Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
The Wheel of Fortune and the Limits of Divination

The Wheel of Fortune and the Limits of Divination

Last updated on: July 2, 2025 at 3:00 am by John Beckett

0 Comments

The Wheel of Fortune and the Limits of Divination 2025-07-01T21:14:54-06:00 John Beckett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Am I busy? You could say that. I’ve been busier, particularly in the mid-2010s when I was doing everything I’m doing now only about three times as much of it. Yes, I was younger then, but mainly I didn’t have all the “background noise” we have now. The arc of the moral universe was still bending toward justice and we (or at least, I) thought Obergefell was just the next step, not the peak.

Seriously, don’t underestimate the amount of energy it takes to just keep moving forward in times like these. Cut yourself some slack. Keep moving and keep fighting and keep living your life your way, but cut yourself some slack while you’re doing it.

But yes, I’m busy. I’m approaching a major crossroads of life with my paying job, with my public-facing religious work, and with my geopolitical environment. I have plans for all those things, plans that are supported by long-term magic, short-term magic, and ordinary effort. A lot of ordinary effort.

Part of that ordinary effort is monitoring my progress towards my goals, identifying threats and devising countermeasures, and staying on the lookout for things I might have missed.

This is where divination comes in.

Asking the cards what I’m overlooking

Divination cannot tell you what you should do. It can show you where you’re headed. Then it’s up to you to decide if that’s good or not, and if it isn’t, where you should go instead. Divination is like turning your headlights on when you’re driving at night. It can help you see obstacles in the road while you’ve still got time to avoid them instead of running into them head-on.

Tuesday night was a regularly scheduled divination night for me. After considering everything I’ve written so far, I asked “what am I overlooking? What am I missing that would significantly impact my plans?” That was specific enough to get a useful answer without being so tightly constrained I’d end up with an answer that was precisely correct but impossible to put into a meaningful context.

I used the Celtic Cross layout. I know some people don’t like it, and I don’t use it all the time (I’m using a lot of three and five card spreads these days). But for a question that needed plenty of room for an answer, it was the right tool for the job.

The reading was overwhelmingly positive. I’m not going to share the whole spread. This is private, and some of you are good enough readers to pick up more than I want to share just yet. But mainly, I don’t want you wasting your time trying to interpret my reading when you could be spending that time interpreting your own readings. But I will say it showed I have a good plan, I’m making good progress, and achieving it is very probable.

The one challenge to all that was the Wheel of Fortune in the “crossing it for good or for ill” position.

the Wheel of Fortune in Waite-Smith (left), Robin Wood (right), and my new favorite deck – but only when reading for myself – the Dark Wood Tarot (center)

The Wheel of Fortune

Some cards are in your face – think of The Tower. Some cards are subtle – think of The Star. Some vary widely depending on the question and their relation to other cards in the spread. We have to be careful to read the cards in front of us and not rely exclusively on consensus meanings, especially if we’re reading with a deck that doesn’t exactly follow the Waite-Smith system.

But between the usual meaning of the card, the artwork on this particular card, and its position relative to the question I asked, this card’s meaning could not have been clearer.

The one thing I’m overlooking right now is random chance, some low probability event that could pop up out of nowhere and throw a wrench into my plans.

The limits of divination

Divination does not and cannot show you what will happen in the future with certainty, because the future is not fixed. What a terrible world this would be if it was.

Divination – good divination, anyway – shows you the most likely outcome, given the path you’re on and the direction you’re headed. But you have free will – if you change directions, you’ll end up somewhere else. And so does everyone else.

More relevantly to this question, low probability events can and do happen. Closer in, these things are easier to see. Further out, they’re almost impossible to predict.

When I was a kid, the nightly weather forecast was good for tomorrow and that was about it. Now the five day forecast is usually right and the ten day forecast is still really good. Better technology and better predictive models have greatly improved weather forecasting. But long range weather forecasting is still not much more than a guess. There are simply too many variables for even supercomputer modeling to be useful in predicting daily weather that far out (predicting average climate is another matter).

I can see the potential obstacles in my path for the next couple months. I can see big things that might interfere between now and completion. But I can’t see every little thing that might go wrong.

So given that, given the limits of divination, what do we do?

Trust in your own abilities

We begin by understanding that low probability events are just that – low probability. I like my odds. Now, it’s not time to ease up – there’s a lot of ground to cover between now and then. But there’s being prepared and then there’s being paranoid. I occasionally end up on the wrong side of that line. I’m trying not to do that now, and I hope you won’t either. Whatever your circumstances, put your energy toward what you think will happen and what you want to happen. I have a friend who used to have a bumper sticker that said “the best way to predict the future is to help create it.”

But what if the proverbial black swan pops up? What if something nobody saw coming happens? I know a few people who predicted 2020 would be a difficult year, but nobody predicted the worst pandemic in a century (one or two said they saw it and didn’t say anything for fear of frightening people – I struggle to believe them).

Something similarly unexpected could interfere with my plans. Or your plans. Or anything else we read in our divinations.

If that happens, we’ll do what we did in 2020 – we’ll deal with it. We’ll figure it out as we go, because we’re capable and resilient. Yes, I’m sick of that word too. But it’s still necessary.

I’m working Plan A. I have Plan B and Plan C, even though I don’t expect to need them. If I have to go to plan D or E or F I’ll figure it out when it happens. And I’m confident I can do it if I have to, because I’ve done it before. Getting old isn’t all bad – the wisdom of experience is helpful.

The warning of the Wheel of Fortune prepares us to see

Unlike what some skeptics (and some whose religions forbid divination) say, the fact that divination can’t tell us precisely what’s going to happen doesn’t mean it’s useless. I was already confident my plan will get me where I want to go. The nine positive cards mean I’m now more confident and I can rest easier. That’s helpful.

But also, the Wheel of Fortune serves to remind me – and us – that life is never fixed, that stuff happens, that Murphy’s Law cannot be repealed. With that in the front of my mind I’m more likely to notice small things so I can address them before they become big things.

Divination can’t tell us everything. But what it can tell us is immensely helpful.

We’ll see how things go…

Previous Post

June 15, 2025

Are There Spirits In AI? Ask A Witch

Next Post

July 14, 2025 9 Things From Mystic South 2025

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Concern about the attitude of Islam toward Pagans is not limited to the Trump Administration. ..."

Maureen Richmond

The Fear of Witchcraft

"Thank you for your much needed review of the Lucas Miles polemic. A key point ..."

Maureen Richmond

I Read Pagan Threat So You ..."

"A number of these are also available streaming through the Kanopy digital service, carried by ..."

C. Lee Vermeers

The Vampire Films of Jean Rollin

"Happy October!"

renniejoy

The Vampire Films of Jean Rollin

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Community CUUPS Druidry Foundations and Context Gods and Goddesses Magic Myth Nature Ritual Spiritual Practice Theology Travel Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Jewish festival celebrates deliverance from Egypt?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Passover Purim Tabernacles Pentecost