The Truth or Something Else
For most of my journey with tarot, I always assumed the that the cards told us the truth. As a reader who does predictive readings, I know one of the reasons people often don’t predict is that the future isn’t written in stone and that things can change, by our own actions and those of others. I also know that we can be wrong.
Putting those things aside for a moment, just for the sake of discussion, I wonder if the Divine (through tarot or any other divination method) doesn’t always or even ever tell us the truth. Maybe it tells us what we need to hear, for whatever in fathomable reasons. Using a very concrete and simplistic example, what if someone asks if they will ever get back together with their boyfriend and the cards say very clearly that no, getting back together isn’t really a probability. So the querent goes on, living her life, moving on, healing, all of that sort of thing. Then they do get back together.
I suppose then we could say, well, by her actions of getting on with her life and healing, she changed the future and created circumstances whereby they did reunite. But if the cards don’t indicate “if you do x, y, and z, you will get back together,” then did the cards tell the only part of the truth? If the cards told the “whole” truth, maybe she wouldn’t have healed and moved on in an authentic way but in a surface way, a kind of biding her time kind of way. Then they probably wouldn’t have gotten back together.
Do you see what I mean? This question has been rattling around in my head for a while now. I’d love to know what you think. Does the tarot always tell the complete truth or does it tell what we need to know, and I suppose by extension, believe, even if it isn’t “true”?
Ouch, that is a question 😉
Well, I’d say I’ve experience the same thing couple of times.
I told people they’d go back with their love when they never did. Was it me reading it wrong ( how could I with such big heart and ring and well … love card ? ) ? Or was it that the card didn’t tell me the obvious ( ie : stop bitchin’ the girl, grow up and yes, love again ) ? I don’t know.
I got the same with a professional question : good boss & all. It ended up bad, really and actually, a year later, the boss came back and all went well. Talk about time lapse !
Was it all for reassuring ? Probably. Was it for best ? Certainly not. Were there lessons to be learn ? Hm … isn’t there always lessons to be learn ? Are cards enormous troll ? Sure !!
I believe tarot cards have and maintain their own persona or personality…they are an entity unto themselves, at least mine are. I didn’t quite realize how true this was for me until one day my partner turned to me and said…”did you know that when refer to your cards, you do so as if you were referring to a living entity or person? It can be rather discerning to some people…yet intriguing at the same time”.
In response to your question “does the tarot always tell the complete truth or does it tell us what we need to know or believe?”, ask this same question of yourself or perhaps your mother or other mentor! Ask this question as if the tarot was a living breathing entity – a BEING.
For me, the answer is simple, the tarot responds just like we do as individuals – it tells us what we need to hear or know to set us upon the right path or course. It lovingly advises and guides each of us differently and according to the situation at hand. Just like your mother or a mentor would! Would I tell my son what he NEEDED TO HEAR rather than the truth in an attempt to enhance or better his life or deter him from a dangerous or hurtful situation? You bet your butt I would. In a hot second. And I believe the tarot feels the same way. Love and Light to all! Tammy the Tarotist
I see the predictive tarot as providing an ‘ariel view’ of a situation. For example, if I walk out my door, I can see people, cars, a dog, hear a fire truck from the station a few miles away, see a few blocks either way, but not much else- pretty much the present, with the a little bit of the future (the siren, a car coming down the street). If I go to the second floor, I can see further- a few more blocks, a few more sounds. If I am on a top floor or roof of a skyscraper downtown, I can see for miles in many directions, see people cars, see the fire station, the truck leaving it, and the building on fire. If I get in a helicopter, I can zip around the landscape, zone in on certain spots or issues, and really gather information. That’s what a good tarot reading does- it takes me to a level where I can see further and get detail on a situation beyond my front door and show me things that are not always clear, or may only be hinted at- I can hear the siren, but where’s the fire? Where’s the car going? Who’s dog is that? By going higher, we can trace these things to there source and watch them reach there destinations, subject to their own will-which street will the engine take to avoid traffic? Will the van get a flat tire? How we react- will I pull over to let the fire truck go by? Do I stop & help change the tire? Are up to us…we can see how events onfold around us-the will of others, but we make our own choices and direct our own futures by deciding how we will interct with them.
This is a great question, and I think the answer is that the messages we receive from divination systems such as the Tarot are accurate (for this point in time), but our subjective interpretations of the divination—as a result of our personal beliefs, desires, and experiences—may not be accurate.
Some years ago, I was giving a series of classes in San Diego, and as a part of those classes I offered students a free Tarot reading. One of my students was a high-class beauty. She worked as an aerobics instructor and had been offered to appear in “Penthouse” magazine.
About half-way through the reading the tenor of the cards changed, indicating that she and I would become romantic. I didn’t say anything about this to her as I believe that (depending upon the class) this would be highly unethical. I ended up cutting the reading short, saying the cards weren’t making sense. Part of that was not only because having a relationship with her would have been outside of what I felt was my level of integrity, but also because insecure me couldn’t conceive of having a romantic relationship with a woman so clearly “out of my league.” I interpreted what the cards showed as being a manifestation of my personal desires (she was hot!) rather than a true divination.
Well, I kept my distance and propriety, but she kept hanging around me, wanting more training, etc. Eventually we became lovers in an off-and-on relationship that lasted for many years. The cards had been right, but because of my beliefs I interpreted them incorrectly.
So I would say that for an experienced diviner such as a Tarot card reader, the message is fully truthful, but our interpretations may not be truthful.
Of course, this begs the question, if a divination comes from The Divine, shouldn’t The Divine have known how we would interpret it and present it in a way that the diviner could give a truthful reading? I think there might be a 2-way street, here, and we have to bring our own honest and objective interpretation to the reading.
Finally, as a question of predicting the future, I alway say that what the cards are saying is a snapshot of the future right now. There may be external forces that come into play between now and that projected future, and the client (I do not like “querent”) is free to do actions that can encourage or discourage that future.
I love this post and the comments! I used to view “wrong” or inaccurate answers as interference from ego voices. I thought I just didn’t bring my best to that reading. But now I am beginning to really value the cards’ ability to map out feelings or dreams I am not consciously aware of. I am really drawn to spreads that help explore stuff like that. So I feel the divine values integration as much as prediction.
Even the Celtic Cross position of “hopes and fears” intrigues me. If prediction is the most important thing, what is that card doing in the spread? But someone must have thought that extra information is important.
It’s an interesting contrast to the Lenormand system, which is so focused on prediction or accurate divination of the past.
Although I am not a professional reader; I agree with what Donald said in his response: “what the cards are saying is a snapshot of the future right now.” It is my belief that the cards are attuned to “our” energy, and the energy that we bring to the reading is a major influence in the cards we lay out in our spreads. Therefore, if we want a “truthful” reading, we must be free of thoughts and feelings that will influence the outcome. Again, I am not a professional; and maybe I am off base on this. So…I would be interested in any constructive feedback.