Could we really trust cards to read our destiny?
With the rise of the content-creation app Tiktok, even things of the unknown, the unexplained, and the mystical were able to carve a representation in the digital sphere as more and more people got to see destinies being read on cards.
“Take what resonates, leave what doesn’t.”
We often hear this from Tarot readers shuffling cards on Tiktok. Usually, they do readings for a general audience or a targeted few specified by zodiac signs. Results, of course, vary for each person. To some, readings are simply too far-fetched and unlikely, while for others, they resonate as if the cards had indeed given the answers to their questions.
Ila Martina, a 23-year-old AB Developmental Studies student from the Ateneo de Manila University, has been a believer in the Tarot since 2021.
She specifically consulted the cards to seek clarity regarding her love life.
Initial readings affirmed that reconciliation would be best despite unfavorable circumstances, her family and friends’ disapproval, and even her own intuition telling her to let go.
Heeding that voice within, she decided to break it off despite Tarot telling her to still try. After doing so, she noted that her life “progressively got worse” after making her decision.
Time passed, and the readings of the Tarot changed. This time, it advised her against going back to her ex. But because she wanted to fix things so badly, she again did not listen to the cards and reconciled with her ex. From then on, things got worse for both of them.
“‘Pag pinakinggan ko ‘yung advice ng Tarot, every single time, not a single time did it ever miss,” she told republicasia.
‘Pag pinakinggan ko at sinundan ko sobrang gumiginhawa ‘yung buhay ko. Parang ang daming blessings bigla na pumapasok, ang daming opportunities,” she said.
She also noted that every time she would go against it or feel like the reader did not understand her point, things would either not go as planned or happen much later.
“So I feel like there really is credibility to the Tarot, and there’s a reason why so many people seek guidance from it,” she said.
Should cases like Martina’s be enough to make us all believe in the power of the Tarot?
What is Tarot?
The Tarot is a set of 78 playing cards, each with its own imagery, symbolism, and story, commonly used for divination, especially in fortune-telling.
According to Bryson Bonsol, an intuitive Tarot reader, a certified manifestation coach, and the founder of the Be Blest Training and Formation Center, playing the tarot has long been part of human civilization. In fact, the current 52 deck of cards that we know today was taken from the original tarot set only, sans the 22 Major Arcana which represent life lessons and karmic influences.
Bonsol describes the Tarot as “like our GPS, like Google Maps or Waze,” that guides the seeker to the best way towards the life he desires. Accordingly, the tarot answers questions, usually of distress and anxiety, with various possibilities that could happen as an individual chooses a particular path.
Bonsol encapsulates Tarot’s purpose into five ideas: reflection, guidance, clarity, confirmation, and empowerment.
What the Tarot is NOT
However, people tend to have conflicting, often bizarre, understandings of the Tarot and its capabilities. Some don’t believe it at all; others see it as a means of the devil to lure people into going against God, while the rest simply don’t understand.
To set the record straight, Bonsol lists some of the misconceptions about Tarot.
- Tarot reading is NOT about predicting the future but living in the present
To explain this, Bonsol lifted an excerpt from the book Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen:
“The cards do not tell us what to do; rather, they help us think about our problems from a different perspective and, like a diagnostic tool for decision making, help chart a roadmap for the solution.”
Basically, a seeker consults the Tarot not for prediction but for enlightenment about the present situation so that he can choose the path leading to the future he desires.
Simply put, “the Tarot will not dictate what will happen in your future” but rather help us to “live in the present moment,” Bonsol said.
Quashing the age-old belief that Tarot is future-based, Bonsol explained that the cards are in fact possibilities based on the now, so the seeker can choose the best path towards the tomorrow he desires.
“Ano ‘yung gagawin natin sa present moment para ma-achieve natin ‘yung future na gusto natin,” he said.
What’s more, because Filipinos equate tarot reading with panghuhula, people tend to fear the future because of the thought that horrid events “predicted” by the cards might actually happen.
“By virtue of manifestation,” the seeker’s energy influences the cards, making the reading a “self-fulfilling prophecy.”
- The Tarot is NOT the work of the devil
Bonsol says that besides having a devil card in the deck, people associate Tarot with the devil because of its ability to predict the future, which, by belief, can only be done by God.
“Kaya siya nagiging work of the devil sa tingin ng iba kasi ‘yung temptation of predicting the future and when it’s done, it’s as if the reading is absolute,” Bonsol said.
“Pinapantayan mo na ‘yung Diyos when it comes to thinking and divination, na pati ‘yung future nakikita na kaya siya kinokonek sa work of the devil,” he added.
Again, he clarified that if the reading is done right, it can be used for reflection, guidance, clarity, and empowerment.
Given that all versions of the future are possible, Bonsol argued that consulting the tarot surely is not the work of the devil, as it aims to help the seeker identify the best road to the life of his dreams.
- The future is NEVER certain
As a professional Tarot reader, Bonsol said professionals like him have one ultimate reminder to seekers – no reading is set in stone.
In one of Bonsol’s vlogs where he discussed the Tarot, he explained this by lifting yet another excerpt from Wen’s book.
“When people say the cards can predict the future, what they really mean is that the cards can reveal to you the most likely destination of your current journey,” he said, quoting Wen.
“When you make adjustments, you change your future. If today, the cards show outcomes that are not favorable, the cards will also reveal what needs to be done to change course to get that favorable outcome,” he added.
Bonsol stressed that a professional Tarot reader’s goal after every session is for the client to be hopeful and empowered.
“Kailangan aalis ‘yung aming seeker, matatapos ‘yung consultation na may clarity, lumiwanag ‘yung isip nung tao, gumaan ‘yung kabigatan ng kanyang puso at nainspire siya at pinakamahalaga nga na-empower siya para alam na niya ‘yung dapat niyang gawin,” he said.
