I have said before that I don’t tend to use the Tarot to predict events in the future… In this post I am using the Olympics and Time Lords to illustrate the importance of living in the present :)
The Winter Olympics
The last two weeks have seen abundant drama played out on ice and snow; athletes have strived to win medals, finish races, perform outlandishly, woe judges, and satisfy screaming fans. Despite the risks and gruelling pressure; elite athletes continue to perform on the big stage, where their successes and failures are broadcast around the world to spectators sitting on the very edge of their seats, hoping, at times against all odds and predictions, that their athlete or team will prevail …
The drama of sport can act as a mirror to life; where each story paints a picture of our own hopes and expectations; played out on an ice rink, a soccer field, an alpine hill or in a pool. To spectators, the athletes become heroes, villains or inspiring battlers. Dreams and hopes coast along a knife edge as we watch the drama unfold; the winning side ultimately delivering confirmation that lady luck is smiling not only on the athlete (or athletes), but also on the supporters, spectators, and indeed, the whole country.
Sport is but one example; the drama portrayed in a movie, a book or a play, can equally if not more, inspire and engage our imagination, our hopes and dreams, while mirroring the highs and lows of life …
Imagine IF we could predict the future
Imagine if we actually did know what the future will hold. How would this knowledge affect our lives and our ability to experience ‘here and now’? Imagine the Olympic Games where only winners turn up to compete … What would happen to precious hope?
When Lady Luck fails to look our way, there is still hope that she will smile on us tomorrow, or the next day. To me, this hope is what drives us forward as humans; our dreams and desires and our determination to achieve our goals. If we knew in advance that a dream would seemingly fail, we might side-step it only to later realise that the failure of that dream was absolutely necessary in order to achieve a more important goal.
Time Lords vs Humans
Let’s digress into the (fictive) world of Doctor Who for a moment … It is said that the burden of a Time Lord is to carry the knowledge of past, present and future; knowing what points are fixed in the fabric of time, and what points remain in flux to be determined by chance or will.
So… some events are fixed, others are changeable, allowing the Time Lord to interfere and save the day. Yet, despite his 900+ years and absolute knowledge of Time; the Doctor cannot travel along his own timeline without serious consequences.
Would absolute knowledge of the future allow us to master our own destiny, or, would it bring chaos and disarray as we struggle with the insight of fixed events to come?
Intuition
Instead of absolute knowledge of fixed and fluxed points in time, I believe we have intuition to guide us along the way. At times we get a sense of something, prompting us to delay or change what we had planned to do. This sensation appears like a spark from nowhere, we simply just know we have to act on it, there is no need to question, analyse or validate. Later we receive confirmation that our change or action prevented something bad from happening. Intuition is more powerful than facts set in stone, simply because intuition leaves no room for speculation or distraction; it lets us get on with our lives and only pops up when we need it.
The Tarot
Being a link to our sub-conscious, Tarot cards tend to show us only what we are meant to know. The future can be seen to exist behind a veil, deliberately clouded to protect us from distractions along the way. There are times, when the veil may appear translucent; a moment of insight allowing us to make a change or prepare ourselves for what is to come. When intuition is present in a Tarot reading, the cards may point to something tangible in the near future and help us use our intuitive side to make the most of the situation. More often though, the cards are simply a tool to help us decipher and understand what is occurring in the ‘here and now’.
If we spend too much time dwelling on the past, or casting our eyes into the future, we run the risk of missing out on the magic in the present :)
Great post. Yes, imagine if we actually could predict the future: would we be happier? Smarter? More prepared? Probably not. But imagine if what we call the future is already here; imagine if the future and past and the present are all part of ‘now’. Our thinking is so tied to linear time, but who says it actually is linear? Perhaps we all slip between all the phases of time, both in our waking hours and when we are asleep. Time – past, present and future – is a fascinating subject. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas.