Do Tarot Cards Lie?

Mellifluous

I think they can be wrong. The cards, not just the reader.

However, I think they are right more often than wrong. I tell people when I read for them in person, the cards (and/or I) can be wrong, so don't take it too seriously, but tarot's a fair bit more accurate than, say, the weather report.

I seem to (vaguely) recall another thread on here, some time ago, asking if people here believed that you're sometimes actively steered into things by tarot (like romantic relationships, for example), because you're meant to have that experience and learn from it. You might avoid a new relationship altogether if you were told from the start that it wasn't going to last or exactly what problems you'd encounter within it. lol I can't remember if I ever replied on that thread - probably not - but I thought and still think there's some truth in the notion.

Same goes for just 'not warning' in advance about some things that might be inevitable (like major illness).

However, over such a long period of time to feel that literally nothing has been accurate, I could only suggest doing just what you already are doing... looking back over the readings, comparing them to actual events, and thereby learning new meanings and nuances for those cards. Clearly, there have been some issues with interpretation. (Speaking of your own readings, here. It's probably not even worth trying to figure out what may or may not have happened with any reading done by someone else for money.)

That's not a criticism. It's just part of the tarot journey.

I am perpetually in a state of learning and testing with the tarot, and I've been reading for the better part of twenty years now. It's always a grand and exciting experiment to me, to see if what they say - or what I think they're saying - really comes to pass. Sometimes I feel weird about that, after all this time, but it always comes back to me eventually why it's the best spirit (for me, at least) in which to approach the whole experience. It keeps tarot alive and fresh, keeps me curious, reminds me to always think for myself no matter how fascinated with tarot I am or how much I've come to trust it and my ability to interpret it, reminds me to always be prepared for a curveball of a new meaning or facet of meaning in a card, etc., etc. There's lots of benefits to it, really.

Mostly that it keeps you actively living, thinking critically, and (wonderfully-paradoxically) trusting your own intuition, instead of relying on the cards too much. I believe their purpose - or perhaps, the purpose of learning to read them - is to strengthen your intuition. So, if you learn when to go off book, so to speak, (or just that sometimes you'll have to), so much the better.

But yes, to actually improve accuracy in prediction, press on and learn all you can from relating the cards you actually drew to what's actually been happening in your life. That hindsight is invaluable. Don't be discouraged or throw in the tarot towel. :)
 

Carla

I see Tarot as a wonderful series of visual and historic prompts for an intuitive reader to use. Somewhere to start exploring the client's situation. From there, truths can be uncovered and assistance given.

Pitfalls can be avoided, not because they are predicted by the cards, but because the cards can lead a good reader to uncover the areas of sensitivity, and with wisdom, good counsel can be provided by the reader. For me, this is the value in readings.

But as for a question such as: Will he won't he, etc., you might as well pull the petals off a daisy.

Oh my gosh, Zezina, I want this quote embroidered and framed! :D

Do tarot cards lie? No, I don't think so. Not in the sense of purposely misleading. I think the cards can be wrong. I think the reader can be wrong. I think there are some things over which there is just a great big fat question mark. I like the poster here earlier who said something like, is there even such a thing as 'the future'. Some of us here have talked about how, no matter what you ask the tarot, it will tell the answer to something else--like it's the message you need to hear. Is there anything else going on in your life these reading could be addressing? Is it even possible that the tarot is vaguely telling you, 'I don't know the answer to your house situation but I am giving you relentlessly positive cards because I want you to know you are not going to die and you are not going to starve to death. Things aren't going to get that bad.' ??
 

Machelle

Is it even possible that the tarot is vaguely telling you, 'I don't know the answer to your house situation but I am giving you relentlessly positive cards because I want you to know you are not going to die and you are not going to starve to death. Things aren't going to get that bad.' ??

I believe that this can be part of readings...as a "I know you are going through a rough time and there are no concrete answers as to what is going on right now but know that things will be ok. After all of this crud is done, things will be great for you" I've had a coupel of readings where this was the case. During some bad times only positive cards came up and it was meant that things will be positive after the horrible things right now are happening.
 

tarotbear

semantics

Maybe it is just I, and semantics, but the title of the thread is 'Do Tarot Cards Lie?', and some people (Sorry, Mellifluous - not trying to pick on you) are saying "they think the cards CAN be 'wrong'."

To me, There is a difference between being 'wrong' and 'lying.' 'Wrong' means an error was made; 'Lying' means a deliberate omission to confuse or deceive.

Is this just me? :confused:
 

Minotauro

well I once did a reading for myself on an important subject ( family problems about being gay and a trip) , and the cards didnt tell me the thruth , or maybe it was just the way I interpreted(sp?) them that was wrong , but what the cards told me ( wich was something I hoped wouldnt happen , so it wasnt my desires or atraction or any of that) lead me to act and get the best possible outcome out of it. it was pretty shocking because had the cards told me what was really going to happen , things could have turned pretty ugly. it was amazing.

I felt like I was being pulled by strings. but still glad it happened.

some time later an online acquaintance told me my spirit guide may be trickster , a wise one. I had never thought about tarot cards being led by spirit guides , but after this , who knows?

Im just very thankfull.

SO I dont think the cards were wrong , I think the cards said exactly what they meant to say.
 

punchinella

Maybe it is just I, and semantics, but the title of the thread is 'Do Tarot Cards Lie?', and some people (Sorry, Mellifluous - not trying to pick on you) are saying "they think the cards CAN be 'wrong'."

To me, There is a difference between being 'wrong' and 'lying.' 'Wrong' means an error was made; 'Lying' means a deliberate omission to confuse or deceive.

Is this just me? :confused:
No tarotbear, that's a very good point. Lying implies deliberation, a conscious act with malicious intent. Is a deck of cards capable of this? Is it conscious in the same way we are conscious? IMO, no.
 

Padma

No tarotbear, that's a very good point. Lying implies deliberation, a conscious act with malicious intent. Is a deck of cards capable of this? Is it conscious in the same way we are conscious? IMO, no.

A deck of cards may not be capable of anything much, but the spirit that guides them and the reader who is looking at them is most certainly capable, IMO...it is quite easy to lie to oneself, or obfuscate facts with wishful thinking, especially when the going gets tough.

Lorraine 1100, I do hope your situation has improved somewhat....I have had your experience with cards, occasionally, but in the end I realised I was not always reading correctly, and also in one situation in particular I thought I'd be getting exactly what I was wishing for, as the cards were so amazingly positive...I did not get what I was asking for, but the outcome was hugely positive...so I have to believe it was my own desire that lead me astray while reading.

Since the cards can cover a long period of time, it is hard to just say it won't happen. As the Wheel of Fortune likes to point out, things go up and then they go down, and then they come back up again. So if things are terribly out of sorts for a year or two, you can count on them eventually coming back up to rights...and maybe the cards were telling you, don't worry, it'll all come right in the end...it always does.
 

Kosjitov

I believe the cards are meant to come out as they have chosen to. How we interpret them may be where the message gets lost in translation.
 

wulzcat

There are so many wonderful pieces of advice and insight on this thread, so for what it's worth I'll just add my twopenneth (and hope I'm not repeating).

Speaking for myself, I *do* use the tarot for yes/no answers, and using one spread in particular I find it works for me. However, such spreads are best used when trying to find the best course of action. Asking the cards 'will i be able to pay off this debt in 2 weeks' is not going to help you whatever the answer is. Asking 'should I sell my antique collection of teapots to help pay the debt' will give you a yes/no answer that will at least give you some indication as to what to do (sorry about the trivial example!). As I say, for me yes/no questions require a fully-functioning spread, not just random draws that are more open to misinterpretation.

In my opinion you need to consult the cards with as clear a mind as you can. I don't know if you have a process of preparation when consulting the cards, and maybe it's not always necessary, but consulting them when in a highly charged emotional state (in my experience) affects the reading. Otherwise you can get cards that merely reflect how you feel, or what you want to happen, without them actually answering the question. I have also found that if I ask the cards stupid questions, they give me all the 'bad' cards, as if to say - 'shut up, you're being ridiculous'.

If the 'bad' cards never come up for you, and I don't know your situation of course, but is it possible there's a silver-lining to your situation that you're overlooking? Is there a new opportunity presenting itself that you're not seeing? This might not be the case at all, and I don't mean to diminish the hopelessness of your situation. That said, the cards you mentioned had the Star as the final card, which is a card to me that is about remaining hopeful. So you did your best to pay off all those debts in the 14 days, which is what the cards encouraged you to do. It didn't quite happen, but what was the alternative? To do nothing, and not even try? It may also be that the cards were trying to advise you on the best way to try to pay off those debts, which may not have been apparent to you.

The other thing to understand about divination (which is what we're talking about here) is that it should be a dialogical process - by which I mean, it is not ideal to go to a reader, or go to your own cards, and ask for a pat response. The reading ought to 'turn your soul towards the light' - in other words, the reading ought to initiate a process of change within yourself that enables you to ACT. That is why in ancient times the oracle was *expected* to be cryptic - ideally it was supposed to initiate a process of reflection. If you merely get simple answers to simple questions, then you are actually disempowering yourself, and you become less able to act. If you become hooked on prediction, you are even more lost in a sea of helplessness. That is why divination is frowned upon by many religions, because it sees divination as opening oneself to negative guidance, and you no longer have any powers of self-determination. If you turn to divination, you need to make sure you are in a position where you can think on and act on the advice in a way that is helpful to you, rather than losing yourself in what seems like impenetrable fate.

This is all getting very wordy and complicated but I hope something I've said here has resonated. I hope things start to turn around for you soon. :)
 

Barleywine

That is why divination is frowned upon by many religions, because it sees divination as opening oneself to negative guidance, and you no longer have any powers of self-determination.

And I always thought it was because giving people other avenues of self-discovery challenged the hegemony of the "Church Fathers" in our patriarchal system of religious mind-control. Usually I will turn to geomancy for simple yes/no answers since that's what it excels at.