Divination versus Fortune Telling
Fortune telling gets a bad rap. But is it really so bad?
As a card reader, I am often asked if what I do is fortune telling. The answer is sometimes yes, and sometimes no.
This is because I am not solely a tarot reader. Different modalities have different relationships to the concept of fortune telling.
Tarot is a form of divination. It's goal is to provide guidance that surpasses the mortal mind. This relies on a connection to ancestral wisdom, divine channeling, and psychic intuition.
Fortune telling often relies on as much ancestral wisdom, divine channeling and intuition as divination does.
Playing cards have a different voice from tarot. Their goal is not to tell what could happen, but to point to the most likely consequence of current actions. Playing cards are often used for fortune telling.
Neither fortune telling nor divination is good or bad. They both serve their purpose, which is to provide insight and guidance.
Fortune telling gets a bad rap, though. It's considered underhanded and scary in a way that has everything to do with race.
Fortune telling is associated with BIPOC and our indigenous modalities. This is, in large part, why it's so stigmatized.
Let's take an anti-racist look at the diffences between divination and fortune telling:
Divination looks at possible outcomes for your current situation. Fortune Telling tells you about the most likely outcome of your situation.
An overarching theme is that divination looks at what could be, while fortune telling looks for what is most likely to occur.
The answer comes from your actions past and present in fortune telling. Divination looks for points of opportunity. It wants to show you what might happen if you accept advice, look within, and consider your choices.
Fortune telling is, for the most part, a warning. It tallies up what you usually do and points to where those actions are likely to lead.
Divination presumes you can use free will to change your life. Fortune Telling presumes you may not change.
Divination relies upon the power of change. Fortune telling understands that change is more difficult than stagnation.
We see a tension between idealism and realism within the divide between modalities.
It's true that people can change, but it's often a slow road. It's the two of pentacles: two steps forward, one step back.
When people come for divination, the choice is in their hands. There is often something they need to do to get their desired outcome. They leave with a charge to change their lives.
Fortune telling has a less active result. It's meant to ease the mind and help someone prepare for the future.
Divination is rooted in possibility. Fortune Telling is rooted in probability.
The baseline assumption at the heart of divination is that it is possible to get what you desire. It tries to show you the best road to achieving that goal.
But everything isn't possible. While divination may suggest fortune telling insists. If something isn't going to work out, fortune telling will let you know in certain terms.
Some people find this discouraging, others find it freeing. Whether the method is fortune telling or divination, my goal is to help my clients however I can.
