I have been teaching and conducting workshops for nearly five decades in both astrology and tarot, I have several books and many articles out on these subjects. I am always asked the same questions. What’s better, tarot or astrology? Is there a difference? Is one better than the other? Is one more accurate? The answer is that it all depends on what type of guidance they are seeking.
Let’s start with astrology since I have been reading charts since I was fourteen years old and am now sixty-three. Astrology has been my life. The natal chart is almost like a doctor’s file on a patient. Everything that is positive or negative is in it. It contains many different aspects of one’s personality, how well or poorly you react to emotional situations or crisis, your intellectual abilities, why relationships succeed or fail and generally if you are the kind of person that others want to know or have as a friend. The houses of the chart tell different areas of life that are affected, for instance, the first house represents the personality you show to the world or the one you want to show to the world and not necessarily the true one; the second represents your money or material values while the third represents communication, short trips, siblings, etc. Twelve distinct areas of life are covered. Depending upon which planets are in that house, what sign(s) are in the house and what aspects hit that house, the personality is formed.
Throughout the years with the planets moving forward (or progressing) from your birth chart (which was a map of the sky at the time of your birth), one’s personality, likes, dislikes, intelligence, relationships and reactions to situations change. Adding in solstice points and solar eclipses which usually occur twice a year (lunar eclipses are best used for Cancerians or Cancerian Ascendant natives), the next six months can be forecasted. Many different possibilities are touched upon as the planets and aspects represent a vast variety of probabilities. One must remember, however, that we choose our own future. We make a million decisions throughout our lifetimes that change our future day by day. Planets and aspects can stand for many different alternatives. When the sun and moon on an “eclipse” day falls into a particular house, that house is activated and an astrologer knows what would be in store for the native throughout the next six months. I usually tell my students that whatever happens on an “eclipse” day will represent the next six months of your life. For example, I recommend spending money on the eclipse so you will have money to spend for six months; be with friends and family you wish to see throughout the next six months; go to work as students who thought they would take it easy the next six months, did exactly that. They lost their jobs since they weren’t working on the eclipse! Think. Complete lists of projects, affirmations or goals. Plan for the next six months. I usually find it helpful to get things in order before an eclipse and then read the list in a positive manner on the eclipse so that the universe will set the stage for your next six months in a very logical and organized manner.
In order to make a competent prediction, an astrologer would know the meanings of the houses, planets and aspects affecting the “eclipse” planets and how they aspect the natal and progressed planets. Simplified, if one has more positive aspects such as sextiles or trines, life within the next six months will be more calm, relaxed, focused, organized and fulfilling without many obstacles. The more squares and oppositions the updated chart has, the more challenges and obstacles might be before the person you are reading. But whether the outcome is a positive or negative one, truly depends on the overall outlook. Obstacles or challenges may be for the native to learn some particular lesson or start handling responsibility, etc.
So in essence, astrology gives you a road map to your life year by year. Once given a road map, one can decide to get to any destination in many ways, by plane, train, bus, car, motorcycle or boat. There are also different roads to a destination, the super highways of life, the interstates, the local roads or back country dirt roads. All lead to a certain destination, however, the path is altered by the mode of transportation and the route one chooses. Remember as in any modality, you have complete control over your life and destiny.
Tarot is basically a different method or concept of predicting the future. First of all, the cards explain what will happen if you do nothing to change the situation. If there was something perceived to be negative by the Querent (person for whom you are doing the reading), it will stay negative unless that person takes a positive action to change the event or circumstances. You are always given options and choices.
One can do various spreads to predict what will happen in a day, week, month, year or particular time period in the future. Most of the spreads can pin point an exact month by month prediction in addition to an overall view of the current situation and how one will handle those situations. Tarot can let you know particular occurrences, obstacles or love with a glance of the cards; it can give you definitive yes or no answers to exact questions as well. The remaining cards in the yes/no spread will also shed more insight into your current situation. Remember that we can change anything we don’t like in the cards if we know what message the card is giving us. Whether we take that information to use to our benefit is our choice.
By using the tarot, one can get an immediate answer to a question and insight into a situation or circumstance and know what to do to change that situation to their benefit. Tarot shows you when to balance your love life, money, career or. It foretells what you must do to correct these areas of life. It often gives us not only the mundane solutions to life, but tells us of the spiritual path we must also follow to be happy in this lifetime.
Tarot suggests blessings from God after going through changes; it tells when one must rest so that the Querent could be protected from an illness or concern with the proper rest and care of himself or herself. Tarot helps build character because it gives the Querent something to fight with. It paves the way for an adaptive attitude towards conflicts, obstacles and concerns. Tarot uses a variety of scenery, backgrounds, figures, and colors to portray each card’s meaning. Sometimes adding one’s knowledge about numerology helps give added meanings to the cards although one can get a feel for the cards just by looking at it. This cannot be done in astrology. If the person has no practical knowledge of the planets, houses and aspects, an astrological interpretation cannot be properly done. It would look like Egyptian to the person — without meaning.
Tarot can also prepare one for issues that need balance in order to be happy or fulfilled – it could represent balance in a relationship (is one partner too dominant and the other too submissive?), money (spending too much and not saving enough?), career (is it really necessary to work 12 hour days? What about time with the family?), and conflicts (can I ride these conflicts out? Should I settle them peacefully? Can I handle what is ahead of me? Is there an end in sight?). Just by adding some common sense and a time frame, one can look into the future and know what must be done to correct any negative situation.
Astrology charts, although very automated now and can be called up on a computer and printed in a few minutes, are extremely difficult to interpret properly. Massive reports can be generated with all types of probabilities for the next year. The reports are so long (usually 50+ pages) because there are so many variables. If you make a decision today or now, you change the future from a few moments ago.
Tarot usually takes anywhere from one hour to an hour and a half to read properly. Astrology can take long hours to decipher and then read to the native. Reference for planet configurations (some use asteroids as well) must be used and placed in the chart and then one must go through each planet of the natal chart, progressed chart and how it affects the natal chart. Many combinations can actually make other configurations of planets better or worse by being in aspect with several planets at the same time. You can guide through astrology and then you have to wait to see if the future comes true. With tarot, you are taking an active role in your future by knowing what will come up and how to alter the outcome for the most positive result for the good of all involved.
I feel tarot is more like psychology. It highlights the problem or concern indicated by the number of cards in a particular suit, and gives you many alternatives to deal with it. Each card also has an answer in it.
Although I love both astrology and tarot, I would imagine it depends on the type of information you are looking for. If you want a very philosophical view of yourself, your character, moods, emotional status, likes, dislikes and the general road map to your life with the next year, then astrological charts are for you. Remember that one does not need to have a chart done more than twice a year. I usually place both eclipses in a chart for a year’s reading, so that my clients need only return once a year for the upcoming year’s events.
Tarot is a useful guidance tool since it can give you the areas of your life causing concern, gives answers to deal with anything from the four suits indicating the problem or challenge.
Remember that we have total and complete control over our lives and the decisions we make. No one can make those choices for us. Tarot is an easier and gives more practical answers to the year ahead; astrology gives us an overview of what is to come and makes us think of all the possibilities and consequences ourselves.
Both are fun, both are guidance tools and both can be very dangerous if used for negative purposes. Never go to a reader who says there is a curse on you; there are no curses, only fear that overtakes us and makes us vulnerable. You do not need to go for readings more than twice a year although once a year is also very accurate and lighting candles and prayers by a reader will not help rid you or your family of the curse usually for a large sum of money. Get references of a tarot reader or astrologer from a reputable new age shop or ask friends or family who they consider to be a reputable reader. Is the price fair? Are they trying to use scare tactics? Are they reading with insight, helpful suggestions and giving positive guidance. No one can or should light a candle for you. Some readers charge ridiculous amounts to burn a candle for you, if they are doing it at all. Spend $1 and light one for yourself in a church! Also, never give any readers large sums of money in cash! I had a client who gave $20,000 to one of these readers in a very vulnerable and depressed state, and then she asked for her deceased husband’s jewelry to also take the curse off of that too. However, the woman was wearing my clients jewelry when she went for another reading. For the $20,000, she got 7 readings and a future with no money and a lost sense of pride and a desperate feeling of hopelessness and helplessness. It seems to be my crusade to steer people in the right direction when it comes to reputable readers. It is not acceptable to have a few greedy and unscrupulous charlatans ruin the path for the rest of us.
Whether you read tarot or astrology, keep your message clear, optimistic and focused. Anyone can change the future. We have the right to mold and shape our own destiny as God intended. Take your future and mold it into something you would be proud of.
Some think astrology is all right to have done while attending a tarot reading is the work of the devil. People — these are useful guidance tools that God gave his people here on earth so we could guide others who have temporarily lost their way or needed some insight into the future. There is no witchcraft involved in these predictive modalities. They are subjects, which are studied and practiced like anything else to become good at it.
Give them a chance, and I believe they will surprise you with their accuracy, their insight and the level of philosophical awareness that is given you.
Also, it is much easier to predict time periods with tarot than it would be in astrology. In tarot, the suits represent different months, signs or time periods. In astrology, one must rely on their intuition (and some help from the progressed moon) to predict when something will happen.
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