A few years ago, I was sitting in my office when suddenly a flash came before my eyes. I darted upstairs to breathlessly tell my husband “I just had a vision! Someone is going to give me monkey socks!” He looked at me quizzically and then continued on with what he was doing. Months later, one of my clients sat down for a reading and casually said ”I have a present for you” and proceeds to hand me a pair of green socks with monkeys on them! I almost fell out of my chair as I quickly ran upstairs to excitedly show my husband. “Great… my wife can predict a pair of monkey socks but not the winning lottery numbers.” he replied with a smirk and rolling eyes.
Living with a psychic has taken some of the element (and excitement) of surprise away from him. I’ve even managed to ruin many a birthday and holiday as I am such a good gift guesser that he must now resort to elaborate schemes to get me off the scent. I often will deliver an answer before he even utters the question. So he no longer gets a thrill when I have a “vision”. When every day is prediction day, it becomes second nature and rather common.
Thank goodness my clients never tire of it though or I’d be talking to a blank wall. Working as a tarot reader has allowed me to utilize my intuition in a way that can aid my clients and help them to navigate life’s ups and downs with a bit more grace. However, I have noticed that “fortune telling” has fallen out of favor in my line of work. Many tarot readers and other intuitives shy away from it. Why?
One reason is that some modern tarot authors have presented the tarot as a tool for psychoanalysis – and a new trend of using tarot not as a fortune telling device but as a method of therapy has become very popular. Some authors prescribe to an “interactive” style of tarot reading where the querent looks at the cards and tells the reader what they mean to them, turning a tarot session into a therapy session. While this can be helpful in many cases, the art of prediction gets lost in the process.
An argument I have heard is that fortune telling is “disempowering” or “unethical”. How? Its been said that a predicted event implies that the querent has “no control” over their lives. As a huge believer in free will, I find this to be nonsense. After all, nothing is cut in stone. In my opinion, having an idea of what may transpire empowers a client in a major way. It’s like doing a road trip with a map. If you have an idea of where you are going, can’t you decide if you want to go down a different path if you don’t like the view? And isn’t that easier to do when you have the map in hand?
Another consideration is the ego factor. We tarot readers tend to be a sensitive lot. Some are not comfortable with the idea that they’ll be proven wrong. Like weathermen, we look at the patterns and make predictions to the best of our abilities. It is definitive fact that only a certain percentage of our predictions will truly hit the mark. That is why this is not work for lightweights or people who are controlled entirely by their egos. It takes a fair amount of cojones to make a prediction. A thick skin is mandatory because in this line of work you’re fair game, and many people will WANT you to be wrong. Using the tarot as therapy may be safer in some ways, but you shouldn’t let the “fear of being wrong” inhibit you from making predictions and giving your client’s reading the full breadth and depth that could provide them the insight they need to guide their lives in a truly practical way.
It may be intimidating to use the tarot to predict But think about it this way – why do people come to see psychics, tarot readers and astrologers? They come to learn about future events. Not providing this service to a client is akin to visiting a dentist who talks about cleaning your teeth rather than actually doing it.
Blessings!
Theresa
www.thetarotlady.com
I’d love to hear your thoughts about predicting. Leave your comments below! 
Love the article, couldn’t agree with you more on this. There is a huge fear that at times seems to manifest itself as a form of Tarot Politics within the Tarot Community that seems to want to make predictive reading almost unacceptable. I like your answer to this.
I swear you must have some Russian in you. ROFLOL
Thank you for your comment, Natalia. There should be no politics in the Tarot Community – we’re all in it together. But unfortunately, people want their opinions to be treated as facts and that is where the lack of tolerance begins.
ALL types of readings can be valid – predictive, intuitive, psychological. We all have a place and all serve a need. People just need to learn to respect and embrace the difference and realize we DO have common ground!
(Nope no Russian…LOL)
Blessings!
Theresa
Bravo!
Excellent article! I completely agree about the trend away from prediction and the inclination to shy away from it for fear of being wrong. I always tell my clients that they can make me wrong themselves by exercising their free will, and good for them! Knowing the energy around a situation and the probably outcome helps people to make informed decisions as they move forward. That’s a gift the prediction can bring in a reading, one that I don’t think should be ignored.
Thank you for your comment Rose. You make the most important point here – we predict not to say “this is what will happen and you have no choice” – we predict events that MAY happen but the questioner ALWAYS maintains the control over what WILL happen. We have choices day by day, moment by moment that determine our futures. Things can be diverted, life can change at any given moment – it always up to the client to take the reigns in their hands. By predicting a possible event, we can look at alternatives and choices. This is very empowering.
As tarot readers (or psychics, astrologers, numerologists, etc.) we provide the road map – it is up to the client to make the changes they want especially if they don’t like the predictions!
Blessings!
Theresa
Re: My take on how I read the tarot…I ask the person I read for to sit next to me so they can see their tale laid out before them. For me, I feel as an interpreter of their story-the narrator of their tale. They have touched the cards and cut them to my ritual. Because my insights from childhood experiences, and some from adulthood, the Tarot is a way for me to stay in touch with that aspect of myself and I appreciate the art, the archetypes,and history. So, my readings are therapeutic for me and I hold them in much regard. As to my querents, I had one who told me my reading for him was like a mind massage-my favourite description.
I read with positive uptake. At rare times for me, this can be a challenge. There have been a couple of times when I did not read, because for reasons unknown to me-a paradox,yes-it was not the time for that person to have a reading. What I have discovered that awes me is when I come into contact with people who are psychic to a greater degree, though they might not acknowledge it or know of it…yet. There are also questions I will not approach as you do not. They are not for the foretelling. Thank you again, Theresa
Hi Donna
Thanks again for your great response. Yes, we are interpreters for the client’s story – and we can see what MAY happen – but the client is always firmly in control of what WILL happen. It’s fascinating work and I am always intrigued with how things actually play out and what the client does with the information presented.
There have been times when a reading that I have done for someone has also been therapeutic for me – mainly when a client and I were dealing with the same situation. I’ve shared some tears and more with clients over the years and I always appreciate those experiences.
I am endlessly curious about the tarot and how it “works”. I’ll never be bored with it!
Blessings!
Theresa
Hi Theresa,
I wish I was confident enough to be able to do accurate predictions as I find this is what a lot of people actually expect and want but I also think it can make some people terribly dependant on what they are told. They’ll just sit back and wait for it to happen instead of carrying on as usual and letting it happen.
I think that old stereotype of “fortune teller” is almost impossible to eliminate so perhaps we should embrace it a little instead of shying away from it.
Lori X
Hi Lori
It does require a bit of fearlessness and a major dose of humility to put those predictions out there.
For some, a prediction can indeed make them complacent – but for others, it may point out things that they are not aware of and create more conscious living. It depends on how the reader words things – you can give a prediction but still offer helpful advice to the client.
I will also say that sometimes those therapeutic readings are NECESSARY – so I hope I didn’t come off like I was dissing them. There is a time and place for both types of reading.
Yes, the “fortune teller” image has been maligned thanks to the negligent few who are con artists- but I agree that if we do embrace it and show it in a positive and proactive light, it could be seen as a good thing rather than the current stereotype.
Blessings!
Theresa
I’ll put it simply…I totally agree with you.
Thank you for your comment, Sharon. It is not a popular stance these days but I had to put it out there anyway.
Blessings!
Theresa
I have a lot of little premonitions, and my husband says that, too, i.e., “if you can predict who’s going to call, why can’t you predict the lottery numbers?”
BTW, this comment form won’t work on a Mac in Firefox. I switched to Safari, and it worked. Thought you might like to know. Thanks!
Hi Willa!
Thanks for your comment. It seems our husbands think alike! It cracks me up when he says stuff like that!
The comments sometimes take a moment to appear – sorry about that.
Blessings!
Theresa
The fear of being wrong is a powerful one! You are right, it takes a specific type of person to do it and do it well.
Hi Barbara!
Yes, fear is a biggie! Learning to let go of fear, detach from the reading and get your ego out of the way is really challenging. Humility and the willingness to put yourself out there is not easy but I feel that being vulnerable and open to whatever transpires makes a better tarot reading.
In all the years I have been doing this, I find my clients really enjoy the prediction part the best. It’s fun, surprising and often right on!
Blessings!
Theresa
On prediction-My mother had very specific dreams that came true. My first psychic experience came with dreams, the earliest I can remember at age 8. I have had other types of experiences, though rare. Mom had one dream that showed danger happening to my father, brother and I involving crossing a train track. We took her seriously. Never were we three in that truck together near a train track. The warning was heeded and I am thankful.
I read Tarot as a predictive guide. Fate is there, but I am master of it. God gave us will to choose our path. He gave me gifts too. I am not a psychologist, nor would I read to prescribe a path the Querent should follow. I feel the cards truely show the path radiating from the present situation of the reading. Yet, there is the wonderful human aspect of choice. And choice is in all aspects of our living in this plane, no matter the present circumstances.
I do agree with your take on prediction. Thank you for the opportunity to comment, Donna
Hi Donna
Thank you for your comment. My mother and grandmother were both believers in omens. I remember my mother often having strange visions that would come true.
Tapping into psychic energy is an art but most people can learn how to do it to some degree.
I like your take on how you read Tarot. I approach it the same way – I look at it for predictions but then also for the best course of action. Sometimes the tarot can be VERY therapeutic but if I want therapy I prefer to visit a licensed psychologist, not a tarot reader! LOL
Blessings!
Theresa