Let's face it.  Living?  Is hard.  Not every day is full of puppies and rainbows.  And when those bad days happen (or those period of bad times) we all desperately want to know when they will end.  So we seek fortunetellers or we seek to tell our futures ourselves with some sort of divination.  Now, not all people do this, but a huge amount of us do.

If you look in every single culture, you will find some sort of "shaman" or "fortuneteller" that helps people understand their present or past issues, along with how their futures will be.  The issue with this is that it is a magnet for con-artists and narcissists to hurt already hurting people.  They see their pain and want to take advantage of them while they're at your lowest (or most desperate).  They see these people as quick way to make a buck.

Another issue with wanting to know our future is that there's the sheer fact that there's no way to actually see into the future.  Tarot won't tell you what will happen to you any more than child's picture book or an art book would.  Because that's all tarot cards are, cards with art on them.  That's it.

So while you do a reading for yourself or get one done and you hear something that makes you happy, just know there's always a 50/50 chance of hearing either good or bad news for your future, it just depends on what the reader (or what you read) "sees" (meaning how they angle it).  Angling a reading is a mixture of "gut feelings", past experience with this situation on the reader's part, and how well they can relate to your situation.  "Gut feelings" are nothing more than guesses.  They get a "feeling" and go with it.  The feelings may have a basis in reality.  Or not.  Again, 50/50.

What if you don't hear what you want to hear (or read what you want to read)?  Well, then you're stuck feeling like crap again.  What if you do hear what you want to hear?  Then you're feeling good based on a educated (or uneducated) guess on the reader's part or your part.

Whether you hear what you want to hear or, instead, more bad news, you are at the whim of whatever those cards tell you.  Wouldn't you rather find the answers to your questions in a more concrete way that can actually help you overcome what's going on in your life?

So, how do we combat this need for future-telling?  

Well, we first have to look at the two things people wanting their cards read are really asking for:

1. Advice
2. Future Predictions

Most of the people seeking out a tarot reading are looking for #1.  #2 is either a byproduct of the reading on the reader's part or sometimes our clients will flat out ask for a prediction, but most of my clients have not.  So if the real reason people are consulting the tarot is for advice, why are we calling it "fortunetelling"?  Why are we calling the people who read for us "psychic"?  Why are we calling ourselves psychic?

We need to get away from all that mystical fortunetelling and start using the tarot for what it's actually good it, which is giving advice.  And, although as fun as it sounds, nobody needs special powers to give advice to their clients.  As readers, we need to stop perpetuating this form of escapism and start getting real.  There are plenty of ways we humans can experience healthy escapism, but fortunetelling, unfortunately, isn't one of them.

Instead of needing to know our future, we need to look at how we can enjoy our present instead.  And if we're in a rough patch, we need to learn healthy ways of dealing with those rough patches.  If we're lookin for love after a string of bad lovers?  We need to actually figure out what's going on in our lives and why we're choosing scrubs instead of finding healthy partners to share our lives with.  If we're experiencing financial trouble, we need to look at our financial habits and find logical ways of getting ourselves out of the red.  The tarot can help us do these things still, yes, but not with predictions and "messages" and whatnot.  The answers always lie within us.  We just have to know where to look.

Escapism is fun.  Of course it is.  But the tarot is a real tool that can actually help us if we know how to use it right.  So why pretend it can do things it can't when it can actually do better things?  It makes no sense. 

It's like trying to hydrate yourself through swimming in water when you should be drinking it.  

When you're in trouble in life, and you need help and want to consult the tarot, don't turn to people who can (and will) steal your money who just give you false hope (this includes both tarot readers who use traditional tarot reading techniques and also reading it yourself in that way).  Instead, look within.  The tarot is your mirror and can magnify the hidden answers within your own soul.  If you can't find a reader who can help you see these things, then get your own deck and do it yourself.  If you're stuck on how to do this, then come back here and learn how.  Instead of giving you false hope, it can give you powerful readings with real answers.  Your therapist can do the same thing (if they are good at their jobs).  So think of tarot as a therapist in a box.  The best therapists can help you see the answers were in you all along.  As can good life coaches.  As does the tarot.

So rather than looking for predictions of how your life will turn out?  Realize that life will turn out the way it will because of *YOUR* choices in life, and how you choose to deal with those bad parts.  Nothing can save you from negativity bringing you down in life but you. 

But if you feel completely lost and have no way out?  Then call your doctor or therapist (do not hesitate).

If you just need a pick me up, consult your tarot.  The tarot is there as a portable companion to your daily life for when you just need some clarity.


And when you have clarity, there is never need a need to know what the future holds.  Instead, you'll be ready and willing to face whatever comes with the right frame of mind because you'll be confident in your ability to deal with it.




How has the tarot given you clarity in your life?  Let me know below!