Misha Hoo's Blog - Posts Tagged "tarot-in-black-white"

The young woman sat down brusquely in the chair, arranged her shopping bags to the side and looked at me with a confident smile.

“So,” the accent was unmistakably German, “tell me something nice about my future!” she commanded and I could tell it was going to be one of those days…

As a Tarot Reader, my forte is guidance and healing; I prefer to assist clients in finding their own wisdom, rather than telling them what to do. “I don’t do future predictions” is my fall-back position. It sends the dreamers scurrying.

I have pondered on what is behind the desire to gaze into a crystal ball and know certainties about our future. Apart from the frivolous interest, like future gossip, “oooh you’re going to meet a dark handsome man…” we want to be assured that all will be well. We want to know that nothing really bad will happen to us and, like my young German friend, we want to hear someone tell us something positive or uplifting so we can walk away feeling better about our current problems, despite having done nothing to actually change the things we may be unsatisfied with.

By placing our future in the hands of fate, we avoid taking responsibility for our choices. In traditional Tarot, the Change card is called the Wheel of Fortune and reminds us that life is cyclical - we reap what we sow. The beauty of that realisation is that when we are not satisfied with our current situation, we can look back and discover how our choices led us to that place and make changes for the future.

A few months ago I watched a large flock of Egrets arrive from the south and take up residence in a small cluster of trees. They do it every year, their instinct telling them it is time to move, time to change. They took a while to settle in after their long haul flight, flapping and jostling each other until they found a comfortable spot. It was a bit like watching the flocks of tourists arriving at the start of the dry season, excited to be on holidays but a little frazzled at being out of their comfort zone.

As a Tarot Reader I am often asked “Will I quit my job? Will I get another job? Will I sell my house?” and the answer is always “Yes, of course…” the question really is when...

In truth, we will only change when we are really ready. If the change is an easy one, we usually jump at the chance. If the change is a bit intimidating or we have a lot of fear around instability, then we are likely to put it off until we are pushed. People often come for a Tarot Reading when they need a push. They have made up their minds, you can see it written all over their face and they just need someone to give them a little push, to confirm that their decision is the right one and off they go, wings flapping, flying off on their next adventure.

The other factor we need to consider is when the universe (big picture, outside forces, cosmic order, Divine Will or all that stuff out there) is ready to change. We are not alone, we are part of a very big ecosystem and, as anyone who has ever nervously watched an approaching cyclone knows, there are forces in the universe way beyond our control. Your choice then, is how you react.

When change is unexpected, we often resist and change, like a strong wind, can sometimes throw you around. Life can become frantic, difficult, out of control... In the centre of the chaos however, there is stillness, the eye of the storm is calm and wisdom is found within. We do not learn by avoiding difficulties, we grow through our experience of them. By weathering life’s storms we develop inner strength and fine tune our internal navigation system to respond to life’s changes. The wheel of Change reminds you that when life gets tumultuous you must return to the centre of yourself and find the stillness within. Now, from that central place of strength and serenity, decide your next move.

For questions and tips about reading Tarot ~ Ask The Hoo