can one jinx themselves?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 03 Mar 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

cheekyminx	03 Mar 2003
My sister has always told me when I get a reading done to either not tell anyone about it or only tell a 1 or 2 people I can trust with my life because if you don't & start telling everyone, friends, family & aquaintences what was told you can actually jinx yourself? I think its more a case of not everything the clairvoyant telling you coming true? I don't really know. Hmm....any views on this matter?

Diana	03 Mar 2003
minx: Your sister and you seem to be very close, and I have noticed she has given you lots and lots of advice about Tarot. However, I think that much of what she tells you is based on superstition and old wives tales. Some people are superstitious by nature, so please don't think I'm coming down on your sister - her way of approaching Tarot obviously suits her. A reading is part of your life. If by talking about your reading, it helps you gain more insight into it and people's comments open even further doors, why not talk about it? If however, peoples' comments are all negative, for instance "Tarot is evil" and "Do you mean you actually believe in such nonsense", then I reckon you're wasting your time. As for jinxing, for me this is superstition and I personally don't go in for it.

Aoife	03 Mar 2003
Quote: Originally posted by cheekyminx76 My sister has always told me when I get a reading done to either not tell anyone about it or only tell a 1 or 2 people I can trust with my life because if you don't & start telling everyone, friends, family & aquaintences what was told you can actually jinx yourself? This reminds me of the origins of fairy stories or folk tales. If you see them as a tool devised to teach the young important lessons you might want to use strong language to get your point across - wicked witches, ogres and big bad wolves - are more likely to gain audience attention. So too a word like 'jinx'....frightening connoctations. So, just maybe the originator of this idea/ saying was trying to get across the point that if you seek enlightenment from the tarot cards, that enlightenment is meant for you, it's about you and meant to be of use to you. So stop what you're doing/thinking for a while and ponder your feelings - don't go running off to your mother/ father/ sibling/ aunt/ teacher for a second opinion. Listen and learn from what you can teach yourself, by yourself. Ask yourself, if you can't trust yourself who can you trust?

Macavity	03 Mar 2003
Yep, I think you expressed that extremely well Aoife. As I have become older, I have realised that there simply ARE some things on which I need to "keep my own counsel" - that only I will know. The (not getting morbid) "secrets to the grave"? We seem to have a society based on the support group where we "share" everything - Fine, who indeed wants to reinvent the wheel? So we take advice. BUT, looking back (Ack, he gets worse! ;)) I realise that MOST of the better decisions/ideas were actually MINE or based on opinions of a few close and like-minded (usually unrelated!) souls. Some of the worst were the "cooperative venture" (lowest denominator?) ones. The message is... Learn to trust yourself more? It's tough at first - and lonely too, but you DO get used to that. And in the long run it's where I've learned most... well, of the LIMITED stuff I know :D Macavity (Here endeth the lesson }))

ShorTerM	03 Mar 2003
heh, when i read your question, I immediately thought of the movie "the matrix" and the scene where Neo goes to see the oracle... After the meeting Neo has received some bad news (apparently bad news anyways) and Morpheus tells him that what the oracle has told him, is for him and him alone... I think that the important part of all of this is that you have time to formulate your own ideas about what you have just been told... I mean, if you were to go and get a tarot reading and come out feeling great and then you tell somebody the cards you got and all of a sudden they say something like "ohhhh, man that doesn't look good, did you ever think that the cards could mean such and such???" and then you are thinking about what the other persons meanings are... Even in the matrix Neo does this, The oracle tells him some bad news, and only once that he has fully understood the message does he share it with anybody... So I guess I am of the impression that you shouldn't go shouting from the rooftops about your readings, (not that I think you would do that) but I also wouldn't spend much time overanalyzing a reading either... Not sure if that makes total sense, ie there was a couple thought processes streaming together when i was writing that, anyway its only my opinion ;D

HudsonGray	03 Mar 2003
Since she's never studied tarot & doesn't use it, I find it a little weird that you'd think that she knows more about it than you do right now. No, it won't jinx you unless you believe a jinx goes in place there. You can make anything a self fulfilling prophecy, good or bad, you know. If she's uncomfortable with it, maybe don't discuss it with her anymore, but I wouldn't let what she says interfer with your learning of the deck. Listen to what's inside you. The others are offering good advice, don't let it be a wife's tale that stunts what you can do.

cheekyminx	04 Mar 2003
Quote: Originally posted by HudsonGray Since she's never studied tarot & doesn't use it, I find it a little weird that you'd think that she knows more about it than you do right now. No, it won't jinx you unless you believe a jinx goes in place there. You can make anything a self fulfilling prophecy, good or bad, you know. If she's uncomfortable with it, maybe don't discuss it with her anymore, but I wouldn't let what she says interfer with your learning of the deck. Listen to what's inside you. The others are offering good advice, don't let it be a wife's tale that stunts what you can do. My sister has been doing tarot for about 12 years, past three years she hasn't really used the deck unless I've asked for a reading. I was just curious, as a friend of mine has been telling pretty much everyone what a clairvoyant told her, whereas myself & a friend only shared bits & pieces with each other, I did tell my sister pretty much everything this lady told me. I guess it all comes down to what a person feels comfortable with! Thanks for your replies!

HudsonGray	04 Mar 2003
She DOES use tarot? Wonder why she thinks it would jinx you then??? That's strange, she should know better. It might make people uncomfortable to hear about a reading, then again it might pique their curiosity, but jinx? No. Still, go with what's comfortable for you.

scheherazade	04 Mar 2003
I think the basis of what your sister means lies in the same reasons that you wouldn't tell your secrets to the entire world - whether you got those secrets from reading the cards or not. I don't know if "jinx" should be the word used for it, but it definitely won't bring you much good to let the world invade the privacy of your life.

Kiama	06 Mar 2003
Maybe your sister is also pointing to the fact that you shouldn't go talking about readings you do for other people: If you go telling everybody all about your friend's reading about her relationship with her boyfriend, you could reveal some very private information and could cause problems for your friend and yourself. (Just a hypothetical situation that illustrates the point.) It's all about confidentiality. When it comes to your ownreading however, I see no problem with telling others what your reading says, but you shouldn't believe that what te cards say is set in stone: The future can always be changed by your actions in the present, so youy telling lots of people about what a reading said about your future may make you look silly if you do decide to change the future, cuz the cards, to the 'untrained eye' would be wrong. It's early, and I'm not sure if that made sense... Kiama

The can one jinx themselves? thread was originally posted on 03 Mar 2003 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.