I don’t know if this is true, but I wonder if these alternatives offer very top down perspectives on an individual’s life and circumstances, rather than one of personal responsibility and agency. One is kind it like “here’s how things are, and here are the deterministic, universal reasons as to why that is”, while the other might be more like “here’s how things are, and here are the ways you could choose to reason about it and navigate to a better place from here”.

I actually don’t know; I’m totally speculating, but curious. I used to know someone who went for tarot readings as a means of coping with losing her husband and I find it very sad yet fascinating. She didn’t seem to get much from it in a constructive sense, but she did get someone focused on her and her experience for an hour or so. That means a lot, too.