Tarot Illuminati deck by Eric C. Dunne publisher Lo Scarabeo. MOTT by "anonymous" publisher Penguin/Tarcher

Have you ever had a Tarot reading? Or considered one? Maybe you’re an “old pro” with them.

In my experience, people come to me for readings for 2 reasons. 

The first is because they’re stuck in a way that pros vs cons and logic or common sense just can’t answer satisfactorily.

A fork in the road with career, a wound that is being tested such as in a new love potential, a major turning point in their life such as a separation or divorce or other intense crisis.

The second is because they just want to know if they’re on track. Are they moving in the right direction.

But whatever the reason someone comes for a reading, they almost always have some assumptions about what a tarot reading does. 

Should I take this new job? Is this person right for me? Is this person telling me the truth about our relationship?

In all the above cases, the client is assuming that Tarot can predict the future.

And it does predict. But probably not in the way you're imagining. What Tarot actually does is both simpler and more interesting than most people expect. Let me show you.

Tarot as a Living Map

Tarot isn't a belief system and it isn't about fate. It's a symbolic map of how life moves and how you move with it.

Every card reflects a real human experience: beginning, desire, conflict, choice, loss, momentum, surrender, renewal. Not as abstract ideas, but as living forces we encounter again and again.

These forces could be considered as blind forces. In other words, they’re much easier to see at work in the lives of others than in our own.

What tarot can do that makes it such a powerful method of insight is it shows you what the blind forces are. Not only that, it shows you how different forces are relating to each other and interacting with each other. It’s predictive in the sense that many of the forces have already been in motion. 

The result is not carved in stone, but is the probable result should the energies continue in the direction they are already flowing in. However, there will also be patterns that you can change. Right now. 

If you’re open to it, and willing, this is where real transformation can happen.

There are also times where you’ll immediately recognize a card as being active in your situation and you’ll think, “I already knew that.” But the thing is, you were unclear about it. You lacked certainty.

Here, you get a confirmation that what you thought about something was in fact accurate.

In a reading with me, we look at two things: what's unfolding (the patterns, influences, and likely direction of your situation), and how you're relating to it (where you're gripping, resisting, or being carried forward unconsciously).

When you see both clearly, something shifts. You're no longer lost inside the story. You're standing in the centre, able to respond rather than react.

Life moves, but it also has a centre. Tarot helps you recognize both.

The Tarot Map In Motion

Let’s say you were asking about a new love and The Devil card came up. This could be a red flag; like this person is not being honest about their intentions. Although this is often also because they aren’t even being honest with themselves.

Or, if you were asking about your current troubles in your relationship and The Tower came up. This could mean an argument that was very painful at the time, but ultimately cleared the air.

Maybe you want to know about why you haven’t heard back about an important business or medical matter and the 5 of Wands is a main thrust of the reading. 

This can indicate that there are minor obstacles and competing elements in the way right now.

Notice how in each of these examples the cards aren't giving you a fixed answer. They're showing you the energies already in motion. 

Important: In all of the above examples, there is only one card used. In a reading the cards interact and influence each other.

And here's what changes everything: For the first example if The Devil came after the Ace of Cups, this would show the relationship started nicely, but ran into some trouble and confusion (which is of course, exactly why someone would come for a reading).

BUT, if the cards went in the opposite order with The Devil before the Ace of Cups, then whatever discord that happened, was resolved. 

A new beginning of love was the outcome (Ace of Cups) and is now an actual potential. 

Again, this is only 2 cards for the purposes of illustration. Many of my layouts have 7, 9 or 10 cards. 

What This Looks Like

I had a client who was considering a new job offer. She had wanted to change her life situation for quite some time and felt stuck.

When she came for the reading she said her mind was racing and she was even having trouble sleeping or focusing because of these racing thoughts. She wanted to know about the new job.

The messages coming through the cards showed that she wouldn’t be happy in the new position because it would be a heavier workload (she confirmed this) for the same pay (actually slightly less pay).

Not only that, there was a probationary period to go through which would be more stress.

The one aspect about the new job that she thought might be good was that it would involve a move. She would need to leave her “old” life in order to go to the new location. Perhaps a fresh start?

However, the reading showed that ultimately she wouldn’t be any happier and would actually regret the decision if she went.

This connected with what she felt deep inside and she admitted she already felt very uncertain about the new job prospect. 

Especially the heavier workload for a bit less pay.

She realized she was seeing it as a “solution” to her feeling stuck with her current situation. This included a long standing relationship that didn’t seem to be going anywhere concrete.

Coming to terms with this realization lifted a lot of weight from her shoulders and she even breathed a deep sigh of relief as the recognition landed.

What happened? The card layouts showed how things would probably play out if she took the new gig. This is what I call the horizontal direction of life. Time and circumstances. Daily life situations.

But because these forces were no longer blind forces, what I call the vertical or transcendent aspect of Life was able to enter and allow her to see from within her own intuitive understanding.

This is my “why.” To use the Tarot to show what the weather is probably going to look like and then how you can relate to that weather and prepare for it.

How you relate to it is probably the most important part of the reading and could be said to be the actual purpose of the reading.

Yes, it’s important to know if you’re on the right track and whether a decision you’re considering is the right one.

But if you just hear the reading without any inner recognition, then the reading is just hearsay. Surface information. It won’t have any impact on your life.

One more thing…

Many times the Tarot does give fairly clear answers. But more like “yes, getting a new car is a great idea. As long as you are able to sell the old one and you keep within a certain budget, it will definitely be the right call for your new commute.” 

It won’t be “it’s a red SUV with only 5,000 miles on it and a great stereo system.”

Or, “it looks like some temporary financial setback is going to happen, yes. But if you remain flexible, you’ll come through with a new way of creating some income.” 

The cards won’t say, “you’re going to be let go from your job today.”

Unless of course you specifically asked that question with the wording “am I going to lose my job?” with a Yes/No Tarot Reading, (Link to article which isn’t written yet but the rough draft is)

When The Map Becomes A Mirror

As I said above, of course it’s important to know which path to take when you're at a fork in the road or feeling stuck. That’s what usually motivates us to get a tarot reading in the first place.

But what can happen when we see the movement of these patterns? Not only in the circumstances reflected around us, but the feelings and thoughts within us? When we can see this, real change occurs. This is when you contact your centre that never moves. 

Life is constant change but there is something within you that is still. Some call it the Witnessing Presence or the “I Am” or Beingness.

When you do contact this higher dimension within yourself everything takes on a different light. Problems vanish.

This doesn’t mean they won’t be there to deal with later, but they have less grip. Less friction. More solution. More space. 

This isn't spiritual bypassing. The situation is still real. But you're no longer inside it the same way. There's a distance; not the distance of detachment, but the natural spaciousness of someone who has remembered where they actually stand.

This is one of the deeper meanings of the enigmatic Fool card in tarot.

With the example of my client considering a new job prospect? On my suggestion we did a bit of Presence work for the final 5 or 10 minutes. Again, she was able to directly experience for herself that her problems weren’t as solid as she had previously believed. 

She left with a much quieter mind. Golden.

That's what I'm here for. Not just the map, but the moment when the map becomes unnecessary because you can see clearly for yourself. Your own inner GPS is now dialled in.

Ready to see what's actually moving in your situation? Book a reading here.

Want to go deeper than the pattern and touch the centre that never moves? Learn more about Presence Sessions here.