Fudging, Hedging and Guessing: Random Thoughts on Timing
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Timing the occurrence of specific events or the arrival of predicted circumstances with the tarot cards is a perennial source of discussion (and frustration) in the online tarot community. Responses usually run the gamut from the traditional suit-based approach that transitions from Wands (very soon) at one end to Pentacles (very much later) at the other, to the Golden Dawn’s “astrological calendar” method, to the more experimental techniques I’ve been exploring for several years. My personal opinion is that not one of them works particularly well.
Apart from the “best practice” of simply building the timing into the question itself (“What will happen in my [insert area of life] in the next [insert time-frame]?”), the most pragmatic way is to generalize based on the nature of the question. If it involves a situation that would normally be expected to culminate in a brief period of time (days-to-weeks), it doesn’t make any sense to open up the reading to a projection of several months, quarters or years (even allowing for some overlap). The approximation I’m suggesting entails a timing procedure that is flexible enough to redirect the focus as necessary by applying a “sliding scale.” At its heart lies the simple dichotomy of “sooner-rather-than-later” versus “later-rather-than-sooner,” with a worst-case resolution of “never.”
In the usual four-tiered template that has the shortest duration to the left and the longest to the right, we can shift the temporal window applicable to the timing card leftward one or two brackets for events that are anticipated to undergo a shorter-than-average turnaround, or rightward for those that are presumed to be drawn-out or open-ended in outlook. By doing so we will never wind up in the dilemma of having to tell a client “You will hear about the status of your job application in ten years.” (Alternately, the astrological style of prediction might advise “January of next year” if the same question is asked in February of the current year, with an eleven-month span as its obviously ludicrous conclusion.) This is the sort of foolishness that some of the conventional timing methods can deliver; in such cases it can be more logical to rely on number theory instead of suit, element or astrological signature.
For the numbered minor cards, let’s suppose that any Ace indicates “one unit of time” and any Ten shows “ten units of time,” then we will select the interval that best fits the topic using as our basis “Days” or very soon; “Weeks” or just a bit longer; “Months” or more than a little delayed; “Quarters” or up to one year in three-month increments; and “Years” which in some cases could mean “never.” If needed for clarity, suit timing can be introduced as a secondary qualifier,
With the court cards, we can choose the posture of the figures as our yardstick: the Knights (of the RWS deck) are mounted and therefore express immediacy; the Pages are standing but not moving, so fulfillment will take a little longer; the seated Kings are poised to act but are staying their hand (they represent “Potential Power” in the Golden Dawn system), which could push the climax beyond the mid-range of several months; and the similarly-posed Queens, being the most patient of the lot, will signify the longest “wait time.” These assumptions can then be fine-tuned depending on suit.
Assuming we don’t use the Golden Dawn’s dubious calendar scheme, the trump cards require a blending of elemental alignment and inherent nature; all of these cards can be accorded an element directly (the three exemplars of Primal Fire, Water and Air) or indirectly based on the associated astrological signs or planets, and timing can be allocated in the same way as we would for the suit cards. For example, the Tower corresponds to fiery Mars and is characteristically abrupt in its action, conveying a “ready-or-not-here-I-come” urgency, while the World is related to tardy Earth and slow-moving Saturn, making for a long haul. Back in 2017 I created a “story-board” array that attempts to formalize these stipulations:
Some readers think it’s prudent to take the position that tarot should not be used to foretell upcoming events and circumstances in the first place, thereby dodging the whole question of chronology. If we don’t try to predict the future, the timely appearance of any conceivable scenario becomes a moot point. Unfortunately, this won’t meet the expectations of many (if not most) seekers after the tarot’s wisdom who want to know both “what” and “when,” so we should be prepared to at least offer an opinion on the “ETA” of anything we propose as an outcome.
Even in the most tenuous cases, we should be able to glean a little insight from the cards in the form of an educated guess, although my mildly cynical take on tarot timing demotes it to more of a “SWAG” (scientific wild-ass guess). I hate to be evasive in my professional observations, but the phrases “fudge factor” and “hedging our bet” (although I wouldn’t use them with a client) also belong in our vocabulary when tackling a matter of timing.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on December 10, 2024.
