“That’s the way this wheel keeps working now” ~~ John Mayer
Reading on one of my author blogs, I came across this question. Predictions? Who needs ‘em! by Betina Krahn.
I posted the following answer and then decided to expand it into a blog of my own. I do that sometimes. Get so tickled with a response that I want to go on and on and on. So instead of boring BK’s audience to tears (they were there to hear about her books which are fabulous, btw), I decided to expound over here!
You might think that I do believe in predictions from my name and blog. However, I actually believe more in tendencies. I have predicted sex of babies (with an 85% accuracy) as well as future events for clients. For myself? I’m nearly always dead wrong.
For me, the future is something to be prepared for but my clients will tell you I harp on the fact that choices made today will change future tomorrows. So if you want the best future, make the best choices.
As to the weather? I do what my grannilu told me to do. I dress in layers, carry an umbrella and keep a jacket and a hat in the car. 😉
I firmly believe that the cards are not set in cement. I mean think about it. If the future is a done deal—if nothing you do today can change what happens tomorrow—why struggle with the concept of choice? Seriously. Why not just sit in your chair and let life happen to you? If it doesn’t matter if I kick a puppy or save a drowning kitten today… why worry about small things like good and evil?
I am a proponent of self-responsibility. Anyone who knows me knows this. Now you do too. Don’t tell me the Devil made you do it. Don’t tell me it was God’s plan. It was your doing. Now don’t whine at me “But Arwen.” Shitty things happen, y’all. I didn’t ask to be abused. However, my choices got me there. I chose to love that person. Stinks that she turned out to be such a rotten apple, but there ya are. I still picked that apple. Would I have picked that apple if the cards had said “NO NO! Not that one!”? I don’t know. Maybe.
We live with the consequences of our choices. For me, Tarot is to help us look ahead to see what might be coming down the tube. Is that a train or the sun at the end of the proverbial tunnel? Certain cards seem to predict good things most of the time while others predict bad things most of the time. I say most of the time because there is always an exception to the rule.
Case in point – I used to read once a year for a fellow conference attendee. Each time I read for her the Sun showed up in such a way that I warned her to be very aware around flames. The first year? Her oven blew up in her face! The second year? A minor grease fire. Now this is not a woman who is careless by any means. So the next year when the Sun (yes again) showed up, she was vigilant and told me that she’d avoided a possible electrical fire by paying attention to a weird smell.
Now then was she responsible for those fires? Absolutely NOT! They were accidents. Could they have been prevented? Who knows. One was. But because she made a choice to have it checked, we will never know if there actually would have been a third fire.
The 3 of Swords is almost always a dire gloom-and-doom card moaning about heartbreak, loss of love, betrayal—pretty much all things bad in love, right? I have seen it show up when someone was trying to choose between two lovers. In certain positions, it can suggest that the querent is the wielder of the swords and the person fixing to be hurt is their partner. So it shows up as a way to AVOID the pain.
All I’m saying here really is don’t depend on any system to predict your future. Be the driver of your own Chariot and pick up the reins. By living intentionally YOU can determine the course of your own future. Sure there will be immovable boulders that the Universe sees fit to toss your way. Still, if you are prepared and aware of the boulders coming up, can’t you choose a different route?