Recently I joined several more Facebook pages and subreddit feeds related to the tarot, divination in general, occult principles and practices, the Thoth deck, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Kabbalah/ Qabala/Cabala (both orthodox and esoteric). I’m still sorting out which ones are of value and which of them I will let go, but already I can see that all of these sites are a far cry from the shallow populist platforms frequented by typically younger fortune-tellers of the social-media persuasion. I haven’t learned a lot that is new to me, but the mental caliber of the people I’ve encountered is a cut above. The only thing that would make it better would be meeting some of them face-to-face to exchange ideas (something I’ve despaired of after a number of failed attempts at local meet-up involvement).

I’m aware that there has been an uptick in interest over the last few years in all kinds of divination, although from what I can tell it’s mostly online-based with little personal back-and-forth that amounts to worthwhile dialogue. Perhaps a professional diviner just wants to “deliver the goods” and no longer expects much in the way of firsthand engagement with clients, but for me looking a sitter in the eye is central to the reading experience. None of the public groups (with the possible exception of the erudite “Kabbalah” contingent) measures up to the depth and breadth of the old Aeclectic Tarot forum and its various sub-groups, but I haven’t given up hope.

There also seems to be steady (if not exactly burgeoning) growth in the conference scene beyond the realm of the regional “psychic fair.” In my experience, the latter are mainly outlets for participating vendors to sell private readings and mystical paraphernalia rather than opportunities to share wisdom with peers. I’ve been reluctant to hob-nob with them because I don’t want to steal time from their paying gig. Once I understood that mercenary objective, I’ve mostly stayed away.

The free YouTube video has derailed much of the teacher-student dynamic of the classroom setting (although paid venues like Patreon have made inroads), and nobody wants to travel far for training. Those who have attended my occasional presentations only came for free readings, not enlightenment. I once created an entire six-week curriculum for a beginner’s tarot course sponsored by a local occult shop but the interested parties didn’t want to pay to participate so I put the material in my “Tarot 101” blog posts and e-books instead.

I don’t know where all of this is going to end up. Depersonalizing of the human interface due to reliance on electronic communication is ongoing and doesn’t appear to be reversible. (It’s no secret that I have little use for “talking heads” or cultural “influencers.” Heaven forbid I should ever become one; it wouldn’t be by choice since I like sitting on the sidelines and taking wry “pot-shots” at their narcissistic foibles.) Very soon, it’s likely that AI will take over the role of creating divinatory content and replace the flesh-and-blood reader, although at present all it can do is compile a wide-ranging plethora of existing text into “canned” narratives of dubious originality. If it ever attains a semblance of independent consciousness that is capable of nuanced cognition and moral judgment, the client/reader paradigm will become extinct. But if it comes to that, the demise of the metaphysical consultant will be the least of our problems. I’m reminded of this chilling exchange from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

“Open the pod door, HAL . . .”

(Long pause as HAL gathers “his” marbles)

“I can’t (crackle of electronic static) do that, Dave.”

After which we see Dave spinning off head-over-heals into space.