AUTHOR’S NOTE: While observing conversations in the online tarot community, I’ve noticed that attempts to interpret the cards pulled by other members veer far off-course into mystical and psychological abstractions that don’t really address the question posed by the inquirer, who is invariably an inexperienced beginner looking for guidance from more seasoned readers.

Part of this misalignment is due to lingering Jungian notions about the correct use of the tarot, but it is mostly spiritual posturing that is loaded with well-meaning but not particularly relevant inspirational cheer-leading. Where others write a paragraph of optimistic generalities, I prefer to offer a compact sentence or a handful of phrases that goes straight to the pragmatic heart of the matter since I have nothing to prove about my metaphysical pedigree. The simpler I can make my observations, the more useful they are likely to be.

It comes down to helping seekers chart a course that is more visceral than conjectural. Not “What does someone else think or feel about the situation?” but “What am I likely to experience and what should I do about it?” If I can send them away with one actionable insight that will set their feet on the road to self-determination and avoid burdening them with a head full of imponderables, I judge the reading a success. I don’t necessarily have an inside track on the truth, I just set my “BS filter” for a high level of confidence that little or no extraneous nonsense will get through. I don’t always start with an edge on the most revealing answer but I will typically know it when I see it by relying on a sensitivity to nuance that I owe to decades of tarot study and practice.

If there is wisdom to be found in a tarot reading, the background chatter must be dialed down so any intimations of the truth can stand out from the din. This involves separating the inconsequential details from the key points displayed by the cards and fashioning the latter into a coherent message. I’ve found that the best way to get there is to first perform a high-level overview of the face-up array and pick out any likely candidates for a preliminary judgment that will establish the framework for a more thorough analysis, always with that initial assessment in mind. This is not so much jumping to conclusions as it is reducing my overall outlay of interpretive effort. If I believe those highlights to be on-target and the supporting narrative dovetails with them, the rest of the reading becomes that much more straightforward. The sooner I reach that state of certainty in my deliberations, the more time will be available for a post-reading discussion of the outcome.

Another question frequently asked by novices is “Does tarot reading work, and if so, how?” Regarding the first part of that query, I’ll paraphrase an old aphorism and say “Truth is in the eye of the beholder.” If the reality of a seeker’s situation is captured in the symbolism of the cards drawn and accurately translated by the reader, the subject will intuitively recognize it as more than coincidence. The art of divination lies in pulling all the pieces together into a pattern that makes sense to the querent, who then has an obligation to apply it to real-life circumstances. As to “how” all this happens, the most rational explanation seems to be as a function of subconscious awareness that enters objective expression through the act of manipulating the cards which – along with the diviner’s expertise – provides an agency for decrypting any enigmatic hints of authenticity that may emerge.