Hide1111
Do you think the tarot should be used to predict future events - or is it only good at predicting current possibilities? Such as one feelings toward another, etc.
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Tarot and prediction of future events
Grizabella
It's definitely predictive. No question in my mind. I've seen it happen way, way too many times to have any doubt about it.
dannyboy8406
Me personally, I don't like doing "the future" such as it is. Predicting the future is a tricky game, and often times (at least IMHO) you are better off focusing on the present. Outcome predictions are based on current trends, energies, and patterns that are happening in the life of the person being read at present. I do not believe the future is written in stone, the future can change, just like the weather. Especially when we alter the choices we make and/or the path we are on. I like the idea that tarot is a guide, not an instruction manual and the outcomes can change based on decisions made. I use tarot to tell someone "...based on your current path...." or "...if the current energies continue, then...". I really like Kelly Ann-Maddox's philosophy of spiritual counseling and using the tarot to "help you to be the conscious creator of your own life."
You can look at different decisions and different pats and the "outcomes" for those current decisions and paths...but I personally don't feel right giving a definitive outcome. You can look at and explore each pathway to "help connect someone to their own personal power so they can choose the best path to take."
Often times when I do reading I replace the 'outcome' card with an advice card unless its specifically requested. Little Red Tarot had an interesting blog entry on how you can use alternatives to 'outcomes.'
Article: http://littleredtarot.com/alternatives-outcome-cards-tarot-spreads/
You can look at different decisions and different pats and the "outcomes" for those current decisions and paths...but I personally don't feel right giving a definitive outcome. You can look at and explore each pathway to "help connect someone to their own personal power so they can choose the best path to take."
Often times when I do reading I replace the 'outcome' card with an advice card unless its specifically requested. Little Red Tarot had an interesting blog entry on how you can use alternatives to 'outcomes.'
Article: http://littleredtarot.com/alternatives-outcome-cards-tarot-spreads/
1. Where the situation is heading
Okay. So this is a lot like an outcome card. But it’s focus in on the path the querent is on. Truth be told, I’m not 100% sold on this one, but it has its moments.
2. Advice
My favourite position to swap into the ‘outcome’ position on the Celtic Cross spread. The other nine cards in this spread give so much indication as to where the querent is headed, that it seems redundant to offer an outcome when it is so much more useful and proactive to have an advice card.
3. What the situation needs
I suppose this is rather like ‘advice’, but it’s less direct. It’s not an instruction or advisory to the querent, so much as an indication of helpful energies to bring in. How the querent will interpret or do this is up to them.
4. Nothing. Or, if you must draw one more, a final card for clarity
Often when reading using, let’s say for example the Celtic Cross spread again, I’ll stop when I’ve drawn the first nine cards. I’ll read these, and discuss them with the querent. If we have enough, then so be it. But if things feel complete, I’ll offer a final card and place it at the head of the staff. This last card is a simple clarification card.
5. Something else entirely
Tarot readings usually take care of themselves, don’t you find? One last option is to leave the ‘outcome’ position open and see what feels right. Maybe you need to go back to a tricky point in the reading and explore it further. Or maybe there’s a sense that there’s *something else* that the cards have not revealed – something they’re asking you to ask them. By leaving the ‘outcome’ position open, you give yourself the opportunity to discover this.
Apollonia
It depends on whether the reader is any good at it or not. If good, IMO go ahead and predict away. I actually don't think you can get very far into reading for others before the predictions start coming along anyway, whether you asked or not.Do you think the tarot should be used to predict future events - or is it only good at predicting current possibilities? Such as one feelings toward another, etc.
Barleywine
When was the last time any of us performed a reading for someone who only wanted to be entertained (unless it was a casual walk-in at a party or fair)? I suspect that most people who seriously seek out a tarot reader want at least a glimpse of the future, even if it's only a "yes" or "no" on a particular question. But in my experience tarot as a predictive tool operates most effectively in the realm of future probabilities, tendencies and trends, and most "outcomes" carry a qualifier that requires some kind of active engagement from the querent: "Probably, if you . . . ," "Probably not, but you could . . . ," "Maybe, provided you don't . . . ." As I use them, outcome cards already suggest advice for making the best use of the information delivered, and what we call them is immaterial. As far as "the path the querent is on," at least in the Celtic Cross I see that as being shown by the progression of cards from the "near future" (Card 6) to the "end of the matter" (Card 10); in other words, each position from 7 to 9 isn't an isolated snapshot but rather a milestone on the journey showing how one "gets there from here." This aligns with the old idea that the first six cards are about the development of the matter on its own accord, and cards 7 through 9 show how the querent responds to and assimilates those developments in various ways: psychologically, socially and practically. So in its best sense an outcome isn't really an ironclad verdict, it's more a roll-up of prior events and actions and a pointer showing the way to the next phase.
Shibiusa
I agree with Barleywine. A good insight on the Celtic Cross!
And dannyboy also said a lot of stuff I can agree with!
I also felt a bit anxious at first with the future predictions. I also had a few persons telling me that when I read for them. They were okay with the past and the present, but the future could be a bit too much for them. Some people don't want to know for many reasons (knowing what will happen could be too heavy for them).
So I tried to read a bit more about the predictive abilities and there was a thing that managed to calm me down. The future prediction is not set in stone. That's what will happen if nothing is done to change it. That can be seen with the Celtic Cross too, for example. It says the process to reach a better outcome and it shows you what will happen if you don't do anything to change it (if you don't like it, of course). But it's possible to change it and that's why we rely on tarot to help us with the process (the "what's" and the "how's") and to be prepared.
And dannyboy also said a lot of stuff I can agree with!
I also felt a bit anxious at first with the future predictions. I also had a few persons telling me that when I read for them. They were okay with the past and the present, but the future could be a bit too much for them. Some people don't want to know for many reasons (knowing what will happen could be too heavy for them).
So I tried to read a bit more about the predictive abilities and there was a thing that managed to calm me down. The future prediction is not set in stone. That's what will happen if nothing is done to change it. That can be seen with the Celtic Cross too, for example. It says the process to reach a better outcome and it shows you what will happen if you don't do anything to change it (if you don't like it, of course). But it's possible to change it and that's why we rely on tarot to help us with the process (the "what's" and the "how's") and to be prepared.
LeFou
Personally, I think it's perfectly fine to -try- to predict the future. How often does it really work, though? I consider these things:
1. We tend to forget or discount the times that it didn't work.
2. Random guessing will -also- be correct some of the time.
3. At least -some- predictions are based on mentalism (i.e., psychological phenomena).
But for all that, I have definitely seen prediction work. It's another question whether it's useful, though.
To me, if you can get clarity of the present situation, that tends to dissolve the anxiety about the future. Sometimes, readers just need to listen and "do no harm." I do almost no predictions, because people tend to fixate on them in an obsessive way (myself included).
1. We tend to forget or discount the times that it didn't work.
2. Random guessing will -also- be correct some of the time.
3. At least -some- predictions are based on mentalism (i.e., psychological phenomena).
But for all that, I have definitely seen prediction work. It's another question whether it's useful, though.
To me, if you can get clarity of the present situation, that tends to dissolve the anxiety about the future. Sometimes, readers just need to listen and "do no harm." I do almost no predictions, because people tend to fixate on them in an obsessive way (myself included).
Barleywine
To me, if you can get clarity of the present situation, that tends to dissolve the anxiety about the future. Sometimes, readers just need to listen and "do no harm." I do almost no predictions, because people tend to fixate on them in an obsessive way (myself included).
I concur. I too make almost no outright predictions of the "soothsayer" variety, and instead try to paint a broader, more dynamic picture (or perhaps just cast a wider net). Since I don't ask for a specific question up-front, my readings typically begin as exploratory, situational "real-time" outlines, and querents are asked to compare their own experiences and perceptions of the matter with what the cards are showing, ideally bridging the two and yielding useful insights rooted in the querents' often subconscious sense of personal reality. If there is a predictive element at all, it emerges as a logical extension of the narrative flow, nudged by the querent's questions, observations and curiosity. At that point it becomes a journey of mutual discovery, which is why I always say that, even after 40+ years of doing this, I still learn something from every reading. At least I've nearly mastered the fine and delicate art of exploring future probabilities without being crowded into making flatly predictive statements.
earthair
I don't look to the cards to predict the future, but rather to predict the future influences.
As a reader one can't always see the future but one can always see the influences...and from these, some degree of prediction is usually obvious.
Also it's impossible to not see at least a few likely outcomes in the future from the present surely? Everything follows patterns and natural paths.
As a reader one can't always see the future but one can always see the influences...and from these, some degree of prediction is usually obvious.
Also it's impossible to not see at least a few likely outcomes in the future from the present surely? Everything follows patterns and natural paths.
