Between tarot cards and therapy lies the balance we need

Don’t let these tarot reels be your one and only therapist. Balance it out with a real honest-to-go therapist, who asks you the tough questions that the reels don’t. Representation pic/istock

Today, Mercury retrograde comes to an end. How do I know? Instagram, of course. Now we are free of danger and strife till June 29, when it will again go awry and mess with our lives. How do I know? Well, Instagram. It's a free tarot reading every day, Reel after Reel.

And I love it.

Yes, tarot may not be true. How can a Reel that tells you that you did the right thing by letting go of the past, actually have any clue of who you are or what you let go of? How does a clairvoyant sitting in America know what's best for your sun, moon, and rising? How can a random reader pulling cards be the one you click on as you take important decisions in your life? I just say - if you believe it, well it's all good. If 10 tarot readers are telling you this Mercury retrograde is for your own good, then so be it.

Tarot, and astrology, have become mainstream on social media in the past few years. There is a word for it - as I said there is a word for everything these days. And it's called "mysticore" - which the lords of the Internet say is driven by a desire for self-discovery, community, and comfort in navigating uncertainty. It started during the most problematic times the generation has gone through - the pandemic.

Now, in 2026, six years after the pandemic, the world is even more uncertain. There are wars, recession, job losses - and of course personal struggles like heartbreak, losing a loved one or family member, or just feeling stuck in life. At that time, when a person, known or unknown, tells you that "this is just a phase that will make you stronger" and that "good times are just around the corner", you are entitled to believe them.
You need to believe them, you want to believe them.

And it's okay. Some people watch dog and cat reels, some find relief in comedy, some watch cringe content, and some, like me, like an Instagram witch telling me I am releasing the old to make way for the fantastic new.

And, in some way, it's good to blame mercury for all this chaos. It saves us sometimes. And it's good to know the planets always support letting go of that which doesn't serve you for newer, better things in "alignment".

And it's lovely to know that the Death card, as ominous as it sounds, just means a rebirth. It makes us believe in the unknown (which we usually fear) and also in magic (which we so need in our lives).

But here is the caveat. Don't let these tarot reels be your one and only therapist. Balance it with a real honest-to-god therapist, who asks you the tough questions that the reels don't. It's only when the therapist asks you "why do you so desperately want to be liked by someone who is running away from you? What's lacking inside you?", that you can truly start to understand yourself. And make the change. And then truly be aligned.

In my case, my therapist (god bless her), like the once popular Fox Mulder (X Files), believes in it all. And so along with scientific solutions to my problems, we also figure out the karmic consequences of all my actions.

In the end, I would say, enjoy the woo woo spirituality without guilt - it's good to believe in things beyond our understanding. But, balance it with real-life expertise as well. Just ask yourself - what would Hermione do?

See you next week.

Ranting and raving about all that's trending on social media, Aastha Atray Banan is an author, creator, podcaster, and the Editor of your favourite weekend read, Sunday mid-day. She posts at @aasthaatray on Instagram.
Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper.