Future Tense

Our correspondent tries her hand at tarot and learns it is not easy to look into the future

Our correspondent tries her hand at tarot and learns it is not easy to look into the future
Just so that you know upfront,I have always been the intuitive type. I can tell when a person is hungry or bored. I am good at predicting the result in a Yes or No argument. No,shes not lost weight. Yes,hes going to be late…the answers just leap up in front of my eyes,and I am rarely wrong about things. So when a chance to predict the unknown in a truly professional way came about,I have to admit it got me excited.

But as much as I take pride in having a sixth sense about life,the experience of reading someones past,present and future,left me feeling uneasy and lost. There are 78 cards after all and theres a whole kingdom to know Knights,Pages,Queens,Wands,Pentacles,Swords etc. Armed with what little I had read,I turned up at Wiccan and tarot expert Renu Mathurs office in Panchkulas Sector 8 in Chandigarh.

My client for the day,Mr Goyal,was already in. Hes a regular with tarot sessions and let me brief you a little before you get started, said Mathur. She was magnanimous enough to offer me her seat and run me through the cards,their meanings,the connotations and more as I made mental notes. Each of the cards had a picture the wands were positive,the swords were not; the cups stood for emotions,the page meant someone young,the queen was an older lady and then a doggy picture came along and I decided he must mean something happy and moved to the other set of cards. Most often people come asking for answers to emotional stress and strife. Remember the cards only guide you what path to take, Mathur said.

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All sweaty-palmed and intimidated by the dim lights and the fact that the clients future depended on me,I walked in and took my seat. Hello,Mr Goyal,how can I help you today? I spoke my practised speech which sounded straight out of a telemarketers script.
Mr Goyal,a real estate broker, seemed pensive but to show that I was no amateur I shuffled the cards and decided to move on. Shuffling a large-size deck was tough but doing a 12-card spread was tougher. I fumbled and the cards spread in all directions. So whats your star sign? I said,buying time. Aries, he answered. Not that I knew how that piece of information was going to help me. I decided to turn the cards face up.

Mr Goyal looked and seemed more pleased at what he saw. Facing the two of us on the right was a handsome Knight of Pentacles and an elegant Queen of Wands. These are good cards,very positive, I said,choosing to ignore the Queen of Swords placed at the end. I have a new project in mind, the client said,looking at me questioningly. I looked at the Queen. Hmmmperhaps a lady can help. Also,this Four of Pentacles tells me you are about to reap the harvest of hard work, I said,trying to remember Mathurs notes. Yes,I have had some financial gain, replied Goyal. This time,I was smiling.

Picking up a card I knew the true meaning of,I announced: This Seven of Cups here. You will leave old paths and walk a new one. Do what your heart seeks and dont get swayed by anyone
Time for Mathur to jump in. I think thats enough for one day. Mr Goyal has serious questions to ask, she said. The professional took over. I sure was happy to let go. For deep down, I was getting mixed feelings about this one. u