Sometimes, when doing a divination on a prospective magical action, the message will be “No, this is not something you can affect.” When the tarot (or some other oracle) says this, it’s usually because the outcome of the situation, or at least its trajectory, is already decided.
It can be hard for a practical sorcerer to accept this answer, since we are inherent controllers and scholars of the unseen shape of events. We are not passive and often not very accepting of the status quo by temperament. But having to occasionally surrender to the impervious dictates of fate is one of the hard realities of doing operative magic. It means admitting that, no matter how skillful and gifted we may be, we are not the most powerful force under the Moon. We are a human beings with human limitations.
It is important to bow to this deep truth and remain humble. If the answer is no and we go ahead anyway, at the very least nothing will happen and we will have wasted our time and energy. At worst, life will take steps to prevent our magic from interfering. And such a thing can turn out to be very unpleasant for stubborn magicians.
Instead, try to flow with the sometimes all-powerful, unalterable demands of fate and destiny—the Confucian “Will of Heaven”—in a way that results in harmony, not in resistance. Things will then unfold as they should. And if you can’t change the world, you can always change yourself, which is often the better course anyway.
This lesson is reflected in the traditional representations of the 7 of Cups, where it seems like there are many possible destinations and pathways, but there is really only one.
