Can Tarot be used to "spy"?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 Nov 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

finn	17 Nov 2002
I know that a questioner has to shuffle the cards or send their energies to the one who does the reading for them - but is it possible to read for someone who does not know that I'm doing the reading for them? I have a friend who's in a relationship problem with a girl he secretly likes, but think ho-dee-dum-bah about Tarot. But he's so down, I wish I could know what advice to give him. So is it possible? Thanks.

Sea Sprite	17 Nov 2002
Hi finn, You should still ask your friend for permission. If he says he does not believe in tarot cards, ask him to grant you permission anyway. If he still refuses, then respect his wishes and do not spy. How would you feel if you found out that someone poked their nose in your private records without your permission?! :) A friend does always have to dispense advice. A friend can be supportive by just being a good listener. :)

allibee	17 Nov 2002
Yes, there have been quite a few threads recently that involve this question, and the general consensus is that it is very unethical. allibee

finn	17 Nov 2002
Ok, if i got his permission, that would still be ok right? even if he doesn't channel any energies to me, right?

allibee	17 Nov 2002
absolutely fine, just get him to think about the subject/question, if he will :D allibee

allibee	17 Nov 2002
as a note, I don't actually ask for the sitter to channel any energies to me, but to the cards and the question. Just to quiet their mind, and think only on what the want guidance on. allibee

jmd	17 Nov 2002
In the original post, Finn mentions that: 'But he's so down, I wish I could know what advice to give him'. In such a case, it isn't necessarily doing a reading for your friend, but one for your own self as to how you may better be of support in his current difficult situation. Personally, such a reading may very well assist - the difficulty being in remaining open to what the cards may be showing you, rather than what you may wish for a friend.

finn	17 Nov 2002
thanks for telling me about the ethics and stuff. I'm new to all of this actually. Luckily my friend finally agreed to have a reading tomorrow. Haha...he says he can't believe he's letting a novice do this to him! :D

Mojo	17 Nov 2002
Ugh... here we go again. If you want to read for your friend, read for your friend. People who throw around the concept of "ethics" when it comes to Tarot are either fooling themselves as to what Tarot is capable of, or they are attempting to force their own translation of morality to you. I think the only test you need to apply is to ask yourself what your intentions are. If you were intending to read about someone and then call the local papers to spread some nasty rumors about them, I'd say there were "ethics" to be considered (however, such ethics have nothing to do with Tarot and everything to do with personal behavior). Your intentions sound pretty non-threatening, so I wouldn't have a problem with forging ahead. Quote: Originally posted by Sea Sprite How would you feel if you found out that someone poked their nose in your private records without your permission?! No offense to Sea Sprite, but anyone who thinks that reading Tarot is the same as looking through someone's private records is really fooling themselves. I don't care how good you are or think you are, there is a huge difference between consulting Tarot cards and snooping through someone's papers. Could you write someone's biography simply by reading their horoscope? Could you diagnose someone's health issues by reading their biorhythym?

allibee	17 Nov 2002
That's all well and good Mojo, but suppose.... just for example.... that the friend in question had, say, something they didn't want to admit to their own family, let alone a friend, say it was about their sexuality, and the spy did a spread asking why is this guy so repressed towards this girl sort of thing, and then saw the devil, for example, and then asks the question what are the energies surrounding this card, and saw a bunch of feminine energies, and then took it a step further and asked a simple yes or no, is this person gay question, and got a yes. How would that effect the reader and the spyed upon's relationship, I wonder? Its fine if you don't mind the world knowing you're gay....but what if you do. What gives the spy the right to that persons information. If the spyee really wanted their friend to know....they would have told them. Rant over :) allibee

Diana	17 Nov 2002
This topic comes up regularly on the forums. Your question is "Can Tarot be used to "spy"? The word you used was "can". So I would answer, yes, it can definitely be used to spy. If you're a snoopy kind of person, or even just a plain curious person, it can be a marvellous tool. Far more reliable than neighbourhood gossip, the kind that goes "I heard from so-and-so, that so-and-so is going to divorce". Tarot, if read correctly, is always accurate. There is unfortunately always the danger that one misinterprets a reading, and one gets the wrong picture. The question "Is it ethical to use Tarot to spy", will receive two answers. Yes and No. Depending on who answers your question. Only you can know in your heart what you feel is right or wrong. And this can change according to circumstances. Like jmd pointed out, if your question is "how can I help my friend", you're not really talking about your friend, are you, but about yourself. The line between snooping and not snooping is very thin, and one has to rely on one's own judgement. And if someone thinks that everyone's business is their business, well that's also a valid point of view, I suppose. If anyone ever reads my cards in a snoopy kind of way, without the intention of helping me, or without some kind of positive intention, I would box them smartly on the nose. Being boxed on the nose is very painful. However, if the intentions are kind and helpful, then I don't mind.

ihcoyc	17 Nov 2002
My unscientific opinion is that the answers are in the reader and the readee, not in the cards themselves. Reading for yourself is one thing: you already have the background for what you are asking about, and any surprises the cards throw your way are things you can interpret in context. When you read for another who is there, you are in dialogue with them as well as the cards, and you get the feedback needed to make the reading meaningful that way. But "using the tarot to spy" is essentially reading for another person without getting feedback from that person. The risk of biased interpretation is even greater here than in reading for yourself. You can't tell if you are drawing conclusions that are going astray.

Mojo	17 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by allibee That's all well and good Mojo, but suppose.... just for example.... that the friend in question had, say, something they didn't want to admit to their own family, let alone a friend, say it was about their sexuality, and the spy did a spread asking why is this guy so repressed towards this girl sort of thing, and then saw the devil, for example, and then asks the question what are the energies surrounding this card, and saw a bunch of feminine energies, and then took it a step further and asked a simple yes or no, is this person gay question, and got a yes. How would that effect the reader and the spyed upon's relationship, I wonder? Its fine if you don't mind the world knowing you're gay....but what if you do. What gives the spy the right to that persons information. If the spyee really wanted their friend to know....they would have told them. Allibee, If, in the above scenario, the cards "told" you that someone was gay, it would be awfully damned irresponsible of you to actually do anything with that information based on "proof" as flimsy as reading it in a Tarot spread. Based on that scenario, if you determined that he was gay, I'd bet a paycheck that you had already suspected it and were just using the cards to "justify" what your intuition was already telling you. Is it unethical to suspect something about someone else? Or is it just human nature? I repeat, reading the cards about someone is in no way the same as sneaking about in their personal papers or business. Tarot is pictures on paper, it's not proof positive about someone's life.

lawguy51	17 Nov 2002
OK, I've done this kind of reading many times for my friends. When they are in a situation. When I want to know what's going on. For instance, your friend is in a relationship, it could go one way or another, you aren't sure the person is right for your friend. So you do a reading and your fears are confirmed. I don't immediately pick up the phone. Rather, I watch the situation, I look for confirming behaviour, I am forearmed when my input is called for. Or I'm there after the fact, comforting my friend, telling them they made the right decision and that the cards had previously confirmed it. My friends are always grateful. Or sometimes I just tell them I did a spread for them the night before and they always want to know my interpretation. No one ever feels that I am being intrusive. Maybe that just says a lot about my friends. Tricky question. As others have stated, it all goes to intention. My surreptitious readings are meant to help me understand a situation so I can better serve my friends.

The Can Tarot be used to "spy"? thread was originally posted on 17 Nov 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.