Mindset and the Quest for Control
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Aleister Crowley once wrote in his commentary on the Wheel of Fortune (which at one time meant “a turn of one’s luck for the better” but now seems to promise only “change, good or bad”):
“(It) generally means good fortune because the fact of consultation implies anxiety or discontent.” (In more colloquial terms, “There ain’t nowhere to go but up!”)
I agree with Vincent Pitisci’s observation that those who pay for a tarot reading have most likely found themselves in a situation that is out-of-control and they are seeking ways to restore their equilibrium and re-establish their mastery of circumstances. Their queries typically exhibit a behavioral pattern or mindset of some kind, often driven by unfulfilled desire: “I want a new job; I want to start a business; I want to relocate; I want a new relationship; I want to have a baby.; I want, I want, I want . . . Hey, tarot reader, what are my prospects for success?”
In these situations, a tarot reading will frequently address needs, disappointing querents who are only interested in their wants. For example, “I want a new job” might be met with “You need to closely examine what you don’t like about the one you currently have since you might find it repeated in a new job.” (In other words, the problem might lie in your expectations, not in the job itself.) As I see it, there are no shortcuts to attaining satisfaction, and the tarot will be unsympathetic toward attempts to find one through the cards. The naive Law of Attraction aside, no request for wish-fulfillment is guaranteed a hearing by an indifferent Universe, so it comes down to working with what one is given and trying to turn it to maximum advantage. There is almost always a concealed path to a “silver lining” if one looks hard enough for it and then follows it assiduously.
Too often, peering through the “mystic lens” of a tarot reading can deliver a distorted view tainted by “confirmation bias:” what one chooses to see as a “Yes” may in truth only be a dubious “Maybe,” despite the reader’s warnings against excessive optimism. We convince ourselves that our wants will be served when the jury is still out on whether they will even be considered. When the presumed affirmation fails to pan out as we believed it would, we malign the tarot reader’s abilities when in fact we were guilty of mishearing the advice. Human beings have a bottomless capacity for “whitewashing” the obvious to fit their own worldview and agenda. Tarot consultation is no different.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on August 2, 2023.
