Understanding reading fortunes

Sometimes people think that they know what fortunetelling is all about: reading fortunes, whatever ‘fortunes’ means…

Wrong.

Fortunetelling is neither about reading fortunes, nor about reading the future. It’s about reading cards.

Let me give an example of what I mean, followed by an example of a reading for a prediction that ended up answering a question from the future. ‘Is that even a thing?’ you may ask. Yes. But let me point to the first situation first.

When I read the cards for investors, I don’t necessarily read the cards for the future of numbers as it were, the fluctuations on the stock market and ‘the kill.’ If a more ample context is put on my table than a question for a straight up answer, such as this one, ‘which portfolio will fare better, A or B?’ what I do is read variables that have to do with assessments of a company’s endurance or solidity, safety margins, and risk.

In other words I let the cards crunch the data I am provided with so I can formulate a robust and commonsensical analysis. But since chance features into all investment moves, it’s fun to place it against what we can know via deduction. In this sense fortunetelling is straight up analysis of a visual text. The only difference is that instead of reading infographics, you read the trumps of the tarot, the 4 suits in the playing cards deck, or the iconic symbols on the Lenormand cards. So when I read the cards I don’t read fortunes. I read a visual text. This is major difference that many card readers don’t even make. But they ought to.

The future in the past

Now let me give an example about something else that yet reflects in a different way what I’m talking about. Before I start any course at Aradia Academy, I read the cards for it. Although I often have an idea as to who exactly may be interested in a particular topic that I want to cover, I want to see if the cards match my expectation of what I can anticipate. I do this because I then design the format of my lectures in accordance with what I see. This has been an excellent practice that has never disappointed so far. For the course in the Art of Prediction that I was preparing for I got these cards: Magician, Emperor, and Lovers.

I went like this: there’s enough interest in this course and it looks like I’ll be joined by my regular strong core of students. Some will be on the fence, as usual, either waiting to hear from others whether this course is a good idea, or doubting themselves. They might be persuaded though by the royal scepter that instructs: ‘make your own experiences and stop doubting your capabilities.’ This was my initial reading, before I had an occasion to see something else in the cards.

But first let me say that so far the cards have been consistent with what is happening right now. About 90 percent of the participants in this new course are returning students. With my strong core we go as far back as Cards and Magic, the first online course that I offered in 2015. It’s been a grand privilege to serve the same students for over 7 years, and never hear a complaint. I call this an achievement, as I appreciate such devotion.

But now to the fun part. As I received some questions regarding the level of the new course – not for beginners, but not entirely master level either – the cards above turned out to also answer a question that I didn’t ask myself. This is related to the Lovers card in the final position, showing me the people on the fence. I didn’t further ask, or try to guess people’s motivation for being on the fence, but now I could see that the cards were quite explicit of this very situation related to the level of the course: the beginners (the young Magicians) must look back and start with the essentials I poured into my Read like the Devil books, or wait for the foundation courses to run in July. The advanced students (the Emperors) will find an excellent opportunity to practice the art of prediction at master level. The Lovers on the fence can make their pick in accordance with their circumstance. I may say to them, ‘follow what you love, try the art of prediction,’ but that would be contrary to how I deal with people on the fence: I prefer not to interfere with their hesitations.

Meanwhile, though, if there’s a concern about the level of the course, here’s what I say: my modus operandi is the pointing-out instruction. That is to say, I follow the method of putting in people’s face just what I myself see. What I see, people also see when I go through a set of cards or examples. There’s never any mystery there. In this sense, even if one is not entirely confident with the cards, there’s always the possibility to learn as we go along, simply because what I see, people will also see. Once you see it, you cannot annul your aha moment. And that’s the beauty of it.

My daily draw here got more elaborated then I expected, but then, the more to think about, the merrier. After all, we do read the cards as an antidote to boredom and dullness.

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The trilogies

I’ve been emphasizing the Read like the Devil trilogy, but truth be said, there’s always more of them in the making.

Here’s the example of ‘Fine Print Editions,’ currently totaling three books, Threads, Cross, and Choices, that are all about prediction.