to tape or not to tape

Many psychics and tarot card readers make tapes of their readings for their clients. I, however, do not. For a while now though, I’ve been mulling over whether or not I should.

Only one of the many readings I’ve had through the years was ever taped. I took that tape home, meaning to listen to it again some time, and threw it in a drawer. I kept it for years, moving it with me from one home to another, but eventually it got lost. I never did listen to it.

Why did I never listen to the tape again? I’m not sure, but conversely, why would I? Maybe to show a friend, or to remind myself of something the psychic said, or to try to prove whether or not her predictions actually came true. But is that what the reading was for?

This whole question of taping or not taping brings to the fore the very important question of why would one get a reading in the first place. Furthermore, what does a reading mean anyway? Is it supposed to be timeless? Is it meant to discover something that is definitively true? If so, I think we might be out of luck with or without the tape.

If the point of a reading is to see the future, taping the session might make sense for future confirmation. But my vision of the future is dynamic. It changes with each new input. For that reason, the future predicted by my psychic was only true (if ever), at the time that it was predicted – not necessarily in the future. Am I making any sense here?

But let’s go back for a second and talk about whether or not the future can even be predicted. For myself, when I read a future position in a spread, what I see is the likely culmination of a particular pattern – at least to that point and assuming all things continue exactly as they’re going right now.

But assuming I’m interpreting the future position correctly, I’m still making two giant assumptions. I’m suggesting both that the future is a particular moment in time – almost a conclusion of sorts, and that all things are going to continue as they’re going right now.

Such assumptions are fine for conversational structure (and perhaps even sanity), but they’re not actually 'true'. The future is infinite – there is no one point when it stops – it’s always what’s next, and there’s always something next.

Furthermore, there are infinite things that might happen in between now and this imaginary point in time. For instance, your decision that you don’t like what the future holds (according to a particular reading) is very likely enough to make it not happen. On the other hand, being sure it’s going to happen can bring it about.

That brings us back to why one would bother getting a reading in the first place. Personally, I do it for validation and possible direction. A thoughtful reading offers validation in that it presents a chance to see where you’re at in a particular situation. Almost always, it grounds you in your present so that you can see consciously what you’ve probably already been feeling.

Looking forward from that point, you can decide where you might want to direct your energies. This is where the future card can be helpful - as a possible outcome to a present pattern. Do you or don’t you want to go that way? After reviewing this question, you can pull more cards for advice on how you might get there or how you might avoid that particular direction.

I often tell clients that nothing I say is written in stone. As far as I’m concerned, anything can happen, despite what a particular future card might suggest. I suspect that taping a session and returning to it again and again would only lead one to feel that the reading was more definitive and stone-like than it actually is.

But maybe I’m wrong . . .

And I wonder as well, do people actually return to their tapes again and again? Afterall, I didn’t.

It might be a good idea to tape a session just as a recording ie. something that allows you simply to remember what was said. There can be a lot of information and it can be overwhelming. That’s fine, but in that case, writing down the highlights would be just as useful. Like taking notes in class, you can do it while you’re at the lecture, or you can tape it and listen later (probably in order to take notes). You might have guessed, I never taped my classes.

And one final point, I think there’s something to be said about letting things just percolate and sit with you the way they were originally presented. The things that are meant to stick with you do – the things that aren’t so important fall away. I think this is especially true with something like a psychic or tarot reading. Every single word isn’t important – it’s the bigger message or feeling that counts.

My advice would be to focus on those things that stick out for you in the reading and not worry about remembering every single point. Look for advice on how to get to where you think you want to go. And if the reader doesn’t offer that – ask them to.

And if anyone ever really wants to tape a session with me, go ahead, but you know how I feel and at least for now, you’ll have to bring your own equipment.