When the cards take control

[pageofswords9110]

That is true. I would do the same. I only asked this because I remember reading this kind of a thing on some blog, where the blogger went to the party and ended up having a good time. so, I was wondering about the extent to which people let the cards have power over them and their actions/decisions.Like me trying to decide what school to go.

I look at sleeping as a good time also lol. I don't the cards can really disconnect you from life if you let them.

 

[Michael Sternbach]

That is true. I would do the same. I only asked this because I remember reading this kind of a thing on some blog, where the blogger went to the party and ended up having a good time. so, I was wondering about the extent to which people let the cards have power over them and their actions/decisions.Like me trying to decide what school to go.

If I ask the cards at all, I am pretty much ready to follow their advice. Otherwise, why would I be asking?

Besides, I consider the cards a tool for contacting my inner self/guides, an amplifier for my own intuition. Asking them therefore doesn't feel to me like giving power over to something external.

 

[Girl Archer]

Interesting question on an interesting thread.

If the cards would suggest that I join the party despite my tiredness, I would conclude that there must be a good reason for it. So I guess I would go there.

But if I were so unbelievably tired that I would be in danger to miss a party, it's very unlikely that I would still be drawing cards anyway. Rather, I would be dragging myself into bed.

So, in a way.. you would "obey" the cards, Michael?

 

[Girl Archer]

So, in a way.. you would "obey" the cards, Michael?

If I ask the cards at all, I am pretty much ready to follow their advice. Otherwise, why would I be asking?

Besides, I consider the cards a tool for contacting my inner self/guides, an amplifier for my own intuition. Asking them therefore doesn't feel to me like giving power over to something external.

Ha ha! You answered my question before I posted it

 

[jolie_amethyst]

I've been too well and too long indoctrinated in the workings of my own head not to recognize when I'm indulging in unhealthy obsessive behaviors. The second I see it happening, I walk away from whatever the trigger is. So no, my cards do not "take control" in this way, because I won't allow it.

Out of curiosity, I have this question for all you AT-ers. If you come home from work tired but there is a party to attend, and you just draw a card randomly from a pack or an app, and you draw the 3 of Cups; would you go socialize like the cards tell you to, or take rest which is what YOU want?

LOL--this, I have done, but again, it's an act of deliberation. I tend to hoard my energy due to chronic illness, but it's easy to go overboard with that and end up not leaving the house for weeks. I'll often pull a card, hoping it will tell me not to make that extra effort to go socialize, and it almost always tells me to go. Most of the time, I follow the advice...after all, why ask if you aren't going to listen?

 

[bonebeach]

so imma be harsh, but

I think this kind of thing happens a lot. I mean, it happens everywhere, but it's particularly tricky in any kind of magical/spiritual way, because that's so hard to define. Grant Morrison talks about "occult obsession" despite being a notorious pop chaos magician, and he warns against it repeatedly. I think if you start consulting any kind of oracle too often, then yes. That is an obsession, that is not good, and you are crippling yourself. Obsessive thought patterns and addictive behaviors can manifest in any number of ways, and I think we have a duty to ourselves to try our best to be aware of that. And whether you think of the cards as messages from an outside force or an inner one, eventually you should go outside or something and just do MUNDANE things in a MUNDANE way.

Physical exertion scaled to whatever your level of physical fitness may be? That's a great antidote to the obsessive spiral. Going on a walk and NOT interpreting the sway of the trees or the shape of the clouds as any kind of message works too. Seriously. Sometimes you have to let a tree be a tree, and a coincidence just be a coincidence, or you will go mad, and being a crazy wizard locked in a tower never did any long term good for anyone.

We are physical beings inhabiting a physical reality. That may not be all we are, but that is at very least part of what we are.

And if I was feeling tired and then pulled the three of cups, heck YEEAHH I would go to the party. But that's just because I like parties, so I would just be reading what I wanted to see into the cards. I'm thankfully healthy and extroverted enough that chugging a cup of coffee and going to party will probably be a lot more restful and a lot better for my mental health than staying home, unless I am absolutely and utterly exhausted. When I get a little too into my occult studies, I go to the gym, do some squats and deadlifts, and then preferably go dancing that night. YMMV. We are have different ways of reconnecting with out physical reality. We all have different ways we learn to trust ourselves.

 

[EmpressArwen]

I've gone through times where I am ask-happy. It's usually during times of stress when I need reassurance. Though...I have been questioning whether predictive readings are really all that accurate or helpful. Life is going to come how its going to come whether you know whats going to happen or not. I take predictions with a grain of salt but others do not...and I am no longer going to read for the future for others because of it. People can get really obsessive and nasty when you say you see something that doesn't show up.

If you feel you put too much into the cards...back off from it. Use them in a different way, like exploring YOU...not about the external situations but your internal self. I think you will be amazed at how much it helps you understand yourself.

 

[Philistine]

When I first began studying tarot, I would spend hours every single night with the cards. I finally ran out of questions and decided to do a deck interview as that was the only thing I hadn't tried yet.

For the "how the deck sees itself in this exchange" position, The Devil card came up, lol! It was telling me I was addicted. I put it away for a week or two and it seemed more pleasant after that, probably because my own perceptions were not colored by overdosing on tarot study anymore.

 

[Achlys]

The tarot predicts what will happen if you continue on the same path you've been taking. Making sudden drastic changes will, as a result, alter the outcome. If I make a drastic change, I conduct a second reading to determine where that path will take me. The cards have never been wrong when I use this method.
There are some inevitiabilities in life that the cards may predict, but as most questions are situational, the outcomes can change. Not everything is set in stone. The cards have limits just as every other fortune-telling method does, but multiple readings help prevent the limitations. Just don't obsessively ask the same question every day. The cards will tire of it and refuse to answer.

 

[Tanga]

Interesting enquiry.

Have you ever found yourself giving all your power away to your cards because you don't trust others around you, or maybe your own gut?

In a blue moon - only when I know that an either/or answer will fit just as well, because I can easily make it "what I will".

Do you ever find your cards are accurate at predicting NO MATTER WHAT?

Well - not if I keep asking.

Do you find that they ALWAYS give the best advice?

Nope - sometimes I can't fathom it.

Recently I've felt that what I need the most is clearly outside of the cards - what I need more than following my instinct and planning every move is real connection with people. I'm afraid the cards have sometimes acted as a replacement for good old fashioned face to face time with another human being. Or even reading a book about what your concerned over.

Your thoughts?

Absolutely. Read loads, talk to people loads to get a functional/real view of how things work for everyone, do lots of self-exploration/development on yourself via other people and through your own reading (in my case - I've done lots of self-development workshops etc. too).
For me - my database is my experience from doing all these things, and then I see how Tarot speaks, or mirrors these things that I know - or see through my particular eyes.
If one is feeling "I deserve to live, without questioning, without feeling compelled to know..." - sounds to me like one has definitely crossed into obsessive "Tarot is the ultimate answer for all" mindset (Tarot has become a crutch?) and has forgotten how to just BE.
You need a break.
Lock 'em in a dark cupboard and go off on holiday where you just rely on feeling the sun on your back.

And -
"Tarot has helped me open that door, I think it's time I do the rest of the work, and come back to tarot only when I am really compelled to do so."
Please do - there's no rule that says otherwise. And this is how it should be. Ultimately your do your own work.

I liked this:
"Sometimes you have to let a tree be a tree, and a coincidence just be a coincidence, or you will go mad" Indeed.

Out of curiosity, I have this question for all you AT-ers. If you come home from work tired but there is a party to attend, and you just draw a card randomly from a pack or an app, and you draw the 3 of Cups; would you go socialize like the cards tell you to, or take rest which is what YOU want?

I'd do what I want. Drawing at random like this - I would just take the card to mean "there's a party on the horizon now" - and not necessarily "you should go to this party".
I'd draw cards deliberately if I was completely undecided about whether to stay or go, and knew that I had enough energy to go even if a bit tired.
Now I am introverted, sensitive and have delicate health - so burning the midnight oil noisily after a full day of work is something I'd hardly ever be caught doing.
I would plan for the day to be light beforehand (I'm mostly self-employed) so that I could still have enough spoons left (enough energy) to do the party thing. And - it would depend what kind of party too.

This that bonebeach said made me smile (and wince - lol.):
"When I get a little too into my occult studies, I go to the gym, do some squats and deadlifts, and then preferably go dancing that night."
When I get a little too into my occult studies, I go and lie on the carpet, stare at the ceiling and play with my cat - or decide it's time for a little gardening - or go and watch something ridiculous on the tv. Or take myself out for a walk up the hill and go and chat with a neighbourly shop owner.
Interestingly, physical training - is in a way a spiritual pursuit for me - as I often recite chants whilst bouncing about on my trampette (hailing the 4 elements/directions etc.) - or I'm busy thinking about how to improve on my Kung Fu form when I'm lying down doing abdominal curls (stronger obliques means a stronger pai jarn - elbow strike. Kung Fu is a spiritual pursuit owing to how closely intertwined it is with Chinese philosophy... wei wu wei - "action without action", and that sequence of movements described as "praying to Budha 3 times", etc. And belly dancing which I did for many years - is also a spiritual pursuit. All that Goddess wiggling of hips... ). And at the same time - I'm breathing in the physicality of it all. I like to sprinkle magic into everything - but, it can just be, without me having to analyse it all the time. The mundane IS the magical.