changing the future

[inomminate]

If, for the sake of argument, we assume that tarot can predict the future then to what extent can we alter the future it predicts?

[Charlie Brown]

Robustly. As they used to say on G.I. Joe, "knowing is half the battle."

[BlueStar]

I think it may depend on what you mean by predicting the future - i.e. if one means tarot can predict future 'possibilities' or that the future is set in stone (and thus and it's merely and illusion that we think we can or are changing it, since our thoughts of changing it and actions were also set, i.e. there is really no free will, just the illusion of it).

I would guess that most people think of future possibilities. If that is true, then I'd say yes, we can choose to shape what that future will be.

I find it a very philosophical topic and one I've pondered often.

[Joan Marie]

I think the tarot gives us "news we can use." So in that sense, yes, I think so, and maybe that is a large part of the point of it sometimes.

Of course it would only apply to the things we can control.

For example, if I were traveling, and that morning I had a card or a draw that indicated "failure" I'd be extra-careful about not cutting things too close time-wise so as not to miss any buses, trains, or planes. Do I have time to stop for a sandwich? Maybe don't risk it.

But that's the immediate future. The distant future is another matter.

If I was planning a big, long term project and the cards told me "failure" what would I do?

Just cut my losses and not do it because the cards say it's doomed? Maybe, if I wasn't too committed to the project. But what if I was? Maybe then what I should do is carefully re-evaulate how I'm going about things. Take extra-care to avoid failure. That scary reading could cause me to be more switched on, more aware.

But what about "good news" readings? If the cards spell "success" that could mean you've got things in hand and all the potential is there. But it's not a done deal.

I don't think the messages we get in readings offer passive advice. I think the insight they offer has to be internalised and acted on.

So in that sense, I think yes, we can alter the future predicted by the cards to the extent we are able to (and actually do) act on it.

Otherwise, we end up like these two:

Twilight Zone episode 43, "Nick of Time"

[Myperception]

I think it can be basic level guidance or predictions. Not like dipping into it 100%, at times we are also need to have some own judgement. This is how i felt.

[katrinka]

I don't see "the future" as a single entity. Some things can be changed. Other things just have too much momentum behind them, and you can't avoid them. To use an extreme example, suppose the cards predict death. A younger person in good health can often guard against accidents and illness and avoid it. But for an elderly person in hospice, it's probably a sure thing. This begs the question, "Why would you want to know?" And not everyone would want to know. But I think a lot of us would, since we'd want to prepare.

[anastasia]

I take the Vedic Astrology perspective:
There are fixed karmas and mutable karmas.
Changing the future?
If you believe in reincarnation and "karma" then certain life events are "fixed" karma arising from past lives and decisions your soul made before taking incarnation ... while other events are completely fluid, mutable, and arise from your actions in this moment.
Make sense?

[katrinka]

Yes, it does.
While reincarnation is an article of faith, we're essentially saying the same thing. Things can be fixed or mutable completely within this lifetime, too.
It's just the way things are.

[Diana]

Some may argue that there is no past nor future, only NOW.

Doesn't quantum physics speak of the fact that our present actions affect not only the future, but also the past ? And that the mere fact of observing a sub-atomic particle changes it ?

[katrinka]

We're always in "now". You can look at it like that's all there is. You can meditate on it, sit Zazen for fifteen years, and always be totally present in the moment. Or alternately, you can trip on cactus or shrooms and have that realization in no uncertain terms.

But with our filters and meaty brains and senses, we're experiencing things sequentially. There's a past, present, and future.
I have an old photo of myself at age five. I'm wearing a light blue dress with a scratchy petticoat, my mom curled my hair with Spoolies (somewhat badly) and I'm holding my red Dachshund, Rusty. That child is no more, and Rusty is long gone. They have no relevance to anything that's happening now. But they were real, once. And I still miss Rusty sometimes.

[Diana]

But with our filters and meaty brains and senses, we're experiencing things sequentially. There's a past, present, and future.
I have an old photo of myself at age five. I'm wearing a light blue dress with a scratchy petticoat, my mom curled my hair with Spoolies (somewhat badly) and I'm holding my red Dachshund, Rusty. That child is no more, and Rusty is long gone. They have no relevance to anything that's happening now. But they were real, once. And I still miss Rusty sometimes.

Perhaps then we should strive to remove the filters. I think most Tarot explorers are attempting to do just that.

You speak in moving terms of this little girl with a light blue dress and a scratchy petticoat. I'm sure all those who read you post will be touched. And will tell you that the little girl you describe is very actual in their eyes. And that your Rusty is so cute !

So you touched our hearts with your story. Is therefore has great relevance. And just by telling us, you brought the little girl and Rusty back into your life. So are they really gone ???

[katrinka]

For me, they aren't.
I like to think there's another "now" with everyone. <3

[Diana]

like to think there's another "now" with everyone. <3

Yes, I see what you mean. However, nothing is ever lost, only transformed. The substance is the same although the form may differ.

When sometimes I'm feeling sad, I wish my mother was still with me to cradle and rock me gently in her tender arms. The little girl who desires this is still within me, even though I've evolved now into a full grown woman.

[katrinka]

Yes, still there. The same, only different.
The same deck, shuffled over and over. May the cards fall auspiciously for all of us!

[inomminate]

Doesn't quantum physics speak of the fact that our present actions affect not only the future, but also the past ? And that the mere fact of observing a sub-atomic particle changes it ?

Marigold

It is true that Time has no direction at the quantum level but there is some argument as to how much we can draw comparisons between the quantum level and our own. The application of quantum theory to tarot is a much argued area and would need at least one other thread. I do find it a rewarding discussion.