making' abilities that make sense of them. I don't believe that I can know the future, because it hasn't happened yet. So tarot cards can't tell my future. But when I shuffle the cards, I'm saying to them (in my head, not out loud) 'you go where you need to go', as if something does choose where they should be. And I read the cards as if they can tell me about possible futures. Am I the only one like this?

jmd	26 Aug 2002
Can a mirror tell you how far an object is? In a sense, no, it is the person that sees clearly which ascertains the answer. With Tarot, though different, likewise... I voted 'Yes'. This does not, of course, restrict Tarot to only this use.

Jewel	26 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Liliana well my answer is none of the above lol, but i chose cannot, not sure why I believe tarot can give you a snapshot of what MAY happen if things continue EXACTLY as they are now, if you work to prevent what a reaing says you can change it, if you work for it it can manifest faster, but its not truly predicting THE future, just a likely effect from the current cause, and heck even gettibng the reading and knowing what is coming can change what IS coming so future predictions are outdated quickly :THP Ditto ... this is my take on it too. For me the word "fortell" brings a certainty that I do not believe the cards can offer. I believe they allow our subcouncious to look at different possiblities, but to me this is more of a "hint" than an absolute (which goes back to what "fortell" means to me).

firemaiden	07 Feb 2004
:D I voted no. Not that I don't think we can predict the future with tarot, but because there was only the option of yes and no, and I consider it to be utterly unanswerable question. Truly, we can't know if the future has been predicted until the future comes. Lets say I have been told, "you will have a problem with the plumbing in your kitchen". For months now, there has been no plumbing problem in my kitchen. Was the prediction wrong? or... is my kitchen sink set to flood the house at some more distant future date? Corrolary-wise... lets say, learning of the danger of a plumbing nightmare in my kitchen, I have done some simple preventive maintenance.... and altered the course of nature. Does it mean the prediction was inaccurate then? On the other hand, I have a girlfriend who was given a set of predictions by a tarot reader so accurate it boggled all of our minds. "Everything came true", she said, "including the lava lamp." (-- He had predicted she would receive an odd gift, "it looks like a lava lamp" -- and she received exactly that.)

jmd	07 Feb 2004
Aah! Whether one may accurately see into the future, and whether this is confirmed to be accurate, are two distinct questions. One is normative, the other at its meta-level. Take, as an example - and to really put the pressure on myself given the twists the USA's Democrats' presidential candidate selection is taking - my reading in Your Readings. It may be the case that I had clearly seen into the future (though it doesn't look like it at this stage!). Have I done so, then certainly my own meta-epistemological sense for such things give me many reservations. A little like the young child who in fact does know that 2+2 equals 4, but is unsure whether they know. Metaknowledge has a peculiar problem in epistemology, for there is a circular self-referential aspect to the situation... but this moves into other areas. We may, therefore, not know whether the future has been predicted until that future becomes present, but that is whether we can know about whether the future has been predicted, not whether the future may be predicted. I'm sure my post is so simply clear that everyone will wonder why I even bothered :D

Moongold	07 Feb 2004
I think tarot does have predictive qualities. By *tarot* I mean our use of the tarot. People can change reality now, and therefore the future that would have been fulfilled if they had not acted in certain ways. I asked the Tarot 18 months ago whether I would get a particular job. It consistenlty told me I would, and I did, through extraordinary circumstances. The Tarot predicted some serious consequences for me in the future on another matter. I identified what the prediction was based on and changed the situation. In another reading some months later the initial prediction was no longer there. I never knew exactly what would happen ...... just the Tower..... but the Tower or anything like it is not appearing in relation to this matter in my readings now. But then, I do believe the Tarot has some objectivity Hahahah :D. Moongold

firemaiden	07 Feb 2004
Originally predicted by jmd: episteme -- epistemological -- shoot, jmd, those were the buzz words we were required to know how to use in a sentence in grad school along with "ontology", "paradigm", and the names "Kant", "Heidigger", " Hegel" etc. --- and not in that silly song your thinking of! Stop!! okay sooooooo, epistemology means.... the study of how we know things? meta-knowledge is knowledge of knowledge? Hmmmmm... I think its a good thing I left grad school. In my opinion, which is, (in this rare cirumstance) very humble: being able to answer "yes" or "no" to a question about whether or not we can predict the future with tarot cards, depends entirely on knowing whether or not we can predict... duuuuuuhhh :D :D :D :P :P

Nevada	07 Feb 2004
I voted that Tarot can tell the future. The key word for me is "can". It can, but doesn't always. Sometimes there are influences at work, things still not decided, or pending actions that may not be carried through, that will change what the future becomes. However, I believe it does tell the future as the future is set at this moment, before and unless those unknown influences take effect. Edited to add: Sometimes we're just not in the right frame of mind to interpret correctly. Nevada

Red Emma	07 Feb 2004
The tarot will predict what will happen in the future, IF: IF THE BEHAVIOUR of all the people referred to in the reading stays the same. That's why tarot is so handly, not to mention useful. If you understand what your behaviour is, and how it could feed into the prediction, it's necessary to change. Which could be the hardest thing of all to do.

Indigo Rose	08 Feb 2004
I believe we can see into the future through the Tarot. KEYWORD: CAN...this depends on many variables. If God allows us to, then we it will be so. Blessings, Indigo Rose

Osher	10 Feb 2004
I believe Tarot show a future, not the future. A probable future even, but not a definate future. As the title is the future, I have had to vote no. However, if it was a probable future, then yes, no question.

Gerbear	10 Feb 2004
The scientific notion of time has come to the point where the notion of 'the flow of time' is nonsensical, All times exist at once, and the perceived sense of movement is a construct of our consciousness. Therefore, foretelling a future is relatively easy, with many divinatory methods. Whether or not it is the future of any one person will be determined by that person's own level of development and self-awareness. A sufficiently advanced consciousness should be able to determine there own course through 'time' and in effect foretell their future.

Red Emma	10 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Gerbear The scientific notion of time has come to the point where the notion of 'the flow of time' is nonsensical, All times exist at once, and the perceived sense of movement is a construct of our consciousness. I keep reading this in the books and journals of learned scientists and other authors, I just have a whole lot of trouble wrapping my consciousness around it. Not to mention my mind. I guess I've come to the place where I've placed the concept in a white-light bubble slightly above my head, and poke it once in a while as I go about my business. Hoping some understanding will fall out.

baba-prague	10 Feb 2004
I voted yes, simply because it's happened so often in readings - it would be foolish to deny my own experience (and after all, I almost went to university to read physics - before I ran off to art school lol - so all this stuff about time as a construct seems a good enough explanation for now). The only thing I'd say though, is that it's my belief that WE, not the cards, can foretell the future. I've done it without cards, and my grandmother and one great aunt used to also often be able to tell the future, so in one sense I was brought up thinking there wasn't anything so remarkable in this. I think many of us have this inherent ability - the cards are just one way of enhancing and focusing what's natural in us. Although I can't explain it, I don't think it's weird or mystical.

Moonbow*	10 Feb 2004
Yes, I think it can but it's down to the reader to pick up on what the tarot is saying. I think tarot is formed to show everything, can answer any question.... but do we understand or take notice of what it is telling us.

mac22	10 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae I had to vote yes (with reservation). The cards themselves just sit and gather dust. However, when we interact with the cards, and use them as the keys that they are to begin unlocking the doors in our mind…often, probabilities are eliminated and we see what remains. Very well said, as usual, I would add how good the prediction(s) are depends on the reader and how psychic they are...

Thea Lynx	12 Feb 2004
Hi Diana, When I say that I feel Tarot can foretell the future, I am meaning it in the sense that the messages I get from the cards indicate my present situation and the trend/where I am heading, so in that way they do predict the future. However - and this is a BIG however, it is still up to me to do the work - I do not for a second believe I can just sit back and say, OK the cards say this will happen, so I'lll just wait for it to do so. Life is a participation event, not a spectator sport. Equally important, when I see something negative come up in a reading I take it as advice given - a place where I am that I do not wish to be or a direction I am heading if I do not take other action. It is still up to me to act or not. So, yes I do believe the Tarot can show me the path I am on and where it is heading - but it is still up to me to take the steps. Thea Lynx

Phoenyx*	12 Feb 2004
I said that I think it can foretell the future. The reason why is this...we translate the images on the cards. We take what they say to our subconscious and try to translate that, into words. Which means that two degrees of translation have just occured. It's a small version of the game "Telephone", anyone ever played that? Where a group of people sit around in a circle and pass a message down the line. By the end, the message gets so jumbled, its hardly recognizable. I believe that is what is happening with Tarot and predictions. Just because we can't read the messages, doesn't mean its not there.

The Reading the future with Tarot? Or not? thread was originally posted on 24 Aug 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.