Here’s an intriguing quote from G.I. Gurdjieff, In Search of the Miraculous (1949), p. 100-101.
“In order to know the future it is necessary first to know the present in all its details, as well as to know the past. Today is what it is because yesterday was what it was. And if today is like yesterday, tomorrow will be like today. If you want tomorrow to be different you must make today different. If today is simply a consequence of yesterday, tomorrow will be a consequence of today in exactly the same way. . . .
“If a man wants to know his own future he must first of all know himself. . . . Knowing the future is worth while only when a man can be his own master. . . . In order to study the future one must learn to notice and to remember the moments when we really know the future and when we act in accordance with this knowledge.”
Any thoughts on this? It’s worth reading the whole section in Gurdjieff’s book (link to text above). How might these thoughts relate to our reading tarot?
Mary K. Greer has made tarot her life work. Check here for reports of goings-on in the world of tarot and cartomancy, articles on the history and practice of tarot, and materials on other cartomancy decks. Sorry, I no longer write reviews. Contact me
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November 1, 2009 at 12:31 am
shadowmeteresa
focus more of our readings on the present and what we can do right now in our lives – just like everything else we spend our time thinking about, it seems like we read too often about the past or the future and not enough about the now.
November 1, 2009 at 3:41 am
Mary
Giving more importance to the present in our readings, as Shadowmeteresa says, and specially to the potential in it-our abillities, our choices. Encouraging people to build their future from the present instead of being passive about it.
November 1, 2009 at 5:04 am
Helen
I guess it’s all about recognising that today’s thoughts create tomorrows future.
If we keep our questions open ended for tarot like, what do I need to do/understand/be aware of? and how can I change/improve/find? etc. Then tarot assists us with the alternatives to the choices we can make to form a better future for ourselves and empowers us to make the best decisions based on our present situation/experience.
November 1, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Susan
I have always told my clients that the future is just a straight-line projection of what the energy is in the moment. And that because we are creatures of habit and there is so much energy in what the present contains…. that this is the reason we can “predict” the future. But in looking at the future, tuning in or whatever and being open to possibilities – that is what makes the future somewhat changeable… meaning that we can modify what will be based on how we use our will.
Simple and hard and horrible and wonderful all together at once.
Peace
November 1, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Gina
It’s pretty much what I tell my clients. I will not “predict” their future. What I will do is uncover for them patterns and behaviors and habits that, if continued in the same way, will create a future the same as their present. However, if they choose to use the knowledge we uncover in the session to make changes, they will be empowered to create the future they desire. Knowing themselves today gives them the tools to create the tomorrow they envision, if they so choose.
It also is in keeping with the 5 Principles of Usui Reiki. Each of the principles begins with, “Just for today…”, and I tell my students this is because all we have is today, this moment. Each action of each moment will determine how the next moment unfolds, and then the next, and the next, and on and on and on.
November 1, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Rachel
How can we know ourselves?
Knower of Trees. in the Shining Tribe Tarot this card (Knight of Wands) has her arms open to embrace all of life, all of existence. We know ourselves through everything, through making no distinctions. In the picture she actually becomes the cosmos. The stars are in her face, a river runs through her body. The picture is paradoxical–leaves falling for autumn, a flower in bloom for summer. Allow everything to be, no judgments. This is how we know ourselves.
How can we know the future?
The Fool. A child has leapt off a cliff and flies through the air to follow a bird. We know the future by flying into it. No expectations, no thoughts
Both cards have arms open wide, nothing held back.
November 2, 2009 at 6:27 am
David Vine
I think a clue might be found in a comment Gurdjieff made further along in the same discussion. “If we had will, then through this alone we should know the future, because we should then make our future, and make it such as we want it to be.” If, as Mary says, tarot helps you meet whatever comes in the best possible way, then the other side of that pentacle is Rachel’s insistence that we follow up a reading by “doing something”, i.e. with a concrete action that can incarnate the precious magic the cards have bestowed on us as a reward for our trust. The future can come at us where we sit or we can step into it, out of today into tomorrow, wand in hand!
November 2, 2009 at 9:58 am
Jan Olander
I haven’t read any of the other comments, but wanted to drop by and add mine.
I don’t find the passages contained in this edition to be all that inspirational…it seems obvious. “Know Thyself” says it all doesn’t it?!
But if the passages help other beginning their Tarot quest for knowledge, about everything and anything, then I guess they (the words) can be explored. And not everyone gets everything the same way…through the same words, right? 😀
Be well all of you,
Jan
November 2, 2009 at 5:20 pm
mkg
I guess the part that intrigued me the most about this quote is:
“In order to study the future one must learn to notice and to remember the moments when we really know the future and when we act in accordance with this knowledge.”
How many of us have really looked closely at our readings (for self or others) to see when we were accurate and when we were wrong? In an experiment with “predictive” readings on one of the tarot lists I found that more than one person would predict something that did not come about, but would then turn what they said around to convince themselves and us that they had actually meant to say what had actually happened. It was the wierdest thing to see.
Part of knowing yourself is to know what you can do effectively and to study what works and doesn’t work. How many tarot readers claim things like being 85% accurate when they’ve never studied the long-term results of their readings?
November 2, 2009 at 5:57 pm
mkg
My friend Malcolm Muckle adds this quote:
“I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.” ( Gilbert K. Chesterton)
November 3, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Jude
a little late to the discussion… i have approached readings for my clients as an exploration for learning personal lessons of the past and seeing the truth in present circumstances in order to refine choices for the future.
in this way knowing yourself does shape your tomorrows. a short action plan following the reading assists the process.
December 18, 2009 at 8:58 am
Michael L. Lewis
Padmasambhava said that if you want to understand why your present is as it is, look to your past thoughts; if you want to know how your future will be, look to your present actions.
December 18, 2009 at 11:46 am
mkg
Jude & Michael –
Wise words. I wonder how many people come for readings in the hope that tomorrow will be better – without having to do anything today to make it so?
Mary