Getting it Wrong
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be wrong on the internet. I don’t mean spreading fake news; I’ve been worried about my “collective” readings on Instagram, some of which, must be “wrong.’
This worrying about wrongness all started with just play. I like to practice Reading like the Devil with juicy questions, so on Instagram, I love when @twisttheeleaf posts their monthly tarot challenge for the discord group DiscordTarotHolics. The challenge always contains fun philosophy questions, like this one, “What’s the point of life?” i.e., “What’s it all about Alfie?” I posted this is in response from my favorite Majors Only decks, Sergio Toppi’s Tarrocchi i Universali:
“What’s the point of life? The point of life is to lead by example – rule your life with equal part’s faith and fairness and inspire others to do the same.” Now, I have an admission to make. I confused Il Guidizio, Judgment with Il Guistizia, Justice, an easy mistake, but I broke a cardinal rule of the Read Like the Devil manifesto – I did not PAY ATTENTION. I have to tell you, I have sort of been beating myself up about this little mistake. And not because I thought someone actually took to heart my answer, it’s just play, but just that it was wrong. That’s it. I was not worried about cause and effect, but rather if I got this wrong, what else have I gotten wrong?And what’s my responsibility for such abstract wrongness?
Because, f course, there is no right answer for “What’s it all about Alfie?” but I am never going to shake the desire to try to “get it right.” And, in this case, to get it right requires the acknowledgment of the spiritual side of life – we have a Man of Faith, a King and Judgment Day. I tend to shy away from faith based readings because they generally don’t sit right with me. As a control freak, it’s hard for me to answer a question in a way that advises faith. Of course, I did accept the faith component here, but I certainly fudged about meeting your Maker, whoever/whatever that might look like. The answer is about preparing for Judgment Day – both the Man of Faith and the King will face Judgment Day – will they be judged equally? Or does King require the Man of Faith’s blessing as he heads towards Judgment Day? And if the Man of Faith does not give the King his blessing, does the King fall on his sword as he faces his Maker, as his head is already on a spike? We also have two father figures here, and arguably, we actually have the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – that finger pointing down from above. If the point of life is to accept the Holy Trinity, well, as someone Jewish, I’m a big fail I guess. I can’t imagine that would ever have been an answer that I would personally accept, let alone put out there on the Insta.
So, what to do with these personal biases? It’s bad not to accept answers because they don’t conform to what you find acceptable. Biases cause you to veer from the straightforward narrative in the cards; they make you turn left, when you should be looking forward. This problem is further compounded when there is no question on the table, as is the case when I do my daily “collective” readings on Instagram – where the only question is, “what does someone out there need to hear today?” And to rely on the cards alone for context is an invitation for what some would call “intuition” and others would call, just make shit up. My readings probably fall somewhere in between. But its hard to tell. Without a question leading the answer, you can’t point to any evidence that you’re right. And, there are some readings statistically speaking, that just have to be wrong.
After having a long think about all of this, I’m comfortable putting my perhaps “wrong” stuff out there – I make no bones about it in my Instagram that I’m just trying to figure it all out, and anyone who would act on something I put out there based on what I said alone, instead of what’s actually going on in their lives, well, so be it. That’s just dumb. I put my general readings out there for practice, and to give people who choose to follow me, maybe something to think about – it’s like reading them a story, fiction or non fiction, it’s all the same because once there’s an editor, there’s going to be some truth left on the cutting room floor. Also, while I may be vain enough to want to die with my Noblet in my hands, I am not vain enough to think this matters in a real way to anyone other than me.
So, I asked the cards, my trusty Noblet, “is this ok? what is the ramification of me putting out these general readings, that could in fact, be wrong?”
And the cards confirm my thinking. A young man gets on his horse, turns from my pronouncements and says, meh, I’ll fill my cup elsewhere. Then, there will be some that will stand right in the message, right under my trumpeted pronouncement. The message resonates, but they stand in place, they clench their hands, they shake in their boots, but they don’t act. The Queen of Batons separates herself from the crowd. She takes the trumpet with her, transforming it into her own baton. She heard the message, and is not going to let someone do her thinking for her. She will use her own discernment before she acts or orders someone to act on her behalf.
Of course, this could all be wrong too. But, eh, it’s the internet. How many people have to tell you don’t believe what you read on the internet before you believe it? Although you probably read “don’t believe what you read on the Internet” on the Internet.
