Many people come to Tarot readings in hopes of “fixing” their lives—obtaining information and guidance that will help them make the “right” decisions and no mistakes—guaranteeing perfection.
I subscribe to the BrainPickings blog featuring contemplative posts on creativity, literature and non-fiction. This week’s post has some applicable thoughts by George Saunders and Parker Palmer that show the narrowness of perfection.
George Saunders: “Although we’re animated by conflicting impulses and irrepressible moral imperfection, we can still live rich and beautiful lives.”
Parker Palmer, “Wholeness does not mean perfection: it means embracing brokenness as an integral part of life.”
I ask you, as a Tarot reader, how can we help the querent “embrace brokenness”?
On the other hand, I sometimes hear from clients that a reading primarily showed them something they knew already. I ask them if they knew that what was shown was the most important thing to take into account in their situation—the key to their decision-making process and the true value of their experience.
This is mirrored in a BrainPickings post on poet Denise Levertov in which she is quoted:
“One can anyway only be shown something one knows already, needs already. Showing anyone anything really amounts to removing the last thin film that prevents their seeing what they are looking at.”
Ah, what a perfect way to describe the best that can happen in a Tarot reading!
And one last quote. This time from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (Act 1: Scene 2). Imagine that the Tarot itself is speaking to you as your mirror—a metaphor often used in describing the way in which the Tarot works.
And since you know you cannot see yourself
So well as by reflection, I, your glass,
Will modestly discover to yourself
That of yourself which you yet know not of.
It is not really that we don’t know these things, but rather that we don’t know their relevance. The Tarot offers us the in-sight.
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
Mary K. Greer's Tarot Blog 
17 comments
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July 11, 2016 at 2:09 pm
clavielle
Yes, exactly.
July 11, 2016 at 4:46 pm
Sue Wilhite
Oh, perfectly said! 😉
July 11, 2016 at 5:59 pm
LizRose93
Reblogged this on elizabeth rose psychic and tarot and commented:
Mary sums up my thoughts completely! This is a great read on how to approach tarot readngs.
July 12, 2016 at 5:08 am
randy
We have more in common with our faults and failures than we do in our success.
July 14, 2016 at 1:23 pm
katthrynn
Reblogged this on Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles and commented:
It’s been a long time since I’ve written an original blog. I am sorry and all I can say is that the last six month have been riddled with illness and death. Hopefully, I am past the worst and will start blogging again soon. Meanwhile as I find article by other authors that fit our theme, I will share them here.
This one by Mary Greer offers great insight into what a Tarot Reader can truly offer her clients.
July 14, 2016 at 9:37 pm
Kayleigh
wonderful, Mary, thank you!!
July 15, 2016 at 12:33 pm
mkg
Thank you everyone who has reblogged this or has appreciated the sentiments.
July 23, 2016 at 6:57 pm
Maria Strom
Many spiritual people shun their flaws like unwanted children. True healing comes from embracing all of ourselves. Thank you for reminding us.
July 24, 2016 at 2:35 pm
mkg
Maria,
Thanks for commenting.
July 27, 2016 at 6:28 pm
Carrie
Hi Mary, I want to thank you for this post. The timing was incredibly great for me, as I just discovered Brain Pickings last month and have been thoroughly enjoying it! I’ve also been thinking a lot lately about the concept of learning to live with a “broken heart” and realizing that often, trying to ‘fix’ a broken heart isn’t a useful endeavor. Instead, sometimes we must simply learn that we are WHOLE even with our broken pieces. That wonderful quote summed it up a lot better than I can… This is taking me down a whole rabbit hole of thoughts that I’m intrigued to explore further. Thank you for these insights!
July 27, 2016 at 6:43 pm
mkg
Carrie –
I’m so glad this post was there for you at the right time. Enjoy Brain Pickings. It always has something worth contemplating.
October 18, 2016 at 6:26 pm
spiritmoving
Finally catching up on emails and found yours that led me here–lovely! Thank you! This applies so well to psychotherapy as well as tarot readings!
October 19, 2016 at 2:24 pm
mkg
spiritmoving,
Glad you like it.
Mary
March 12, 2017 at 6:42 pm
Sentient
Thank you for this insightful post. While in theory a client should be able to accept any reading that was productive and wise, the human mind tends to expand only incrementally, when and where it will. It’s seems willing, even eager for that next small step; but suspicious and/or frightened of anything further ahead. Bismark said “Politics is the art of the possible,” but it’s true of self-improvement as well. As readers, we’re often confronted with the challenge of getting sitters to “hear” the message, which has little to do with the cards and everything to do with creating a empathic connection. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts with the community.
May 30, 2017 at 8:24 am
queenofwandstarot
Mary, this is such a valuable insight. I feel that the cognitive dissonance some querents feel may be the result of expectation (you will show me something I do not know, but know enough that I cannot deny it’s plausibility) vs how tarot can often work (highlighting an area, attitude, belief or value that in some way is causing suffering or blockage with advice to clear).
I also get push back from querents when I suggest a reading on a past event which I feel may be blocking or negating a new narrative about a future state. Often they don’t want to “waste time/money on looking at a past event” but it is often when we do that and clarify or even change a past narrative can we move on to recreating a new narrative, especially when we are undergoing a high state of change.
Sometimes I get frustrated because the popular notion is that Tarot is a simple hammer when I see it is actually a scientific calculator; so capable of crunching data and plotting courses infinitely more complex and elegant than it is ever given credit for. Or, that all others want is the hammer (fast food readings I call them) rather than the beautiful and much more helpful narrative building it can provide.
May 30, 2017 at 9:58 am
mkg
Sentient,
Yes, small steps are sometimes the most important ones and may be just the “trigger” point that one needs.
May 30, 2017 at 10:08 am
mkg
queenofwands,
Both Carl Jung and G.I. Gurdjieff stated something to the effect that we can predict the future based on a person’s past: tomorrow is based on today and yesterday.
It is important as a tarot reader to determine how to present what you do and where you do it to attract the kinds of clients who will respond best from what you have to offer.