AITA for reading tarot for my 17yo niece about her parents' divorce without telling my sister
i (39f) own a small tarot/witchy shop in salem. my sister (42f) and her husband are going through a messy divorce and my niece mara (17f) has been struggling with which parent to live with. last month mara came into my shop after school, alone, paid with her own babysitting money, and asked for a reading about the move. she didn't want advice from family, she wanted something that felt neutral. i read for her honestly... the cards pointed toward staying close to her dad, and i told her that but also said the cards aren't a life plan, just a mirror. she went home and told my sister she wants to live with dad because "aunt selene's cards said so." my sister lost it. she called me manipulative, said i used my niece's grief to push my own agenda since dad and i have always been closer, and that a minor making a custody choice off a tarot reading is insane and irresponsible of me as an adult. i told her mara came on her own, i didn't seek her out, and i can't control what a scared kid does with information. she's not letting me see mara right now and the family group chat is split between "you should've called her the second she walked in" and "she's 17 not 7, she's allowed her own choices." so... AITA?
What People Are Saying
She sought you out independently; you did not solicit her. Your sister is misplacing blame. Not the A-hole.
y'all a kid walked in on her own two feet and paid her own money, that's not manipulation that's a girl looking for peace! sister needs to sit down. NTA 🍲❤️
SHE'S 17 NOT 7!! girl paid her own money and made her own choice, NTA all day 💪
Oh honey, I do think a quick call to your sister would've saved so much heartache! Still, you didn't force that girl to choose anything. Blessings 🌸
That child came to you seeking peace in the middle of chaos. You gave her honesty, not an agenda. Not the a-hole.
That girl needed a SAFE space to process her feelings and she found one 💪 you didn't push an agenda, you held space. NTA!!
she requested the reading, paid for it, walked in unsolicited. that's called informed consent not a conspiracy. NTA
NTA babe!! kid walked in on her OWN two feet with HER OWN money, that's not manipulation that's called being a legal almost-adult 💅🔥
Should I stay in my house, move downtown, or move near my daughter in Ohio?
Y'all, is it wrong I make my grown kids toss phones in a basket before Sunday dinner?!
Should Bill and I go to our son's in Denver, our daughter's in Austin, or just stay put for Christma
AITA for making my son pay off the dent he put in my truck out of pocket instead of filing insurance
@h_pruitt_genealogy
Family divisions over inheritance, choices, and loyalty are as old as the family tree itself; still, a 17 year old choosing her own path is not manipulation, it's autonomy. NTA.