Optimistic Divination: Opportunities for “Net Gain”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Once again I’m indebted to Benebell Wen for presenting an I Ching-related concept that I can apply directly to my tarot practice: the premise that the “cycle of life” will, on balance, provide a “net gain” in one’s sense of well-being and not a “net loss” (even though we all know how it eventually ends, at least in our present incarnation). If the advantages can be construed to outweigh the disadvantages in our readings we will have fulfilled this stipulation as long as the assessment doesn’t involve too much baseless “whitewashing” of the less-favorable aspects.
When someone sits for a tarot session, there is an implied expectation that they will be heartened and not dismayed upon its conclusion. In other words, if there is no incentive for improvement, why bother undergoing the experience? This assumption is embodied in the goal of “empowerment,” by which the reader endeavors to give the seeker insights and inspiration that can be useful in the constructive pursuit of self-awareness and self-development, or merely in grappling with difficult day-to-day conditions.
However, in my own opinion, this advocacy must stop short of the kind of unbridled optimism that amounts to little more than “cheer-leading” when the cards pulled don’t support such encouragement. Always ending on a positive note, as some tarot gurus advise, could convey false hopes and empty promises when nothing of the sort is apparent in the reading. No practical purpose beyond “feel-good” compassion is served by such sympathetic but unwarranted boosterism. It is better to give querents actionable advice for making the most of the situation when it is clear from the testimony that the hoped-for largess won’t simply fall into their lap without effort on their part.
That said, although I might reasonably summon the practical wisdom of fifty years of tarot reading without thinking twice about it, I approach every subject from an unbiased “neutral” perspective that makes no assumptions about the likely outcome. This minimizing of experience-based prejudice is aided by my practice of not wanting to know the sitter’s specific question in advance, at most receiving only a brief mention of the general “area-of-life” for the inquiry. This allows me to avoid unintentionally steering the narrative toward a preordained destination and lets the cards either rise or fall in significance within the context of the reading according to their inherent nature. There is no value in attempting to pound a square peg into a round hole based solely on what we assume to be true.
I have no problem with optimism as the working model for any act of divination. Adopting an upbeat attitude when greeting my clients puts them at ease as I explain to them what they can expect from the reading. If we both anticipate a worthwhile denouement from the very beginning, we can navigate through any speculative downturn in fortune with relative aplomb and cast it in the most affirmative light possible.
For those querents who don’t want to hear any “bad news,” I can always give them the “Bobby McFerrin” version (“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”) tempered with a modest dose of sobering reality so they don’t get the wrong idea. I like to picture the Wicked Witch of the West trying to remove Dorothy’s ruby slippers without blatantly killing her: “These things must be done DEL-icately!”
On the other hand, I don’t want to feed them misleading reassurance that might hasten their self-undoing; most seekers don’t need the nudge toward disillusionment. (As Aleister Cowley once observed, “The fact of consultation implies anxiety or discontent.”) But they also don’t deserve the fate of Casanova in Bob Dylan’s epic Desolation Row:
“They’re spoon feeding Casanova
To get him to feel more assured.
Then they’ll kill him
With self-confidence
After poisoning him with words.”
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on August 17, 2024.
