Thank you everyone!
Thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses. I hope you don´t mind I am replying to everyone in the same post.
Looks like there is some confusion regarding what fortune telling is, so I will post a definition from Wikipedia: “Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life.” (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune-telling)
Now the individual responses.
Why does it need to be mutually exclusive?
Not at all. Someone is trying to “legitimize” their practice by putting fortune telling down.
In my pov- it's not "fortunetelling" when you can see something negative unfolding in the cards for a client such as 8/Wands, Chariot, Tower, & tell them if they don't?
Sure it is. You are using supernatural means to make predictions. But, as a client, if you tell me it is not I have to accept that at face value.
As for it being a bunch of BS, it always strikes me as a little odd when someone uses an old tool to do something fairly new and then scoffs at the traditional use. Can't we all just get along? Putting others down doesn't raise you up.
Exactly!
But when I do fortune telling, I'm laying my skills on the line for them to judge my accuracy and the worth of my readings.
Of course.
It depends on what one means by divination * ... in my book it is not to find out 'if that guy at work likes me' (as an example).
Actually, I said “fortune telling”, not "divination". “The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination. The difference is that divination is the term used for predictions considered part of a religious ritual, invoking deities…” (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune-telling)
So, if you are invoking a deity it is divination. If you are not invoking a deity it is still fortune telling as you are using supernatural means to make predictions. Of course, if you tell the client it is not fortune telling, then they have to accept that it isn´t.
My Take: Tarot works both for counseling and fortune telling. I´m just surprised that so many people seem to take pride in not being a fortune teller given that it is the traditional use of the cards.
Thank you everyone, again!