Can the cards be "wrong?"

Legion

I don't think the cards can, per definition, be wrong, though i do believe there are wrong ways to interpret the cards. Or rather, the interpretation differs from time to time. If in a romantic relationship where the man has been agressive, and I see a three of swords, I would definently say that means classical heartbreak. On the other hand, if the man has been secluded, and not directly hostile towards his spouse, I'd say that the card has a different meaning, either in His heart having been broken, or of his need to, figuratively speaking, "bleed from the heart" and speak of and let out his emotions and unpleasant thoughts.

EDIT: Also, should be added, I belong to those who don't predict with the cards. I don't read the future, I read people.
 

DownUnderNZer

I asked a question the other day on a thread and got the answer NO and DISAPPOINTMENT.

So, I was dreading the outcome of that meeting/appointment which happened the next day, expecting the worse.

I had no problems at all and got what I requested.

YES the cards can be wrong! :D
 

Milfoil

If everything is pre-destined, then why do we have free will? To say that everything that has been, is and ever will be has already been set would negate the reason for free will or the possibility of change. Life around me changes all the time and is in constant flux so it is possible that the future is also in flux. Given that we haven't yet found a way to travel (bodily) back in time, I guess you could say that the weaving of these threads sets the pattern but only from the point in time where the threads come together (the present).

Doing a predictive tarot reading, therefore will give you the most likely outcome if you are to stay on this path with your current understanding, however, the moment you are given information from the reading, the situation can change as your attitude and understanding of the situation changes. What happens next depends on your decisions so it is then absolutely possible that the reading can be right at that point in time yet things change and events then don't fit the reading in the future.

Much seems to depend on the question asked in the first place and how flexible the situation is.
 

Magicus Textor

I asked a question the other day on a thread and got the answer NO and DISAPPOINTMENT.

So, I was dreading the outcome of that meeting/appointment which happened the next day, expecting the worse.

I had no problems at all and got what I requested.

YES the cards can be wrong! :D

This is something I forgot to mention. Sometimes I have noticed that the cards feed off of fears or unresolved emotions you have. This is why it is so hard to read yourself. Even a bit of a bias can influence how the cards will turn out.
 

Magicus Textor

If everything is pre-destined, then why do we have free will? To say that everything that has been, is and ever will be has already been set would negate the reason for free will or the possibility of change. Life around me changes all the time and is in constant flux so it is possible that the future is also in flux. Given that we haven't yet found a way to travel (bodily) back in time, I guess you could say that the weaving of these threads sets the pattern but only from the point in time where the threads come together (the present).

Nothing is predestined, but all is already known. There is no contradiction in this. Your will is free, but it is known what you choose, because you have chosen it.
 

Milfoil

Nothing is predestined, but all is already known. There is no contradiction in this. Your will is free, but it is known what you choose, because you have chosen it.

Hold on - this is YOUR belief but not everyone elses. Just take a step back and see that perhaps others hold differing views to yours which are just as valid.
 

Magicus Textor

Hold on - this is YOUR belief but not everyone elses. Just take a step back and see that perhaps others hold differing views to yours which are just as valid.

I do, but when you mentioned predestination, it seemed that you were replying to what I said since I was discussing free will. If it was not the case, then I apologize. :)
 

Firefly Dancer

Oh guys ! no need to argue over that LOL you cannot imagine the debates you can have over this situation ( free will vs destiny ) trust me it is endless.

I guess it has to be what works for each one. I always appreciate to hear the two sides and then make my own theory or opinion.

Oh and I also agree that it is not the cards being wrong, maybe the interpretation was not correct since there are so many ways to read them....
 

SunChariot

Can the cards ever be wrong, or do you insist that it was your interpretation of them that was skewed?

I've had it happen a couple times where I did a spread, with silence in the room, concentrating on nothing but the cards and the question at hand, didn't play silly games where I pulled the cards until I heard what I wanted to hear....got differing opinions on it, wrote them all down, and then the events that followed seemed to be like nothing anyone predicted...they seemed completely contrary to the cards or any interpretation of them I got, from me or from other people (much more skilled than I). What gives? Times like those that make me question the legitimacy of what we're all doing.

There is nothing wrong with the cards when this happens, it is the very nature of the future to not be perfectly knowable. Tarot teaches us that the future is not set in stone. It can and often does change. Something so little as a change in attitude or even knowing what future we are heading towards and change that future, The good news, of course, is that if we don't like the future our cards are showing for us, we can usually change it.

ANY reading on the future is ONLY a snapshot in time. It can only tell you the exact future you are heading towards at the precise moment in time that the reading is done. If something happens an hour after that reading is done that changes the future of the situation then that change will not be reflected in the reading that was done before the change took place.

On the one hand, readings on the future usually pan out as people tend to be creatures of habit and react in predictable ways. Yet the future can and does at times change when you least expect it to. And any change that takes place after a reading is done will not be reflected in that reading.

Tarot can, of course, be used for MANY other things than asking about the future. But when we do ask about the future it is my belief that we need to first explain this to the querent that all a reading about the future can do is tell them where they are heading now....but that that future can change.

This is not the fault of Tarot, which is an amazing tool, It is just the function of the future to not be completley knowable and to be able to change unexpectedly at times.

Babs
 

sulischild

I consider the kind of information I get from my cards to be something like the help you'd get from a counsellor. They can help you sort out what you feel and explore what's going on in a situation - what assumptions and baggage you and others are bringing in, for instance - but they don't literally reveal the future any more than a counsellor can absolutely advise you on the correct course of action and how it'll turn out. It's more about looking inwards than looking ahead.