Meataphysical Mondays – The Purpose of Divination

When I was in my mid teens and just starting to learn about all of the wonderful and strange things that existed in the world (mostly to escape from my decidedly mundane life), I got my first Tarot deck. It was a postage-stamp-sized Rider-Waite deck. It came with a little, tightly-folded set of instructions that let you know how to lay out the cards and what their basic meanings were.Not long after that, I picked up my first book–Eden Gray’s The Complete Guide to the Tarot. The greater depth it offered was amazing compared to the little folded slip of paper I had been using. The connections it pointed out in the symbolism of the cards and other esoteric traditions added a whole new dimension to the readings I would do. Other books soon followed, further expanding my knowledge–and my appreciation–of the system.
Soon, that postage-sized deck wasn’t enough. I needed to be able to really handle those cards. More importantly, I needed to be able to see those cards. So I got a full sized deck.

Looking at those cards, spread on the table between me and whoever I’m reading for, I can see just how tempting it is to know what’s ahead. I can imagine that ever since humans developed a concept of the difference between the present and the future, someone has been trying to get the jump on everyone else by sneaking a peek at what is to come.

Any quick survey of religion will produce a large number of prophets. Delving into esoteric traditions will give you dozens of ways to glimpse the future–everything from reading tea leaves to using entrails of sacrificed animals to drug-induced trances. The actual accuracy of any given method is questionable (at best), but the insight that can be gained by the practice of divination in unquestionable.

I’ve only worked regularly with Tarot and I know I could work a lot more with it. The pictorial nature of the cards speaks a very simple language. It speaks to the symbolism we all have deep within ourselves. More importantly, the pictures all tell stories and we, as humans, are story-based creatures. We relate to stories. We live stories.

And that’s what I use the Tarot for. Divining the future isn’t about absolutes. I don’t believe that most people have a set in stone destiny. And those that do… well, they can choose to fight it. There’s always a choice and as long as there’s choice, there’s a chance for things to turn out differently. No, divination isn’t about what will happen–it’s about what may happen. It’s about probability and possibility.

I use the cards to tell a story. To illustrate where different choices may take the querent. That’s where the art of divination comes in. The science of it (what science there is) deals with the meanings of the symbols and the concordances they have with different things. But it takes an artists touch to blend that information into knowledge that can be shared.

Personally, I feel I already know a little too much about what the future may hold for me. Those things I don’t know, I like not knowing (most of the time). But I’ve worked long and hard to get a healthy perspective on my life. I’ve worked hard to become comfortable with the present.

The present, however, is rarely an exceptionally comfortable place.

It is surrounded by uncertainty on one side (the future) and the immutable on the other (the past). Getting even the vaguest idea of what may come can be quite comforting at times.

But getting perspective on the present and empowerment to create the future you want? That is the true power of divination. That is the task of the fortune teller. To act not as a guide to the future, but as an illuminator of the present. Nothing points to one’s path more clearly than an understanding of the now. The hints of what may be are just the extra added bonus.