Myths About That Nasty "F" Word

I want to talk about “fortune telling,” a polemic that by nature has both supporters and detractors in the divination community. Some feel it is entirely disempowering, and liken it to the mysterious ladies in flowing skirts brandishing crystal balls at the traveling circus – a bit doomy, and altogether distasteful, even unethical. Others find it simply a term, like any other, that represents a manner of divination that looks into the unfolding future of a client. Just when I start to think that this topic has died and become a non-issue, it rears its head again, begging a real discussion rather than brief (and at times heavily opinionated and biased) monologues throughout social media platforms.

Photo Credit: Mike Licht

I decided to offer up some of my own views regarding popular myths on the matter. This is hardly exhaustive of even my own thoughts, as one question tends to lead to another, and another, and so on. Nevertheless, I have to start somewhere, don’t I!  So here goes:

1) Fortune telling is disempowering.

There seems to be a school of thought that suggests that explaining the most likely turn of events in a client’s situation removes any ability to influence their own circumstances. Hell, if that were true, I would certainly not be a fortune teller – I’m all about empowerment! When done well, fortune telling identifies what will probably take place in the client’s future, and also aids the client in determining an appropriate responsive action, or at the very least, helps the client by allowing them to mentally/emotionally/materially prepare for what’s coming. There is nothing disempowering about that.  A very simplistic and practical illustration: I read my daily cards and if I see rain, I bring an umbrella. If I see a check bouncing, I move funds over. If I see an X-factor that could throw a wrench in my fabulous plans that surely could never go wrong, I make sure I have a Plan B. You learn how to read the future by doing it regularly, by being a dedicated student to the art, by seeing how things play out over time; by being painfully correct, and on occasion by being "off" and having to recalibrate. When you understand what you’re seeing, you can respond to it. Thus fortune telling can be extremely invaluable.

2) Fortune telling exists in a vacuum.

Most readers who read “fortunes” also read using other styles. Just because someone engages in fortune telling doesn’t mean that it’s the only approach they use, or even that it’s a preferred method.

3) Good/ethical/caring readers distance themselves from anything related to telling fortunes.

What I have to say to this: Bah humbug, semantics. It’s all semantics, and don’t let them try to convince you otherwise. What do you mean by “fortune telling?” What do I mean by “fortune telling?” I would venture to say that most readers, regardless of their discipline, and regardless of their self-perceptions and/or preference of labels, tell fortunes. Long ago I wrote a post about fortune telling and mentioned that any reader that pulls an “outcome” card in a spread is engaging in fortune telling. Many readers attempt to brush off the act by saying that they are simply looking at “what could be” – but also assuring the client that he or she is entirely able to alter the outcome by changing their decisions. I don’t buy into that 100%: #1, I think that in some cases it’s simply a matter of a reader being uncomfortable with attempting to discern the future, in which case saying that the future is "set in sand" relieves the pressure of feeling responsible for being correct (or incorrect!), #2, in some instances readers adhere to the false idea that by reading the future you are robbing the client of agency (in which case, see #1 in this post), and #3, I think that life is simply more complicated than that. Sure, I agree that we can and do influence our future every day. But I also believe that some things are beyond our influence. Perhaps that thought is frightening to some, but I find that by being aware of that, I’m more able to influence what is in my power to alter, or if nothing else, I’m able to alter my mental or emotional approach. As they say, “forewarned is forearmed.”

Another interesting thing to note here is that most readers I know, even those that eschew the notion of fortune telling, talk quite openly about how accurate their future-oriented readings are (“I told her this would probably happen, and she didn’t believe me, but hey - it did!”). I think that’s great, who doesn’t want to be highly accurate? But I do find it a bit hypocritical.

4) Fortunetellers identify themselves as fortunetellers.

I call myself a card reader, because that’s the clearest and most direct definition for what I do. As I said in #2, I don’t only look into the future. I look into the present. I uncover hidden agendas, inner agonies, the need for healing, frustrations, unrealized strengths, talents on the verge of blooming. I look into the past to see what came before and how it’s impacting the present, and how it may well continue on to impact the future if it’s not addressed. I don’t like labels, really, and as much as I don’t have a problem with the term “fortune teller,” I don’t tend to call myself one any more than I’d call myself a “Tarot counselor.”

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I entirely understand the desire to dissociate from a term typically associated with the circus doomsday proclaimer, and I wholly support the fact that as diviners we have a responsibility to help empower our clients. I also recognize that there isn’t really any other term out there at the moment that carries the appropriate definition (except perhaps "predictive reader" or  “divination”??) to describe what fortune telling involves. But I also think that criticizing the practice both insults the art and those who ethically practice it, while at the same time supporting the negative myths associated with the term. I feel that once there is a better understanding of what fortune telling truly is, and how it’s most commonly practiced, there will be a gradual decline in the number of readers that object to its existence in contemporary divination circles.

First Earth Tarot on Christiana's Psychic Café!

Christiana Gaudet, from Tarot Trends, will be airing an encore of the interview she did with me for National Tarot Day back in the Spring. If you want to catch it, it will be available this Sunday night at 9pm EDT.  Click here for more information!

If you can't watch the show when it airs this Sunday, you can view it right here.

We had quite an interesting conversation about fortune telling, and how it can be empowering contrary to some beliefs!

Andy's Wise Words for Fortune Tellers

I've been a Lenormand student for some time now, and absolutely love studying traditional card reading. You don't learn this kind of reading style by living in a vacuum - every student has a teacher (or two or three). I've learned principally from Andy Boroveshengra, a traditional reader living in England, and highly recommend his eBook "36 Cards" (available via Amazon). This afternoon I noticed his post about "Tips for Fortune Tellers" that I wanted to share here (with his permission):

"Three Tips for Fortune-Tellers.

ONE - never sell your soul, as the Oracle said: know thyself.

TWO - live: you cannot tell fortunes from an ivory tower; your instincts are honed by lean times, challenges and hardship.

THREE - less is more: cultivate a couple of methods, as a jack-of-all-trades is master-of-none."

Good advice, all around, and the second tip, in particular, is very fitting per my post earlier today (accessible by clicking here) about how life experience helps become a better predictive reader.

First Earth Tarot on Christiana's Psychic Café!

I'm so excited to announce that I will be the guest on Christiana Gaudet's Psychic Café show on the Paraencounters Network!  The show will air Sunday, May 25th, 2014 at 9pm EDT. You can access the show at that time via this link: http://paraencountersnetwork.com

You can also watch it from Christiana's YouTube archives following its Sunday broadcast.

I won't lie, I was sweating bullets during the entire pre-tape this morning, and I still can't remember half of what I said! But what I do remember is that it was a pleasure chatting with Christiana, and I look forward to having the opportunity to do it again in the future.

We talked about….Tarot, Lenormand, the stigma of "fortune telling," Free Will, my reading business, and probably even more that has escaped in the black hole of my nerves!  Please feel free to listen if you have the opportunity!

Update: Click here to access the YouTube archive of this show, or view it below!

No Exchange for You!: Fortune Telling and Free Will

Back at the end of December I made a purchase (on a whim) of a book that turned out not to be what I was looking for. I considered returning it, but was a bit unsure about whether I should do that, or keep it and add it to my library. So for a few months it sat on a table in my kitchen, neither here nor there, its receipt tucked neatly into the pages.

Finally yesterday I decided to see about exchanging it for something I'd get more use out of. I'd bought it at a local metaphysical shop where I happen to be taking my weekly mediumship class, so it was great timing: I could arrive to class a few minutes early, browse a bit, then make the exchange and go to class. I was slightly anxious about it since, while the book was in pristine condition and I had the receipt, several months had passed, and I was worried that  there would be some 90-day limitation on returns that I wasn't aware of. But nothing of the sort was printed on the receipt, and nothing appeared when I checked their website, so I figured I'd just take it in and see what happened. When I told my concerns to my sister, she thought it was silly - of course they'd accept it as a return, and if I wanted an exchange, even better!

So I threw a few Lenormand cards to see what I might expect, and this is what I pulled:

Snake - Mice - Sun

Enchanted Lenormand - Caitlin Matthews

Ugh. I was hoping that with the Sun on the end there would be some sort of successful ending to the affair, but as they say, the Mice either eat up or poop on the cards on either side of it. And Mice was also the center card, which gave it extra importance. I figured that I'd interact with a woman (Snake) who would inform me that the exchange wouldn't be able to happen (my loss - Mice), which would cause disappointment (Mice - Sun). However the woman herself would likely be pleasant enough (Snake - Sun). Nevertheless, I decided I would still bring the book with me just to see how it would all play out. Just for curiosity's sake, I decided to lay out a line of 5 on the same topic, to check out the details:

Key - Heart - Fox - Cross - Whip

Enchanted Lenormand - Caitlin Matthews

Bah. The Fox told me there was something "wrong" about the situation, and I'd probably end up feeling deceived in some way. Key - Heart was about my deep desire to make things work in my favor, but Heart - Cross said, "Nope! That ain't gonna happen!" and Cross - Whip indicated I'd probably land in a somewhat awkward discussion with the lady regarding the situation. As it was about an event occurring that same evening, even the negative cards took on a far less intense energy than if this were a reading covering a several-month period of time. For daily draws, Whips usually indicates "an awkward interaction," in my experience, rather than the usual "strife, arguments (etc.)". I don't like awkward interactions, much less ones that occur in public places and in close quarters. So I had an option - I could call the store and ask about the possibility of an exchange, thereby avoiding any potential discomfort later on. Oh the brilliance!

So I gave the store a call, and a nice sounding lady answered. I explained that I was hoping to exchange a book I'd previously purchased but never read, and that I had the receipt. Then she explained  very kindly that they don't do returns or exchanges EVER for books, candles, incense, and a few other odds and ends. So there you have it. Why no returns on books? Maybe because they don't feel like becoming a library for people who buy, read, then return, I suppose. Who knows, and I'm not feeling motivated to inquire, either.  

But this reading illustrates an important aspect of fortune telling that I think is worth highlighting (despite the fact that the event itself was rather unimportant when all is said and done). I didn't have any reason to think that an exchange wouldn't be possible, but my cards indicated otherwise. By confirming a negative outcome using a second spread, I was able to make a decision about how to proceed with the situation, and in addition was able to prepare for a potential outcome that didn't reflect my wishes. Rather than deal with a slightly awkward interaction in the store, I was able to alter my course of action. So instead of bringing the book with me to "see what happens" I chose to call and inquire first, which gave me my (expected) answer, leading me to avoid the awkward situation portended by the second reading (in particular the Cross - Whip). When readers speak of Free Will they often consider this to mean that the future is not knowable, and that in each moment we can alter the course of our destiny. The latter is somewhat true, but I feel that it's not quite as fluid as people are wont to believe. As a reader who practices fortune telling, I've seen that the future is often very much "knowable." Rather than seeing this as disempowerment, I see this as an opportunity take some control over the things that may come to pass in my life. By understanding what is likely to transpire, we can make choices about how we will confront it, and therein lies quite a lot of power and agency - and Will.