Luck, Fate, and Destiny
A woman with her fingers crossed, hoping for luck.
One really can’t study tarot or divination without hearing the words luck, fate, and destiny often. As a lifelong tarot reader, I have a complicated relationship with these concepts.
I used to say there was no such thing as luck; there was only skill, hard work, and the grace of God. These days, I think of luck as part of the energy flow that guides us to where we need to be.
Fate is an interesting concept because, when viewed from the past, it is simply what happened. Yet, when we look toward the future, we think about fate as something that will happen, or must happen, regardless of our choices or desires.
While the words ‘fate’ and ‘destiny’ are often used interchangeably, there is an important, though subtle, difference between the two. While fate suggests a fixed outcome, destiny implies something specifically meant for us that we choose to pursue.
All three of these concepts, luck, fate, and destiny, convey some universal guiding energy that knows us, helps us, and has a plan for us. I know we all have different ideas about the existence and nature of such an entity.
I also know that we all have different ideas about what feels lucky and unlucky. I remember a good friend who died of ALS. I visited him with some friends several months before his life ended. He could barely speak, could no longer play his guitar, nor walk. Yet, with the aid of his electronic talking device, he told me he felt very lucky because of all the support he had. I have also met people whose problems feel less dire than that, who consider themselves and their circumstances unlucky. All this leads me to think that luck is nothing more than perception, and those who perceive themselves as lucky will attract more good things and feel better about their circumstances.
How much of what happens in our lives is pre-planned for us? How much actual support do we receive from angels, deities, or loved ones in spirit? There are no definitive answers to these questions. I have come to believe in the power of spiritual support, and also in the strength of determination and hard work. I think we each work with spirit, in one way or another, to create our way forward.
I also believe that sometimes, stuff happens. I long ago shed the belief that everything happens for a reason. As a tarot reader, I believe strongly in the energy of random. It is randomness that delivers to us the cards we need to see. Sometimes, randomness delivers all sorts of things to our lives. I don’t always see those happenings as fate or the will of a higher power, only as something we need to respond to and move on from.
Many people believe that every single thing that happens is by conscious design of a higher power, and that every single future event is predictable. I have not always seen that to be true.
Other people believe that nothing is predetermined and nothing is predictable. I have not seen that to be entirely true, either.
Over time, I have seen luck, fate, and destiny play their roles in people’s lives. Sometimes there seems to be a spiritual component in what is happening. Other times, things feel more random and mundane.
I think that if we, no matter what energies surround us, stay focused on our spiritual support and our own ability to do what needs to be done, and stay more focused on our blessings than on our problems, we will be able to harness the energy of luck and move toward our best destiny.
Pixie Arcana for StaarCon 6 by Pamela Steele.
The StaarCorner
I am very excited for some new offerings we will have in the Mindful Room at StaarCon 6. As you may know, the Mindful Room is not set up as a classroom. It’s an open space for us to play, heal, meditate, and learn through experience.
On Friday afternoon, first-time StaarCon presenter Teri Rosario will welcome you to experience a Reiki Share. If you are Reiki-attuned or simply curious to learn more, come experience Reiki's healing energy at StaarCon.
Vicki Santell has been a part of our StaarCon community since the beginning. At StaarCon 6, Vicki will lead a very innovative session called "The Minor Arcana…Live!” This Mindful Room session will involve embodying the Minor Arcana cards to better understand them. Using props, postures, and facial expressions, participants will explore the four suits of tarot.
I attended my first tarot conference in 1999. What we do at these conferences has certainly evolved over the past quarter-century. At StaarCon, we are excited to offer you solid educational opportunities, a chance to explore ideas and topics that may be new to you, and encouragement to discover new skills and abilities within yourself.
Tickets to attend StaarCon 6 in person in Palm Beach Gardens are now available, along with guest rooms at the DoubleTree at a favorable rate. Get your tickets and book your rooms now! We look forward to seeing you in October.
StaarCon 6 Presenter Teri Rosario.
StaarCon 6 Presenter Vicki Santell.
The Virtual StaarCon 6 Experience on StaarCast
The StaarCast website is almost ready for visitors. We are fine-tuning the user experience to provide a more integrated experience for both in-person attendees and virtual attendees.
The Accelevents platform lacked several features that you will see at StaarCon 6. First, we have greater control over the views we present to live attendees and the virtual world. We aren’t forced into a single scene for in-house and livestreamed content. Remote viewers will see the presentation in a format optimized for remote viewing. Those attending in person will be able to speak and interact with remote viewers. Presenters will be provided with a confidence monitor to help them monitor the virtual audience in real time.
Remember, each in-person full conference ticket holder will receive a complimentary year-long membership to StaarCast.com. Those members of StaarCast in good standing during October will have access to the free conference events. Annual and monthly StaarCast members will have access to all the StaarCon 6 livestreamed events. Free StaarCast members can purchase access to each session individually on a pay-per-view basis.
In-person ticket holders will have access to the recorded sessions on the StaarCast website for each day they attend the live conference, provided they remain StaarCast members. The year-long access time limit has been eliminated. StaarCast events are continuously scheduled for the StaarCon community.
We hope these changes will enable more people to participate in the StaarCon and StaarCast experience.
Collage Class taught by Elise Crohn at StaarCon 5.
A woman prepares for a tarot reading.
Tarot Magic to Change Your Luck
Tarot divination involves choosing cards at random, face down, to receive messages and information. Tarot magic involves choosing cards intentionally, face up, to change the energy around you.
If things have not been going your way, which cards would represent that course correction? Find the cards that signify what you want to have happen in your life. Take those cards out of the deck and arrange them on your altar or on a table, saying aloud your specific intentions for each card.
You can leave them overnight and shuffle them back into your deck in the morning. Then, look for evidence that your luck is changing!
The Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach, Florida.
The Week in Review
This Friday, March 20, at 8 pm ET, I will present an equinox workshop titled ‘Planting Seeds for Spring’ on Nancy Hendrickson’s Substack. You must be a member, but if you want, you can join just for the month to take the workshop.
This Saturday, March 21, please join me at 1 pm for a free tarot class at Mandel Public Library in West Palm Beach.
On Tuesday, March 24, members of my YouTube channel are invited to join me as I record the TarotScopes for April.
From Around the Web
StaarCon presenter and staffer Mary Ellen Collins has shared a great article. Check out Creating Affirmations with Tarot.
Mercury goes direct this week! StaarCon 5 presenter Joseph Farrar has shared a post about Mercury Retrograde from the perspectives of astronomy and astrology.
The Spring Equinox is this week. Almanac Supply Company has a Spring Equinox Tarot Spread for you!
The Wheel of Fortune.
Tarot Wisdom For the Week
No tarot card speaks of luck, fate, and destiny as clearly as the Wheel of Fortune. When I teach this card in a class, luck, fate, and destiny are three of the keywords I use. However, I think those words can lead to some confusion in interpretation.
Sometimes, this card is as easy to interpret as ‘things will go in your favor’ when it appears upright and well-aspected. Yet, I think the Wheel of Fortune can have more depth.
I think the Wheel of Fortune reminds us that there will always be ups and downs in life, and that there are things we cannot control. I think the Wheel of Fortune asks us to look at the patterns and cycles in life and encourages us to break unhealthy ones.
The funniest thing about this card to me is that, even though it is the card of fate and destiny, in a reading it can often say that the future is simply unpredictable and that anything could happen.
Think about that. The card that speaks about fate and destiny also inherently speaks of unpredictability. I think this is the perfect expression of the dichotomy that naturally exists around the concepts of fate and destiny.
Unseen hands leafing through a calendar.
Upcoming Events
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Some of the attendees at Cards and Conversation in March.
About Christiana Gaudet
Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.
Christiana Gaudet
770 SE Indian Street, Suite 10
Stuart, Florida 34997-5604
Locations in Port Saint Lucie, West Palm Beach, and Stuart, Florida!
Email cgaudet@cardandcraft.com
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Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 9 Issue 11
March 18, 2026
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